TODAY, RIDING IN A CAR FLYING BACK TO THE CITY
The Master’s Unprecedented Matching Couplets Class

◎Oldy But Goody

“The art of matching couplets is a singularly special style in Chinese literature,” commented Upasaka Liu, the Master’s Teaching Assistant in his Matching Couplets class. “When the matches are perfect, the metaphorical meanings are deep and far-reaching and the beauty and wonder of the Chinese language is thoroughly revealed. The method by which it is revealed is in matching the upper and lower lines－so they fit together and are related. Particularly, phrases of only a few words are able to communicate many inner feelings.”

The Master’s Matching Couplets class began back in the l970’s at Gold Mountain Dhyana Monastery. A disciple commented:

Of the 84,000 Dharma-doors, one of the most wonderful is completing the second line of a couplet. This practice, a fine art in China, is learned through much study and meditation. Teachers can use this method to inspire and lead students to awaken to their original wisdom. At Gold Mountain Dhyana Monastery, the Master teaches a weekly Couplets class. A good match not only completes the meaning of the first line, but is written so that the meaning, tone, and style are matched character for character. Thus, the first and second lines, although complete in themselves, also are paired to make sense as a whole. This is the first time this Dharma has been taught in the West.

By l980, Matching Couplets class was an important event in life at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas and was a core course in the Dharma Realm Buddhist University curriculum. Upasaka Liu comments, “The method of matching couplets appears to be simple and easy, but actually it’s not easy. It’s hard to make a good match. If the one composing it lacks scholarship, then the couplet will be too simplistic. If he lacks character, the couplet will be weak. If he lacks feelings, then the couplet will be insubstantial. If he lacks literary skill, then the couplet will be quite ordinary. Without both erudition and lofty character, it is difficult to soar to the sphere of refined literary genius... And so matching couplets is the most exquisite among all of China’s exquisite literary forms.”

“What a shame that currently the art is declining and those who really have talent in making couplets are rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns! And so how fortunate that now the Master is teaching this unprecedented class in which Westerns and Asians can learn about the ancient Chinese art of matching couplets. The Master’s ingenious method of teaching is a gradual approach. As an expert, he makes it simple, and Western and Asian students alike have become seriously interested in this art.”

And of course Couplets class was more than just study of a literary form. The content of the couplets always contained principles that were proper and timely. Buddhist doctrines, terms, and lists were succinctly expressed in brief phrases of the couplets. Confucian concepts of how to be a good person and how to relate to and benefit the family, society, and all nations were introduced in the brief wording of the couplets.

One of the Master’s lines, composed in l980 when he was traveling back and forth between San Francisco’s Gold Mountain and the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas at least twice weekly, reveals so well the Master’s dedication to education that was so intense that he continually sacrificed his own health and comfort to nurture and support it. The line goes like this:

Today, riding in a car flying back to the City, I came especially for the sake of tomorrow, to listen attentively to Professor Cheng teach his class, so that later in the future I can establish myself and practice the Way, thus developing a good foundation.

In the couplets below, each word in bold face represents the translation of the Chinese characters in each line of the couplet. The other words are grammatical necessities in English. Analyzing the couplets, the first and second lines’ matching words, the parts of speech and grammatical functions in English are shown on the charts.

Proper nouns are matched with proper nouns; common nouns with common nouns; adjectives with adjectives and verbs with verbs. In addition, the grammatical functions in the two sentences of the couplet must match, and no word in the first line can be repeated in the match. Now let’s look at some of the Master’s own couplets and analyze the grammar. It should be mentioned that the rhyming system involving the sounds and tones used in Chinese couplets is beyond the scope of the discussion that follows.

◆COUPLET ON THE MOUNTAIN GATE OF THE CITY OF TEN THOUSAND BUDDHAS
(on the west side－seen upon entering)

composed by the Master on May 4, 1980

The expansive scope of the Flower Adornment,
the Shurangama’s entire platform,
and the forty-two hands and eyes
pinion the heavens and secure the earth.

