Facets of the life and teaching of Chan Master Yunmen Wenyan (864-949), vols. 1 & 2Order Number 8920208
Facets of the life and teaching of Chan Master Yunmen Wenyan (864-949). (Volumes 1 and 11)
App, Urs Erwin, Ph.D.
U.M-I 3∞ N. ZeebRd. Ann Arr MI 481
E'AC:'8 OF. :':1E LIF.E ~~ND :'EAζ3 INζZE
< :>F. C:EA:t-o MAε:'E :EE
_r:l:flII
(864-949)
In Partial Fulfillrnent
of
TEMPLE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE BOARD
ηtle 01 Dissertarion: Facets of the Life and Teaching of Chan Master
Yunmen Wenyan ( 86- 99)
Authoλ Urs E. APP
uate Bo α 1.1.~ J''' J.1.~}
Accepted by the Graduatc Board of Temple University in partial fulfillment of thc requircmcllts for thc degree of Doctor of PhilosOphl.
Date cfJficdiff. ~:1...(: (Dean of Graduate School)
bv
an der Wurzel fassen.
To be radical is
Now for man
Karl Marx
A.CKlOWLED~ENTS
It is with great pleasure that 1 acknowledge the help and en­
couragement of so many people and institutions which were vital to the
completion of this work. Above all , 1 wish to express my deepest
gratitude tοmy main advisor , Professor Richard DeMartino , whose ex­
ample and instruction have guided my efforts in the field of Zen
St\ies frαn the very beginning. 1 consider myself extremely fortunatE'
to have had the privilege of st\ring under his guidance , and 1 will
endeavor to better express my gratitude to him in future writings anu
research. My heartfelt thanks also go to many earlier teachers and
mentors , Japanese and Western: to Mr. Talgi Akifumi who in 1974-75
gave me free daily instruction in Ja~lese; to Dr. Arai Katsuko , my
Japanese mother; to lC ilosoer Professor Nishitani Keiji who nur­
tured my interest in Zen thought (1977-79); to Professor Nathan Sivin
who guided my first steps into sinology (1981-82); to Professor Iriya
Yoshitaka without whose seminars on the cords of YWlI11en (1982-1986) , expert advice , and percepti ve cri ticism of my trnslation.s 1 would not
even have àared to wri te on Yunmen; and to Professor Y.gida Seizan
whose lectures , seminars (1982-86) , writingsld advi all reflect
exemplery and inspiring scholarship. 1 also extend my thanks to Profes­
sors Thαnas Dean and Char les Fu, th ~ other members of my doctoral
committee.
th also go to many relatives and frier who have , directly and indirectly , provided support and encouragement for my
work. Above a lJ 1 am indeh:ed to my best friend Steven Antinoff who not
only re-oned the door to my interest in Zen (1976-79) , intrαiuced me
to Dr. DeMartino , and over several years as house-mate and co-student
ahared and discussed my centrel interests , but also gave ffi2 some help­
ful suggestions concerning chapter 11I. 1 would also like to thanh my
dear parents and my generous eldest brother Pius for leir moral and
financial support of my work , especially during the last phase of re­
search and redaction in Switzerland (1986-89). 1 am also grateful for
the considerable financial help which 1 received from TemplεUniversity
in the form of tuition remissions and stipends and frαn the Japanese
Government in the form of a Monbusho scholarship (1982-83).
v
TQ.... l..Jr-E
A CKNO LBDGMBNT8
TABLK OF CONTKNT8
L IS 'i" OF TABLR8
CONVKliTION8

ix ;
Xl
Xll
xv
• XXlll
C HAPTKRS I. THE LIFH OF MASTHR YUNHEN WHNYAN (864-949)
A. Intrαiuction
B. Concise Biogray
1. Youth and early monastic life 2. Master Muzhou; awakening 3. Beginning pilgrimage; Master Xuefeng 4. Furler pilgril1Ye
5. Settling down in Guangdong; teaching C. Translation of le Master's grave inscription
1 2
A. Intrαiuction
B. Survey of le structure of the text Table 1: Proportional structure of the text
C. History of the text 1. Taking and gathering of notes 2. le first ßlUscripts 3. le earliest printed edition 4. Texts commented by Muan Shanqing 5. le Su Xie edition of 1076 6. le Yuanjue edition frI around 1144 7. le Xukai guzunsu yuyao excets 8. Extant complete texts
18 19
Vl
111. FACHTS OF MASTHR YUNMEN'S TEACH1NG A. Approach . B. Teaching Situations and Pa.tterns
Table 2: Distribution of teaching patterns 1. Formal public instruction 2. Exchanges intiated by someone's question
n u q L q ι
A

A U - A a τ
3. Verse 4. Ordinary infoI'l1 instruction 5. 1nformal instruction based on a quote 6. Substitute answers
C. Th.e St.ents' Questions 1.. Question types accordir.g to Fenyang Shanzhao 2. Major s of students' questions
D. The Central Concern E. Overcαning Suffering
1. No way will do 2. No-way as way 3. One must do it oneself
49
60 68
4. e must be the solution F.τ'heαlBll Teacher his Task 80
1.le teacher's handicap 2. Enlightened ression and paradox 3. Yunmen's view of the lan teacher's role
G. Ytmmen' s Teaching Mel.
1. 1ntrαiuction • 94
2. Characterizations of Yunmen and his 'house style' 3. Distribution and types of Yunmen's questions 4. Types of Yunmen' s answers 5.αlallenge ld testing 6. Criticism, adnnitionld encouragement 7. Sample public instruction with comnnt
H. Ko1 and bt 142 1. Doubt 2. Ko1
1. Breaking through Duality ....•......... 160 1. Jizang's three levels of the two truths 2. le three levels of Baizhang 3. Going beyond duali ty 4. Letting go
J. Nond\lity 173 1. Authentic nonduality 2. le True Self 3. Freedom
'1.1.
8BLBCTIVB BIBLIOGRAPBY . 205
APPBNDICB8
l.TrlSlation of prefaces to the P..ecorrl....s of Yurmlen 217 2. Biographical chart • • . • . . . . . . . . • • . •. 220 3. Map to Yunmen's life • . . . . . . • . • . • . . •. 223 4. List of main biographical sources • • . . . . . . •. 224 5. Annotated list of biographical sources • . . . . .. 225 6. List of lost and extant Records of Yunmen . • . . ,. 237 7. Content of early Records of Yunmen • . • • . . • .. 238 8. chang chip passages and le Yunmenh 239
9. Jingde chuarenglu p!ssages ld the Yunmenlu • . .. 240 10. le Zuting shiyuarl commentary and the Yunmenlu 241 11. The Xukai guzunsu yuyao text ar the Yunmenlu 246 12. List of translated passages .•.•...••..• 248 13. Index to notes on lan vα~bulary . 251
BIIDNOTB8 258
OEM HVO --A AC
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nu "
nHU

Mmu , a,
a, E
. A
-hHM na
1 4
4
., A na nHU
. .• • J -l '"U R­-
nw •
. A
nnu na -­AC U
RU ., L
n υ
4 M
Dunhuang bianwenji "u ",
Fhu l nu a7LH . • L W M, nunv 4 mEA
T 47 , Nr.1998
M , ? a •• mTa
"“ <U +tv .l aa
" ι
-hHU
“
RU "u -A nu -nw HU HVO nC NU TM
"u "
“
υ
“
p& wun 1
o U
4
144
.•
AVlM enu
-AU .l MMO an­nu ea wv •• "u l ---J mu -­vlu
u
u
n υ
u
n u
RU < U
ι
"v4 •
. l ,L I "u -ta "u "vd "u ,L RS "MU
-L '"HM Vhu
Lu nu guu uun
", d •
a u -
'


nu ri "H HU ", d
RU AC H" .l hc n ν
nu na -­'"u .L ea p­'"“ 4ua nU AU ehu na E a ­
mu m w
L
--E& nE (
. U"
-PMB A
' . b u
'"u ehu nu
-1 .aaA­ nu au Lu
n ι ν

H M
ea -­'"“ ω

R“ ρ
n ν O
Ru

XFL Xuefeng yulu Z Z 119
XL Yunmen xinglü T 47 , Nr.19 8
XSGL hansha guanglu ZZ 12
XSGLI Xuansha guanglu Iriya translation
1 L Xuansha yulu ZZ 126
XlI DS Xin wudai shi
XXK Xi nxinlling { T 51 , Nr.2076
YFYL Yufang yilu T 47 , Nr.1988
Y!lL Yunllen guanglu T 47 , Nr.1988
ZDG Yongjia zhengdaoge T 48 , Nr.2014
ZG Zen no goroku series
ZGD Zengaku daijiten
ZGK Zengaku zokugokni
ZGSS Zengaku sôsho
ZGYK Zengaku yôkan
ZHZ Zhuangzi
ZTSY Zuting shiyuan ZZ 113
ZXFY Zhuanxin fayao T 47 , Nr.2012A
ZXFYI Zhuanxin fayao Iriya translatic~
ZYL Zhiyue lu ZZ 143
ZZJ Quanfa zhengzongji T 51 , Nr.2078
ZZL Zbaozhoulu ZZ 119
LIST' OF T'ABI .ES
Table 2 Distribution of teaching patterns in the Yunnnenlu 42
X1 AIIBREVIATIONS
ζ:X:>NVENTIONS
1. Transliterations and abbreviations
-le Pin.vin trlSliteration is used for Chinese not because it is the
most logical or the best but because i t is the de facto standard
tay. Sle publications in this field still use the Wade-Giles
systern , and others Japlese readings; instead of rnaking everything
even rnore cαnplicated by including long lists of corresnding
transliterations (which can be found in most dictioraries anyway) , 1
che to insert rna.ny αlinese characters; thus at least the reader
familiar wi th these characters will inunediately knm" what is meant.
-le Pinyin rule is broken ∞ly a few tirnes. when Chinese place narnes
are verγwell known in Wade-Giles or other transliterations (for in­
stance .Szechwan').
