Song of Precious Mirror Samadhi

Pao-ching San-mei-ko

By Ch'an Master Tung-shan Liang-chieh

 

Contents

Title of the Text

Author of the Text

The Pao-ching San-mei-ko

The Original Chinese Text

The Chinese Text with Japanese "Current Characters"

Variant Characters in Different Versions of the Text

Translation of the Text

Japanese Transcription of the Text

Bibliography

 

 

Title of the Text

 

寶鏡三昧歌

Pao-ching San-mei-ko (Wade-Giles)

Baojing Sanmeige (Pinyin) Bao³jing⁴ San¹mei⁴ge¹

Hõkyõ Zanmaika (Japanese)

Literally, Treasure Mirror Samâdhi Song/Poem

 

The poem is usually known as Hõkyõ Zammai (Precious Mirror Samâdhi 寶鏡三昧、宝鏡三昧).

 

Various Translations of the Title

1. The Song of the Jeweled Mirror Samadhi (Toshu John Neatrour, Sheng-yen, Kazu Tanahashi)

2. Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi

3. Sacred Mirror Samadhi (Daisetsu Teitarõ Suzuki)

4. Samadhi of the Invaluable Mirror

5. Song of the Bright Mirror Samadhi

 

Author of the Text

 

洞山良价

Tung-shan Liang-chieh (Wade-Giles)

Dongshan Liangjia (Pinyin) Dong⁴shan¹ Liang²jia⁴

Tõzan Ryõkai (Japanese)

 

Tung-shan Liang-chieh (Tõzan Ryõkai, 807-869) is the founder of the Ts'ao-tung (Sõtõ) School of Zen Buddhism. He was a contemporary of Lin-chi I-hsüan (Rinzai Gigen, d.866 臨済義玄).

Tung-shan Liang-chieh is also known as Wu-pen Ta-shih (Gohon Daishi 悟本大師).

In Japanese, his name (Tung-shan) is pronounced either as Tõzan or as Tõsan.

His sayings and teaching were compiled in Tung-shan Ch'an-shih Liang-chieh Yü-lu (Tõzan Ryõkai Zenji Goroku 洞山良价禪師語録) (Dainihon Zokuzõkyõ, vol. 2 No. 24 大日本續藏經).

 

"Tõsan Ryõkai practiced first under Nansen¹ and Isan², but it was from the master Ungan Donjõ³ that he finally received the Seal. His manner of instructing and leading his disciples was mild, without stick or shout. In silent introspection they were to seek the enlightenment which must manifest itself in the activities of daily life."

(The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch 25)

 

"While Tung-shan Liang-chih was still a boy a Vinaya teacher made him study the Hridaya Sûtra⁴, and tried to explain the sentence, 'There is no eye, no nose, . . .' But Liang-chih surveyed his teacher scrutinizingly with his eye, and then touched his own body with his hand, and finally said, 'You have a pair of eyes, and the other sense-organs, and I am also provided with them. Why does the Buddha tell us that there are no such things?' The Vinaya teacher was surprised at his question and told him: 'I am not capable of being your teacher. You be ordained by a Zen master, for you will some day be a great teacher of the Mahâyâna.' "

(Essays in Zen Buddhism – Third Series 237-8)

 

"Yun-mên⁵ asked Tung-shan: 'Whence do you come?' 'From Chia-tu.' 'Where did you pass the summer session?' 'At Pao-tzu, in Hu-nan.' 'When did you come here?' 'August the twenty-fifth.' Yun-mên concluded, 'I release you from thirty blows [though you rightly deserve them].'