The World Honored Ones with wonderful enlightenment,
Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattvas,
and hundreds of billions of transformation bodies
take seas and turn them into mountains.

Analysis：

◆COUPLET ON THE MOUNTAIN GATE OF THE CITY OF TEN THOUSAND BUDDHAS
(on the east side－seen upon leaving)

composed by the Master on May 4, 1980

Kindness and compassion universally take beings across─
those who have faith will get saved.
Bring forth the Bodhi resolve
and with courage and vigor perfect Proper Enlightenment.

Joy and giving together cultivated－
those who worship will be blessed.
Make firm vows
and by means of patience and samadhi awaken to genuine truth.

Analysis：

◆COUPLET AT WESTERN BLISS GARDEN

composed by the Master during the ‘50’s

The three levels and nine grades (of rebirth) are certified to by
being mindful of Amitabha Buddha.

The six paramitas and myriad practices are perfected from
cultivating Paramita Dharmas.

Analysis：

◆COUPLETS

composed by the Master on June 20, l980

The spiritual penetrations and wonderful functions
of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
can move mountains and flip over seas
－defying description!

The occluded wisdom and the ignorance
of the masses of ordinary beings
can be turned from confusion and returned to enlightenment
－certifying to Bodhi!

◆

All Buddhas inherently possess the great wisdom of Manjushri.
From samadhis in number like motes of dust,
the Youth Good Wealth realizes Proper Enlightenment.

Bodhisattvas actively practice the vast vows of Samantabhadra.
From causes planted through eons equivalent to seas of lands,
the dragon maiden certifies to Non-Production.

◆

The myriad dharmas return to one.
Deep Valley* hears Brahma sounds
and those with sentience leave suffering
and attain Proper Enlightenment.

A thousand doors are non-dual.
The lofty peaks awaken beings from their confusing dream
and those without affinities receive rescue
and certify to Bodhi.

◆

The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas must be the Grotto of Heaven and the Blessed Abode where the Guiding Masters of the Three Realms proclaim Maha Prajna.

Tathagata Monastery is the Way-place and Dharma garden for living beings of the four directions to cultivate Unsurpassed Bodhi.

◆

Through the kind compassion of the Ten Thousand Buddhas,
the Dharma wheel constantly turns.
Adorning the Way-place and proclaiming the Proper Teaching
creates an auspicious light that dazzles heaven and earth.

Relying on universal rescue by the Triple Jewel,
sentient beings are eternally transformed.
Perfecting virtuous conduct and certifying to Bodhi,
forms a lucky cloud that shades the entire universe.

◆

Petty people’s lies shift from red to blue. Changing their countenance, they pass themselves off as gentlemen.

A man’s phrasing is like a stain of black on white.
Altering his words, he cannot be counted a hero.

◆

Don’t mistake the straight for the crooked;
don’t mistake the crooked for the straight;
and you won’t get hung up in the risky city of the five skandhas.

When you can transform existence into emptiness; transform emptiness into existence; you can get out of the dangerous dwelling of the six paths.

◆

Myriad beings enter the sea of faith;
and then Universal Worthy’s conduct and vows,
the Flower Adornment’s multitude of wonderful doors,
and Instilling Goodness’s Five Constants
form the true foundation
for peace and harmony among all nations.

One thought transcends the flow of confusion;
and then Guanyin’s kindness and compassion,
the Shurangama’s bright-light treasury,
and Developing Virtue’s Eight Qualities
become the pleasant palace
for our returning and relying on the Dharma Realm.

This method of matching couplets was an excellent way for the Master to teach people who knew little about Chinese. In the beginning he made the lessons simple. Disciples only had to match a short phrase or a simple sentence. Let’s look at some examples of the Master’s line and the disciples’ matches.

u Master’s line:

Doing what thing? (What are you doing?)

Disciples’ matches:

Matching a couplet.

Transforming living beings.