- For Japlese the revised Hepburn transliteration is used. Long
vowels are indicated by the symbol ^ except in the case of well­
lmown Japa.nese cities such as 1to Tokyo where they are not
indited.
A multitude of repeated references is rrde rticularly in the
footnotes , tο 1Ínese and Japlese texts. As they will only be of
service to readers farniliar with those l a.nguages , !!.bbreviations
(based on Pinyin trlSliteration for αlinese or Hepburn for
Japanese) are preferred to trlscribed titles; in exchange , these
abbreviations are inunediately followed by what they stand for , writ­
ten in Chinese and Japanese charaβters. lUS the reader farniliar
with these characters will very rarely need to use the list of
abbreviations. le only exceptions to this are the abbreviations YML
(referring to the Records of Yunmen) , T (for the Taishδcollection
of Bldhist texts) , ZZ (for the Zokuzδkyδcollecti∞ and M (for le
Morohashi ünese-Japanese dictionary; these abbreviations occur
frequently enough to make the constant repetition cf thei~ titles in
Chinese characters redundant.
- References to Morot~ghi ld other dictionaries: In general , (volume
and) page m.unbers are followed by the letters a c and sometimes
d; these letters indicate the horizontal columns or segments of a
given page. Particular characters or compounds are indicated by
character and compound n\.BIlber.
- Refer to the Taishδcanon: A bold T is followed by le volume
number , the text number in brackets (for instance {235}) , the ge
numberge segment symbol (a , b , or c) ld the line number.
- :':æferences to le Zolruzôkyδcanon: A bold ZZ is followed by the
volw number of the Tahmn edi ti∞; e page numbering follle
old double-ge edition which is also kept (in linese numbers ) in
the side margins of the Taiw1 edition (a first page recto , b first
ge verso , c sld ge verso , d second ge recto).
- References to Mujru Dôchû ncerials: printed ~_terials are referred
to in the orinary way; for unpublished manuscripts , the volume num­
ber is indicated.
are available , their text pination and line numbering is used.
- Titles of works apar in italics except in abbreviations.
Personal names are used as in their countries of origin; hence
references to nrus of Japanese and Chinese persons begin with the
surname and end with the given name(s).
3.αlrlolo~ical issues
-le age of persons is given in the Western fashion , not in the
lÍnese nmer where ∞e is age 1 at birth.
- When Chinese calendar infoI'1ti∞ apars in the form of sexagesimal
cycle symbols reign mottos (nianhao ) , the corresponding
Western calendar date is indicated.
4. Aulorshin of translations
If not otherwise mentioned , all trans~a.tions from Chinese~.. Japanese , French , and German sources are by the author. A few more or less
Xlll CONVENTIONS
reliable translations of Chan texts have been of good service to me;
this was also the case when 1 prepared and used my own translation or
these texts. The following works merit particular mention: Ruth Sasaki . ".
et a l. 's English , Paul Demiéville's French , and Yanagida Seizan's
Japanese translations of the cords of Linji , Iriya Yoshitaka's
English and Japlese translations of the Recorded Sayings of Layman
Pa.ng, and Thomas ld J.C. Cleary's English translation of the Blue
Cliff Record.
Every effort has been ma.de to nke the translations both
literal ld readable. In le case of historical materials such as in­
scriptions ld prefaces , the terency is to gi ve as li teral a render­
ing of le text as possible I while lations of instructions and
dialogues are sonwhat more idiomatic for the sake of readability.τ'he
footnotes reflect this double endeavor by often providing literal
equivalents where idiomatic expressions apIar in the translation , and
v1ce-versa.
Sanskrit equivalents of Chinese Buddhist terms are in general
not given. There is no indication that the lan masters lrn.ew Sans­
kri t , but they T .. ere familiar wi th αlan texts and , to a varying degree , with αlinese Buddhist literature. le texts ld passages that are
quoted or referred to in footnotes stem mostly from the corpus with
which the masters themselves are likely to have been familiarlUS
the overwhelming majority of textual references and quotes stems from
or is ma.de to lÌnese texts of le T Five Dyna.sties , and Song
periαld reference works which relate directly to such texts are
mentioned with preference.
For the sake of easier use all notes to the text (i.e. , notes
on pages numbered in Arabic numerals) appear at le end of volume I1.
As a fair number of n terms are discussed in some detail , a Pinyin
index (Appendix 13) is included for the convenience of interested
readers , researchers , and tr1S1ators.
le overall aim of this dissertation is , as its title
indicates , to provide information on the life and teaching of Chan
Master Ylli~~en Wenyan who lived from 864 tο949 in China.
1nformation on !!:er Yunmen's life stems frαn stone inscrip­
tions and various other texts. Chapter 1 not only furnishes a concise
biogray of the Master ed on a critical analysis of the most reli­
able biogralÍcal sοurce but a1so a translation of the biograIical
part of the earliest stone inscription. 1n the notes to this transla­
tion all important biogralical source materials are analyzed and
cαnparAdditional information rtaining to le Master' s biogray
dnc' i ts sources is four in appendices 2 , 3 , 4 5 of volume II.
le bulk of Master Yunmen's teaching was transmitted in the
form of a single text in three volumes , the Extensive Records of YWl­
men (mmen gr.'lu in the folling called cords of
Yunmen , Re∞rds or abviated as YML). le history ld structure of
the RecozS of Yunme~ are outlined in the secQnd chapter and in appen­
dices 6 and 7. For our research we used the oldest and most reliable
text available , namely, that c∞tained in the Guzunsu yulu -
1ts original is stored in Taiwan's National Central Library
in TaiI but a otα~opy of the part ∞ Yunmen is also
found at the library of Komazawa University in Tokyo. Since
this edition is not generally available , its unpunctuated text was
painstakingly compared 1 wi th le widely available but flawed Taisho
text. 2 1n this dissertation all references to le YML are made to the
Taisho text , but whenever significant discrencies with the older
Song text from Taiwan exist , these are noted.
le third chapter is an attempt to distill and analyze sαm
central facets of r-~ter Yunmen's teaching from this textld chapter
four consists of the writer's annotated translations of Master
YUnmen's ßjor public instructions.
le appendices in volume 11 of this dissertation contain the
translations of the YML's prefaces ld present additional information
Cerning biograical and textual issues.
xv INTRODUCTION
le writer first came across sayings by Master Yunmen in Eng­
lish translations of the best lmown kn (chin. gongan collec­
tions , le B1 ue Cliff cord (Biyanlu jap. Hekigaruu) and
the Gateless Barrier (Wwnengn jap. MLunonkan) • 1n both of
these famous collections , and also in a thi one the Co.ronglu
(jap. Shδ'yδiroku) , 3 Yunmen is the protagonist of more "cases" (ze
) than any other master. 4 Throughout the ages , fellowαlan masters
as well as translators and commentators have expressed their highest
esteem of Yunmen;5 one expression of this esteem is the following
characterization of the founders of an's "five houses" (wujia )
ld their "house style" (jiafel): "Yunmen the emperor , Lii the general , Guiyang the rninisters , Fayan the
rnerchant , and Caodong le peants."6
However , in spite of the praise heaped on Yunmen in st and
present , and in spite of the Master's prorninence as the founder of a
lan "house" , there is to the writer's lmowledge not a single book in
any language exclusively devoted to hirn. Though transla"tions of sorne
of his sayings and conversations exist , they are usually not based on
the cornprehensive collection of Yunrnen's teaching , the Records of Yun­
men (YML) , but rather on fra.gInts cited in later koan collections and
Cn1 cornpenàiurns. ';le same sources also forrn the basis of rnost ac­
counts of the Master's life. 8 Various circurnstances led the writer to
try to change this situation. le rnost irnportant irnpetus toward re­
search on Yunmen carne frorn participation (1982-1986) in a class at
Hanazono College (Kyoto , Japan) where the erninent Chan
philologist Prof. Iriya Yoshitaka read and cαmnented the
first volurne of the cords of Yunn. Through this class , through
group research directed by Prof. !r.iya on the records of Yunrnen' s co­
disciple Xuansha Shibei ( 835-908) , and through the wri ter' s
own research and translation efforts (to which Prof. Iriya ain con­
tributed by correcting sorne of the English translations) , the ini tial
va.gtJe irnpression that Yunrnen is onc of China' s rnost interesting and
original Chan masters gradually gained profile. This dissertation is a
record of sorne ini tial steps towards a better understanding and ap­
preciation of Yunrnen and his teaching.
XV l. INTRODUCTION
'I'he so-called "School of Yurunen" or "House of Yunrnen" , one of
China's Five Houses of Ch1 did not exist in Yunrnen' s time nor h'as
there any awareness that ater Chan historians were going to make a
"school" out of Yurunen and his successors. Much effort was and is ap­
plied by mαier~ scholars to uproot the tidy tree of lineages which
Song monks had planted1d even the very notion of
communities" during the Ta.ng has been questioned. 9 This dissertation
does not deal with such large issues pertaining to the history of
religion. Neither does it presume to be a study of Yunmen's p<ition
and role in Chan history' or even to present a complete picture of his
"life and teaching." This dissertation aims at a more modest goal: to
throw light on some important facets of the life teaching of just
one man , a man who lived and taught in South China a 10US and some
years ago. Admittedly, this man came to play a very important role in
the history of 11 but that stcry (ld the history of the Yunnn
School) coulà be the subject of another thes.
so-called "Golden Age of Zen" 1 0 is a field of study where
even the most flOUS masters are still haly explored; to compare the
situation with the West. , it is as if the life and teachings of major
religious figures like Meister Ecklrtη~ Teresa of Avila were Rtill
barely known anà scientific research on Christianity in its beginning.
In such a research situation there are icular needs and priori­
ties , and of course no final wor on anything can be expected. le
cess to Yunmen's words through translation is certainly a major ini­
tial need. Hence a fair amount of text from the YML was translated
into English (see list in Appendix 13). Much of the translated text
appears for the first time in a language other than Chinese.
le language of the Records of Yum:'n is , like that of many
other 11 records , a mixture of classical Chinese , colloquialisms , and Bu<hist terminology. Words and expressions that are not found in
dictionaries are frequently encountered; thus the collection of ex­
amples of usage and their analysis are an inevitable task of the
translator. le notes to this dissertation show the degree of the
writer's efforts in this direction. 11 ley contain many examples , translated or simply referred to , which should make choices in trans-
XV1 1. INTRODUCTION
1ation transparent and shou1d a110w fe110w researchers and trans1ators
to ei ther confirm the gi ven findings and renderings or to dra:. their
own different conc1usions.