         On Tung-shan's interview with Mên, Tai-hui comments:

         How simple-hearted Tung-shan was! He answered the master straightforwardly, and so it was natural for him to reflect, 'What fault did I commit for which I was to be given thirty blows when I replied as truthfully as I could?' The day following he appeared again before the master and asked, 'Yesterday you were pleased to release me from thirty blows, but I fail to realize my own fault?' Said Yun-mên, 'Oh you rice-bag, this is the way you wander from the West of the river to the south of the Lake!' This remark all of a sudden opened Tung-shan's eye, and yet he had nothing to communicate, nothing to reason about. He simply bowed, and said, 'After this I shall build my little hut where there is no human habitation; not a grain of rice will be kept in my pantry, not a stalk of vegetable will be growing on my farm; and yet I will abundantly treat all the visitors to my hermitage from all parts of the world; and I will even draw off all the nails and screws [that are holding them to a stake]; I will make them part with their greasy hats and ill-smelling clothes, so that they are thoroughly cleansed of dirt and become worthy monks.' Yun-mên smiled and said, 'What a large mouth you have for a body no larger than a coconut!' " (Essays in Zen Buddhism – Second Series 28)

 

"While scholars of the Avatamsaka School⁶ were making use of the intuitions of Zen in their own way, the Zen masters were drawn towards the philosophy of Indentity and Interpenetration advocated by the Avatamsaka, and attempted to incorporate it into their own discourses. For instance, Shih-t'ou⁷ in his 'Ode on Identity'⁸ depicts the mutuality of Light and Dark as restricting each other and at the same time being fused in each other; Tung-shan in his metrical composition called 'Sacred Mirror Samadhi' discourses on the mutuality of P'ien⁹, 'one-sided', and Chêng¹⁰, 'correct', much to the same effect as Shih-t'ou in his Ode, for both Shih-t'ou and Tung-shan belong to the school of Hsing-szu known as the Ts'ao-tung¹¹ branch of Zen Buddhism. This idea of Mutuality and Indentity is no doubt derived from Avatamsaka philosophy, so ably formulated by Fa-tsang. As both Shih-t'ou and Tung-shan are Zen masters, their way of presenting it is not at all like that of the metaphysician." (Essays in Zen Buddhism – Third Series 19)

 

"Tung-shan's poem, which was composed when he saw his reflection in the stream which he was crossing at the time, may give us some glimpse into his inner experience of the Prajñâpâramitâ:

 

            Beware of seeking [the Truth] by others,

            Further and further he retreats from you;

            Alone I go now all by myself,

            And I meet him everywhere I turn.

            He is no other than myself,

            And yet I am not he.

            When thus understood,

            I am face to face with Tathatâ."

            (Essays in Zen Buddhism – Third Series 238)

 

            Long seeking it through others,

            I was far from reaching it.

            Now I go by myself;

            I meet it everywhere.

            It is just I myself,

            And I am not itself.

            Understanding this way,

            I can be as I am.

            (Two Zen Classics 267)

 

            Do not seek from another,

            Or you will be estranged from self.

            I now go on alone,

            Finding I meet It everywhere.

            It now is I,

            I now am not It.

            One should understand in this way

            To merge with suchness as is.

            (Transmission of Light 38)

 

            Don't seek from others,

            Or you'll be estranged from yourself.

            I now go on alone—

            Everywhere I encounter It.

            It now is me, I now am not It.

            One must understand in this way

            To merge with being as is.

            (Transmission of Light 167)

 

Wu-men Kuan (Mumonkan) Case 15 Tung-shan's Sixty Blows  十五　洞山三頓

雲門、因洞山參次、門問曰、近離甚處。

Tung-shan came to study with Yün-men (Unmon). Yün-men asked, "Where are you from?"

山曰、査渡。

"From Cha-tu (Sato)," Tung-shan replied.

門曰、夏在甚處。

"Where were you during the summer?"

山曰、湖南報慈。

"Well, I was at the monastery of Pao-tz'u (Hõzu), south of the lake."

門曰、幾時離彼。

"When did you leave there," Yün-men asked.

山曰、八月二十五。

"On August 25" was Tung-shan's reply.

門曰、放汝三頓棒。

"I spare you sixty blows," Yün-men said.

山至明日却上問訊。昨日蒙和尚放三頓棒。

The next day Tung-shan came to Yün-men and said, "Yesterday you said you spared me sixty blows.

不知過在甚麼處。

I beg to ask you, where was I at fault?"

