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三疾淨甫 Sanji Jingfu (17th c.)

七十一世三疾淨甫禪師
三疾淨甫 Sanji Jingfu (17th c.), Patriarch of the Seventy-first Generation
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)
宣公上人講於一九八五年八月五日 Commentary by the Venerable Master Hua on August 5, 1985 (宣化 Xuanhua, 1918-1995)
金剛 菩提海 Vajra Bodhi Sea (VBS): A Monthly Journal of Orthodox Buddhism, Nos. 340-341.

http://www.drbachinese.org/vbs/publish/340/vbs340p013.htm
http://www.drbachinese.org/vbs/publish/341/vbs341p012.htm

Text:   The Master was a native of Shaoxing, a son of Lu family, which had produced generations of scholars. He set his mind on leaving home. While investigating the topic often thousand dharmas returning to one, all of a sudden he heard the call of a hawk and had a great awakening. There­upon he visited the Venerable Master Miyun ('Secret Cloud') at Jinxi. There was an immediate affinity. Venerable Mi showed the Master the verse that a boatman had spoken in response to Jiashan and asked the Master to add another line at the end. The Master responded at once, "Yingying was not as winsome as the Red Lady." Venerable Mi indicated his approval. Afterwards he studied under Venerable Master at Sanyi at Xiansheng. Venerable Yi asked him, "Have you tried seeking the fundamental Way on the Bridge for Gazing at Immortals? And did you attain it?" The Master said, "Yesterday I spent six cents of silver and obtained a copy  of Dark Sand Chronicles." Venerable Yi said, "How can you avoid receiving thirty whacks before boarding the boat? The Master said, "What did you say?" The Venerable Yi appreciated his capacity and said to him, "Among the elders, you are one who escaped the net." He first dwelled at Qingliang Monastery in Wuxing. In the winter of the year of  gengzi  [1660] he manifested the stillness. His disciples built a stupa for him behind the nunnery at Yincui. Commentary:   This is a Patriarch of the seventy-first generation of the Caodong Sect. His name is Sanji, and he was also known as Dhyana Master Jingfu.  The Master was a native of Shaoxing  in Zhejiang Province,  a son of the Lu family, which had produced generations of scholars.  His lay surname was Lii. His ancestors had all been scholars.  He set his mind on leaving home.  He resolved to leave the home life. After leaving home, he investigated the topic: "The ten thousand dharmas return to one; where does the one return?"  While investigating the topic of the ten thousand dharmas returning to one,  he reached the point where he had no sense of self, others, living beings, or a life span, and where he had no thought of the past, present, or future—when the three thoughts and the four marks were all gone—and  all of a sudden he heard the call of a hawk and had a great awakening.  He became enlightened.  Thereupon he visited the Venerable Master Miyun ('Secret Cloud') at Jinxi.  He paid a call to one of the Great Wise Advisors of the time, the Venerable Miyun at Jinxi Monastery, in order to ask him to certify him.  There was an immediate affinity.  As soon as the two of them talked, they found that they could get along very well and saw eye to eye.  Venerable Mi showed the Master the verse that a boatman had spoken in response to Jiashan and asked the Master to add another line at the end.  Probably the verse was missing a line, so he asked Dhyana Master Sanji to try his hand at composing one to continue it.  The Master responded at once,  without pausing to think. He said,  "Yingying was not as winsome as the Red Lady."  If one were to compare Yingying and Red Lady (her maid), Red Lady was more vivacious, innocent, and pretty. The meaning is that, although Yingying was the mistress, in terms of looks, her maid, Red Lady, could hold her own. She was just as charming in her own right. In other words, the Master was saying that both the boatman and Jiashan were pretty good. Venerable Mi indicated his approval.  Master Miyun certified him, saying, "Okay. You pass."  Afterwards he studied under Venerable Master Sanyi at Xiansheng  Monastery.  Venerable Yi asked him, "Have you tried seeking the fundamental Way on the Bridge for Gazing at Immortals?"  