Since Wor1d War 11 , the study of the texts and history of the
Ch1 movement has advanced at a fast pace , particu1ar1y in Ja~1. le
reasons for this sudden deve10pment of scientific Chen study are
manifo1d; in essence , the recent progress is due to the acknow1edgment
that these texts origirated in a certain historica1 and doctrina1
context , are written in a scific 1anguage, and have leir own
history. Of course , modern researchers have some prursors in ear1ier
centü.L'Ìes; the most outstanding figure is certain1y Mujaku Dôchû
a Ja:1ese monk who 1ived from 1653-17 .12 The historica1 and
phi101ogica1 study of Chan texts and re1ated materia1s (particu1ar1y
a1so of materia1s found in the caves of mhuang ) has in l'ecent
decades prαiuced various resu1ts. Among other improvennts a preciser
picture of the historica1 deve10pnt of α1an and i ts textua1 COriρUS
sαne know1edge of certain important masters 1d edi tors , and a
stronger phi1c1ogica1 basis for the trans1ation of Chan texts were
gained. The works of Ya.nagida Seizan and 1riya Yoshitaka
and -- in a different nlner -- the pub1ications of ôta Tatsuo anà Suzuki Tetsuo exemp1ify the achievements 01 e
1ast decades. Phi101ogi1 progress in Chan/Zen studies is very
apparent , particu1ar1y in Iriya's and Ya.nagida's translations of Chan
texts into Jap1ese. J3 Such philologica1 research1d the transla­
tions built on it , constitute important tasks in the comparatively
young scientific discipline of Z~n research. The investigation 1d
translation of prirry sources wi1l , among other things , open up new
perspectives for another difficu1t yet crucial aspect of Chan/Zen
studies: interpretation.
While scholar1y prαiuction in the phi1ologica1 and historica1
fie1d of Zen Studies has , especial1y in Japan , made great progress , the analysis ld description by Japa.r:.ese scho1ars of the re1igio­
phi 1.osophical content of Chan/Zen texts -- which poses problems of a
quite different order h8.S not advanced in the .same spectacular
manner. More often than not , the question of religious content or of
XV111 INTRODUCTION
meaning is relegated by Japanese authors to footnotes which knit an
elaborate network of references to other texts without actually taking
a stance on the import or meaning of the passage in question. le
diligence and precision which modern Ja~nese scholars exhibit in
their struggle with Chan texts and Chan history thus stands in a
marked contrast to their reluctance to draw conclusions regarding the
religious content and meaning of the texts.
le mirror image of the Japanese scholarly attitude is observed
in talks and books by Japanese and Western Zen Masters who for the
most part care little about philology. Even more strikingly , the flood
of Western publications about 1an/Zen contains many examples which
bespet leir authors' inability or reluctance to face the hardships
and joys of precise philological historical research on primary
lan sources; this , coupled wi th the extreme scarci ty of reliable
translations ld a good dose of fascination with "Oriental mystique" , inspires various authors to flights of imagination as tù what Zen is
really about. The results abound on the shelves of the "Esoterica and
Magic" sections in our bookstores. latever their views , most of these
Western authors exhibit at least a legitilte eagerness to find out
about the essence and meaning of Zen. But apart from the publications
of D.T. Suzuki his contemrary HislB.tsu Shin' ichi
ld their student and disciple Richard DeMartino , not many books
or articles have appeared in Western languages which address the con­
tent of lan/Zen texts wi th authori ty. Such publications may not be
easy readir.g ld inconsistencies of terminology (particularly in
Suzuki) may be a more or less serious drawback. But the more primary
lan sources are critically studied , the more such authoritative writ­
ings prove helpful and enlightening.
This dissertation grew out of various interests , religious and
philological , ld i t exhibi ts both "Japse" ld "Western" influen­
ce. This is awrent both in its history (preparation in the United
States , four years of research and writing in Jap1 aJ' almost three
yes of additional study and writing in Switzerland) &ìd its content:
the chapters on Yunmen's biography and on the history of his Records
ter like the B1lnotated translations of his teachings , to
X1X INTRODUCTION
ernulate the qualities of Japanese scholarshiplile chapter 111 con­
stitutes an atternpt to address , to a certain extent at least , the
question of religious content æld rneaning.
le word "teaching" in the ti tle of the third chapter is un­
derstood both in a verbal (the act , art , profession of teaching) ld a
norninal sense (that which is taught). le RecOIs of Yunrnen contain
plenty of rnateria1 to shed light on both ascts.τhe content of the
1an rnasters' teaching is notorious1y and (for the unawakened) in­
herent1y difficu1t to approachld their llethαis of teaching
though rnore accessib1e on the surface -- are not much easier to see
through because they are very rnuch inforrned and formed by the
teaching' s content. The connection between teaching content and rnethα1
in αlan Bdhisrn is a Ïascinating therne , 1 4 and Ma.ster Yunrnen is a r­
ticu1ar1y interesting case for such a study; we have not on1y a 1arge
corpus of anecdotes that show how he dealt with students but a1so a
fair number of coherent serrnons that have 10st 1itt1e of their direct­
ness and force in a rnillennium. 1t is hoped that the study of some
centra1 characteristics of the Ma.ster' s teaching method (section G of
chapter 111) wi11 he1p in gaining not on1y a better understanding of
certain centra1 aspects of the Ma.ster's teaching but also of Chan
teaching in genera1. lis concerns the chan rnasters' se1f-expression
and use of pa.radox (section F) , their ways of challenging and testing
the students (section G 5) , their stress on and rneans of provoking
doubt and thc use of kn (section H) , etc.
1nterpretation necessitates choices , and one choice was that of
what rnaterial ought to be trans1ated frorn the YML. le Ma.ster' s
coherent discourse , i.e. his pub1ic instructions and 10nger passages
of exchanges , were used as the main source rnaterial for chapter 111.
Many short exchanges were inc1uded as i11ustrations , but rnany others
were too cryptic or too open to diverse interpretations to be used in
this rnanner. The fo1lowing are two such exarnples whose notes rnay give
an irnpression of the possib1e range of interpretation. The first ex­
arnple concerns one of the most farnous sayings of Ma.ster Yunmen l~hich
adornsnnya Japa.nese tea room: 15
xx 1 rl '1' ROnUCT 1 ON
LUnu t--j RMOO R V “ u 1 A
EE
‘
A C


--AU RU nu'hu -nULTLWR

"hu'"H"
', bau
t v i w
M ' ι
m

a n A U n u r
1nstead of taking this last pronouncement of Yunmen as an expression
of his own well-being , one could interpret it in a quite different
macruler: Yunmen often answered in place of the listeners ld in doing
so expressed their own secret thoughts. 1 7 Taken in this way Yunmen' s
words could correspond to "tomorrow is another day" or "mañana , Uñana"; hence Yunmen's words could express (and implici tly
criticize) his disciples' lack of effort and tendency to postpone what
is most urgent. A second example:
Once [Haster Yunlen] said , "Just you , all of you who go round the empire on pilgrimage , you don't realize the aim of the patriarchs . Well , the pillar realized it. How can you kno~ that the pillar has realized the patriarchs' aim?" In place [of the asked monks , Yunmen] said , "Nine times nine is eighty one.'ll (YHL 562a14-171
le Master's coh~rent discourse (e.g. the instruction trans­
lated a commented on pp. 138-141) s a clearer 1uage; such in­
structions were thus used with preference as sis for int~rpretative
efforts. e al:ve examples show how difficult interpretaticn ca.n. be
when the meaning of sαne word or the whole context is not clear. Since
the monks and their nster lived in a milieu shaped during several
centuries of Buddhist and several generations of chan teaching , ma.ny
of their remarks , questio arwers and allusions renin even more
cryptic to us who lack this context. lapter 111 tries to provide some
of the context prinrily through exegesis of Yunmen's own words , though those of other Chan nters and Buddhist scriptures ì.ith which
Yunmen was familiar are ∞casionally ci ted to support le argtunent.
Furthermore , certain seminal ideas of Buddhism (such the two
truths 1 9) or Chan concepts (e. g • "going beyond" [xiangshang ] 20)
serve to bring out the import of the r.ster' s sayings and to support
the writer's argJent.
Faced with a profusion of short and often paradoxical ques­
tions , arlSwers , and actions of a ~ster a systematic description of a
Xc1 lNTRODUCTI0N
master's "teaching" seems a very difficult task indeed , even if some
longer and coherent pssages are available. Rather than trying to con­
ceive an a priori dogmatic grid and then pressing Ylmrnen's words in
it , the writer chose the following 'gr~ual' approach: during repeated
readings of the whole text , note was taken of themes and ascts that
seemed important in Yunmen's teaching. 1n this nnner a catalogue of
well ove~ 100 relevant themes emerged gradually over the years , and
the resulting mountain of notes coagulated around the themes or
"facets" that are taken in this dissertation. 1n a concurrent
effort , other ch1 recors were studied to gain an impression of the
teachings with which the Master came into contact during his long
years of pilgrimage. le analyses of chapter 111 are one product of
this learning process , and though they cannot be regarded as a sys­
tematic and complete presentation of the master's teaching ("le
Teaching of ..• "), the writer hopes to have seen , described , and il­
lustrated at least some central facets of it.
XXl.l. INTRODUCTION
FI. alU M
<HLWnc n‘“
2. Takakusu , Junjir& ! 1'8Íshó sbinshú åaùókyó 4. Tokyo: 1924-321. The YML text is included as number 1988 in volume 47 of this 100-volume collection. This version of the YML is neither the oldest nor the most reliable one; its punctuation is often ques­ tionable and in quite a number of instances definitely mistaken , and there are a number of typographical errors.