門曰、飯袋子、江西湖南便恁麼去。

"Oh, you rice bag!" shouted Yün-men. "What makes you wander about, now west of the river, now south of the lake?"

山於此大悟。

Tung-shan thereupon came to a mighty enlightenment experience.

Wu-men's Comment

無門曰、雲門、當時便與本分草科、使洞山別有生機一路、家門不致寂寥。

If Yün-men had given Tung-shan the true food of Zen and encouraged him to develop an active Zen spirit, his school would not have declined as it did.

一夜在是非海裏著到、直待天明再來、又與他注破。

Tung-shan had an agonizing struggle through the whole night, lost in the sea of right and wrong. He reached a complete impasse. After waiting for the dawn, he again went to Yün-men, and Yün-men again made him a picture book of Zen.

(Two Zen Classics 61-2)

 

Wu-men Kuan (Mumonkan) Case 18 Tung-shan's "Ma san chin"  十八　洞山三斤

洞山和尚、因僧問、如何是佛。

A monk asked Tung-shan, "What is Buddha?"

山云、麻三斤。

Tung-shan replied, "Ma san chin!" (Masagin) [three pounds of flax].

(Two Zen Classics 71)

 

Notes

¹  Nan-ch'üan P'u-yüan (Nansen Fugan, 748-834 南泉普願)

²  Wei-shan Ling-yu (Isan Reiyû 771-853 溈山靈祐)

³  Yün-yen T'an-cheng (Ungan Donjõ 782-841 雲巖曇晟)

⁴  The Heart Sûtra (Hannya Shingyõ 般若心經、般若心経)

   Maka Hannya Haramita Shingyõ (摩訶般若波羅蜜多心經、摩訶般若波羅蜜多心経)

   "Heart Sutra (Skt. Mahâprajñapâramitâ-hridaya-sûtra, Jap., Maka hannyaharamita shingyõ, roughly "Heartpiece of the

   'Prajñapâramitâ-sûtra'); shortest of the forty sûtras that constitute the Prajñapâramitâ-sûtra."

   (The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion 128)

⁵  Yün-men Wen-yen (Unmon Bun'en, 864?-949 雲門文偃)

   Also known as K'uang-chen Ch'an-shih (Kyõshin Zenji 匡眞禪師)

⁶  Hua-yen-tsung (Kegonshû 華嚴宗)

⁷  Shih-t'ou Hsi-ch'ien (Sekitõ Kisen, 700-790 石頭希遷)

⁸  Ts'an-t'ung-ch'i (Sandõkai 參同契)

⁹  One-sided (p'ien, hen 偏)

¹⁰ Correct (cheng, shõ 正)

¹¹ Ts'ao-tung (Sõtõ 曹洞)

 

 

The Pao-ching San-mei-ko

 

The Pao-ching San-mei-ko is one of the most famous Zen poems. The poem is regarded a sûtra in the Sõtõ Sect, within which it occupies an important position as a scripture. The text is found in Taishõ Daizõkyõ, vol. 47, No. 515 a-b (大正大藏經、大正大蔵経).

 

"One of the Five Classics, I Jing¹ (Book of Changes) is a system of divination based on the permutations of yin and yang, examining present tendencies toward change as represented through the use of six-line combinations of broken and unbroken lines, called hexagrams. Dongshan Liangjie refers expressly to this work in his famous poem, Baojing sanmei ke (Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi), a core-text of Cao-Dong²: "It is like the six lines of the double split hexagram; the relative and absolute integrate – piled up, they make the three; the complete transformation makes five."³ Indeed, Dongshan's teaching of the Five Ranks⁴ can also be understood as a diagrammatic explanation of the interaction between yin and yang, transposed into a Buddhist context."