Cultivating Proper Dharma.

Being busy for whom?

v Master’s line:

People lacking knowledge make mistakes in cause and effect.

Disciples’ matches:

Those who attain the Way receive respect and admiration.

Those with deviant views fall into emptiness and falseness.

Those who are wise end birth and death.

Those who attain the Way get out of the cycle of rebirth.

Those with sufficient wisdom distinguish between black and white.

Those who have obstacles confuse right and wrong.

Those with wisdom create merit and virtue.

w Master’s line:

How busy we are for the sake of clothing, food, and shelter!

Disciples’ matches:

How difficult it is to practice humaneness, righteousness, and filiality!

How fine it would be if we could put an end to greed, hatred, and stupidity!

How happy we are to draw near the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha!

x Master’s line:

Our resolve should resemble a pine tree enduring the winters and summers.

Disciples’ matches:

Vows must be like solid vajra resisting shaking and moving.

Wisdom must be like the sun and moon passing from close to distant.

Energy (qi) must be like a rainbow connecting the sun and moon.

Cultivation must be like sailing vessels surviving favorable and counter flows.

Our scope must be like the seas and space containing the vast and the minute.

Vows must be like a lotus blossom transcending the mud and mire.

Our intent must be like a flowing river connecting beginnings and ends.

y Master’s line:

One whose mouth says “yes” while his mind means “no”－a phony “superior person.

Disciples’ matches:

Someone who to your face is compliant but behind your back opposes ─truly a petty man.

Someone whose words are false and whose actions are cunning ─a small-minded individual.

Someone whose words are true and whose actions are genuine ─a great hero.

Someone whose business is real but whose intentions are deceptive ─a first-class cheat.

Someone whose words are proper and whose mind is straight ─truly an exceptional one.

Someone whose causes are cautious so his effects are easy ─really a Bodhisattva.

Someone whose inner stuff is tough but whose outer appearance is soft ─a true Dharma protector.

Someone whose body is pure and whose mind is tranquil ─a true cultivator.

Someone whose mind is scattered and whose emotions are confused ─a messed-up individual.

z Master’s line:

Birth, old age, sickness and death─really are suffering!

Disciples’ matches:

Joy, rage, grief, and happiness─illusory like a dream.

Feeling, thinking, activities, and consciousness─aren’t they empty?

Permanence, bliss, true self, and purity─forever act as blessings.

Nations, cities, spouses, children─what’s there to cling to?

Faith, understanding, practice, and certification─absolute essentials!

Dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows─basically can’t be happiness.

Earth, water, fire, and air─poisonous snakes without exception!

Kindness, compassion, joy, and giving─begetters of happiness.

Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down─have the Way as their source.

Wealth, honor, glory, and splendor─none is not illusory.

Killing, stealing, lust, and lying─definite restraints!

Fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters─cultivate together!

{ Master’s line:

A superior person does not fear correcting his mistakes.

Disciples’ matches:

A petty one is always covering her faults.

A stupid one fails to recognize his faults.

A petty one likes to gloss over her errors.

A good practitioner won’t broadcast his merits.

A good practitioner won’t get angry over being humiliated.

A courageous individual will take responsibility for his wrong-doing.

An intelligent one won’t express her rage.

A wise one immediately corrects his faults.

A coarse fellow insists he’s right despite his faults.

Ordinary people repeatedly display their shortcomings.

| Master’s line:

The sound of the bell in Deep Valley [Ukiah] pervades the Dharma Realm.

Disciples’ matches:

The beating of the drum at Gold Mountain awakens the mind’s samadhi.

The light of wisdom from Enlightenment Mountain illumines the Saha world.

The pure light of the Way-place shines on the whole world.

The sweet rain at Ten Thousand Buddhas moistens the great earth.

The lion’s roar at this big monastery shakes up the universe.

The recitation of the Buddha’s name in ancient temples revolves in our ears.

