Song of Precious Mirror Samadhi

Pao-ching San-mei-ko
By Ch'an Master Tung-shan Liang-chieh
Contents
Title of the Text
Author of the Text
The Pao-ching San-mei-ko
The Original Chinese Text
The Chinese Text with Japanese "Current Characters"
Variant Characters in Different Versions of the Text
Translation of the Text
Japanese Transcription of the Text
Bibliography

Title of the Text

Pao-ching San-mei-ko (Wade-Giles)

Baojing Sanmeige (Pinyin) Bao jing San mei ge
Hky Zanmaika (Japanese)
Literally, Treasure Mirror Samdhi Song/Poem
3

The poem is usually known as Hky Zammai (Precious

Mirror Samdhi ).
Various Translations of the Title
1. The Song of the Jeweled Mirror Samadhi (Toshu John
Neatrour, Sheng-yen, Kazu Tanahashi)

2. Song of the Jewel Mirror Samadhi

3. Sacred Mirror Samadhi (Daisetsu Teitar Suzuki)
4. Samadhi of the Invaluable Mirror
5. Song of the Bright Mirror Samadhi

Author of the Text

Tung-shan Liang-chieh (Wade-Giles)

Dongshan Liangjia (Pinyin) Dong shan Liang jia
Tzan Rykai (Japanese)
4

Tung-shan Liang-chieh (Tzan Rykai, 807-869) is the

founder of the Ts'ao-tung (St) School of Zen
Buddhism. He was a contemporary of Lin-chi I-hsan
(Rinzai Gigen, d.866 ).
Tung-shan Liang-chieh is also known as Wu-pen Ta-shih
(Gohon Daishi ).
In Japanese, his name (Tung-shan) is pronounced either
as Tzan or as Tsan.
His sayings and teaching were compiled in Tung-shan
Ch'an-shih Liang-chieh Y-lu (Tzan Rykai Zenji
Goroku ) (Dainihon Zokuzky, vol.
2 No. 24 ).
"Tsan Rykai practiced first under Nansen and Isan ,
but it was from the master Ungan Donj that he finally
received the Seal. His manner of instructing and leading
his disciples was mild, without stick or shout. In silent
introspection they were to seek the enlightenment which
must manifest itself in the activities of daily life."
(The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth
1

Patriarch 25)
"While Tung-shan Liang-chih was still a boy a Vinaya
teacher made him study the Hridaya Stra , and tried to
explain the sentence, 'There is no eye, no nose, . . .' But
Liang-chih surveyed his teacher scrutinizingly with his
eye, and then touched his own body with his hand, and
finally said, 'You have a pair of eyes, and the other senseorgans, and I am also provided with them. Why does the
Buddha tell us that there are no such things?' The Vinaya
teacher was surprised at his question and told him: 'I am
not capable of being your teacher. You be ordained by a
Zen master, for you will some day be a great teacher of
the Mahyna.' "
(Essays in Zen Buddhism Third Series 237-8)
4

"Yun-mn asked Tung-shan: 'Whence do you come?'

'From Chia-tu.' 'Where did you pass the summer session?'
'At Pao-tzu, in Hu-nan.' 'When did you come here?'
'August the twenty-fifth.' Yun-mn concluded, 'I release
you from thirty blows [though you rightly deserve them].'
On Tung-shan's interview with Mn, Tai-hui
comments:
How simple-hearted Tung-shan was! He answered
the master straightforwardly, and so it was natural for
him to reflect, 'What fault did I commit for which I was
to be given thirty blows when I replied as truthfully as I
could?' The day following he appeared again before the
master and asked, 'Yesterday you were pleased to release
me from thirty blows, but I fail to realize my own fault?'
Said Yun-mn, 'Oh you rice-bag, this is the way you
wander from the West of the river to the south of the
5

