Zhàozhōu héshàng yǔlù 趙州和尚語錄
Recorded Sayings of the Venerable Zhào-zhōu by 從諗 (說), 文遠 (記), 大參 (重校), 明聲 (重刻)
About the work
Three-juan recorded-sayings (yǔlù) of the great Táng Chán master Zhàozhōu Cōngshěn 從諗 (778–897, zhēnjì chánshī 真際禪師), principal dharma-heir of Nánquán Pǔyuàn 南泉普願 in the Mǎzǔ line, whose abbacy at Guānyīnyuàn 觀音院 (later renamed Zhēnjì chányuàn 真際禪院, Dòujiāyuán 竇家園) in Zhàozhōu 趙州 (modern Zhaoxian, Hebei) made him one of the two or three most widely-quoted masters in Chán history. Recorded by his disciple Wényuǎn 文遠, re-collated in the late Míng by Dàcān 大參 of Línlìdàorén 轆轢道人 (a lay hall-name), and re-printed by Míngshēng 明聲 Cóngxīn (叢心) of the Yúnmén branch. Jiāxīng zàng J24 no. B137.
Abstract
Textual history. Zhàozhōu’s oral teachings, recorded by Wényuǎn during the master’s long career — most of it spent at Zhàozhōu from age 80 until his death at 120 in the 11th month of wùzǐ (Qiánhuà 3 = 897) — were preserved at Zhēnjì chányuàn. A supplementary biographical narrative was added by the inquirer Huìtōng chánshī 惠通禪師 of Dōngdū Dōngyuàn 東都東院 on the 13th of summer-month of HòuTáng Bǎodà 11 = 953, and this xínghuà juéyóu 行化厥由 closes juan 3. The present edition is a late-Míng re-printing by Míngshēng, with a re-editing by Dàcān; the preface to the reprint opens the text.
Contents. Juan 1: shàngtáng 上堂 sermons and wèndá 問答 dialogues, in the concise, epigrammatic style for which Zhàozhōu is famous — including the celebrated wú 無 encounter (“does a dog have Buddha-nature?” — “wú”), the chīchá qù 喫茶去 (“go drink tea”) dialogue, and the zhènzhōu luó-bo 鎮州蘿蔔 / qīngzhōu bùshān 青州布衫 mottoes. Juan 2: further encounter-dialogues and niāngǔ 拈古 quotations. Juan 3: zhèngdàogē 證道歌-style verse, final remarks, the death-bed instructions (no shělì 舍利 to be extracted; cremated body to be buried without fancy), and Huìtōng’s 953 biographical conclusion.
The Dàcān / Míngshēng reprint was triggered by their observation that the existing transmissions of the yǔlù had become “traces blurred” (móhú 糢糊); the reprint restored a cleaner textual line. Dàcān’s zhòngjiào 重校 was based on multiple manuscripts. Míngshēng, identifying as a “Yúnmén disciple” (i.e. a spiritual descendant of Yúnmén Wényǎn 雲門文偃 — who himself had cited Zhàozhōu extensively — thus honouring a direct inspiration-line), undertook the block-cutting.
Dating. Composition / original transcription: latter half of the 9th century (notBefore ~848, the start of Zhàozhōu’s Zhàozhōu residency). Closure of the text with Huìtōng’s biography: 953 (the Bǎodà year date in the colophon). The Dàcān / Míngshēng reprint is Míng-dynasty (probably mid-17th c.), but the text itself is anchored between 848 and 953.
Other points of interest
- Zhàozhōu’s death-date is precise to the day: 10th day of 11th month of wùzǐ = 10 December 897 — after “two years residence at Zhàozhōu” in this final abbacy. He was 120, with 100 years of ordained life.
- This yǔlù is the primary textual source for the Zhàozhōu anecdotes that became staple gōngàn material in the Wúménguān 無門關, the Bìyán lù 碧巖錄, and the Cóngróng lù 從容錄. Zhàozhōu’s epithets “Zhàozhōu gǔfó 趙州古佛” and “Zhàozhōu chá 趙州茶” trace to its readings.
- Note the claim in the text’s closing biography that Zhàozhōu reached age 120 — the traditional lifedates 778–897 yield exactly that span. Some modern scholarship treats 120 as hagiographic; the dates nonetheless establish Zhàozhōu as a late-career disciple of Nánquán (d. 834) whose long Zhàozhōu residency only began in his eightieth year.
Translations and research
Translations. James Green (Yoel Hoffmann), The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu (Shambhala, 1998); Ruth Fuller Sasaki / Yoshitaka Iriya / Dana R. Fraser, A Man of Zen: The Recorded Sayings of Layman P’ang (1971, partial comparative material); and John Loori, Sitting with Koans (2006, partial). In French: Catherine Toulsaly. The complete Green translation is standard for Anglophone students.
Studies. James Green’s extensive notes; Griffith Foulk’s study of the gōng-àn tradition; the foundational essay by Yanagida Seizan 柳田聖山, “Zhào-zhōu lù no tenkyo” (on the sources of Zhào-zhōu’s yǔlù). See also Dale S. Wright, Philosophical Meditations on Zen Buddhism (1998) for philosophical engagement.