Although the matching line may not repeat any characters (words) in the first line, it is all right for the first line itself to have repeated (words) in it. The following is an example with the repeated Chinese character being translated by the same word and underlined in English.

} Master’s line:

In being a person one must have an air of determination; in cultivating the Way one must be singularly sincere.

Disciples’ matches:

In learning to be a sage we should practice compassion; in doing virtuous deeds we should have patience under insult.

As a member of the Sangha it is fitting to diligently conserve our blessings; in accepting our destiny it is fitting to know contentment.

As a filial children we ought to repay our parents’ kindness; in doing good deeds we ought to be true and genuine.

To become a Buddha we have to get rid of greed; in practicing Dharmas we have to be sincere.

Being mindful of the Buddha requires a persevering mind; investigating Chan requires quiet samadhi.

In bringing forth the resolve, we should make vows; to certify to the fruition, we should diligently progress.

Sometimes sound plays a part in the match. This line of the Master’s has two sets of the same-sounding words—ru and lai. To make it even harder, one of those same-sounds—lai—is also the same character “come.” Matches had to use same sounds in those grammatical places and the second same-sound had to be an identical character. Romanized sounds are shown in the English translation to help the reader realize this Chinese sound pattern.

~ Master’s line:

You come (ru lai) and live in Thus Come (ru lai) [Tathagata] Monastery.

Disciples’ matches:

Do not speak words (wu yan) or laugh in Wordless (wu yan) Hall.

Everyone’s giving (xi she) in Joyous Giving (xi she) House.

Sprouts of enlightenment (miao jiao) grow at Wonderful Enlightenment (miao jiao) Mountain.

There must be clouds (xu yun) that billow around Empty Cloud (xu yun) Stupa.

It’s your bliss (ji le) to be born in the Ultimate Bliss (ji le) Land.

Wash the store (di zang) of gems in Earth Store (di zang) Hall.

Absolutely all Buddhas (wan fo) are seated in the Ten Thousand Buddha (wan fo) Hall.

Everyone brings up (pu ti) their resolve in the Bodhi (pu ti) Way-place.

How many advantages students of the Dharma reaped from the Master’s Couplet class! (1) It improved our Chinese vocabulary; (2) it taught us Chinese grammar; (3) we received invaluable lessons in how to cut off afflictions, how to develop our character, how to treat our elders and others, how to create merit and virtue, what our moral obligations were, how to cultivate and perfect our practices, how to expand the measure of our minds, and so forth; (4) we also received timely, direct, personal advice from the Master about correcting our faults through this wonderful expedient in a form we could all accept; (5) we learned to know each others’ minds and inclinations by the content of our matching lines. Ah! The good points could never all be listed!

The Master also stressed that in writing our matches on the blackboard, our characters had to be written neatly. The vertical line of characters could not be crooked or lop-sided, nor could the characters be written too large or too small. They had to be properly printed characters—no cursive style was allowed. The Master advised us that a person’s character was exposed in his/her writing. Crooked lines meant crooked minds.

A bit of space had to be left between each vertical line of characters—but not too much. We were reminded over and over not to take more than our share of space. I remember one time the Master threatened to charge a young boy "rent" because his line took up too much space on the board!

As a “Chinese-as-a-second-language” disciple, I found that these Couplet classes became the foundation by which I could come to appreciate the exquisite literary style found in the Shurangama Sutra, as well as the poetic form of the Master’s Heart Sutra Standless Verses, Shurangama Mantra Verses, Great Compassion Mantra Verses, Patriarch Verses, and the eloquent language of the Master’s Reflections in Water and Mirrors Turning back the Tide of Destiny.

You may complain that you don’t like grammar and that certainly Couplets class would have been too difficult. But not so! Whether we were non-native Chinese speakers or outstanding Chinese scholars, we were encouraged and challenged respectively. For instance the elementary school students－whether Asian or Western－were provided a small stool to stand on so they could reach the very bottom of the chalkboard to write their matches. The Master gave them their own special line to match. Below is a example.