ρ u
n υ
",' "
-b'hw e
u
n w
n a - a
,nURD
nu
&EM
4. See p. 97 and notes 507 - 510 and 512.
-nu nu ., L ι
&
h ω
6. Cf. ZGD pp. 7 74 and 1295a.
7. Apart froll various translations of the Yunllen cases of the Blue Chff gecord &.ùd the Csteless Pass, four works include lIore than just a few pages of translation: 1. Ghang , Cbung-yuan , Original Teachings of Chan Buddhisø. New York: Vintage Books , 1971 , pp. 283 - 295 (translation of CDL T51[20761356b27-359a31; 2. Lu , K'uan-ytf (Gbarles Lukl , Ch'an llnd Zen Teaching (Second Series). London: Rider , 1961 , pp. 181 - 214 (translation of iDHY ii ZZ138:276c4 - 281a21; 3. Blytb , R.H. , Zen and Zen Classics (Voluøe 2). Tokyo: The Hokuseido Press , 1964 , pp. 114-145; and Wu , John C.H. , The Colden Age of Zen. Taipeh: United Publishing Center , 1975 , pp. 212 - 228.
8. See p. 1 of tbis dissertation.
9. Cî. Foulk , Grifîith , The 'Cnan School' aná its P1ace in the Buádhist Honastic Traáition. Ph. D. Dissertation , University of Michigan , 1987.
FE HU A υ
mu nu E RU nu ng "wd “

-1 " ‘
"“ υ
" ρ u
- E A n r υ
11. My notes reflect both an effort to profit froll past and present Japanese and Chinese philological scholarship and the will to draw inforllation whenever possiblc froll the prillary sources of Chan rather than secondary literature. 1 did IIY best to avoid the bad CUStO Il of some Western scholars to adapt or sillply copy footnotes froll Japanese and Chinese authors without acknowledging tbe sources . A particularly bad example is Patrick Garre's recent "Les entretiens de Houang-po" where lIore tban half of the nUllerous notes are adapted and taken over without acknowledgllent from Iriya's Japanese translation (Denshin hôyô ω Zen no goroku series vol. 81.
12. ïnfofllation on his life and work is collected in App , Urs , "Ghan/Zen's Greatest Encyciopaedist Mujaku chû i (1653-17441." Caltiers d'Bxtrêøe-Asie 3 (19 71 pp. 155-174.
13. See for instance Iriya , Yosbitaka Kajitani , Sônin and Yanagida , Seizan Setchô juio . Zen no goroku ω vol. 15. Tokyo: Chikuoa shobô 19 and Iriya , Yoshitaka 8ô ioji /oroiu /0ii. Zen no goroku vo l. 7. Tokyo: Chikuma shobó 1973.
14. Cf. cbapters rx , X, and XI of DeKartino , Richard J. , 1'he Zen Understanding of I/an. Ph.D.
XXlll NOTES TO INTRODUCTION
m U V
l g k n u v
n J V
hpu Wu­ -l
μ
. - ‘
" " M
.'-A &
' u
15. This famous sbort monologue forms tbe cor p. of case 6 of the BYL T [20031145cI2-14 and is also quoted in HY LJ ZZI38:279alff.
16. Sbiri :“ is not clear what Yunmen means by tbe 'fifteentb day' (middle of the lunar 1I0ntb). 1riya et al (ZG 0) Vol.15 p.29) suggest that it refers to one of the four 'fast days' (sa ) which take place on the first , eigbth , fifteenth , and 24th day of each month. One finds also lIany references to six such days which are lIarked by heightened dellonic activity and par­ ticular divine attention to hUlla~ transgressions (the 8th , 14th , 15th , 23rd , 29th , and 30th day of each 1I0nth; see the information on liuEnai ri provided in sn Sooth i ll/Bodous , p. 1 918 [Yanagida ed. ], pp. 129-1 and ZGO p. 1071ì.
Another possible interpretation: tbe 'fifteenth day' could refer to one of the two monthly fast days with confession-and-repentance cerellonies sashi ). These days fell on the full and new moon days , i.e. on the fifteentb and last day of each 1I0nth. 1n these ceremonies , tbe faults and transgressions of tbe previous balf- lIontb were confessed and repented before the wbole monastic com­ I!unity (cf. Zω p. 1071). From tbis point of view , Yunmen would say: "1 don't want to bear about [your transgressions) of the last half- lIonth; tell lIe about [your resolutions for] tbe cOlling half-month."
A third interpretation: the 'fifteenth day' is the full- lIoon day , and the full moon sYllbolizes enlightenllent [see L Zeo aDd 'ao Teacniogs II, p. 198).
17. See p. 45 ff. and p. 122.
18. Jiujiu bashiyi :i1.J ιYunmen was quite fond of lhis expres9ion; it i9 found no less than five tilles. Every tille , Yunllen uses this phrase to an8wer a different question: "What is the one roaå beyond [duality]? ‘ (545c4); "What i8 the very first phrase? 546c20); "The character wi l1 not d and the characler j~ isn't it. 1'11 not yet clear about which character it is." (548aI7); the present question posed by Yunllen hillself (562aI6); and "How about the lion's roar?" (567aI6). Two interpretation8 have hitherto been advanced: A. ZGD p. 589c says that this answer is an expression of absolute reality , and that also the one who asks i8 in hillself nerfect. B. Prof. 1riya lIentioned in his lectures the interesting fact that this expression stands at the very beginning of Tang-time lIultiplication tables (whereas we start with lxl=I). Thus it could , in this writer's view, correspond to sOlle very basic knowledge , sOllething that everybody knows . A pos­ sible translation in the light of this interpretation could be "lxl" , or "ABC" . Cf. tbe German ex­ pression to describe a cOllplete ignorallus: "He doesn't even know the ABC (der kennt nicht mal d~8
ABC). " C. A thìrd possible interpretation is based on the following passage in BYL case 95 , T48[2003)218b5 where the qualities of the arhat are described: "They are able to cut off the nine tilles nine , or eighty one kinds of passion " Which of these ìnterpretations is to be preferred here is difficult to sny. However , additional ex­ amples found in Chan texts -- T 47: 653a19 , 682h5 , 701al-4 , 715a12 , and particularly 763c14 and 7 6c16 (where Yuanwu twice says "Six tilles si:t iô thirty Slx , nine times nine is eighty one") -­ seell to favor SODe interpretation on the lines of the fìrst one , lIake the second one sOllewhat less likely , and nearly excludc the possibility of the third one. Thus "nine tilles nine is eighty one" would be in the 8alle category as other answers by Yunmen where nUllbers appear , particularly "seven tilles nine is sixty three" (549b24 and 549 c1 9) .
. ", A
-R-A Fa --.. 6 l -nuz alv ρ M
nnu -AMU -
(A ,INTRODUCTION; B ∞NCISE BIOGRAPHY; C,TRANSLATION OF YUNK 's GRAVE INSCRIPTION)
A. IN'IODUCTON
In the 20th century severa1 attempts have a1ready been made J.n
East and West to pres,ent Ma.ster Yurunen's life. Most were based on the
αlinese biographica1 e1ements that are found in α11 literature and
other we11-known Bdhist sources. 1 lly a few wri ters 2 took advanta.ge
of Tokiwa Daijδ's pub1ication 3 of the t~xts of two stone inscriptions
about the M!ster ld of the discovery of the Chodang chip ;4
these three sources (described in Appendix 5 , sources no. 2 , 3 , 4)
were written shortly after Yunmen's death in the 10th century ld a1-
most surely can down to us without subsequent revJ.s J.on a fate
which differs from a11 other materia1s we now have. It is these three
texts which offer the opportunity of estab1ishing a biogray of the
Master based on a critica1 COII~rison of different strata of sources.
lis is the aim of this chapter.
le approach is the followip~:
biography of the Ma.ster is presented;
in section B of this chapter , a
it is on purτ~se concise and ex-
clusively based on the most re1iab1e sources. Later 1egends are on1y
mentioned if they became very famous (as in the case of the Master's
broken leg).
Tempora1 and geographical orientation 11y be facili tated
by to Appendices 2 3 which present a calendar chart . . i '1_1. r.."': '..;ith map a featuring the major events of the Ma.ster's life and
most important way stations. The concise biography of section B con-
tains 11ny cross references (indicated by small square brackets) to
the notes of section C. Section C consists of the trans1ation of
re1evant parts of the most comprehensive and trustworthy biographical
source , the Ma.ster's grave inscription. This inscription was written
three years after le Master's death in the year 952 , was subsequently
and survived in this form the millennium engraved in a slab of stone , which separates us from Master Yunmen. The notes to this 1ast section
1 A: IntroductioD 1 LIFE OF YUNMEN
are rather detailed and comprehensive: they take all major biographi­
cal sources into account. ~~ overall view of these sources can be
gained through a chronological list of the main biographical sources
(Appendix 4). In contrast to the notes of the translation which com­
pare the content of different sources in relation to specific facts or
events of the Ma.ster's life , Appendix 5 provides a general description
of these sources together with a detailed analysis of their scific
biograical content.
1. YOUTH AND EARLY MONASTIC LFE: MASTER ZHI CHENG
Master Yunmen was hor.n. in the year 864[45] in Jiaxing [46]
a t1 between Shanghai and Ha.ngzhou near China' s Eastern Coast. His
family name was zh 4 1] but he came to be lmown urer his
religious name Wenyan [40] and later under the name of the moun­
tain ere he Yunmen .[44 105]
He appears to have shown early signs of spiritual inclina­
tion. [48] 10ugh Sα sources with short biograies[49] do not men­
ti1 this and the exact time is unclear , it is reasonably certain that
sometime in his youth he went to his htown's Kongwang temple
49 came boy attldant [ 50] of Vinaya Master Zhi Cheng . [ 51 ]
Not much is lmown about the boy's character ap!t frαn biosraphical
cOßDllOnplaces such as intelligence , outsunding memory , and elo­
quence .< 52 ]
His lysical aRarance is first described about 150 yeS
after his death by le author of SI10 claims to have
seen Haster Yunmen's statue: < 52] bony face with strα19 jaws , p..a.rrow
but broad eyes , pils like lacquer dots , elegant eyebrows close to
the eyelashes , and a steady and penetrating gaze.
