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大章宗書 Dazhang Zongshu (1500-1567), aka 小山宗書 Xiaoshan Zongshu

六十六世大章宗書禪 師
大章宗書 Dazhang Zongshu (1500-1567), aka 小山宗書 Xiaoshan Zongshu
Patriarch of the Sixty-sixth Generation

66th Generational Patriarch Dhyana Master Zung Shu of Da Zhang
佛祖道影白話解 Lives of the Patriarchs
虛雲老和尚編輯 Composed by the Elder Master Hsu Yun (虚云 Xuyun, 1840-1959)
宣化上人講 Commentary by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (宣化 Xuanhua, 1918-1995) on June 1, 1985
金剛 菩提海 Vajra Bodhi Sea (VBS): A Monthly Journal of Orthodox Buddhism, Nos. 286-287.

http://www.drbachinese.org/vbs/publish/286/vbs286p011e.htm
http://www.drbachinese.org/vbs/publish/287/vbs287p013e.htm

Dhyana Master Zung Shu drew near to Dhyana Master Wen Zai, and quietly effort for eight years. One day, hearing the sound of the thunder, he was suddenly enlightened.

Soon afterwards, he established the Dharma at Xing De. In the year Ding Si of the Tian Qing Reign, he became the Abbot of Shao Lin Monastery. When he entered the hall to give a Dharma lecture, he said, "The northwest wind is severe." The northwest wind is the bitterly cold wind from the north and slightly west of China . In wintertime, the northwest wind is the coldest of all. People are afraid that they will freeze to death in its severe cold. The lakes and seas are frozen solid. The waters in the lakes and seas have turned to solid ice. In Manchuria, the rivers and lakes freeze into such solid ice that you can drive carriages over them.

All the rivers have stopped flowing. At this point, the flow of all the rivers and streams has been intercepted. What state is this? When this question was asked, no one had an answer. Actually, the meaning of "The northwest wind is severe. The lakes and seas are frozen solid. All the rivers have stopped flowing. " is that the monastery is characterized by an exalted tradition, as well as strict regulations and precepts. Another interpretation is that once people come here, they will not leave for anywhere else. When the monks from the ten directions who are so-call “veteran Chan meditators” come here, they will not run off to any other place. Usually, they drift from one place to another, but once they come here, they do not leave. "All the rivers have stopped flowing" means that once he arrives, he gets rid of all extraneous false thoughts and cultivates singlemindedly. "What state is this?" What are you thinking at that point? At that point, everyone's hairs stood on end. During this time of cold, each person's hairs stood straight up, because everyone was shivering in fear. "You have to turn around and keep advancing. Then you will attain it. At this point, you have to turn around and keep walking forward. Why has the ghost of ghosts kept you from seeing the Way? In this monastery, why has that kind of demonic ghost tied you up and prevented you from seeing the Way?" Earlier I said that after a person dies, he may turn into a ghost, but that's not fixed. People do not necessarily become ghosts after they die. After death, people may become spirits, Bodhisattvas, Sound-Hearers, Those Enlightened By Conditions, or Pratyekabuddhas. Those are all possibilities. If a person dies and becomes a ghost, then when the ghost dies, it may become a "ghost of ghost" (Chinese: jian ). The jian is what ghosts are most terrified of. They fear them in the same way that people fear ghosts. The mere mention of ghosts makes shivers run down people's backs. If you hear that a certain place is haunted by ghosts, you will be sure to avoid that place at night. In the same way, ghosts fear the jian . If a certain place is haunted by jian , the ghosts will flee. "Why have these jian prevented you from seeing the Way?" That's the question, but no one has an answer.

He continued, "Under the sun, every day is like autumn." This is based on a quote from the Song of Enlightenment:

Even if an iron wheel rolled over one's head,
Samadhi and wisdom would be fully bright and never lost.
The sun may grow cold, They moon may grow hot;
But a multitude of demons cannot destroy true speech.

That's the meaning of "Under the sun, every day is like autumn." Even under the sun, it's very cold. That corresponds to the line, "The sun may grow cold." Under the moon, every day is like summer. That matches the line, "The moon may grow hot." Today, I, this mountain monk, add more charcoal to the stove. I, this rustic monk, am now adding some charcoal to the fire-stove, because some people are cold. And I cover everyone's head with a sable skin. Cover the part of the head behind the temples with a sable skin, so that you will all be dripping with sweat and you will feel light and relaxed all over. You will all warm up and break out in a sweat.

Do you know? Winter clouds emerge from behind the mountain peaks, and the plum pistils give off a subtle fragrance. The frosty clouds of winter come out from behind the mountain peaks. The pistils of the plum blossoms emit a refreshing scent. This is asking, "Have you reached this state?" If not, you must work harder to advance. You must vigorously go forward. The same meaning is in the verse: Without enduring a period of bone-chilling cold,
How could the plum blossoms smell so sweet?

He retired to Zung Jin in his old age. In the twelfth month of the year Yi Mao, during the Long Qing Reign of the Ming Dynasty, he sat down and attained liberation. He perfected the stillness while seated. After his body was cremated, the bones were divided among three places and pagodas were built to hold them.

