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


Pao-ching San-mei-ko (Wade-Giles)
Baojing Sanmeige (Pinyin) Bao
3
jing
4
San
1
mei
4
ge
1

Hky Zanmaika (Japanese)
Literally, Treasure Mirror Samdhi Song/Poem

The poem is usually known as Hky
Zammai (Precious Mirror Samdhi ).

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 Teitar Suzuki)
4. Samadhi of the Invaluable Mirror
5. Song of the Bright Mirror Samadhi

Author of the Text


Tung-shan Liang-chieh (Wade-Giles)
Dongshan Liangjia (Pinyin) Dong
4
shan
1
Liang
2
jia
4

Tzan Rykai (Japanese)

Tung-shan Liang-chieh (Tzan Rykai, 807-869) is the founder of
the Ts'ao-tung (St) School of Zen Buddhism. He was a contemporary
of Lin-chi I-hsan(Rinzai Gigen, d.866 ).
Tung-shan Liang-chieh is also known as Wu-pen Ta-shih (Gohon
Daishi ).
In Japanese, his name (Tung-shan) is pronounced either as Tzan or
as Tsan.
His sayings and teaching were compiled in Tung-shan Ch'an-shih Liang-
chieh Y-lu (Tzan Rykai Zenji Goroku ) (Dainihon
Zokuzky, vol. 2 No. 24 ).

"Tsan Rykai practiced first under Nansen
1
and Isan
2
, but it was from the
master Ungan Donj
3
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 Stra
4
, 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 Mahyna.' "
(Essays in Zen Buddhism Third Series 237-8)

"Yun-mn
5
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-mn concluded, 'I
release you from thirty blows [though you rightly deserve them].'
On Tung-shan's interview with Mn, 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-mn, '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-mn
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 School
6
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'ou
7
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'ien
9
, 'one-sided', and Chng
10
,
'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-
tung
11
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 Prajpramit:

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 Tathat."
(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


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

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

"Where were you during the summer?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tung-shan thereupon came to a mighty enlightenment experience.
Wu-men's Comment

If Yn-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.

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 Yn-men, and Yn-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"


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

Tung-shan replied, "Ma san chin!" (Masagin) [three pounds of flax].
(Two Zen Classics 71)

Notes
1
Nan-ch'an P'u-yan (Nansen Fugan, 748-834 )
2
Wei-shan Ling-yu (Isan Reiy 771-853 )
3
Yn-yen T'an-cheng (Ungan Donj 782-841 )
4
The Heart Stra (Hannya Shingy )
Maka Hannya Haramita Shingy (
)
"Heart Sutra (Skt. Mahprajapramit-hridaya-stra, Jap., Maka
hannyaharamita shingy, roughly "Heartpiece of the
'Prajapramit-stra'); shortest of the forty stras that constitute
the Prajapramit-stra."
(The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion 128)
5
Yn-men Wen-yen (Unmon Bun'en, 864?-949 )
Also known as K'uang-chen Ch'an-shih (Kyshin Zenji )
6
Hua-yen-tsung (Kegonsh )
7
Shih-t'ou Hsi-ch'ien (Sekit Kisen, 700-790 )
8
Ts'an-t'ung-ch'i (Sandkai )
9
One-sided (p'ien, hen )
10
Correct (cheng, sh )
11
Ts'ao-tung (St )


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 stra in the St Sect, within which it occupies an
important position as a scripture. The text is found in Taish Daizky, vol.
47, No. 515 a-b ().

"One of the Five Classics, I Jing
1
(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-Dong
2
: "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 Ranks
4
can also be
understood as a diagrammatic explanation of the interaction between yin
and yang, transposed into a Buddhist context."

Notes
1
I Ching (Ekiky )
2
Ts'ao-tung (St )
3

4
Wu-wei (Goi )


The Original Chinese Text

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 Ty 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.