Lake!' This remark all of a sudden opened Tung-shan's

eye, and yet he had nothing to communicate, nothing to
reason about. He simply bowed, and said, 'After this I
shall build my little hut where there is no human
habitation; not a grain of rice will be kept in my pantry,
not a stalk of vegetable will be growing on my farm; and
yet I will abundantly treat all the visitors to my hermitage
from all parts of the world; and I will even draw off all
the nails and screws [that are holding them to a stake]; I
will make them part with their greasy hats and illsmelling clothes, so that they are thoroughly cleansed of
dirt and become worthy monks.' Yun-mn smiled and
said, 'What a large mouth you have for a body no larger
than a coconut!' " (Essays in Zen Buddhism Second
Series 28)
"While scholars of the Avatamsaka School were making
use of the intuitions of Zen in their own way, the Zen
masters were drawn towards the philosophy of Indentity
and Interpenetration advocated by the Avatamsaka, and
attempted to incorporate it into their own discourses. For
instance, Shih-t'ou in his 'Ode on Identity' depicts the
mutuality of Light and Dark as restricting each other and
at the same time being fused in each other; Tung-shan in
his metrical composition called 'Sacred Mirror Samadhi'
discourses on the mutuality of P'ien , 'one-sided', and
Chng , 'correct', much to the same effect as Shih-t'ou in
his Ode, for both Shih-t'ou and Tung-shan belong to the
school of Hsing-szu known as the Ts'ao-tung branch of
Zen Buddhism. This idea of Mutuality and Indentity is no
doubt derived from Avatamsaka philosophy, so ably
formulated by Fa-tsang. As both Shih-t'ou and Tung-shan
6

10

11

are Zen masters, their way of presenting it is not at all

like that of the metaphysician." (Essays in Zen Buddhism
Third Series 19)
"Tung-shan's poem, which was composed when he saw
his reflection in the stream which he was crossing at the
time, may give us some glimpse into his inner experience
of the Prajpramit:
Beware of seeking [the Truth] by others,
Further and further he retreats from you;
Alone I go now all by myself,
And I meet him everywhere I turn.
He is no other than myself,
And yet I am not he.
When thus understood,
I am face to face with Tathat."
(Essays in Zen Buddhism Third Series 238)
Long seeking it through others,
I was far from reaching it.
Now I go by myself;
I meet it everywhere.
It is just I myself,
And I am not itself.
Understanding this way,
I can be as I am.
(Two Zen Classics 267)
Do not seek from another,
Or you will be estranged from self.
I now go on alone,
Finding I meet It everywhere.
It now is I,
I now am not It.
One should understand in this way

To merge with suchness as is.

(Transmission of Light 38)
Don't seek from others,
Or you'll be estranged from yourself.
I now go on alone
Everywhere I encounter It.
It now is me, I now am not It.
One must understand in this way
To merge with being as is.
(Transmission of Light 167)

Wu-men Kuan (Mumonkan) Case 15 Tung-shan's Sixty

Blows

Tung-shan came to study with Yn-men (Unmon). Ynmen asked, "Where are you from?"

"From Cha-tu (Sato)," Tung-shan replied.

"Where were you during the summer?"

"Well, I was at the monastery of Pao-tz'u (Hzu), south

of the lake."

"When did you leave there," Yn-men asked.

"On August 25" was Tung-shan's reply.

"I spare you sixty blows," Yn-men said.

The next day Tung-shan came to Yn-men and said,

"Yesterday you said you spared me sixty blows.

I beg to ask you, where was I at fault?"

"Oh, you rice bag!" shouted Yn-men. "What makes you

wander about, now west of the river, now south of the
lake?"

Tung-shan thereupon came to a mighty enlightenment

experience.
Wu-men's Comment

If Yn-men had given Tung-shan the true food of Zen and

encouraged him to develop an active Zen spirit, his
school would not have declined as it did.

Tung-shan had an agonizing struggle through the whole

night, lost in the sea of right and wrong. He reached a
complete impasse. After waiting for the dawn, he again
went to Yn-men, and Yn-men again made him a picture
book of Zen.
(Two Zen Classics 61-2)
Wu-men Kuan (Mumonkan) Case 18 Tung-shan's "Ma
san chin"

A monk asked Tung-shan, "What is Buddha?"

Tung-shan replied, "Ma san chin!" (Masagin) [three

pounds of flax].

(Two Zen Classics 71)

Notes
Nan-ch'an P'u-yan (Nansen Fugan, 748-834
)
1

Wei-shan Ling-yu (Isan Reiy 771-853 )

Yn-yen T'an-cheng (Ungan Donj 782-841 )
The Heart Stra (Hannya Shingy
)
Maka Hannya Haramita Shingy (
)
"Heart Sutra (Skt. Mahprajapramit-hridaya-stra,
Jap.,
Maka
hannyaharamita shingy,
roughly
"Heartpiece of the
'Prajapramit-stra'); shortest of the forty stras that
constitute the Prajapramit-stra."
(The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion
128)
Yn-men Wen-yen (Unmon Bun'en, 864?-949
)
Also known as K'uang-chen Ch'an-shih (Kyshin Zenji
)
Hua-yen-tsung (Kegonsh )
Shih-t'ou Hsi-ch'ien (Sekit Kisen, 700-790 )
Ts'an-t'ung-ch'i (Sandkai )
One-sided (p'ien, hen )
Correct (cheng, sh )
Ts'ao-tung (St )
2

10

11

The Pao-ching San-mei-ko

The Pao-ching San-mei-ko is one of the most famous Zen
poems. The poem is regarded a stra in the St Sect,
within which it occupies an important position as a
scripture. The text is found in Taish Daizky, vol. 47,
No. 515 a-b ().
"One of the Five Classics, I Jing (Book of Changes) is a
system of divination based on the permutations of yin
and yang, examining present tendencies toward change as
represented through the use of six-line combinations of
broken and unbroken lines, called hexagrams. Dongshan
Liangjie refers expressly to this work in his famous
poem, Baojing sanmei ke (Song of the Jewel Mirror
Samadhi), a core-text of Cao-Dong : "It is like the six
lines of the double split hexagram; the relative and
absolute integrate piled up, they make the three; the
complete transformation makes five."
Indeed,
Dongshan's teaching of the Five Ranks can also be
understood as a diagrammatic explanation of the
interaction between yin and yang, transposed into a
Buddhist context."
1

Notes
I Ching (Ekiky )
Ts'ao-tung (St )

Wu-wei (Goi )
1

The Original Chinese Text

The Chinese Text with Japanese "Current

Characters"
In the following text, the obsolete characters in the
original text are replaced with newer, simplified or
slightly altered characters used in contemporary
Japanese, known as Ty Kanji. These newer characters
are indicated with gray color. Also, in the Japanese
versions of the text, some Chinese characters are replaced
with similar characters. These characters are indicated
with blue color.

Variant Characters in Different Versions of the

Text
Line
Version

Japanese Version

Code: &C3-325B

Chinese

2
3
4
7
10
12
13
14
19
30
31
40
41
46
47

Translation of the Text

Song of Precious Mirror Samadhi

The dharma of thusness is

intimately transmitted by buddhas and ancestors.

Now you have it; preserve it

well.

A silver bowl filled with snow,

a heron hidden in the moon.
Taken as similar, they are not
the same; not distinguished, their places are known.
The meaning does not reside in
the words, but a pivotal moment brings it forth.
Move and you are trapped,
miss and you fall into doubt and vacillation.
Turning away and touching are
both wrong, for it is like a massive fire.
Just to portray it in literary
form is to stain it with defilement.
In darkest night it is perfectly
clear; in the light of dawn it is hidden.
It is a standard for all things; its
use removes all suffering.
Although it is not constructed,
it is not beyond words.
Like facing a precious mirror;
form and reflection behold each other.
You are not it, but in truth it is
you.
Like a newborn child, it is fully
endowed with five aspects:
No going, no coming, no
arising, no abiding;
P'o-p'o han-han is anything
said or not?

 In the end it says nothing, for

the words are not yet right.
In the hexagram "double fire,"
when main and subsidiary lines are transposed,
Piled up they become three; the
permutations make five.
Like the taste of the fiveflavored herb, like the five-pronged vajra.
Wondrously embraced within
the complete, drumming and singing begin together.
Penetrate the source and travel
the pathways, embrace the territory and treasure the
roads.
You would do well to respect
this; do not neglect it.
Natural and wondrous, it is not
a matter of delusion or enlightenment.
Within causes and conditions,
time and season, it is serene and illuminating.
So minute it enters where there
is no gap, so vast it transcends dimension.
A hairsbreadth's deviation, and
you are out tune.
Now there are sudden and
gradual, in which teachings and approaches arise.
With teachings and approaches
distinguished, each has its standard.
Whether teachings and
approaches are mastered or not, reality constantly flows.

Outside still and inside

trembling, like tethered colts or cowering rats.
The ancient sages grieved for
them, and offered them the dharma.
Led by their inverted views,
they take black for white.
When inverted thinking stops,
the affirming mind naturally accords.
If you want to follow in the
ancient tracks, please observe the sages of the past.
One on the verge of realizing
the Buddha Way contemplated a tree for ten kalpas.
Like a battle-scarred tiger, like
a horse with shanks gone grey.
Because some are vulgar,
jeweled tables and ornate robes.
Because others are wide-eyed,
cats and white oxen.
With his archer's skill, Yi hit
the mark at a hundred paces.
But when arrows meet headon, how could it be a matter of skill?
The wooden man starts to sing,
the stone woman gets up dancing.
It is not reached by feelings or
consciousness, how could it involve deliberation?
Ministers serve their lords,
children obey their parents.
Not obeying is not filial, failure

to serve is no help.

With practice hidden, function

secretly, like a fool, like an idiot.
Just to continue in this way is
called the host within the host.

The Song of the Jeweled Mirror Samadhi

Translated by Toshu John Neatrour, Sheng-yen, and
Kazu Tanahashi

The teaching of suchness, is

given directly, through all buddha ancestors,

Now that it's yours, keep it
well.
A serving of snow in a silver
bowl, or herons concealed in the glare of the moon
Apart, they seem similar,
together, they're different.
Meaning cannot rest in words,
it adapts itself to that which arises.
Tremble and you're lost in a
trap, miss and there's always regrets.
Neither reject nor cling to
words, both are wrong; like a ball of fire,
Useful but dangerous. Merely
expressed in fine language, the mirror will tarnish.
At midnight truly it's most

bright, by daylight it cannot still be seen.

It is the principle that regulates
all, relieving every suffering.
Though it doesn't act it is not
without words.
In the most precious mirror
form meets reflection:
You are not It, but It is all you.
Just as a baby, five senses
complete,
Neither going or coming, nor
arising or staying,
Babbles and coos: speech
without meaning,
No understanding, unclearly
expressed.
Six lines make the double li
trigram, where principle and appearances interact.
Lines stacked in three pairs yet
transform in five ways.
Like the five flavors of the
hyssop plant or the five branches of the diamond scepter,
Reality harmonizes subtly just
as melody and rhythm, together make music.
Penetrate the root and you
fathom the branches, grasping connections, one then
finds the road.
To be wrong is auspicious,
there's no contradiction.

 Naturally pure and profoundly

subtle, it touches neither delusion nor awakening,
At each time and condition it
quietly shines.
So fine it penetrates no space
at all, so large its bounds can never be measured.
But if you're off by a hair's
breadth all harmony's lost in discord.
Now there are sudden and
gradual schools with principles, approaches so standards
arise.
Penetrating the principle,
Mastering the approach, the
genuine constant continues outflowing.
A tethered horse, a mouse
frozen in fear, outwardly still but inwardly whirling:
Compassionate sages freed
them with teaching.
In upside down ways folks
take black for white.
When inverted thinking falls
away they realize mind without even trying.
If you want to follow the
ancient path then consider the ancients:
The buddha, completing the
path, still sat for ten eons.
Like a tiger leaving a trace of
the prey, like a horse missing the left hind shoe,
For those whose ability is

under the mark, a jeweled footrest and brocaded robe.

For others who still can
manifest wonder there's a house cat and cow.

