Yúnmén’s Two Illnesses: This Too Is Illness
Record of Going Easy, Case 11 in Full
Not passing through is one illness. Passing through is another. What’s a practitioner to do?
Most cases in The Record of Going Easy—but especially this one—could be studied through and through, over and over, for a full and complete lifetime of practice. Because this is the case, I’ve added more detailed annotations than usual.
So, yes, this is an especially dense dharma offering. I suggest you read slowing and repeatedly. If you try to wolf it down, it will get stuck in your throat. If you don’t wolf it down, well, it also might get stuck in your throat.
Above, you’ll find my reading of the eleventh case in The Record of Going Easy without annotations (thanks go to Martin Kaku’on for editing the recording). You’ll find annotations below in the text version of the full case, explaining the terms that are in need of explaining and identify the various Zen masters.
If this is your first time here for a full case, and as a reminder to those of you who are making a return visit, the kōan cases in The Record of Going Easy were compiled by the renowned Hóngzhì Zhēngjué (1091-1157; referred to as Tiāntóng in this text) who also wrote a verse for each kōan. The introduction, commentaries, and capping phrases were written by Wànsōng Xíngxiù (1166–1246). Both were great teachers in the Cáodòng/Sōtō lineage of Chán/Zen. Below, the capping phrases are indented and italicized.
In case you missed either my interview about this case with Dhara Kowal Roshi or Case 11 in brief, you can find them below.
Record of Going Easy, Case 11: Yúnmén’s Two Illnesses
Presenting to the assembly, saying:
Without a body, a person suffers illness. Without hands, a person combines medicine. Without a mouth, a person swallows food. Without receiving, a person is happy and peaceful. Yet, do tell, how can you recuperate from an illness caused by the medicine?
舉
Great Master Yúnmén said, “When the light has not penetrated and dropped off, there are two kinds of illness.
Still, feel your mouth drying, your tongue pulled back!
One is where everything is not clear and before you there is something.
In broad daylight, ghosts are dim-sighted.
The other is penetrating the emptiness of all dharmas, but vaguely there seems to be an object. This too is the light having not completely penetrated and dropped off.
Already there is a knot in your chest that closes your throat.
Again, the dharma body also has two kinds of illness.
Misfortunes do not come singly.
One illness is receiving the dharma body as the dharma, holding it and not forgetting, seeing it as if it exists. This is to fall on the side of the dharma body.
Not only in the unhealthy, but also in the venerable ancestors.
Another is even though having passed straight through, you cannot let go.
The human body is a corpse convalescing.
Next, carefully, attentively examine one-by-one. What breath is this? This too is exactly illness.”
The doctor has not yet passed through the gate and already insanity is showing.
The teacher [Wànsōng] said:
Venerable Yuèzhōu Qiánfēng (shien fang) was a dharma successor of Dòngshān Wùběn. When Yúnmén was on his extensive pilgrimage, he saw Cáoshān and Shūshān as well as Qiánfēng.1 The following kōan, then, is the source for the root case:2
“Qiánfēng presented to the assembly, saying: ‘The dharma body has three kinds of illnesses and two kinds of light. One-by-one, you must correctly pass through them. Further, bear in mind that there is a single opening going beyond.’
“Yúnmén came forward and said, ‘It’s like a person inside a thatched hut - why don’t they know the matter outside the thatched hut?’3
“Qiánfēng chuckled and then belly laughed. Yúnmén said, ‘Yet this student of Way is in a place of doubt.’
“Qiánfēng said, ‘Where is your mind going?’
“Yúnmén said, ‘I want the venerable to get it with me.’
“Qiánfēng said, ‘Truly one must be this way to begin sitting in peace.’
“Yúnmén said, ‘Yes! Yes!’”
Qiánfēng said, “The dharma body has three kinds of illness.” [Yet] Yúnmén [in the root case] said, “The dharma body has two kinds of illness.” When [I], Wànsōng, was traveling around, everyone was discussing this. “Not yet arriving.” “Attached after arriving.” “Thoroughly dropping with no basis to rely on.” These are the three illnesses! The two spoken of [by Yúnmén] are just missing “Not yet arriving.” The latter two are clearly largely the same.