Variant Characters in Different Versions of the Text

Line Japanese Version Chinese Version


X Code: &C3-325B














2
3
4
7
10
12
13
14
19
30
31
40
41
46
47

Translation of the Text



Song of Precious Mirror Samadhi

The dharma of thusness is intimately
transmitted by buddhas and ancestors.
Now you have it; preserve it well.
A silver bowl filled with snow, a heron hidden
in the moon.
Taken as similar, they are not the same; not
distinguished, their places are known.
The meaning does not reside in the words, but a
pivotal moment brings it forth.
Move and you are trapped, miss and you fall
into doubt and vacillation.
Turning away and touching are both wrong, for
it is like a massive fire.
Just to portray it in literary form is to stain it
with defilement.
In darkest night it is perfectly clear; in the light
of dawn it is hidden.
It is a standard for all things; its use removes all
suffering.
Although it is not constructed, it is not beyond
words.
Like facing a precious mirror; form and
reflection behold each other.
You are not it, but in truth it is you.
Like a newborn child, it is fully endowed with
five aspects:
No going, no coming, no arising, no abiding;
P'o-p'o han-han is anything said or not?
In the end it says nothing, for the words are not
yet right.
In the hexagram "double fire," when main and
subsidiary lines are transposed,
Piled up they become three; the permutations
make five.
Like the taste of the five-flavored herb, like the
five-pronged vajra.
Wondrously embraced within the complete,
drumming and singing begin together.
Penetrate the source and travel the pathways,
embrace the territory and treasure the roads.
You would do well to respect this; do not
neglect it.
Natural and wondrous, it is not a matter of
delusion or enlightenment.
Within causes and conditions, time and season,
it is serene and illuminating.
So minute it enters where there is no gap, so
vast it transcends dimension.
A hairsbreadth's deviation, and you are out tune.
Now there are sudden and gradual, in which
teachings and approaches arise.
With teachings and approaches distinguished,
each has its standard.
Whether teachings and approaches are mastered
or not, reality constantly flows.
Outside still and inside trembling, like tethered
colts or cowering rats.
The ancient sages grieved for them, and offered
them the dharma.
Led by their inverted views, they take black for
white.
When inverted thinking stops, the affirming
mind naturally accords.
If you want to follow in the ancient tracks,
please observe the sages of the past.
One on the verge of realizing the Buddha Way
contemplated a tree for ten kalpas.
Like a battle-scarred tiger, like a horse with
shanks gone grey.
Because some are vulgar, jeweled tables and
ornate robes.
Because others are wide-eyed, cats and white
oxen.
With his archer's skill, Yi hit the mark at a
hundred paces.
But when arrows meet head-on, how could it be
a matter of skill?
The wooden man starts to sing, the stone
woman gets up dancing.
It is not reached by feelings or consciousness,
how could it involve deliberation?
Ministers serve their lords, children obey their
parents.
Not obeying is not filial, failure to serve is no
help.
With practice hidden, function secretly, like a
fool, like an idiot.
Just to continue in this way is called the host
within the host.



The Song of the Jeweled Mirror Samadhi
Translated by Toshu John Neatrour, Sheng-yen, and Kazu Tanahashi

The teaching of suchness, is given directly,
through all buddha ancestors,
Now that it's yours, keep it well.
A serving of snow in a silver bowl, or herons
concealed in the glare of the moon
Apart, they seem similar, together, they're
different.
Meaning cannot rest in words, it adapts itself to
that which arises.
Tremble and you're lost in a trap, miss and
there's always regrets.
Neither reject nor cling to words, both are
wrong; like a ball of fire,
Useful but dangerous. Merely expressed in fine
language, the mirror will tarnish.
At midnight truly it's most bright, by daylight it
cannot still be seen.
It is the principle that regulates all, relieving
every suffering.
Though it doesn't act it is not without words.
In the most precious mirror form meets
reflection:
You are not It, but It is all you.
Just as a baby, five senses complete,
Neither going or coming, nor arising or staying,
Babbles and coos: speech without meaning,
No understanding, unclearly expressed.
Six lines make the double li trigram, where
principle and appearances interact.
Lines stacked in three pairs yet transform in
five ways.
Like the five flavors of the hyssop plant or the
five branches of the diamond scepter,
Reality harmonizes subtly just as melody and
rhythm, together make music.
Penetrate the root and you fathom the branches,
grasping connections, one then finds the road.
To be wrong is auspicious, there's no
contradiction.
Naturally pure and profoundly subtle, it touches
neither delusion nor awakening,
At each time and condition it quietly shines.
So fine it penetrates no space at all, so large its
bounds can never be measured.
But if you're off by a hair's breadth all
harmony's lost in discord.
Now there are sudden and gradual schools with
principles, approaches so standards arise.
Penetrating the principle,
Mastering the approach, the genuine constant
continues outflowing.
A tethered horse, a mouse frozen in fear,
outwardly still but inwardly whirling:
Compassionate sages freed them with teaching.
In upside down ways folks take black for white.
When inverted thinking falls away they realize
mind without even trying.
If you want to follow the ancient path then
consider the ancients:
The buddha, completing the path, still sat for
ten eons.
Like a tiger leaving a trace of the prey, like a
horse missing the left hind shoe,
For those whose ability is under the mark, a
jeweled footrest and brocaded robe.
For others who still can manifest wonder
there's a house cat and cow.
Yi the archer shot nine of ten suns from the sky,
saving parched crops, another bowman hit targets at hundreds of paces:
These skills are small to compare with that in
which two arrow points meet head on in mid air.
The wooden man breaks into song, a stone
maiden leaps up to dance,
They can't be known by mere thought or
feelings, so how can they be analyzed?
The minister still serves his lord, the child
obeys his parent.
Not obeying is unfilial, not serving is a useless
waste.
Practicing inwardly, functioning in secret,
playing the fool, seemingly stupid,
If you can only persist in this way, you will see
the lord within the lord.


