From the Collected Works of Korean Buddhism, Gongan Collections, 1
Xuedou Faning’s verse
The old subject in the previous five-hundred rebirths,
Great Hero’s Peak (Baizhang) pointed out how to escape the body of a fox,
The monks at the monastery (叢林) are still unaware of the sublime matter before skill (機),
Flipping back and forth between and making calculations about being subject to karma and being in the dark about it they lose sight of the true.
雪竇寧頌,“五百生前舊主人, 大雄指示脫狐身. 叢林未曉機前妙, 昧落商
量轉失眞.”
昧 foolish, ignorant
落 sink, descend, fall, drop
商 trade, commerce
量 calculate, measure
轉 revolve, rotate, turn
失 loose
眞 true
“Little is known about Xuedou Faning 雪竇法寧 (d.u.) who is a dharma heir of Baoning Ziying 保寧子英 (d.u.).”
p. 320
Shangfang Riyi’s verse
North and South of the river they ask about the wild fox,
Because they vacillate between he is subject to karma and in the dark about it,
Give the great gate a kick and open the doors,
Who among you is a hero?
又頌,“江北江南問野狐,
只因昧落兩踟蹰.
鴻門一踏開雙扇, 那个男兒是
丈夫?”
Shangfang Riyi 上方日益 (n.d.) was a disciple Baoning Renyong (n.d.) who was a disciple of Yangqi Fanghui, who founded the Yangqi branch of the Linji school.
p. 321
Tianyi Yihuai ascended the hall. A monk asked, ‘Is a person with
great cultivation still subject to karma or not?” The master said, “You have
only heard of people becoming ghosts. You haven’t seen cranes becoming
transcendents.” Tianyi continued, “What did the ancients say?” The master
said, “Use the gongan itself to make sense of it!” The master thereupon
said, “Baizhang’s wild fox gongan has spread widely in the world. Arriving at
the line about escaping from the body of a wild fox, all the Chan virtuosos
today consistently say, ‘A person with great cultivation is squarely within
karma. Before (he consulted Baizhang), the old man said this person is
not subject to karma and ignored karma. He therefore fell into the body
of an old fox. After (he consulted Baizhang), he came to say this person is not in the dark about karma and was able to escape. Before (he consulted Baizhang), he ignored karma; after (he consulted Baizhang), he was not in the dark about karma. Make such calculations and then not a single good teacher (善知識) anywhere on this great earth will be able to attain the body of a human being. They will all necessarily become wild foxes. In fact, a monk
asked Zhaozhou, ‘Does a dog also have buddha nature or not?’ Zhaozhou
said, ‘Doesn’t have it’ (無). Again he asked, ‘Does a cypress tree also have
buddha nature or not?’ Zhaozhou said, ‘Does have it’ (有). If he did say
this, Zhaozhou too will have certainly become a wild fox. Again, someone
asked National Master Huizhong, ‘Is there or is there not karma at work
when one is reborn in heaven and hell?’ The national master said, ‘There isn’t’
(無). Later, someone again asked Jingshan Faqin, ‘Is there or is there not
karma at work when one is reborn in heaven and hell?’ Jingshan said, ‘There
is’ (有). In fact, between these two ancient virtues who deserves to become
a wild fox? Again, a monk asked venerable Junji, ‘What is a person of
great cultivation like?’ Junji said, ‘He wears a cangue and is bound by chains.’
‘What is a person of great karma like?’ Junji said, ‘He practices meditation
and enters absorption.’ This is a case of a single person answering with two
turning phrases. Are they in disagreement? If there is a disagreement, then
he will certainly become a wild fox. If there is no disagreement, then where
is the one principle that they have in common? Just put aside the thousand
questions and ten-thousand answers (and answer me this), how should we
speak of the person of great cultivation? If you follow the literal wording and
determine its meaning, then you will be bogged down by phrases and led
astray; moreover, discriminative thought will remain and consciousness will
become attached to dusts of the dharma. If you become the teacher of men
and gods this way, then your own words will be unaware of their ultimate
point (落處). Not only do you lack eyes but you will also blind others as
well. How painful! How painful! All you Chan virtues! A pilgrim should
necessarily be equipped with the eye of the true dharma. Do not learn an
ersatz prajñā.”
天衣懷, 上堂, 僧問,“大修行底人, 還具因果也無?”師云,“只聞人作鬼, 不見鶴
成仙.”進云,“古人, 又作麽生?”師云,“且識取前話!”師乃云,“百丈有野狐話, 大
行於世, 至便脫野狐身, 諸禪德, 如今盡道,‘大修行人, 正在因果. 前來却道, 不
落因果, 成撥無因果, 所以墮野狐中;後來道, 不昧因果, 他便得脫去.’若也前是
撥無因果, 後是不昧因果, 作如此商量, 盡大地善知識, 無一个得人身, 惣作野
狐, 始得. 秪如僧問趙州,‘狗子, 還有佛性也無?’州云,‘無.’又問,‘栢樹子, 還有佛
性也無?’州云,‘有.’若恁麽道, 趙州亦須作野狐, 始得. 又問忠國師,‘天堂地獄
因果, 是有是無?’國師云,‘無.’後來又問徑山欽,‘天堂地獄因果, 是有是無?’徑
山云,‘有.’秪如此二古德, 敎誰作野狐即是? 又僧問峻極和尙,‘如何是大修行底
人?’極云,‘擔枷負鎖.’‘如何是大作業底人?’極云,‘修禪入定.’此是一人對兩
轉語. 還有相違處麽? 若有相違, 亦須作野狐;若無相違, 那裏是一理相貫處? 千
問萬對且置, 作麽生說个大修行底人? 若以即言定旨, 滯句迷封, 蓋爲情存分量,
識附法塵. 若如是, 作人天師, 自語尙不知落處, 非唯自家無眼, 亦乃瞎却他人.
苦哉, 苦哉! 諸禪德, 夫行脚人, 須具正法眼, 始得, 莫學相似般若.”
天衣義懷 Tianyi Yihuai (993-1064) (Rōmaji: Tenne Gikai)
He was in the Yunmen “school”.
pp. 329-332
For more on Tianyi Yihuai:
https://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/TianyiYihuai.html