Yunyan Tansheng

(Ungan Donjo) 780-841

Yunyan studied for twenty years under Baizhang Huaihai but did not awaken.  He then practiced with a number of teachers before reaching fruition under Yaoshan.

There is a story about Yunyan sweeping and his fellow student Daowu Yaonzhi remarked, “Too hurried!” 
Yunyan commented, “You should know there is something that is not hurried.”
Daowu replied, “In that case, there is a second moon?”
Yunyan held up his broom and said, “Which moon is this?”

In the Kannon fascicle of Shōbōgenzō, Master Dōgen writes of an exchange between Yunyan and Master Shu-itsu*:

Yunyan: What does the Bodhisattva of Great compassion do by using his limitlessly abundant hands and eyes?
Daowu: He is like a person in the night reaching back with a hand to grope for a pillow.
Yunyan: I understand. I understand.
Daowu: What do you understand?
Yunyan: The whole body is hands and eyes.
Daowu: Your words are nicely spoken. At the same time, your expression of the truth is just eighty or ninety percent of realization.
Yunyan: I am just like this. How about you, brother?
Daowu: The thoroughly realized body is hands and eyes.

*Master Daowu Yuanzhi (769-835) is, like Yunyan himself, a dharma successor of Yaoshan Weiyan.


Further Reading

Yunyan Tansheng in the Denkōroku (Record of the Transmission of the Lamp)

Advertisement
%d bloggers like this: