Definition
Reading: Tozan Ryokai / Reading (ZH): Dòngshān Liángjiè
Dongshan Liangjie (洞山良价) is a Zen monk of the Tang dynasty. He was a person from Kuaiji, and his secular surname was Yu. When he was young, he was learning the Heart Sutra with his teacher. When he reached the part saying “there are no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind,” he asked his teacher, “I actually have eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body. Why does the sutra say there are none?” His teacher was surprised by his unusual talent and said, “I am not able to be your teacher.” He sent him to Zen Master Lingmo of Mt. Gexue, and he became a monk there. He shaved his head at Mt. Gexue and received the full precepts at Mt. Song at the age of twenty-one. After that, he traveled around various places and first met 南泉普願 (Nanquan Puyuan). At the memorial service for 馬祖道一 (Mazu Daoyi), Nanquan asked, “Tomorrow we will make an offering for Mazu. Will Mazu really come?” Liangjie answered, “He will come if there is a suitable companion.” Nanquan praised his talent greatly. Next, he visited 潙山霊祐 (Guishan Lingyou) and asked about 南陽慧忠 (Nanyang Huizhong)’s teaching that inanimate things preach the Dharma. Guishan avoided speaking with words and advised him to visit 雲巌曇晟 (Yunyan Tansheng). Liangjie practiced under Yunyan Tansheng. When Liangjie asked about the true essence of Yunyan, Yunyan answered, “Just this is it.” Later, when he saw his own reflection in the water of a river, he understood the true meaning of Yunyan’s words and reached great enlightenment. He taught students at Mt. Xinfeng. After that, he moved to Mt. Dong in Gaoan, Yuzhang (present-day Yichun City, Jiangxi Province, Yunzhou at that time), and he made the Zen style flourish greatly. The mind and body of a person who enters the priesthood should not stick to external things. This is true practice. The theory of the “Five Ranks” (Five Ranks of the Partial and Complete / Five Ranks of Lord and Vassal), which he systematized with his disciple 曹山本寂 (Caoshan Benji), became the standard of Zen training, and later became the foundation of the Soto school style.
Death: He passed away on March 8 in the tenth year of Xiantong of the Tang dynasty (869). His age was sixty-three, and his Dharma age was forty-two.
Posthumous Title: 悟本大師 ）(景徳傳燈録 卷第十五（No. 2076 道原纂） in Vol. 51).
Q&A
- Q: Why did Dongshan Liangjie reach great enlightenment when he saw his own reflection in the water of a river?
- A: Because the moment he saw his own reflection in the water of the river, he understood the true meaning of his master Yunyan Tansheng's words, "Just this is it."