He got ordained in the year 884 at the usual age of 20
years < 53] in the city of ch19zhou 53] not far from Suzhou. It is
quite possible that this cerem took place in 1e Doushuai temple
.[49 54]
Yunmen is said to have liked studying the Vinaya texts and even
18: Conciøe biocrapby 2 LJFE OF YUNMEN
to have lectured on them , [551 and he probably studied a variety of
other Buddhist texts[55] while staying during several years with his
first master. Exactly how many years he stayed remains open to
speculation; it has to be kept in mind that between Yunmen's ordina­
tion at age 20 and the beginning of his pilgrimage at age 30 no exact
dates are known.
2. MASTER MUZHOU: AWAKENING
Sαne time in his mid twenties , Yunmen left his first Master[56]
went to Muzhou [57] in order to call ∞ αlan Ma.ster Muzhω
Daozong [ 5 7] a man who belongeñ. to the Hua.ngbo line. [ 5 8 ] Not
too much is knm about the life of this master: he was a successor of
Huangbo Xiyun stayed for sle time at le Longxing temple
in Muou then left tlple life care for his old mo.ther by
making straw sandals , wa.s reclusive , and was met by Yunmen. 5 We can
infer that he was already an old man when this meeting took place. 6
Accounts of Yunmen's ounter wi1 ter Muzhou vary to a
considen.ble degree , [ 63] but most of le ear ly and sαne of le later
sources give a similar account of the words exchanged on this occa­
sion. Yunmen possibly made several unsuccessful attempts to get Master
MuzhJ' s guidance. When he knocked (again) at Muzhou' s door nnd the
Mter asked , "Who's there?" , Yunmen told his IlBlMaster Muzhou
asked YUllßl(n what he wanted , and Yunmen said , "le matter of my self
is not clear. " [ 61] Muzhou pushed Yunmen and said, "Good for
nothing!" < 6 2 ] Tha t very mαnent Yunmen opened \ understanding.[63]
(Yunmen's awakening was and is often linked to Muzhou's sla.mming le
door on Yunmen's leg. No early source mentions this event; it first is
described 160 years after Yunmen's dea1.[63C] If the leg was indeed
broken it must have healed well enough to support long years of
p i1grimage. )
Yunmen stayed for several y'rs with Master Muzhou and learned
frαn him[64 > until the Master sent him y. [651 Considering that the
Master's records , the cords of Muzhou (MZHL ZZ118) , 7 show a
marked similarity of vocabulary ld style to the Records of Yunmen , we
can assume that his influence on le young Yunmen was considerable and
lB: CODcise blotrapby 3 LIFE OF YUNMEN
lasting.
3. BEGINNING OF PILGRIMAGE: MASTER XUEFENG
Afterwards , Yunmen set out on a very long pilgrimage. If we
rely on a rrk in Yunmen's testament (YML 575a27) to the effect at
he was on pilgrimage during 17 yes we may clude that this jour­
ney took place in the year 894 at age 30 (i.e. , 17 years before his
pilgrimage ended in 911 with the visit at Caoqi).8
Probablyα1 Master Muzhou's advice , [65] Yunmen first went to
the neighboring Kingdαn of Min 66] where the famous Ma.ster Xuefeng
Yicun [69] taught a huge assembly ∞ le wy Peak.[67]
lOugh accmts of Yunmen' s first meeting wi th Xuefeng vary , almost
all of them incl\.e a demonstration by Yunmen of his abili ty. le most
trustworthy version (given by 8959 and ∞ )[71] relates
that when Yunmen reached Xuefeng's assembly and was about to perform
the threefold salutation Master Xuefeng said, "How did you get like
lÍs?" 7 0] Yunmen did not budge and thus demonstrated his abili ty .
Yunmen passed a m.unber of years among the 1ny students[74] on
Snowy Peak and had frequent interviews with Master XUefeng.[75]. The
two are said to have been like two matching pieces of a tally. < 75] .
But Yunmen made no show of his accomplishment.[73 77]. le fOllowing
anecdote is recorded from Yumn's years on Snowy Peak:
When a IIcnk asked [XuefengJ , "lIhat about: '[lIhateverJ I see , I do not see the 080; [thoughJ I lIove IIY feet , how would I know the road?'[ 1 [XueJfeng said , "Good heavens!"[!9j The lIonk did not understand and asked Haster [YunlenJ who said , "Two pounds of flax [lIakeJ one piece of cloth."[lll When the lIonk later related this to Xuefeng , Xuefeng said , "Ah! I've always had IIY doubts about this frock![11J
(8964 [TokiwaJ p.117 5-6)
It is not known how many years Yunmen stayed with Master
Xuefeng. Whether or not Yunmen recei ved in person Xuefeng' s Dharma
transmission remains equally unclear. [83] If the account of Xuefeng' s
cryptic deathbed Dharma trlsmission[85 , 86] does not sound too
convincing , i t could at least suggest that Yunmen had alre~r left
Snowy Peak in the year 908 when Ma.ster Xuefeng died.
lB: Conciøe biotrapby 4 LJFE QF YUN Þl EN
4. FURTHER PILGRlMAGE
As events that took place in the 17 years between the beginning
(894 , age 30) 1d 1e end of Yunmen's pilgrimage (911 , age 47) are not
precisely dated , ODP can only guess when he left 1e assembly on Snowy
Peal and how long he stayed at other temples. He may have left
Xuefeng's assembly in his mid thirties around the turn of the century
andsnt 1e subsequent decade wldering "many thousands of miles"
(YML 575a28) before settling down in China's extreme south. Based on
the Record of Pilgrimage which is included in the YML (573b4-575a20) , one c1 identify the following way stations:
Yunmen joined the assembly of a certain Yun in the Zh~ji
region. 9 This man was probably Huangl Yun .10 Then he went tο
the (n unknm1) er Gxiang 1 1 While in the [Dayu] moun­
tains he had a talk wi1 Master Wol 12 This master in all
likelihood13 corresponds to AIuo Huiqiu ( died 913) o was
a disciple of Yunmen's "Dharma bro1er" Xuana Shibei . After
Xuha's death in 908 , Huiqiu had on le request of Min's ruler
settled down in the Anguo temple on Mt. Wolong in the ùúrthern
vicinity of Fuzhou city.14 The next exchanges in the record of the
Master's pilgrimage 15 probably took place in ter Xuefeng's temple;
they are between Master Xuefeng and his two disciples Yunmen and
αngqing Xiyuan ( 854-932).16 Then follows the account of a
short conversati∞ that took place at the temple of Dongyan be­
tween Yunmen and Dn Kexiu another of Xuefeng's
disciples. 17 Next , Yunmen is said18 to have visited 1d had several
repartees with Sushan 19 a sucessor of le famous Dongshan
Liangjie who lived on Mt. Su 20 Yunmen also visited
anor more famo successor of Dongshan , Caoshan Benj i 21
Caosh1 was living on a mo1tain of the sle naJ in the northeast of
mern J iangxi province; 2 2 he died in 901 , and this visi t may thus in­
dicate at Yunmen left Xuefeng before this èate. The next dialogue
mentioned 23 is between Yunmen and old Tao This was probably24
uo Hongtao ∞e of Master Xuefeng's disciples 25 o lived
at the AIuo temple in Fuzhou. The next master to receive
Yunmen's visit was Tiantong , another disciple of Dongshan. lÌs was
lB: CODcise bio~rapby
LIFE OF YUNMEN
either Tiantong Yi or Tiantong Xianqi both are men­
tioned as discip1es of Dongshan in the ∞L but otherwise
hardly knOwn. 26 le next conversation took place in Xinzhou 27 at
the temp1e of Master Ehu Zhifu who was another discip1e of
Yunmen's own ßster Xuefeng.28 Then there is le record of a famous
conversation 29 between Yunmen and Ministry president en 30 who
resided at the time in Ji~zhou a city on the northeastern ex­
tremity of Lake Poyang. According to the account of Yunmen's
pilgrima.ge , a 1 the next way station was the p1ace of Guizong Danquan
. 32 This master li ved in the Guizong t1e n Mt. Lu
which is about 20 km south of Jiangzhou. le next rnaster visited
was Ganfeng a dharma successor of Dongshan Liangjie
with residence in Yuezhou a town in the southern vicinity of
Ha.ngzhou. There he worked monastery cook. 33 So Yunmen was again
c10se to his home; Jiaxing his home town , was just across the
Hangzhou bay.
Yunmen a1so ca1led 34 on a Master nxi 35 It is possib1e
that thi~ encounter involved one of Guanxi Zhixian's successors in
Guanxi nearαl8l'lgsha while Yunmen was on the way to Chi's deep
south where he was to spend e rest of his 1ife.
5. SETTLING DOWN IN GUANGDONG. TEACHING
In le year 911 Yunmen went to le sοuthernmost part ofαlÍna
ld visited the sta of the Sixth Patriarch in Caoqi . [ 8 7> He
en made a tour to the nearby town of zhou [881 to see Master
Zhisheng [99 o was teaching at a 1oca1 temp1e called Lingshu
. [ 9 This man had a reputation for extraordinary psychic
powers. [ 8 9 1 Sαne sources say that he had known that Yunmen would even­
tually come and therefore had not appointed a head monk , that he
had intuited the exact time of Yunmen's arriva1.[ 91 1 Be this as it
may , the two seem to have struck i t off wel1 , and Yunmen was im­
mediate1y made head monk of the Lingshu temp1e. < 901
In another disp1ay of his extraordinary powers , Master Zhisheng
is said to have predicted in 917 to his assemb1ed disciples that the
Emperor[921 was going to visit Lingshu temp1e after Zhisheng's own
lB: CODcIse bioCrapby 6 L!FE OF YUHMEH
death and that his majesty would arr1ge the funeral. [ 9 1) He indeed
died before Emperor Gaozu visited LingShu in 918. After the Em­
peror had arranged Zhisheng's funeral , he honored Yunmen with the gift
of a robe and probably orered him to become Zhisheng's succes­
sor. < 96) The Emperor ma.y have been encour.ged to this action by a let­
ter from le late Master Zhisheng's hand in which Yunmen was
praised. [91 J
A petition by the official He Xifan (100) to the Emperor
(YML 576a19 also mentions such a word of request by the late
Ma.ster Zhisheng; it furthermore eulogizes Yunmen and his brilliant , pearllike wisdom , his radiant , mirrorlike mind, etc. , and recommends
that he be allowed to hold his accession ceremony[97] as abbot of
Lingshu temple and to teach the Dharma. lough this petition is not
dated, it appears to have been written between Zhisheng's death (917
r 918) and Yunmen's accession ceremony which was held in a public
hall[97] in the year 919.