Japanese Transcription of the Text


Hky Zanmaika

Nyoze no h Busso mitsu ni fusu.
Nanji ima kore o etari, yoroshiku yoku hgo
subeshi.
Ginwan ni yuki o mori, meigetsu ni ro o
kakusu.
Rui shite hitoshikarazu. Konzuru tokinba
tokoro o shiru.
Kokoro koto ni arazareba, raiki mata
omomuku.
Dzureba kakyu o nashi, tagaeba kocho ni otsu.
Haisoku tomo ni hi nari. Daijaku no gotoshi.
Tada monsai ni arawaseba, sunawachi zenna ni
zokusu.
Yahan shmei, tengy furo.
Mono no tame ni nori to naru. Moichiite shku
o nuku.
Ui ni arazu to iedomo, kore go naki ni arazu.
Hky ni nozonde, gyy aimiru ga gotoshi.
Nanji kore kare ni arazu, kare masa ni kore
nanji.
Yo no yji no gos gangu suru ga gotoshi.
Fukyo, furai, fuku, fuj.
Ba-ba wa-wa, uku, muku,
Tsui ni mono o ezu, go imada tadashikarazaru
ga yue ni.
Juri rikk, hensh ego,
Tatande san to nari, henji tsukite go to naru.
Chis no ajiwai no gotoku, kong no sho no
gotoshi.
Shch myky, ksh narabi agu.
Sh ni tsji to ni tszu, kytai kyro.
Shakunen naru tokinba kitsu nari. Bongo
subekarazu.
Tenshin ni shite my nari. Meigo ni zoku sezu.
Innen jisetsu, jakunen to shite shcho su.
Sai ni wa muken ni iri, dai ni wa hjo o zessu.
Gkotsu no tagai, ritsuryo ni zezu.
Ima tonzen ari, shshu o rissuru ni yotte.
Shshu wakaru, sunawachi kore kiku nari.
Sh tsji shu kiwamaru mo, shinj ruch.
Hoka jaku ni uchiogoku wa, tsunageru koma,
fukuseru nezumi.
Sensh kore o kanashinde h no dando to naru.
Sono tend ni shitagatte shi o motte so to nasu.
Tend smetsu sureba kshin mizukara yurusu.
Kotetsu ni kanawan to yseba k zenko o
kanzeyo.
Butsud o jzuru ni nannan to shite jukk ju o
kanzu.
Tora no kaketaru ga gotoku, uma no yome no
gotoshi.
Geretsu aru o motte hki chingyo,
Kyi aru o motte rinu byakko.
Gei wa gyriki o motteite hyappo ni atsu,
Senp aiau, gyriki nanzo azukaran.
Bokujin masa ni utai, sekijo tatte mau.
Jshiki no itaru ni arazu, mushiro shiryo o iren
ya.
Shin wa kimi ni bushi, ko wa chichi ni junzu.
Junzezareba k ni arazu, busezareba ho ni
arazu.
Senk mitsuy wa gu no gotoku, ro no gotoshi.
Tada yoku szoku suru o shuch no shu to
nazuku.
____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________

Bibliography

The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch. Heinrich
Dumoulin. SMC Publishing, Inc. Taipei, n.d..

The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion. Ingrid Fischer-
Schreiber, et al. Shambhala Publications. New York, 1994.

Essays in Zen Buddhism, 3 vols. Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki. Rider and
Company. London, 1949-53.

Two Zen Classics. Katsuki Sekida. Weatherhill. New York, 1995.

Zen Essence: The Science of Freedom. Ed. and trans. by Thomas Cleary.
Shambhala Publications. New York, 1989.