} Master’s line for young students:

You, me, and others

students’ matches:

ghosts, spirits, and demons

heaven, earth, and people

people, ghosts, and animals

old, middle aged, and young

gods, people, and teachers

} Master’s line for older students:

A hundred birds call in space.

students’ matches:

The myriad creatures speak the Dharma.

Nine lotuses grow out of the water.

A single stone falls into a well.

Ten thousand arrows hit the target.

A thousand streams purge the earth.

A batch of butterflies flutters through the wilds.

And for the most sophisticated couplet scholars, the Master’s expedients were also ineffably wonderful. You can find a detailed discussion of that in Volume Two of In Memory of Venerable Master Hua in the article “A Bosom Friend for Three Years” where Professor Yang Fusen discusses his experiences in matching couplets with the Master. In perhaps the epitome of scholastic challenges, on the occasion of the Birthday Banquet to Revere the Elderly, Pay Homage to the Worthy, and Honor the Virtuous held in Los Angeles on December 20, l992, the Master composed a vertical Couplet and horizontal Heading, and then went on to do something that had never been done before: he composed Sub-Couplets for each phrase of the Main Couplet and a Sub-Couplet for the Heading. One wonders how many of the group of distinguished scholars who attended that banquet ever did hand in their matches to the Venerable Master! What follows are the Master’s Main Couplet, Heading, Sub-Couplets on each phrase of the main couplet and Sub-Couplet for the Heading.

|  Master’s line:

Respect elders and honor the worthy,
for, in their seniority and longevity,
blessings and wisdom are perfected.

Master’s match:

Learn from the Buddhas and study with the sages,
so that, at the advanced age of seventy or eighty,
both the Way and virtue will be reached.

Master’s title:

Evergreen like the pine and cedar.

||   Master’s sub-couplet for the first phrases of his couplet:

To respect elders and honor the worthy are the teachings of Confucius and Mencius.

Learning from the Buddhas and studying with the sages is the transmission of Shakyamuni.

||   Master’s sub-couplet for the second phrases of his couplet:

Seniority and longevity:
the teaching of Patriarchs.

At the advanced age of seventy or eighty,
how vast the universe!

||   Master’s sub-couplet for the third phrases of his couplet:

With blessings and wisdom perfected,
all people congratulate you.

With the Way and virtue both reached,
even the grass and trees are delighted.

||   Master’s sub-couplet for the title.

I am hesitant to admit my resolve
to imitate the bamboo and plum tree
that endure the ice and snow.

Wishing you superior ones all good health!
May you be like the pine and cedar
which remain evergreen.

In the early l970’s a well known leader of Zen Buddhism sent an invitation to Gold Mountain requesting the Master’s presence at a Transmission of Dharma ceremony. Although he dressed like a monk and took disciples, this elder religious leader, following the Japanese style, had a wife. We disciples were surprised when the Master said he would accept the invitation. But then he explained why: “The Roshi is doing the right thing. He is in America; he should transmit his lineage to an American. That’s the reason I’m willing to go. My presence indicates my agreement with his choice of Dharma heir, not the rest of what he stands for.”

The day came and the Master went, taking some of us disciples with him, of course. The Zendo was full of prosperous laity and we “ascetics” in our patched and unmatched robes and sashes looked quite out of place in the slick, petite, Japanese environment. Actually, the American Dharma heir looked a bit out of place too, in a robe that wrapped his gangling body tightly to the knees only. Perspiring profusely, and trembling enough to be noticed, he took mincing steps in his bare feet as he advanced to the altar to receive the transmission.

His elder teacher, who was bedridden with a terminal illness and unable to speak, was barely able to limp valiantly down a long walkway that the Dharma heir at the same time ascended, so that they met halfway, quite a distance from the crowd of spectators. The transmission took place in silence and the Dharma heir descended to bow again at the altar. Tradition had it that as soon as he received the transmission, the Dharma heir was to give a brief inaugural speech before being subjected to a barrage of challenging questions from his inherited followers to test his Dharma prowess.