 

Notes

¹  I Ching (Ekikyõ 易經、易経)

²  Ts'ao-tung (Sõtõ 曹洞)

³  重離六爻、偏正回互。疊而成三、變盡爲五。

⁴  Wu-wei (Goi 五位)

 

 

The Original Chinese Text

 

只潛不臣非木箭藝以以如佛要顛隨先外宗宗今毫細因天錯通正如疊重終婆不如汝如雖爲夜但背動意類銀汝如　寶

能行順奉情人鋒以有有虎道合倒其聖寂通趣有忽入緣眞然宗中荎而離不婆去世是臨非物半形觸成不而碗今是　鏡

相密不於識方相巧驚下之垂古想顛悲内趣分頓之無時而則通妙草成六得和不嬰非寶有作正文共窠在不盛得之　三

續用孝君到歌値力異劣缺成轍滅倒之搖極矣漸差間節妙吉途挾味三爻物和來児渠鏡爲則明彩非臼言齊雪之法　昧

名如不子寧石巧射狸寶如十請肯以爲繫眞即緣不大寂不不挾敲如變偏語有不五渠形不用天即如差來混明宜佛　歌

主愚奉順容女力中奴几馬劫觀心緇法駒常是立應絕然屬可帯唱金盡正未句起相正影是抜曉屬大落機則月能祖

中如非於思起何百白珍之觀前自爲檀伏流規宗律方昭迷犯挾雙剛爲回正無不完是相無諸不染火顧亦知藏保密

主魯輔父慮舞預步牯御馵樹古許素度鼠注矩趣呂所著悟忤路舉杵五互故句住具汝覩語苦露污聚佇赴處鷺護附

 

The Chinese Text with Japanese "Current Characters"

 

In the following text, the obsolete characters in the original text are replaced with newer, simplified or slightly altered characters used in contemporary Japanese, known as Tõyõ Kanji. These newer characters are indicated with gray color. Also, in the Japanese versions of the text, some Chinese characters are replaced with similar characters. These characters are indicated with blue color.

 

只潜不臣非木箭芸以以如仏要顛随先外宗宗今毫細因天錯通正如畳重終婆不如汝如雖為夜但背動意類銀汝如　宝

能行順奉情人鋒以有有虎道合倒其聖寂通趣有忽入縁真然宗中茎而離不婆去世是臨非物半形触成不而碗今是　鏡

相密不於識方相巧驚下之垂古想顛悲内趣分頓之無時而則通妙草成六得和不嬰非宝有作正文共窠在不盛得之　三

続用孝君到歌値力異劣欠成轍滅倒之搖極矣漸差間節妙吉途挾味三爻物和來児渠鏡為則明彩非臼言斉雪之法　昧

名如不子寧石巧射狸宝如十請肯以為繋真即縁不大寂不不挾敲如変偏語有不五渠形不用天即如差來混明宜仏　歌

主愚奉順容女力中奴几馬劫観心緇法駒常是立応絶然属可帯唱金尽正未句起相正影是抜暁属大落機則月能祖

中如非於思起何百白珍之観前自為檀伏流規宗律方昭迷犯挾双剛為回正無不完是相無諸不染火顧亦知蔵保密

主魯輔父慮舞預歩牯御馵樹古許素度鼠注矩趣呂所著悟忤路挙杵五互故句住具汝覩語苦露汚聚佇赴処鷺護附

 

Variant Characters in Different Versions of the Text

 

         Line  Japanese Version                  Chinese Version

 

□□□□　□善□□ □ X □□　□□□□     Code: &C3-325B 髏之弗齊　□□□□ □□倶□　□□□□ □□□□　□拔□□ □□□□　□□□睹 □不是□　□□□□ □□□兒　□□□□ □□爲□　□□成□ 通宗□□　□□□□ □□中□　□□□□ 羿□□□　□□□□ □□□直　□□□□ □□□□　□□若□ 但□□□　□□□□

         2       汝今得之　宜能保護

         3       銀碗盛雪　明月藏鷺

         4       類而不齊　混則知處

         7       背觸共非　如大火聚

         10      爲物作則　用抜諸苦

         12      如臨寶鏡　形影相覩

         13      汝是非渠　渠正是汝

         14      如世嬰児　五相完具

         19      疊而成三　變盡爲五

         30      宗通趣極　眞常流注

         31      外寂内搖　繋駒伏鼠

         40      藝以巧力　射中百歩

         41      箭鋒相値　巧力何預<