Yunmen thus became abbot of the Li.ngshu temple at age 55 ld
he was to spend the next 30 years teaching in the Guangdong region of
Southern lÍna. lis region had been more or less firmly in the hands
of the Liu clan since 878 , but tributes to the T.19 imperial court
were still paid. In 915 , however , the ruling Liu Yan ( reigned
from 912-941) discontinued payments , and in 917 he declared himself
Emperor. 36 lis ruler , who had come to power around the time when Yun­
men arrived in the Guangdong region and had elevated himself to the
highest rank shortly before Master Zhisheng's death , was to bestow
honorary titles , gifts , and other signs of favor upon Ma.ster
Yunmen. 141
After a few years as abbot of Lingshu temple , Ma.ster Yunmen
wished to found a temple in some quieter Spot.[I041 As soon as he
received imperial permission for this project , construction of a big
new terle was started on Mt. Yunmen [ 105 1 in 923; this mountain name
("Gate of Clouds") later came into use for referring to the Mas 'l.er
himself.[441 Five years later , in 928 , the work on the temple was
completed. le Emperor donated a door plate which featured the charac­
ters for "lan Temple of Illumined Peace" < 11 0 )ld a venmilion seal.
18: Conclse blo.raPby 7 L!FE OF YUNMEN
Thus the 64-year-old master settled down in his own temple , and
the stage was set for two more decades of teaching activity. Master
Yunmen's fame spread widely , [109] and the number of disciples seems to
have been great (a minimum of 500 or even over 1000 are men­
tioned.[107]) le temple was spacious and imposing , and the surround­
ing natural setting of great beauty. < 106] Relations to the imperial
court of Nanhan were very good , as the following ssage shows:
In the 35th year (938) His Heaven1y Majesty the Great Rmperor Gaozu summoned Master [Yunmen] to the Imperia1 Pa1ace [for an audience]. The Emperor asked , "What is Ghan a11 about?" Master [Yunmen] saidour Majesty has the question , and your servant the monk has the answer."[lll! The Emperor said , "What answer?" Haster [Yunmen] said , "I request Your Hajesty to ref1ect upon the words your servant has just uttered." The Emperor was p1eased and said: "I know your personal precept , and I have respected it ear1y." He decreed that the office of Inspector of Temp1es of the Capit..l[11 1l b~ given to Haster [Yunmen]. The Master remained si1ent and did not respond. COliing t 'i speak again of this decree , an imperia1 advisor said , "This Haster has comp1eted his training and knows the path;[lll! he is not 1ikely to enjoy rising to a high post." The Rmperor then said , .Sha1l we 1et you return to your mountain?" Haster [Yunllen] full of joy shouted thrice "Vi vat!". The following day [Haster Yunmen] was presented with goods from the treasury , incense , and lIedicinal herbs , and he received donations of sa1t and other goods. When [Haster Yunmen] returned to his mountain [the Emperor] conferred along with a1l this the title "Genuine Truth"[lll! upon the Haster. Fol1owing this [Hi8 Hajesty] gave donations severa1 times every year; these donations were often not duly recorded.
(8959 [Tokiwa] p.112.15-113.3)
What s recorded , however , were ma.ny excha.nges between Master
Yunmen and other masters or disciples. stone inscriptions give a
few samples , but ma.ny more ( including a goα:l number of fonnal
instructions) are found in other sources , particularly in the Extended
RecOIWhile the exchanges probably date from the time between le
early pilgrimage years and the Master's death , the fonnal sermons are
very likely to stem from le teaching years in Gua.ngdong. le
Master's conversations ld sermons became rapidly known in other
regions; the fact that the Cng chip completed mntereely three
years after Yunm1mι(;!:n'
lends further credence to the first stone inscription's statement that
"there are quite a few WOIs that becanM~ widely knOwn in the world."
Good relations with le imperial court continued when, after
the death of Emperor Gaozu (942) and the murder of his successor
lB: CODc!se blotrapby 8 LJF!! OF YUNMEN
(943) , Emperor Zhongzong assumed power. [ 1 1 6 1 He invi ted Master Yunmen
to the Imperial Palace , had him stay for one month , and gave him many
presents including a stupa inscription for future use on the Master's
grave. It read "Stupa of Precious Splendor , Temple of the Auspicious
Cloud. " [ 1 20 1 When he recei ved this gi ft , Master Yunmen was already 79
years old. But he still had a few years left to help his disciples.
on May 10 of the year 949 le still active 85-year-old master
showed lack of sleep and appetite.[137 1 le two stone inscriptions
gi ve an aì.mot identical account of the Master's death:
When his attendant offered bim a hot [medica11 broth , the Haster handed the bow1 back and said , "First , 1 !1m fine; second , you are fine!lllll Be sure to write a 1etter to request my 1eave from the Rmperor." And then he wrote himse1f a document witb his ad­ monitiùns for posterity which went: ftAfter my death 1 permit neither the wearing of ourning clothes in conforlity with wor1dly custom nor wailing and ho1ding a ceremony with a funera1 carriage. This would be a vio1ation oî the Buddha's precepts and a source of troub1e for the Chan schoo1."11Itl He transmitted the Dharma to Zhixiang [who isl the Great Haster Shixingl1l'l of Ht. Baiyun.lllll Tbe Haster's discip1es had already organized the assemb1y accordingly.lllll At the hour of the rat of the tenth day of the fourth moon of the 4 th year [of tbe sexagesima1 cyclel (between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. of Hay 10, 9491 , the Haster 1eft tbis world. llllj (9959 [Tokiwal p. 1l3 .11-131 l!
In conformiy with thE Master's instructions[137] the stupa was
erected in le late Master's living quarters.[ 148 1 Fifteen days after
the Master's dea1 abbots from various temples performed the parting
ceremony , and υne thousand rnonks and laymen escorted his body (which
according to 8959 looked as edten he was living) to
the st\)8.
On this day the drifting c10uds stood [respectfu11yl still and tbe grave tree witbered. The cry of the mountain's 10ne monkeys sharpened the pain of the 10ss , and invisib1e birds' voices that pierced the woods beigbtened tbe regret and sadness of separation. The mourners hid [their faces) in the collars and stood around crying.
(9959 [Tokiwa ] pp.113.1H14.11
c. MA.STER ~N'S GRAVE STELE
Master Yunmen's grave inscription was presented to the Ruler of
the Nanhan Kingdom on June 6 of 951 , i.e. about two years after the
Master's death. The stele was erected some months before the tenth an­
ni versary of his passing on J1. 12 of 959. The text translated and
annotated below 38 is the most comprehensive and trustworthy biogra­
ical source available (see description on pp. 38-39). Text in paren­
theses does not fonn part of the tr1S1ation but furnishes surveys of
untranslated parts of the stele text or addi tional inforntion which
is not essential to the biography. Words in square brackets are added
by the translator to clarify the text's meaning.
yuNMEN'S GR.A.VE INSCRPTON
s hixingbei (bir.g ) .. -.J) ():
True-nature 8tele [for] the Late Great Master Kuangzhen frαn Guangtai
Chan temple on Mt. Yunmen in le Great Han [Kingdαn]'s Shaozhou
[district] .
This text was presented on the 29th day of the fourth month of the
48th year 39 (June 6 , 951) 1e Hall of Martial Virtue , and imperial
or.er was gi ven [to carve i t in stone].
Author: Lei Yue Supervisor of ColTØUissioners of the Inner Palace ,
Supervising Secretary of the Academy of Scholarly Worthies , Acting
Palace Eunuch Attendant-in-ordinary , Supreme Pillar of State , Recipient of the Purple Robe 1d Golden Fish Pouch.
Calligraer: Xue Chongyu (wi nlJIrous court titles).
(The biographical part is preceded by an initial passage in which some essentials of Buddhist doctrine mentioned , and the Haster is said to expound nothing other than these truths. Then follons a brief account of the Buddha's life , teaching activity , and death. The transmission of his teaching is then traced frol the Buddha's disciple Kasyapa to Bodhidharma and the Sixth Patriarch , and a prophecy is mentioned that after 170 years , there would be a living bodhisattva of the supreme treasure of Buddhist teaching who would teach at Caoqi 51 and have many students. Before coming to Yunlen's biography , Lei Yue mentions that since the Sixth Patriarch's awakening there were 169 living bodhisattvas in many regions , that countless persons have attained the Way and thus are de­ scendants of the Sixth Patriarch , and that Yunmen is one of them.)
lC: Grave ID8crlptl 10 LIFE OF YUrlMEN
le Master's religious name was Wenyan 40 and his
farnily narne was zh 4 1 He was a descennt in the thirteenth gen­
eration of Han an Administrator of 8ervices of the East
of Lord Jiong of Qi from Jin 42 Han knew that the
[reigning] dynasty was about to come to an end , took the occasion to
retire , and moved to the Jiangsu-Zhejia.ng [region]. 43 Thus his de­
scendants came tc inGludι ste.... [Yunmen 44 Wenyan] who was born 45
in the Jiaxing subprefecture 46 of 8uzhou
le Master early aspired to monkhoαi. 48 80 he went to the
Konng temple in Jiaxing49 and became a boy attendant 50 under
Vinaya master Zh i eng 51 Whenever he read. the various
canonical scriptures , [he proved to have such an outstanding memory]
that there were not nny he had to read again. 52
1 reaching adulthood, he received tonsure and was ordained on
the 0ination platform atαngzhou 53 Thereafter he assisted
Cheng and held public lectures for several years. 54 He had an inclina­
tion to investigate the purport of the Four-8ection [Vinaya].55 8ub­
sequently he took leave of αleng56 and called onαlan Ma.ster Daozong
of Muzhou 57 who belonged to the Hua.ngbo line. 58 [ster Daozor~'s] one
room was usually shut , and i ts four walls were bare. When he oc­
casionally recei ved people , he did not accept any considerations. 59
When ter [Yunmen] could 'fold and unfold' at will , 60 he went
directly to kn∞k at [Daozong's] door. Chan master [Daozong] ked
"Who's there?" Master [Yunmen Wenyan] said, "Wenyan." lan master
[Daozong] blocked the door and said, "What' s your aim in coming again
and again?" Ma.ster [Yunmen] said , "le matter of my self is not
clarified."61αlan master [Daozong] said , "Good-for-nothing!" , 62
pushed [Yunmen] out with his hand , and shut the door. Through this , Master [Yunmen] opened up understanding.