The fundamental Way is the original path of cultivation. The Bridge for Gazing at Immortals might refer to the bridge where sandals were picked up. Do you remember Zhang Liang of the Han dynasty? Before he went to the aid of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han dynasty, he went to a bridge and picked up sandals for an old man. At that time, he had to stay in hiding, because his plot to assassinate Emperor Shi of the Qin dynasty had failed and the Emperor was trying to catch him. One night he saw an old man sitting on a bridge, and a pair of shoes lying nearby. He picked up the pair of shoes and handed them to the old man, who said to him, "I have a book to give you. Come back tomorrow. This book contains strategies for governing the country. Come back tomorrow at the same time, and I will give it to you." The following day when Zhang Liang arrived, the old man was already there. He said, "You have come late for an appointment with your elder. Today I will not give you the book. Wait till tomorrow." The second day when he arrived, the old man was already there again, and again told him, "You are so late in coming to meet an elder. This is not permissible. You must wait till tomorrow. "Zhang Liang figured that no matter how early he went, the old man was always there first, so he decided to just stay at the bridge and wait for the next day. When the old man arrived and saw that he was already there, he was very pleased and said, "You are a lad who is fit to be taught." Then he transmitted three scrolls of divine text to him. The texts he transmitted dealt with governing the country. They concerned cultivating the self, managing the household, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world. After Zhang Liang mastered the book, he was well versed in military strategy and right inside his tent, he could direct and win battles that were a thousand miles away! After he had learned these skills, he went to help Liu Bang bring order to the Han kingdom. Once the kingdom was well settled, he resigned his post and withdrew into the mountains to find his teacher. He went to find the old man and cultivate the Way with him.

At the Bridge for Gazing at Immortals, it's not known whether one gazes at the immortal Huang Shi Gong [who gave the book to Zhang Liang], at Lü Dongbin, or at Han Zhongli. "Seeking the fundamental Way" refers to seeking the basic path of cultivation. Venerable Yi asked him, "Have you tried that before? And did you attain it?" This question was deliberately posed in a way that you could not fathom its meaning. The Master said, "Yesterday I spent six cents of silver and obtained a copy of  Dark Sand Chronicles. " He had been asked whether he had ever tried seeking the Way on Gazing at Immortals Bridge and whether he had attained it, and he answered that he had spent six cents of silver to buy a book called  Dark Sand Chronicles. Venerable Yi said, "How can you avoid receiving thirty whacks before boarding the boat? Before you board the boat, you get thirty whacks, and once you get on, you get another thirty whacks. What will you do? How can you avoid those thirty whacks?" The Master said, "What do you say?" There are two meanings here. "What do you say?" and "What do you want me to say?" It was an ambiguous statement. This brings to mind the story of Emperor Chenghua of the Ming Dynasty, who once disguised himself as a civilian and went out to see the sights. When it started raining, he went into a house to avoid the rain. Inside the house he saw a scholar reading his books aloud and felt very happy, so he composed the first line of a couplet: The sound of the wind, the sound of the rain, the sound of reading—every sound penetrates the ear. The word "sound" appears five times in this line. Without even thinking, the scholar came up with a matching line: The affairs of the family, the affairs of the country, the affairs of the world—all affairs concern my mind. When Emperor Chenghua heard that, he thought, "This scholar is not bad. He cares about his country." And then he left. As he was leaving, the scholar, Lin Dang, prepared to see him off. The Emperor stepped across the threshold with one foot and asked Lin Dang, "Would you say that I am leaving or returning? Am I going out or coming in?" If he answered "going out," he could step inside. If he answered, "coming in," he could go out. So the question was a verbal challenge, similar to the Master's question, "What do you say?" What did Lin Dang do? He stood up to see the Emperor off, and didn't answer the question. Instead, he asked, "Would you say that I am seeing you off or not?" Ha! The Emperor didn't know what to say either! If he said he was seeing him off, he could stop seeing him off. If he said he was not seeing him off, he could see him off. It was a question