Venerable Fóyǎn said, “The first illness is riding a donkey, seeking a donkey. The other illness is riding a donkey, refusing to dismount.”4
These are the first two illnesses and only the last one is missing. An awakened master (J. shike) will offer a prescription suited to the illness for this very time, always offering a skillful means. Regarding the two kinds of light, when not penetrated and dropped off, these are the two kinds of illness. There is no difference.
Moreover, regarding “...Everything is in a not-clear place and before you there is something,” Dòngshān said, “Clearly, face-to-face, no other reality.5 What can be done about being bewildered by a reflection and thinking you’ve lost your head?”6
If you have the eye that takes in heaven and earth, unbroken without the slightest little leaking, then you’ll attain a small share of accord with the true principle.
Yúnmén also said, “Penetrating the emptiness of all dharmas, but vaguely there seems to be an object. This too is the light not having penetrated and dropped off.”
Guīshān used to say, “When not one dharma permits habituated thought, that view still has an object of perception.”
The Heroic March Sutra says, “Even if you extinguish all seeing and hearing and awaken to the hidden barrier of the inner guard, this is still the dharma dust of discrimination and shadow phenomena.”
Nányuàn Yóng said, “At that time, I was a resemblance inside a shadow, walking in lamp light.”7
Therefore it is said, “This too is the light not having penetrated and dropped off.”
In the wind of Venerable Dòng’s school, if you are still, you sink in stagnant water. If you move, you leave behind the present.8 These are the names of two kinds of illnesses. Going out, only do not follow circumstances. Going in, do not dwell in emptiness. Outwardly, not seeking in the branches. Inwardly, do not abide in concentration. Spontaneously, the three illnesses and two lights will be simultaneously penetrated and dropped off. Then penetrated-and-dropped-off or not-penetrated-and-dropped-off are held and released as just one extreme or another.
“In the future, carefully, attentively examine them one-by-one. What breath is this? This too is exactly illness.”
How can you get peace of mind? Ask Tiāntóng to check your pulse:
Verse
The limitless tangle of all things allows for the extraordinary.
Knowing no cause for grievance, what obstructs you from listening to them?
Freely penetrating-through-and-dropping hinders the eye.
Dodge the striker held with two hands.9
Who has the strength to sweep out this garden?10
Brushing away the traces leaves traces - the desire to be hidden is completely revealed.
What’s hidden in a person’s heart surely turns into feelings.
Suspicion gives birth to ghosts in the dark.
A boat crossing the river sideways is soaked with the blue-green autumn.
Nevertheless, steeped in stagnant water.
Oars enter the illuminated reed flowers, bright as snow.
A lost person, living on the river bank,
An old fisherman immediately takes a perch on the line to market.
showing his original scheme for profit,
A single leaf flutters on a flowing wave.
following the flow, realizing wonder.
The teacher [Wànsōng] said:
The Dharma Phrase Sutra says, “Every manifestation of all the myriad forms is the seal of the one dharma.”11
One is exactly ten thousand, ten thousand is exactly one—exactly this matter, not another matter. Thoroughly taken on, it is lofty, steep, and continuous. In a barren field, one does not sort grasses. Yet such a pure place enchants people. Even if you penetrate and drop off so that there is no special place, this is none other than the place that blocks the eye.
The Sutra of Perfect Awakening says, “In all deluded states of mind, do not extinguish them.”
Dòngshān said, “Spiritually sprouting auspicious grass - yet the old peasant is concerned about the weeds.”
There is no need to sweep away skillful means, emptying everything.
Yúnmén said, “...Where everything is not-clear and before you there is something.”
The true meaning of this is not to get rid of illusory objects or annihilate illusory minds and search for the special “penetrated and dropped off” place.
