Dongshan Crosses the Stream

Text

Dongshan took leave of Yunyan and asked, "After you have passed away, if someone asks me to describe your teaching, what shall I say?" Yunyan was silent for a long time, then said, "Just this is it." Dongshan sank into thought. Yunyan said, "You must be very careful, since you are carrying this great matter." Dongshan was still doubtful. Later, as he was crossing a stream, he saw his own reflection in the water and was greatly awakened. He composed a verse: "Avoid seeking elsewhere, for that is far from the self. Now I travel alone, everywhere I meet it. It now is exactly me; I now am not it. One must understand in this way to merge with suchness."

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Respondent
  Yunyan Tansheng
• Speaker
  Dongshan Liangjie

Lineage: Qingyuan line

By Dongshan Liangjie

• Truth Outside Yourselfproverb
• Verses of the Five Ranksverse
• Five Ranks: The Verses of the Upright and the Inclinedverse
• The Seamless Monumentdialogue
• Host Within Hostproverb

From Traditional Zen Encounter Dialogues

• My Mind Is Not at Peace
• Thinking of Not-Thinking
• Not Knowing Is Most Intimate
• The Boat Monk's Transmission
• The Sound of Bamboo
• Vast Emptiness, Nothing Holy
• Ordinary Mind Is the Way
• Nanquan Kills the Cat
• Wash Your Bowl
• The Oak Tree in the Garden

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Jingde Chuandenglu, Dongshan chapter

  Traditional Zen Encounter Dialogues: Dongshan Crosses the Stream