The Dharma heir’s speech was brief: “At the moment of transmission, I received a tremendous communication from our teacher. He pointed up, pointed down, and then drew a circle with his finger. I immediately understood: ‘There is no high or low and the circle is empty.’” Then tough questions began to rain down and the new heir did his best to answer them cleverly. I remember one in particular. A young man asked, “This morning when I clipped my toenails, I couldn’t find a place to put the clippings. What about that?” The Dharma heir hesitated a moment and then replied, “You work in the kitchen, don’t you?” He was hoping, it seemed, to send up a smoke screen. The kitchen worker refused to be distracted. “That’s got nothing to do with my question. Answer my question!” Pausing again, the Dharma heir finally replied lamely, “I had the same problem myself (with the toenail clippings),” and passed on to the next question, leaving the kitchen worker and other critics in the crowd dissatisfied.

Back at Gold Mountain after our rare outing, the Master, always vigorously teaching, called us together immediately to discuss our impressions of the experience. The second-American-to-leave-home, Heng Ching, mentioned the poor showing in dealing with the kitchen worker’s question. “How would you have answered?” the Master promptly demanded. Heng Ching was stopped short. He had no answer. Our Master quickly responded with a chuckle and a twinkle in his eye. “Had it been me, I would have answered him like this: ‘That’s easy. Just take your nail clippers and clip a little round hole in your skull. Once that’s done, reach inside and clip out a piece of your brain, and then put your toenail clippings there!’” We all sat in dead silence for a moment and then broke into delighted laughter. The Master had just exhibited the “principle of bringing dualities back to the Middle Way” taught by the Sixth Patriarch wherein you negate any entity by introducing its opposite, thus canceling out the two extremes and leaving the mind “in the mean between.” The top of the head matched with the tips of the toes; the most useless thing about our body—toenail clippings—matched with what we consider the most valuable part of our body—our brain. That was the reason for the initial dead silence after hearing what the Master said—momentarily he brought everyone’s mind in balance, focused on the Middle Way.

“And as to the gesture the old teacher made in transmitting his Dharma,” the Master concluded, "no doubt he was really trying to say, ‘Suddenly in the heavens, suddenly in the hells. Here we go again in the cycle of rebirth!’”

And so finally, we see the Couplet class as much more than a Chinese lesson or a lesson in morality. And we realize that the concept of opposites－inherent in every aspect of this world of dualities we live in－extends far beyond the realm of scholarship. The Sixth Patriarch was illiterate, but his Transmission Dharma contained thirty-six pairs of opposites. He instructs, “Should someone suddenly ask you about a dharma, answer him with its opposite. If you always answer with the opposite, both will be eliminated and nothing will be left, since each depends on the other for existence.” The Sixth Patriarch’s was the Sudden Enlightenment Dharma door.

u Master’s line:

Today (jin ri), riding in a car flying back to the City,
I came especially for the sake of tomorrow (ming ri)
to listen attentively to Professor Cheng teach his class
so that later in the future (hou ri)
I can establish myself and practice the Way,
thus developing a good foundation.

Disciples’ matches:

Mistakenly (bu dui), turning from enlightenment and getting involved in the world,
we should instead study opposites (xiang dui),
scrutinizing carefully as the Master matches couplets,
so that instantly we may perceive the absolute (jue dui),
awaken to our minds and see our natures,
and return to the final meaning of the Middle.

Did you ever experience coming into the Master’s presence with a thousand problems in mind and million questions you wanted answered? But then, imperceptibly as you listened to his lecture or instructions—before you ever had a chance to open your mouth—the problems seemed to disappear from your mind and your questions somehow found answers? Or, the more you listened, the less serious your problems seemed and the less important your questions? Do you suppose you were benefiting from the Master’s expert use of the expedient of opposites to neutralize your afflictions?

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