Lingyun Zhiqin
Lingyun Zhiqin (n.d.) was a disciple of Guishan Lingyou. He came from the ancient city of Changxi in Ben Province (now the city of Xiapu on the coast of Fujian Province). He gained enlightenment when he saw a peach tree in bloom. He then composed a verse that gave evidence of his awakening. The lamp records offer this account.
When Lingyun saw the peach blossoms, he composed a verse:
For thirty years I've sought the swordsman. Many times the leaves have fallen, the branches bare. After seeing the peach blossoms, Never doubting again.
Guishan read Lingyun's verse and questioned him. He then confirmed Lingyun's enlightenment, saying, "Those who arrive due to conditions never fall away. From now on uphold and sustain it."
Zen master Lingyun entered the hall and addressed the monks, saying, "Among you there are persons with various strengths and weaknesses, but you should all observe the vegetation of the four seasons, the leaves falling and the flowers blooming—events which have gone on for an incalculable eon. The gods, human kind, all the realms of existence—earth, water, fire, and wind—all of these things come to completion and pass away in the cycle of existence. But when all of cause and effect is exhausted and the nether realms are finished, still throughout the universe not a single hair will have been created or taken away. There remains only a fundamental numinous consciousness that is eternal.
"No matter where it is that those of-high ability permanently abide with their good companions of the Way, and make this truth evident by renouncing the world, that place is where Dharma is revealed. Those of middling and low ability who remain ignorant, unable to realize illumination, they remain submerged in the three realms and in transmigration through life and death.
"Shakyamuni Buddha provided a teaching to evidence this truth for gods and humanity, revealing the path of wisdom. Can you understand it?"
A monk asked, "How can one escape from birth, old age, sickness, and death?" Lingyun said, "The green mountain is fundamentally unmoving, but the floating clouds pass back and forth."
A monk asked, "At the time the emperor emerges, then what?" Lingyun said, "Outside there's a luminous springtime. Don't ask about Changan City."
A monk asked, "How can one gain an audience with the emperor?" Lingyun said, "The blind crane dives into the clear pond. Fish scatter from its feet."
A monk asked, "What is the great meaning of our school?" \ingyun said, "The donkey's matters are unfinished, yet the horse's affairs arrive."
The monk said, "I don't understand."
Lingyun said, "Spectacles happening every night, but the essential spirit seldom met."
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