During several years , Chan master [Muzhou] made use of the
secrets of spiritual devices and closed the lock of the barrier even
more firmly. He knew that Master [Yunmen] would eventually become an
important haven of the Dharma sea and would certainly form a bright
Uon in the sky of Chan. 64 80 he addressed Master [Yunmen] saying , "1
am not your acher; don't stay!"65 Master [Yunmen] accoingly went
lC: Grave inscriptloD 11 LIFB OF YUNMEN
to Min. 66 Having just climbed [Mt. ] Xia.nggu 6 7 , he immediately
proceeded to deploy his 1mmense capabili ty. 68 When he reached
Xuefeng's assembly69 ld the threefold salutation was about to be
performed , Xuefeng said , "How could i t come to this?"70 Master
[Yunmen] did not move one hair's breadth and impressively demonstrated
his 101e ability. 7 1 But al though he had cut through the stream [oÎ
deluded consciousness] 7 2 he also carried horns 73 like [the deluded
ones] • Because of this not one of the more than 1000 students [of
Xuefeng] lmew for sure whether he was an ordinary or a holy ma.n. 74 At
dusk and dawn , Master [Yunmell] went to qUE'l':tion [Xuefeng] , and the
cold ld hot seasons returned ma.ny times. 7 5 When tucking up his robe 76
he was in perfect correspondence wi th le empty mind. Having att.ained
the fruit [of practice] he stored it , invisible [for others] , in his
full belly. 77
When a monlked [Xuefeng] , "lat about: 'lOugh [it] strikes
my eye , 1 do not see the Dao; though 1 move my feet , how would 1 lmow
the road?'''78 [Xue]feng said, "Good heavens!"79 le monk did not un-
derstand and asked Master [Yunmen] who said , "Two pounds of flax
[make] one robe." B 0 When the monk later related this to Xuefeng , Xuefeng said , "Ah! I've always had my doubts about thia frock."Bl
In [Xuefeng's] assembly , tster [Yunmen] was in intima.te accor
with the subtle function; thus he left the assembly, B2 traveled, and
visited the ßsters of temples all around; there are a lot of words
[exchanged between Yunmen and others] which became widely lmown in the
world. B 3
La.ter , when Xuefeng was about to pass away , his disciples
him to whom he would transmit the Buddl-}a Dha.rma.. [Xue]feng [asked]
said , "It is where the pine droops (yan).B4 None of the disciples lmew
his intention; Yan in fact is Master [Yunmen Wenyan]' s name. B 5 Thus in
cαnpliance with Xuefeng's last instructions , to this day no successor
has been established. B 6
In the eighth year [of the sexagesima.l cycle; 911] he pyed his
respects [to the Sixth Patriarch's st)a] at Caoqi B 7 and ma.de a tour
to visit Lingshu's8B late Great Master Zhisheng.B9 Mutually disclosing
leir innermost thoughts , they formed an inseparable friendship.90
1 C' Grave IDllcrlptioD 12 LIFE OF YUNMEN
le day , in the 14th year [of the sexagesima1 cyc1e] (917) , Zh isheng sUl1DIJ.oned Master [Yunmen] ld his [other] discip1es ld said , "After my death it wil1 sure1y come about that the supreme ru1er wi11
take care of my cremation. 91 In le 15th year (918)" -;.;hen His
Heavenly Majesty the Great Emperor GaOZU 92 made a tour to the P~ks of
Sha0 93 and went to Lingshu , [Ma.ster Lingshu] Zhisheng had died , and so
it happened that he kept his promise. [His Majesty] ordered to cremate
[Ma.ster Zhishen to get his ashes , 94 and to fashion a statue for his
li ving quarters. 95 He then decreed that Master [Yunmen] be granted
persona1 audience and a special favor honored him with the purp1e
robe. 96 le following year (919) [the Emperor] ordered ster [Yunmen]
to hold his accession ceremony97 in the public hall of the region.
After this , [Ma.ster Yunmen] occupieà. Zhisheng' s seat and ex­
pounded the Dharma. of Xuefeng; 98 he is justly called 'fountainhead of
the lan river' 'bri1liant splendor of the Buddha sun'.99 Monks
and lay people numbzred one thousand , and questions and answers fol­
lowed in rapid succession:
le prefect He Xifan 100 bowed deep1y and asked , "Your
discip1e requests your teaching." ter [Yunmen] said, "It's evident
that there's no specia1 grs. " 1 0 1 A student asked , "Wha t about the
origina1 heart-mind?" ter [Yunmen] replied , "You present it c1ear1y
[right now].“lere were other words; they were recorded and cir­
cu1ate in the world. 103
Later , the Great ter [Yunmen]'s heart turned utter1y si1ent , and he approached the emperor with a petition to move his temp1e. 104
He got the imperia1 permission , and in the twentieth year (923) he or­
dered his disciples to begin [construc i".ion on] Mt. Yunmen. 105 Five
years later the work was comp1eted. lere are ßny buildings , like]
c10.s forτning on a1l sides. Like a pa1ace , it h a penlouse [huge]
pillars , soaring eaves , upper and 10wer gal1eries , deep gutters , mur­
muring springs , and door and window 0nings which break the summer
heat and let coo1 air enter. Big pine trees and tall bamboos emit
fragrlt air and mingle their sounds in harmony.l06 In close to thirty
years the assembly counted never less than half a thousand [monks]. 107
Every year they received donations from other parties , and day after
lC: Grave IDBcrlptioD 13 LIFE OF YUNMEN
day a great variety of odors fi11ed their kitchen. 108 [Though this
assemb1y] was far away from the city of 8ravasti , what difference was
there from the [Buddha's] assemb1y on Vu1ture Peak?109
rfhe representative of the temp1e's patrons made a record of
persons of merit and sent a report [about the comp1etion] to the im­
peria1 court. [The emperor] deigned to donate a vermi1ion-sea1ed door
plate [which read] "lan Temp1e of 111umined Peace." 1 1 0
1n the 35th year (938) His Heaven1y Majesty the Great Ðror
Gaozu summoned Ma.ster [Yunmen] to the 1mperia1 Pa1ace [for an
a.udience] • nperor ked "l8.t is αlan a11 about?" Ma.ster
[Yunmen] said, "Your Mjesty has the question , and your servant the
monk has the wer."111 le EI>eror said , "at wer?" Ma.ster
[Yunmen] said , "1 :-equest Your Ma.jesty to ref1ect upon the words your
servant has just uttered." le Emror was p1eased and said: "1 know
your personal precept , and 1 OOve respected i t ear 1y ." He decreed that
the office of 1nspector of the Monks of the Capital l12 be given to
Master [Yunmen]. le Ma.ster remained si1ent ld did not respond. Com­
ing to speak again of this decree , an inria1 advisor said, "This
Ma.ster has comp1eted his training and rnows e th;113 he is not
1ike1y to enjoy rising to a high Ist. "le Emperor then said, "80011
we 1et you return to your mountain?" Ma.ster [Yunmen] full of joy
shouted thrice "Vivat!". le following day [Ma.ster Yunmen] was
presented with goods from the treasury , incenseld medicina1 herbs , and he recei ved donations of sa1 t and other gos. When [Ma.ster
Yunmen] returned to his mountain , [the Emperor] conferred a10ng with
a11 this the ti t1e "Genuine Truth" 11 4 upon the Ma.ster. Following this
[His Ma.jesty] gave donations severa1 times every year; these donations
were often not du1y recorded. 115
Praise be to our present August Emperor , the Great 8age wi th
8ub1ime Virtues in Civil and Mi1itary Arts and Deep Understanding of
the Ultimate Wùy, the Great Propagator of Fi1ia1 Piety!116 1n the
year of the OOre (943) His Ma.jesty carried out an imperia1 p1an and
que11ed interna1 troub1es. Deploying his supernatura1 martia1 ski11s
he forcefu11y accomp1ished le restoration of his ru1e. 117 He gra­
ciously brought re1ief to the who1e territory and promoted the
lC: Grav@ iuscriptioD 14 LtFE OF YUNMEN
propagation of the Three Doctrines. 118
Then His Majesty surrnnoned Master [Yurunen] to the Imperial
Palace to ma.ke offerings during one month. He presented [Master
Yunmen] with a quarter ounce robe , 119 incense , medicine , donations , etc. , and let him return [to his temple] with a stupa inscription
[written by] the Emperor for future use [on Master Yunmen's stupa]. 1t
read "Stupa of Precious Splendor , Temple of the Auspicious Cloud." 1 2 0
Ever since Ma.ster [Yunmen] ta\Jg.l'1t the assèmbly , he established
his own style of lan. 1 2 1 1nùeeà, whenever he corresponded to an
α~ion he proved to have singular qualities. 122 lce he watched the
assembly gather and said after a while , "1f you don' t understaud for
thirty years , you must not say that you haven't met a ßster."123 At
the time three monks came forth simultaneously and bowed deeply. le
Master said, "Three men , one warrant." 1 2 4 When someone asked about
αlan he replied, "Just the right discernment." 1 2 5 To a question about
the Way he responded , "Penetrate this one word completely!"126 1n
response to a question about the intention of the patriarch 127 the
Ma.ster said, "[1t's as evident as] seeing the mountain in the
sunli~t."129 lce ] when someone had just ssed through the gate
[on arriving] , he gave him a beating with his staff. lce he addressed
the assembly saying , "[To say that] right now nothing is the matter is
already misleading yoU. 129 As long as the condition of delusion isn't
exhausted , it is never in vain."130 This brief mention of some prin­
cipal facts aims at helping future virtuous generations. 131
le Master considered separate entities (dharn) to be without
any set f onnld learning without any fixed pattern. 132 He always ob­
served the lniversaries of the death of the master 133 he succeeded
to , and he applied himself to pay him back in double. For more than
thirty years he headed a temple , and people in search of the Dharma
treasure came like clouds from all four directions. Those who got his
approval 134 fell like petals on the various mountains. Thus the path
of realizing awakening was promoted , and the fruits of the twin [sala]
trees became plentiful. 135 Al l passions were exhausted , and all
separate entities (dharmas) proved to be empty.