The Third Ancestor said, “The six senses are not evil. Even more, they are the same as true awakening.”12
And The Sutra of Perfect Awakening says, “Know the illusion of identity and difference. Skillful means will not do. Escape illusion and directly awaken. It is not about gradually advancing. Directly see doing, stopping, accepting, and extinction.”
As if rubbing the back of a clay figurine with a diamond.13
Also Tiāntóng’s verse says, “What’s hidden in a person’s heart surely turns into feelings.”
This versifies, “...vaguely there seems to be an object.”
This is exactly [The Sutra of] Perfect Awakening’s four subtle illnesses: the existence of the self; awareness of the self; hidden continuity; and the thusness of life. That is why in the Sutra of Perfect Awakening the World Honored One keenly explained dhyana illnesses.
“A boat crossing the river sideways is soaked with the blue-green autumn.”
This versifies obtaining the dharma body, mooring the boat at the limpid source of deep water. According to Shūshān, the dharma body is a dried up stump.14 This is truly a donkey tethering stake! Wait until you can push the boat from the bank—you can’t help but have the “...oars enter the illuminated reed flowers, bright as snow.”
Arriving at the eye of clear illumination, your family seems confused. Unequivocally transforming your life is still falling into that position. This versifies, “...even though having passed straight through, you cannot let go.”
Leave it to Yúnmén to say it completely and Tiāntóng’s verse to penetrate clearly. Then you need to see Yúnmén’s meaning and Tiāntóng’s eyeball. Precisely here is the living place where gain and loss are calculated.
So what is Yúnmén’s meaning? Didn’t you see the saying, “Next, carefully, attentively examine one-by-one. What breath is this? This too is exactly illness.”
Yúnmén points to illness, but not the dharma of medicine. What about Tiāntóng’s eyeballs? He describes Yúnmén’s remedy, saying, “An old fisherman immediately takes the perch on the line to market./A single leaf flutters on a flowing wave.”
Yúnmén’s big idea is to enter the marketplace with hands hanging down, not avoiding the wind and waves. It could be said that having eliminated his own illness, he kindly returns to attend to the ailments of others. This is also Vimalakīrti’s heart.
Yet do you know this? With many illnesses there are medicinal effects, but only if you get definitive results should you dare to transmit the method.
Caoshan Benji (840-901), Shushan Quangren (837–909), and Yuezhou Qianfeng (nd) were all twelfth-generation successors in China of Dòngshān Wùběn (more commonly known now as Dòngshān Liángjiè, 807-869, an eleventh-generation successor in China through Yunyan in the Shitou succession.).
Qianfeng, aka, Ganfeng (Wades-Giles, Ch’ien-feng, J. Kenpō - most sources have Qianfeng but DDB has Ganfeng), DDB: “A monk of the Caodong school at the end of the Tang. He is known in Chan studies for the kōan ‘one path of Qianfeng’ (No Gate Barrier, 48) and the dharma words ‘two illuminations and three sicknesses of Qianfeng.” This later koan can be found in Entangling Vines, Case 17 and The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Hakuin, Chapter 2: “The Poisonous Leavings of Past Masters.” Hakuin cites this kōan frequently and included it on his list of nanto, or difficult to pass through, kōans.
thatched hut, 庵, DDB: “A hermitage, for intense solitary meditation practice. A shelter, place of retirement from the world; a small temple; especially a nunnery.” Bodiford, in Denkoroku, notes, “[...] thatched hermitage (sōan 草庵). A poetic term that suggests a humble thatch-roofed cottage for a monk who wishes to live in seclusion. It also came to mean, however, a place where the resident monk could do what he wanted, free from pressure or interference by other members of the sangha. Thus, some Chan/Zen masters who did not live alone, but gathered disciples and built monasteries that were neither thatched nor especially humble, called their domain a ‘thatched hut’ or ‘thatched hermitage.’”
