Shōyōroku / Congrong lu · CASE 4
The World-Honored One Points to the Ground
The Book of Serenity
Banshō's pointer
The instant one speck of dust is raised, the whole earth is gathered in. With one horse and one spear, open the frontier and spread the territory. Who can act as master wherever he is and, on meeting conditions, be immediately the source?
Case
The World-Honored One was walking with the assembly. He pointed to the ground and said, “This would be a suitable place to build a Buddhist temple.” Indra took one blade of grass, planted it in the ground, and said, “The Buddhist temple has been built.” The World-Honored One smiled faintly.
Hongzhi's verse
On the tips of the hundred grasses, boundless spring. Freely picked up, it works intimately. The sixteen-foot golden body, a mass of merit— Casually, hand in hand, they enter the red dust. Within dust, able to act as master; Beyond transformation, arriving naturally as guest. Wherever they touch, a livelihood sufficient to their share; Never resenting that their skills fall short of anyone else's.
Footnotes 1
- Banshō retells a former-life account connecting the Buddha with Dīpaṃkara. It is translated as Buddhist hagiography, not as independently established history. ↩
About this version and its sources
- Full source citation
- Source title: 世尊指地. Base: CBETA T2004, T48n2004_p0230a01–p0230a23. Angle brackets represent inline notes.
- Method
- Direct critical-edition translation from the cited received base text. Source claims, hagiography, uncertainty, and unresolved readings remain identified in the notes and project record.
- Editorial uncertainty
- Independent philological and reader review remain pending.
- Rights
- Project translation © Tulsa Zen Center Critical Edition contributors. Source text is cited by edition; redistribution policy requires final organizational approval.
- Revision identifier
- ed5af24d385a
Banshō's commentary on the case
In a former-life story, the World-Honored One spread his hair over mud and offered flowers to Dīpaṃkara Buddha. Dīpaṃkara pointed to the place covered by the hair and said, “A temple should be built on this plot.” An elder named Xianshou planted a marker where he pointed and said, “The temple has been built.” Devas scattered flowers and praised the young man's great wisdom.4 Tendō raises a story broadly the same, with minor differences. Banshō says: the World-Honored One transferred the deed of his ancestral estate to Dīpaṃkara, and an elder immediately took responsibility for the beginning and gathered up the end. Now it is handed to Tendō; he must produce a matching contract. Tendō's first four lines versify the old case. He then lays out its outline and extends the wind of transformation. Jōshū picked up one blade of grass and used it as the sixteen-foot golden body. The World-Honored One pointed it out directly into the wind; Indra freely picked it up. Tendō's verse interweaves person and environment. This does not concern only ancient sages. Right now, can you act as master within the dust and also come as a guest beyond transformation? Tell me: the elegant imperial son-in-law Liu founded this Baoen Cloister. Is that the same as or different from Indra planting the grass? Banshō raised his whisk and said, “A thousand-year permanent dwelling; a monk for one morning.”