Even when he was obliged to stay in bed and be isolated, 136 he
lC: Grave IDBcrlp110D 15 LIFE OF YUNMEN
hardly prevented [people] from visiting and asking. After all , [the
physical body] is an empty illusion; so he passed away in order to
hide his light. 137 When his attendant offered him a hot [medical]
broth , the Master handed the bowl back and said , "First , 1 am fine;
second , you are fine." 1 3 8 Be sure to wri te a let ter to request my
leave from the Emperor." And then he ma.de himself a document wi th his
admonitions for posterity which went: "After my death 1 permit neither
the wearing of mourning clothes in conformity with worldly custom nor
wailing and holding a ceremony wi th a funer<il carriage. This would be
a violation of the Bldha's precepts and a source of trouble for the
αlan school."! 3 9 He transmitted the Dharma to Zhixiang [who is] the
Great Master Shixing140 of Mt. Baim. 141 le Master's disciples had
already orglized the assembly accoringly.142
At the hour of the rat of the tenth day of the fourth moon of
the 46th year [of the sexagesimal cycle] (between 11 p.m. ld 1 a.m.
of May 10 , 949) , the Master left this world. 143
Oh! le boat of cOlllplssion having been destroyed
Samsara will not attain the shore of salvation.
Dharma mountain having crumbled
lat have flying and walking creatures to rely upon?
le blackred moruts werc moved by the sadness of the morning
dirge , 1 44 and the fai thful were tOlhed by the reci tation of the
Shiwei [poems].145 en Song Yun met [Bhidharma] [Bhidharma] held
a single shoe [in his hand] and was never to return [to China]. 146
len Maitreya comes , [Yunmen] is likely to reappear , to establish a
place of practice on the three [in αlÍna] and to depart
again. 147
the 25th day of that month the masters of the various moun­
tain [temples] performed a parting ceremony. le thousand monks and
laypersons escorted the Master to the "t-upa. le countenance of the
deed was the same as i t used to be [when he was 1i ving]. Following
the Master's instructions , the st~ had been erected inside his
living quarters l48 at the temple. His age had been 86 , and he had been
lC: Grave ID8crlptloD 16 LIFE OF YUNMEN
1 orained monk for 66 years. 149
1 this day the drifting clouds stood [respectfully] still and
the grave tree withered. le cry of the mountain's lone monkeys
sharpened the pain of the 10ss , and invisib1e birds' voices that
pierced the woods heightened the regret and the sadness of separation.
le mourners hid [their faces] in the co11ars and stoα:i around crying.
(This biographical :,art :f the grave inscription is followed by a long list [where the most distin­ guish~u ~onks are B" ,'iòneà by name and sometimes court titlesJ of monks from vunmen's monastery and from the capital Guangzhou who , like more than seventy persons from the iBperial court , were faith­ ful practitioners of the Way. The inscription closes with a series of six Buddhist poems , one verse , another list ofωnks the date of the erection of the stele [Jan. 12 , 959J , a~d sOlle more names of notable disciples of Yunmen.)
lC: Grave iD8criptioD 17 LIFE OF YUNMEN
C HA1?TER 2 S T.RUC'I't.JRE AND HSTORY OF THE
Y UNr-1EN GUANG:I.,.U _ r~11"=
(A. INTRODUCTION; B. SURVRY OF THR STRUCTURR OF RXTANT YHL TRXTS; C. TRXTUAL HISTORY; D, CONCLUSIONI
A. IN'I)DUCτ‘ζI
Records of an Naster Kuangzhen of Yurunen" are in
existence tαi.ay. 1 50 Al l include a preface by the Song official Su Xie
1 5 1 which was writen in 1076; all feature the line "Collected by
[Master Yunmen's] disciple , Recipient of the Purple [Robe] Shou Ji
[enti tled] Grand Master Ming Shi" ;152 and all
say that they are "collated by Yua.njue Zongyan, resident of Mt. Gu in
Fuzhou" .153 Differences between the various ex­
tant texts are very small (thus one abbreviation , YML , is conside1.'ed
sufficient) but by no ßans insignificant; their importBnce lies
Iinly in providing clues for the elucidation of the text's history.
The oldest extant version of the cαnplete text forms part of the
Guzunsu yulu 1ich was published in 1267 , i.e. rnore than
300 years after the Master's dea1. This chapter tries , as f as this
is possible now , to elucidate how this earliest and st complete
text (referred to YωlI1lenlu C01 of Yunmen , or YML) acquired its
present structure and content.
Luckily we have , apart from the complete ~ text , sorne stone
inscriptions and other related texts that date frαn within half a cen­
tury of the Master's death. le analysis of these sources will pent
certain conclusions regarding the YML's early history. With regard to
some early printed versions which are now lost we are lucky to have an
infcnnB.ve comrnentary to one of them from the beginning of the 12th
century. It even includes an early preface (dated 1053; see Appendix
1) to the Records. Furthermore , some collections of lan texts feature
parts of the Records which allow further cJnclusions about the content
of early versions and their relation to the YML text.
2AlIatro4uctl 18 RECORDS OF YUNMEN
B. THE S 'l"""'RUCTURE OF THE RECORDS
le objective of the investigation of textual history is the
clarification of the structure and composition of the Y} text that we
now have. TIle following survey of the YML's structure ld content
should allow an overview of the whole text and provide some background
for the textual history to unfold.
cha:pte:r 1 (YML 544c25-553c18)
le first juan ) begins with a pref by le official Su
Xie )lich was written in 1076 for the ∞casion of the publica­
tion of an older , now 1t text of le YML (text no. 4) .
le preface is followed by le main by of the first chapter , consisting of 320 "cases" (ze of "g:esponses to Occion~" (duiji
YML 545a16-553b10). Close to fifty of these are sermons of
variOlffi length (21 sermons are five Taisho lines or longer). le rest
are excha.nges between students and Ma.ster Yunmen , usually in le form
of short questions by students and pithy answers by Ma.ster Yunmen.
le first jln closes with Yunmen's "songs of le twelve E
Deris rof eda~]" (Shiershi ge YML 553bl1-18) tlve
religious verses (jiesong ; 553b19-c16) .
cha.nte:r 2 (YML 553c20-567b7)
Jn 2 contains two sections. le first is enti tled "Essence of
wOrds from Insìde the RoαI!" (Shizhα. yuyao YML 553c24-
561c4). In s of its 185 subsections ("cases"; ze ) Master Yunmen
teaches his monastic assembly in an informal setting at various ∞:ca­
sions and places; such instructi1 is in general less long than his
formal sermons in the Dharma Hall and frequently leads raler soon to
a question-answer exchange. A great m.unber of subsections in this
chapter feature the Ma.ster cit)rds of , anecdotes about , or con­
versations i~volving earlìer or contemporary nlBuddhist masters
and monks , and sαnetimes Bdhist texts. These anecdotes or quotes are
2B:Structure 19 RECORDS OF YUNMEN
usually followed by Yunmen's comments , by questions , or by discussions
with his students.
" (chuishi daiyu TIι561c5-567b5) contains 290 cases
of "statements" (chuishi ) by Master Yunmen. lese statements have
different forms and are of varying structure; sα have le form of a
formal sermon , others of infon1 instruction. Hm-lever , they all are
brought up with the aim of provoking sαne sort of reply; as the lis­
teners usually turn out to be unable to ask back let alone respond , Yunmen gives one or several resnses that either express h :i.s 1 un­
derstanding or that of other persons (substitute answers daiyu ) •
ch~nter 3 (YML 567b9-576c29)
This last juan consists of six sections and one appendix. The
first and most voluminous is called "critical Examination~" (Kanbian
TI 567b16-573b3) ; is is a collection of Yunmen's exchanges
wi th ma.ny masters , monks , and disciples. Most often , Yunmen confronts
lem with questions or challenging statements and tries in this manner
to provoke expressions of their Chan realization and understanding;
this is then "cri tically examined" by le Master. These examinations
can take various forms , but most of Yunmen's partners fail this test;
the master then often fuels their doubts by stinging remarks or by
words and/or actions that either express his own realization ruìd un­
derstanding or put (the lack of) that of le challenged person into
sharper fα::us.
Section two consists of le "Record of Pil~rima~eê" (Yufang
yi1u ; 573b4-575a20). This secti∞ may be of later
origin. 154 The related encounters show Chan pilgrim Yunmen in interac­
tion not only wi fellow monks but also with a number of famous
masters of his time. Yunmen protbly was on pilgrima.ge during 17
years 155 of his life , frαn age 30 to age 47; these encounters portray
him in this periαi.
Testament" (Da.shi yibiao ) is follmd his "
2B:Structure 20 RECORDS OF YUNMEN
Instruction~" (Yijie ; 575b12-c2) to his followers.
Section five consists of Yunmen's "Bioranhical Recorc1"