Foyan Qingyuan (1067-1120; aka, Longmen), a twenty-first generation successor in China in the Linji line through Wuzu Fayan. DDB: “A monk of the Yangqi branch of the Linji school who studied Vinaya and the Lotus Sutra and practiced Chan. He received the complete precepts at the age of 14 and later inherited the Dharma of Wuzu Fayan.“ Thomas Cleary translated some of Foyan’s general lectures in Instant Zen: Waking Up in the Present. Foyan’s comments on this kōan are in the “Zen Sicknesses” section, including this: “I tell you that you need not mount the donkey; you are the donkey! The whole world is the donkey; how can you mount it? If you mount it, you can be sure sickness will not leave! If you do not mount it, the whole universe is wide open!” Thanks goes to Dieter Gensho for sharing this.
This is the second line of Dòngshān’s verse for the second of five ranks, True Within Biased. The third line of the verse varies a bit from the quote. Perhaps Wansong was quoting from memory or citing a different source than what we use today:
Missing dawn, the old woman meets the ancient mirror.
Clearly face-to-face, no other reality.
Stop obsessing about changing your head, in this way, recognize the reflection.
This is a reference to a story from The Heroic March Sutra. In Going Through the Mystery’s One Hundred Questions, I tell it like this: “It seems that Yajnadatta got up every morning and gazed at himself in the mirror. One morning, due to mirror technology in ancient times, where the mirror glass tended to disadhere from the backing and so go black, Yajnadatta looked in the mirror and saw no head. He ran wildly through the streets, screaming that he had no head.” A villager finally grabs him by the collar and slaps him awake.
Nanyuan Yong (860-930; aka, Baoying), a 13th-generation successor in the continuing Linji line.
Wansong is thinking, perhaps, of the following line from “The Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi:” “Move and you are trapped; miss and you fall into doubt and vacillation.”
Uncertain translation. Cleary has “Adding a flapper to a flail.” Maezumi has “Visual rotation is attached to the tip of a sparkler.”
garden, 門庭, is literally (DDB) “[...] the courtyard behind the gate refers to the Zen training hall. A metaphor where the steps guiding one into the hall refer to skillful means.”
The Dhammapada.
Sengcan (d. 606), a third-generation successor in China, student of Huike. Author of the Seal of the Mind of Faith.
clay figurine, 泥人, DDB: “[...] a sufferer in the niraya hell, the various hell realms in the bowels of the earth.” Wansong’s comment here seems to be about the line “It is not about gradually advancing,” although there is no indication of the referent in the text.
Probably Shushan Quangren, a successor of Dongshan Liangjie, and the same Shushan mentioned in the first paragraph of the Wansong’s case commentary: “When Yúnmén was on his extensive pilgrimage, he saw Cáoshān and Shūshān as well as Qiánfēng.” Shushan is best known now for another of Hakuin’s nanto kōan that he frequently cites: A monk told Master Shushan Kuangren that his memorial stupa was complete. Shushan said, “How much are you going to pay the stoneworkers?” The monk said, “It’s up to you, Master.” Shushan said, “Should we give them three coins, two coins, or one coin? If you can answer this question, it would be a finer memorial stupa than the one that’s just been built.” The monk had no reply. At that time, Luoshan was living in a hut on Mount Dayu. The monastic went to see him and told him the story. Luoshan said, “Is there anyone who could respond?” The monastic said, “No one.” Luoshan said, “You should return to Shushan and say, ‘If you give the stoneworkers three coins, the stūpa will never be built. If you give them two coins, you and the stone workers will be holding out your hands together. If you give them one coin, it will bind them and their eyebrows will fall off.’” The monk went and reported this to Shushan. Shushan dressed formally and bowed in the direction of Mount Dayu, saying, “I didn’t think there was a single person anywhere in the land, but an authentic buddha is at Mount Dayu, radiating light even here.” Then he said to the monastic, “Go to Mount Dayu and say to Luoshan, ‘This is like a lotus flower blossoming in the dead of winter.’” The monastic returned this message. Luoshan said, “Let me say this: tortoise hair is already three feet long.”