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無方可從 Wufang Kecong (1420-1483)
六十四世無方可從禪師
無方可從 Wufang Kecong (1420-1483), Patriarch of the Sixty-fourth Generation
64th Generational Patriarch Dhyana Master Wufang Ketsung (No Method Left to Use)
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)
一九八五年五月二十四日, May 24, 1985
金剛 菩提海 Vajra Bodhi Sea (VBS): A Monthly Journal of Orthodox Buddhism, Nos. 280-281.
http://www.drbachinese.org/vbs/publish/280/vbs280p011.htm
http://www.drbachinese.org/vbs/publish/281/c_vbs281p011.htm
The Master was born in Lwoyang to the family of Hsu. When he went to study under Jyu Kung, Kung asked him, "Whom have you studied with?" The Master replied, "The wind was still at Shau Shr Mountain." He asked, "Why does one flower bloom with five petals?" The Master replied, "An iron hammer without a hole shatters the myriad things." He asked, "Why do you engage in empty talk?" The Master replied, "I have seen all the people in the world. They only know how to grasp at existence. None of them understand emptiness." He said, "You have unwittingly revealed yourself." The Master said, "Venerable One, won't you talk about the topics you commonly use?" One day, he read The "Black and White" and the Five Marks of Tsau Shan and had an understanding. He went to the Abbot to present it for certification. Kung asked him about the episode of "Tyan Yi and the five cultivators summoning the Senior-seated Shr." The Master immediately understood the esoteric meaning of the five positions. At first he secluded himself at Ding Gwo Monastery in Jya Ru. Shortly thereafter he established the Dharma at Bodhi. In the year of Kwei Sz, during the Cheng Hwa reign of the Ming Dynasty, he was made the abbot of Shau Shr by imperial decree. In the year of Ren Yin, he passed away, and his stupa was by the graves of the patriarchs.
Commentary:
This is the sixty-fourth generation of patriarchs. His name was Wufang Ketsung, which means "teaching and transforming without any further method to use." There are two ways to explain that meaning. The first is that he had no method to teach, so that there was nothing you could learn from him. Another way to explain it is: Wufang, there is nothing that is inconvenient; Ketsung, you can learn from him. The name holds both these two meanings, and you can explain it either way. The meanings of his name has the flavor of Chan.This Dhyana Master was a native of Henan, from Lwoyang. Lwoyang is the place where Buddhism began in China. Venerable Matanga Kasyapa and Venerable Dharmaraksha took the Sutras to Lwoyang on a white horse, reaching what became known as White Horse Monastery. The First Patriarch (in China), Bodhidharma, had also sat facing the wall for nine years in Lwoyang, at Shau Lin Monastery on Bear's Ear Mountain. Therefore, when we study the Buddha Dharma and learn Chinese, we have to sit for several hours, which shows that we have a little bit of sincerity. So in studying the Buddha Dharma and the Chinese language, do not let yourself get tired. At all times, we have to glorify the Chan School and keep ourselves full of energy. Don't be listless. This Dhyana Master's lay surname was Hsu, and he was probably a descendant of Hsu You, who lived during the time of Emperors Yau and Shun.
Do you all know about Chau Fu the Nest-dwelling Elder and Hsu You? Chau Fu lived in a small nest-like place up in a tree. Hsu You didn't have any house either; he lived under a tree. Both of them were pure and lofty. Being pure and lofty is fine; however, someone felt sorry for them, seeing that they did not have even a cup or a gourd to drink from. In order to drink, they would just use their hands to scoop the water up from the river. That's how poor they were. If you tried to give them anything; however, they would refuse it. Someone who felt sorry for them gave them a water-gourd, thinking that it would help them. They tied a string to the gourd and hung it from a tree when it was not being used. Guess what happened? When the wind blew, the gourd banged against the tree, bang, bang, bang, making a lot of noise. It was so annoying that they took it down, preferring to use the "flesh gourd" (their hands) instead of the wooden one. That's how pure they were.
