Páng jūshì yǔlù 龐居士語錄
Sayings-Record of Layman Páng — a three-juan Táng yǔlù of the celebrated lay Chán master Páng Yùn 龐蘊 (hào Páng jūshì 龐居士, c. 740–808) — one of the most beloved figures of classical Chán literature and a paradigm of the serious lay practitioner. Compiled by Yú Dí 于頔, the Táng scholar-official who was Páng Yùn’s patron and interlocutor.
About the work
A three-juan Táng-era Chán lay-master’s yǔlù, X69 n1336. Non-commentary; commentedTextid omitted.
Páng Yùn 龐蘊 (hào Dàoxuán 道玄; c. 740–808): the archetypal Chinese Chán lay practitioner. Reportedly cast his entire family wealth into the river to free himself of attachment, then lived a family life of manual labour (weaving bamboo baskets) while sustaining serious Chán practice with his wife and his daughter Língzhào 靈照. Páng trained under Shítóu Xīqiān 石頭希遷, then with Mǎzǔ Dàoyī 馬祖道一 (see KR6q0267). His deathbed gāozuò 高座 encounter with his daughter Língzhào has been one of the most-cited Chán stories throughout the tradition.
Compiler Yú Dí 于頔: Táng scholar-official; lay patron of Páng Yùn. Lifedates approximately contemporary with Páng.
The Páng Yùn corpus is a foundational source for the ideal of serious lay Chán practice that has continued through the tradition — directly invoked by later lay-yǔlù such as Xú Chāngzhì’s Wúyī dàorén lù KR6q0192 in the late Míng.
Dating: notBefore c. 790 (Páng’s mature teaching-years); notAfter c. 830 (Yú Dí’s compilation-horizon in the early 9th century).
Translations and research
- Sasaki, Ruth Fuller, Yoshitaka Iriya, and Dana R. Fraser (trans.). 1971. The Recorded Sayings of Layman P’ang. Weatherhill. The standard English translation.
- Mitchell, Stephen. 1993. The Enlightened Heart. Includes Páng poetry.
Links
- CBETA X1336
- Kanseki DB
- Standard English translation: Sasaki, Iriya & Fraser 1971.