Pang Yun
Pang Yun
c. 740 – c. 808
Pang Yun, known as Layman Pang, was one of the most celebrated lay practitioners in Chan history and a contemporary of Mazu Daoyi and Shitou Xiqian. He studied with both great masters and received their confirmation of his awakening. According to tradition, he threw his entire fortune into a river rather than distributing it, saying that it would only cause trouble, then supported his family by making and selling bamboo utensils.
Layman Pang's exchanges with his wife, his daughter Lingchao, and the great masters of his era are among the most beloved stories in Chan literature. His famous verse—"My daily activity is nothing special; I just naturally harmonize. Everywhere I go, I cling to nothing; in every circumstance I am not hindered"—expresses the Chan ideal of awakening manifested in the midst of ordinary life. His example demonstrated that the deepest realization was available to those living in the world, not only to ordained monastics.
Teachings
- verseMy Daily Activity
My daily activity is nothing special. I just naturally harmonize. Grasping nothing, discarding nothing. In every place, no hindrance, no conflict. Who assigns the ranks of vermilion and purple? The hills and mountains— not a speck of dust. Supernatural power and marvelous activity: drawing water and chopping wood.
- dialogueDifficult, Easy, Neither
Layman Pang said, "Difficult, difficult, difficult—like trying to scatter ten measures of sesame seed all over a tree." His wife said, "Easy, easy, easy—just like touching your feet to the ground when you get out of bed." Their daughter Lingchao said, "Neither difficult nor easy—on the tips of a hundred grass blades, the meaning of the Patriarch."
- sayingHow Wondrous, How Miraculous
How wondrous, how miraculous—I chop wood, I carry water.
Master Record Sources
Pang Yun
- koan_refsChart of the Chan Ancestors
18
- nameZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Pang Yun
- teachersZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation
Mazu Daoyi