Yi the archer shot nine of ten suns

from the sky, saving parched crops, another bowman hit targets at
hundreds of paces:

These skills are small to

compare with that in which two arrow points meet head
on in mid air.
The wooden man breaks into
song, a stone maiden leaps up to dance,
They can't be known by mere
thought or feelings, so how can they be analyzed?
The minister still serves his
lord, the child obeys his parent.
Not obeying is unfilial, not
serving is a useless waste.

Practicing inwardly,
functioning in secret, playing the fool, seemingly stupid,
If you can only persist in this
way, you will see the lord within the lord.

Japanese Transcription of the Text

Hky Zanmaika

fusu.

Nyoze no h Busso mitsu ni

Nanji ima kore o etari,

yoroshiku yoku hgo subeshi.

Ginwan ni yuki o mori,

meigetsu ni ro o kakusu.

Rui shite hitoshikarazu.

Konzuru tokinba tokoro o shiru.

Kokoro koto ni arazareba,
raiki mata omomuku.
Dzureba kakyu o nashi,
tagaeba kocho ni otsu.
Haisoku tomo ni hi nari.
Daijaku no gotoshi.
Tada monsai ni arawaseba,
sunawachi zenna ni zokusu.
Yahan shmei, tengy furo.
Mono no tame ni nori to naru.
Moichiite shku o nuku.
Ui ni arazu to iedomo, kore go
naki ni arazu.
Hky ni nozonde, gyy
aimiru ga gotoshi.
Nanji kore kare ni arazu, kare
masa ni kore nanji.
Yo no yji no gos gangu suru
ga gotoshi.
Fukyo, furai, fuku, fuj.
Ba-ba wa-wa, uku, muku,
Tsui ni mono o ezu, go imada
tadashikarazaru ga yue ni.

 Juri rikk, hensh ego,

Tatande san to nari, henji
tsukite go to naru.

Chis no ajiwai no gotoku,

kong no sho no gotoshi.

Shch myky, ksh narabi

agu.

Sh ni tsji to ni tszu, kytai

kyro.

Shakunen naru tokinba kitsu

nari. Bongo subekarazu.

Tenshin ni shite my nari.

Meigo ni zoku sezu.

Innen jisetsu, jakunen to shite

shcho su.

Sai ni wa muken ni iri, dai ni

wa hjo o zessu.

Gkotsu no tagai, ritsuryo ni

zezu.

Ima tonzen ari, shshu o

rissuru ni yotte.

Shshu wakaru, sunawachi

kore kiku nari.

Sh tsji shu kiwamaru mo,

shinj ruch.

Hoka jaku ni uchiogoku wa,

tsunageru koma, fukuseru nezumi.

Sensh kore o kanashinde h
no dando to naru.

 Sono tend ni shitagatte shi o

motte so to nasu.

Tend smetsu sureba kshin

mizukara yurusu.

Kotetsu ni kanawan to yseba

k zenko o kanzeyo.

Butsud o jzuru ni nannan to

shite jukk ju o kanzu.

Tora no kaketaru ga gotoku,

uma no yome no gotoshi.

Geretsu aru o motte hki

chingyo,

Kyi aru o motte rinu

byakko.

Gei wa gyriki o motteite

hyappo ni atsu,

Senp aiau, gyriki nanzo

azukaran.

Bokujin masa ni utai, sekijo

tatte mau.

Jshiki no itaru ni arazu,

mushiro shiryo o iren ya.

Shin wa kimi ni bushi, ko wa

chichi ni junzu.

Junzezareba k ni arazu,

busezareba ho ni arazu.

Senk mitsuy wa gu no

gotoku, ro no gotoshi.

Tada yoku szoku suru o

shuch no shu to nazuku.

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Bibliography
The Development of Chinese Zen After the Sixth Patriarch. Heinrich
Dumoulin. SMC Publishing, Inc. Taipei, n.d..
The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion. Ingrid
Fischer-Schreiber, et al. Shambhala Publications. New York, 1994.
Essays in Zen Buddhism, 3 vols. Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki. Rider and
Company. London, 1949-53.
Two Zen Classics. Katsuki Sekida. Weatherhill. New York, 1995.
Zen Essence: The Science of Freedom. Ed. and trans. by Thomas
Cleary. Shambhala Publications. New York, 1989.