As I w᠅as 濟公 花和尚

South is down under, a reverse below. Hence:

• below the forties, there is no law
• below the fifties, there is no G。o。D

can be read that after the forties no more human laws apply — only potent winds — while beyond the fifties there is no such an alibi as that of a god-dependence and that the only way out is through the chant of the immediate satori 悟り.

證道歌 Zhèngdào gē or Shōdōka: le chant de l'immédiat satori.

永嘉玄覺; Yòngjiā Xuānjué, 665-713 (Yoka Daishi or Yōka Genkaku) est l'un des successeurs de 惠能 (Eno), le prestigieux sixième patriarche, auquel se rattachent toutes les écoles du 禪 chan. Lui-même n'eut pas de successeur. Moine et grand érudit de l'école 天台 tendai, il rencontra 惠能 (Eno) alors qu'il était déjà âgé. À l'issue d'un échange aussi bref que célèbre, Eno certifia sa réalisation et l'invita à passer la nuit au temple. D'où le surnom de Yoka: "Satori d'une nuit".

The Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (景德傳燈錄: Jǐngdé Chuándēnglù; Keitoku Dentō-roku), often referred to as The Transmission of the Lamp, is a 30 volume work consisting of putative biographies of the 禪 (or 禅) patriarchs and other prominent Buddhist monks. It was produced in the 宋朝 Song dynasty by 釋道原; pinyin: Shì Dàoyuán. Other than 祖堂集: Zǔtángjí; Sodōshū the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall, it represents the first appearance of "encounter dialogues" in the Chan tradition, which in turn are the antecedents of the famous公案: gōng'àn kōan stories.

The word Jingde (景德), the first two characters of the title, refers to the Song dynasty reign name, which dates the work to between 1004 and 1007 CE. It is a primary source of information for the history of Chan Buddhism in China, although most scholars interpret the biographies as largely hagiography. The lives of the Zen masters and disciples are systematically listed, beginning with the first seven buddhas (Gautama Buddha is seventh in this list). The "Lamp" in the title refers to the "Dharma", the teachings of the Buddhism. A total of 1701 biographies are listed in the book. Volumes 1 to 3 are devoted to the history of Indian Buddhism, and the history of Buddhism in China starts in chapter 4 with Bodhidharma. Volume 29 is a collection of gathas (गाथा, jì 偈 or gātuó 伽陀), and volume 30 is a collection of songs and other devotional material.

The Overnight Guest

The story of 永嘉 Yongjia's brief first encounter with惠能 Huineng is recorded in景德傳燈錄 the Transmission of the Lamp. The tale tells of one of Huineng's students encountering Yongjia, and through conversation finding that his opinions were very similar to those of the great Zen teachers of the time. When asked who his teacher was, Yongjia replies that he had none, but rather he had attained his understanding from sutras, especially the Vimalakirti Sutra. Huineng's student then explains that one's understanding should be confirmed, to which Yongjia requests that he testify to his enlightenment. The student states that his own personal opinion is meaningless, and he should instead visit Huineng in Caoxi.

Arriving at the temple, Yongjia walks around Huineng three times and then stands staring at him. Huineng comments on his lack of formality, to which Yongjia responds, "Since the question of incessant rebirth is a momentous one and death may come at any moment, I have no time to waste on ceremony, and wish you to give me a quick answer to this problem". Huineng suggests he "embody birthlessness" in order to overcome impermanence. Yongjia immediately displays understanding of this but then readies himself to leave. Huineng asks if he is not leaving too quickly. Yongjia then says there is no such thing as 'quickly', for motion does not truly exist. Huineng asks why this should be the case, to which he responds that any distinction about quickness or slowness is an artificial construct. Huineng then exclaims that his interlocutor now truly understands the concept of birthlessness, but Yongjia cleverly asks if a mere concept, another form of artificial distinction, can really have a meaning. Huineng asks, "Who makes a distinction about whether there is a meaning or not. Yongjia responds, "Distinctions are meaningless!", and Huineng cries, "Excellent! Excellent! Now, just stay here a single night!" This is so that Huineng can officially confirm his enlightenment. And thus, Yongjia is known as "The Overnight Guest" because he proved his enlightenment to Huineng in one night.

Despite this story, in the oldest version of 六祖壇經: Liùzǔ Tánjīng or simply: 壇經 Tánjīng, the Platform Sutra found among the Dunhuang manuscripts, which dates to about 850 CE, Yongjia is not mentioned as a student of Huineng