Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (105 page)

Layman Wang once visited Zhaoqing Temple during tea time. Head monk Lang and Mingzhao tried to pick up the teapot from the stove, but it fell between them and spilled.

Layman Wang said, “What’s under the stove?”

Lang said, “The Oven God.”

Wang said, “If it’s the Oven God, why did the tea get spilled?”

Lang said, “Manage it for a thousand days and lose it in a morning.”

Wang shook out his sleeves and went out.

Mingzhao said, “Head Monk Lang eats Zhaoqing Temple rice, but still enjoys snacks outside.”

Lang said, “What do you mean?”

Mingzhao said, “No one gets it that easily.”

One day, Wang Yanbin entered the temple. He saw that the door to the abbot’s quarters was closed.

He asked attendant Yan, “Does anyone dare to say that the abbot is here or not?”

Attendant Yan said, “Does anyone dare to say that the abbot isn’t here or not?”

MINGZHAO DEQIAN

MINGZHAO DEQIAN (n.d.) was a disciple of Luoshan Daoxian. He taught in ancient Wuzhou (now the city of Jinhua in Zhejiang Province). In the
Wudeng Huiyuan
it is recorded that Mingzhao’s quick and incisive Zen style led his contemporaries to fear his formidable skills in Dharma combat. Mingzhao taught at Wuzhou for forty years.

Mingzhao pointed to a painting on the wall and asked a monk, “What god is that?”

The monk said, “The benevolent god who protects the Dharma.”

Mingzhao said, “Where did he go during the Hui Chang persecution?”

The monk didn’t answer.

Mingzhao told the monk to ask attendant Yan. Yan said, “In what kalpa did you encounter this problem?”

The monk related this to Mingzhao. Mingzhao said, “Be lenient with attendant Yan. Later he’ll reside over a congregation of a thousand, so of what use is it?”

The monk bowed and then asked Mingzhao the question again.

Mingzhao said, “He went everywhere!”

Mingzhao went to Tan Chang’s place.

Tan said, “People study the phrase ‘One person present must arrive. A half-person present also must arrive.’”

Mingzhao then asked, “Not asking about ‘one person being present,’ what is a ‘half-person being present’?”

Tan didn’t answer. Later Tan instructed Xiaoshi to ask Mingzhao about this.

Mingzhao said, “If you want to know what a half-person being present is—it’s just a fellow making mud balls.”

Qing Balu raised a question to Mingzhao concerning the story of Yangshan sticking a hoe in the ground. He said, “Did the ancient’s meaning lie in his clasping his hands or was it in his sticking the hoe in the ground?”

Mingzhao called, “Qing!”

Qing responded, “Yes?”

Mingzhao said, “Are you still dreaming about Yangshan?”

Qing said, “I don’t want the master to give an explanation of this. I just want to talk about it.”

Mingzhao said, “If you only want to talk then there are fifteen hundred teachers in front of the hall.”

Mingzhao went to Shuangyan Monastery. On one occasion the abbot there invited Mingzhao to drink tea. Yan said, “I’ll present you with a question. If you answer it successfully, then I’ll give up my position as abbot and hand it over to you. If you don’t answer successfully, then I won’t give it up.”

He then quoted a verse from the Diamond Sutra, “‘All of the buddhas and all of their
anuttara-samyaksambodhi
dharmas come forth from this scripture.’ Who is it who speaks this scripture?”

Mingzhao said, “The one who speaks it does not speak, and thereby it is revealed. But what about you, Master, who do you say recites this scripture?”

Yan did not answer.

Mingzhao then said, “All the sages and saints each hold a difference from the Dharma of nonaction, and thus they take nonaction as the highest principle. From where does the difference arise? As for the difference, is it an error or not? If it is an error, then all of the sages and saints have each erred. If it is not an error, then what is it that is a difference?”

Yan again did not speak.

Mingzhao said, “Yee! It’s what Xuefeng said.”

When Mingzhao was at Zhizhu Temple in Wuzhou, he often did not get his ration of pure water. The temple attendant asked him, “Your Reverence, you don’t know tainted from pure. Why don’t you get your pure water?”

Mingzhao jumped off the meditation bench, picked up the pure water pitcher and said, “Is this tainted or pure?”

The attendant didn’t answer.

Mingzhao then broke the pitcher.

When Mingzhao was near death, he went into the hall to say farewell to the monks and give them final instructions.

A monk asked, “Master, where will you be one hundred years from now?”

Mingzhao lifted one foot and said, “Look beneath my foot.”

In the middle of the night he said to his attendant, “Formerly, at the assembly on Vulture Peak, the Tathagata Shakyamuni lifted both feet and they emitted a hundred rays of brilliant light.”
¹⁵¹

Mingzhao then lifted his feet and said, “How many do I have?”

The attendant said, “In former times, Shakyamuni. Tonight, the master.”

Mingzhao then pointed at the attendant’s eyebrows and said, “You’re not forsaking me?”

Mingzhao then recited a verse:

A flashing blade exposes the monastery’s complete majesty.
All of you, protect it well.
Within the fire, an iron ox gives birth to a calf.
At this juncture, who will compile my teaching?

After reciting this verse, Mingzhao sat in a cross-legged position and passed away. His stupa was built at the temple.