in the same vein. Emperor Chenghua was delighted. He returned to the palace, and the next day he chose Lin Dang to become his official. With that one reply to a single question, he became a high official. His reply was similar to the question here, "What do you say?" He could say something, and he could also say nothing. The Venerable Yi appreciated his capacity. Venerable Sanyi very much approved of Dhyana Master Sanji's ability. One was called Sanyi, and the other was called Sanji ["San" means "three"]. And so he said to him, "Among the elders, you are one who escaped the net. You're a fish that escaped through a hole in the fish net." He first dwelled at Qingliang Monastery in Wuxing. In the winter of the year of gengzi [1660] he manifested the stillness. His disciples built a stupa for him behind the nunnery at Yincui. A verse in praise says: One sentence startled everyone and caused an uproar at Jinxi. He then entered Cloud Gate, where the lions spat and panted. Brightly did the fire burn in the stove; Stern and solemn was his style. The sun of wisdom rose from behind the peaks of Clear and Cool. Commentary: One sentence startled everyone and caused an uproar at Jinxi.  Everyone was startled that a monk had made that statement, "Yingying was not as winsome as the Red Lady." What an interesting sentence! All the Chan meditators at Jinxi Monastery thought, "That monk is talking romance!"  He then entered Cloud Gate.  He went to Yunmen ('Cloud Gate'), where Dhyana Master Miyun was.  Where the lions spat and panted.  Everything fell into place for him, and he obtained a response in the Way. It was a good situation. Brightly did the fire burn in the stove.  His speaking of Dharma to teach and transform living beings was like a great Dharma banquet laid out for all.  Stern and solemn was his style.  His tradition was one of strict rules and solemn dignity. The sun of wisdom rose from behind the peaks of Clear and Cool.  It was like the break of dawn at Qingliang Mountain. Another verse says: A great man's actions are not understood by the crowd. He took adversities in stride, but few people knew. Like tumultous billows on the Yangtze River. Our afflictions bubble and boil, spreading quickly. The boatman, Jiashan, and winsome Red Lady. Chaofu, Xuyou, and pitiable Green Pearl. Dhyana Master Sanji had the eye of purity. Distinguishing right from wrong, he was a teacher of people rind gods. Commentary: A great man's actions are not understood by the crowd.  Most people cannot fathom the actions of a superior person. It's not easy for them to recognize what he's all about. He took adversities in stride, but few people knew.  No matter what it was, he could take it in stride. He never complained to heaven or blamed others. Like tumultous billows on the Yangtze River.  Being in this world is like being tossed and turned on the waves of the Yangtze. Our afflictions bubble and boil, spreading quickly.  The afflictions and thoughts in our mind bubble and seethe, countless in number. The boatman, Jiashan, and winsome Red Lady.  Dhyana Master Sanji continued the verse of the boatman's reply to Jiashan, saying, "Yingying was not as winsome as the Red Lady." His answer startled everyone. Chaofu, Xuyou, and pitiable Green Pearl.  Chaofu and Xuyou were two lofty individuals. When Emperor Yao [c. 2356 B.C. ] tried to offer the throne to Chaofu, Chaofu felt his ears had been dirtied and went to the stream to wash them out. Xuyou happened to be watering his ox nearby and asked why Chaofu was washing his ears. Chaofu said, "Emperor Yao just came and tried to pass the kingdom to me. I feel my ears have been tainted and so I'm washing them." Xuyou said, "If you wash your ears here, the water will be dirty. My ox can't drink this dirty water." He led his ox upstream. That's how lofty he was! He didn't even want his ox to be contaminated. Green Pearl (Lüzhu) was Shi Chong's favorite concubine. When another man tried to win her over, she was driven to jump off a tower to her death. It wasn't necessarily proving that she was faithful till death; she was pressured until she had no other choice. She died because her blessings were exhausted. Dhyana Master Sanji had the eye of purity.  He had the pure wisdom eye, which has no form or appearance. Distinguishing right from wrong, he was a teacher of people and gods.  Endowed with the ability to tell right from wrong, he was clear on the facts and principles, and thus served as guiding "eyes" for humans and gods.