Because of their lofty purity, the Emperor Yau thought, "Those two ascetics have not the slightest bit of greed. How can they be that way?" Therefore, he wanted to give leadership of his country to them. He went to talk to Chau Fu, and found that he lived in a nest in a tree, just like a bird. That's the way he lived; he could endure suffering and hardship, which is rare. He was a real hermit. The emperor said to him, "O Worthy One, I am getting old, and do not want to be the Emperor anymore. I would like to pass the affairs of the country over to you, and let you be the Emperor." What do you suppose Chau Fu's reaction was? "Oh no! How could you dirty my ears by saying such filthy things?" Then he went to the river bank to wash out his ears.
As he was washing his ears, Hsu You, who would sometimes ride around on his ox just for fun, led his ox up to Chau Fu and asked, "What are you washing your ears for? You never wash your face, as far as I can see, and you are always so sloppy, with your long hair flying about. What do you want to wash your ears for?" "You don't know what the Emperor Yau said to me just now. He talked dirty words." "What'd he say?" "He said he was getting old, and could not rule the country anymore. He wanted me to take his place as the Emperor, and was going to pass the throne to me. I think his words really soiled my ears, so I'm trying to wash them out." Hsu You said, "Since your ears are so soiled, I can't let my ox drink this dirty water." Hsu You led his cow upstream to drink. That's how pure he was.
I believe that this Dhyana Master Wufang Ketsung, whose surname was Hsu, must have been from the same family as Hsu You. Consequently, it is certain that he, too, had no greed after he left home. The people he met were also very carefree. Whom did he study under? Jyu Kung! He went to study under Dhyana Master Jyu Kung, who had no attachments whatsoever. Kung asked him, "Whom have you studied with?" Jyu Kung asked, "Who did you study under? Which Good and Wise Advisor did you draw near to?" The Master replied, "The wind was still at Shau Shr Mountain." He had been asked where and under what teacher he had studied, and he replied, "I was at Shau Shr Mountain, and there was no wind and no waves. I did not go anywhere to study under any Good and Wise Advisor." By saying, "The wind was still," he meant, "I'm just a country bumpkin, I'm not very sophisticated, and I don't own anything either." That's how the verbal exchanges of the Chan School are; other people don't know what they are talking about.
He asked, "Why does one flower bloom with five petals?" After he answered, Dhyana Master Jyu Kung asked him, "What is the reason that one flower opens into a five-petals? What is the meaning of that?" The Master replied, "An iron hammer without a hole shatters the myriad things." An iron hammer without a hole actually means a hammer without a handle. It will smash everything to bits, no matter what it is. "Without a hole" refers to indestructible Vajra, which can smash and destroy deviant demons and externalists. That was his answer. What did it have to do with one flower blooming with five petals? His meaning was if you can be like indestructible Vajra, you will be able to make Buddhism flourish. The flourishing of Buddhism is like one flower opening with five petals. Only a true cultivator of the Way can be considered an "Iron Man" with a body of indestructible Vajra. That is the meaning of one flower opening with five petals.
He asked, "Why do you engage in empty talk?" Dhyana Master Jyu Kung was not satisfied with his reply. "What's the point of saying empty words?" The Master replied, "I have seen all the people in the world." Before, he had said that he had never been anywhere: "The wind was still at Shau Shr Mountain." But now he says that he has seen the world's people. "They only know how to grasp at existence. They are all attached to appearances, and do not realize that all dharmas are empty of appearances. None of them understand emptiness. Nobody wants to find the truth. "Emptiness" here refers to the truth, to when everything is empty and even emptiness is sought after." He said, "You have unwittingly revealed yourself. You said you had never studied and you have never been anywhere, so how can you now say you have seen all the people of the world? Have you let the truth slip out?" He was cross-examining him mercilessly.