A Verse in Praise Says:
Suddenly hearing the thunder, he fathomed the Patriarch's mandate.
Cultivating quietly for eight years, he understood the side and central positions.
Cutting down the forest of views, his style was unique and exalted.
Nine censers hanging by a single thread, the mirror of a ten thousand year tortoise.  

Suddenly hearing the thunder, when he chanced to hear the sound of thunder, he fathomed the Patriarch's mandate. He was enlightened to the Patriarch's mandate, which is the Dharma of the Mind-to-Mind Seal. He now understood it. Cultivating quietly for eight years... He didn't attain the skill to fathom the Patriarch's mandate in one day. Rather, he had been cultivating quietly. "Quietly" implies that he "hid his light" and covered his tracks. In other words, he concealed his talent and waited for the right moment to use it. He cultivated in obscurity, getting rid of his bad habits and faults. He understood the side and central positions. As he was cultivating, he reached a clear understanding of the five positions spoken of by the Tsao-Dong (Soto) School. Cutting down the forest of views... In his efforts at cultivation, he chopped down the dense forest of deviant views, clearing it away completely. His style was unique and exalted. His customary style of teaching was very exceptional and rare to encounter. No one else could match his way of teaching people. He had a very high state of accomplishment.

Reminder from the last issue:
After Dhyana Master Zung Shu became enlightened, he established the Dharma at Xing De. His customary style of teaching was exalted and unique, and he held the precepts strictly.

Nine censers hanging by a thread. His practice was like suspending nine censers by a single thread. This analogy shows how serious it was. The mirror of a ten thousand year tortoise. He was like the mirror of a ten thousand year old tortoise. A ten thousand year old tortoise has spiritual enetrations. Probably its shell was very efficacious for divination purposes, being clear as a mirror, able to reflect and discriminate all phenomena, and fathom people's minds. No matter what kind of person he encountered, he could reflect everything like a mirror.

When things come, one reflects them.
When things pass, one is still.
Nothing could hinder him.

Hsuan Hua's Verse Says:
The springtime scenery is wonderful and miraculous.
The whole world is an essay, and his calligraphy is rare.
Hearing the thunder, he suddenly fathomed the intent of the one come West.
Gazing at the sea, he soon understood the way to teach those in the East.
With quiet cultivation, he scoured away all bad habits.
With bitter discipline, he nurtured and increased Bodhi.
Cutting down the forest of views, he was without attainment.
Extinguishing greed and anger, he transcended afflictions.

Commentary:
The springtime scenery is wonderful and miraculous. In his essay "A Party in the Peach and Plum Orchard on a Spring Evening," the poet Li Bo said:
The world is an inn for the myriad creatures.
Time is the passing guest of successive generations.
Life is as ephemeral as a dream; how many truly happy times are there?
With good reason, the ancients would take candles and go carousing all night.

According to Li Bo, the world is just like our hotel. All the myriad creatures and things in the world live in this hotel, but this is not our real home. "Time is the passing guest of successive generations." What is time? It is just a passing visitor. "Life is as ephemeral as a dream." Our life is like a fleeting dream. It's ephemeral, not real. "How many truly happy times are there?" Ask yourself how many times of true happiness you've experienced. Not many. "With good reason, the ancients would take candles and go carousing all night." In ancient times, people would light candles and go wandering and amusing themselves in the night. They had reasons for doing so. "Morever, spring arouses me with its misty scenes, and the world provides me with an essay." In the springtime, the myriad forms of life start to appear and grow, and everything flourishes profusely. This kind of springtime scene is subtly wondrous and miraculous. If you observe closely, you will find that everything is growing.  

The whole world is an essay, and his calligraphy is rare. Dhyana Master Zung Shu was very exceptional. The world's essay refers to his name Da Zhang, "great essay." In what way was he exceptional? Hearing the thunder, he suddenly fathomed the intent of the one come West. He understood the profound intent of the Patriarch from the West as soon as he heard the thunder. Gazing at the sea, he soon understood the way to teach those in the East. Looking out to the sea, Dhyana Master Yue Zhou had said, "The northwest wind is severe, and the lakes and seas are frozen solid." Seeing how the sea waters had frozen into solid ice, he thought of a method to teach Dhyana Master Zung Shu, and also understood the conditions for teaching and transforming the Chinese people.

With quiet cultivation, he scoured away all bad habits. Dhyana Master Zung Shu cultivated quietly for eight years. Every day during those eight years, he engaged in introspection and swept out his bad habits and faults. With bitter discipline, he nurtured and increased Bodhi. He probably had to suffer considerable abuse. Whenever people bullied him or treated him with scorn, he endured it-that's bitter discipline. Meanwhile, he cultivated the "ground of his mind" and nurtured the "sky of his nature," and thus was able to foster the sprouts of Bodhi.

Cutting down the forest of views, he was without attainment. He chopped down the forest of deviant views, but didn't attain anything. Extinguishing greed and anger, he transcended afflictions. Afflictions are just ignorance and stupidity. He left behind the three poisons of greed, anger and stupidity; they simply disappeared.