Chinese folklore tells of the magical world of an immortal hermit sage仙人
, accessed from our human world through the mouth of a jug, where the days and nights are exceedingly long. The saying “world in a jug” appears in a number of Zen texts, where it is used to describe a master’s awakened state of mind. For example, in the biography of Zen Master Ganlou Zhichuan甘露志傳
found in the Jianzhong Jingguo Era Record of the Continuation of the Flame建中靖國續燈録
, compiled in 1101, there is the following record of his address to an assembly of monks and lay followers:
The master said: “Running my own hermitage, I passed the days following along with circumstances. Taking the convenient way, I sat within the castle of nirvana and reached a carefree state, but within that pit of liberation I had yet to attain ultimate peace. Then, when I arrived at Heshan [Monastery], I saw ice and sleet upon the peaks and white clouds that rolled out expansively. In front of the Arhat Cave, the sound of the mountain stream was vast and unending. The main gate and buddha hall did not differ from those of any other regions, and the kitchen and sangha hall were in keeping with all the old standards. Thus, I readily snapped my wandering monk’s staff in two and hung up my bowl bag [i.e. took up residence]. Together with all the Zen worthies, I rode the white ox [i.e. the “one vehicle” of buddhahood] on the bare ground [i.e. outside the “burning house” of the Lotus Sutra parable]. I roamed freely through the immaterial mountains and rivers of the world in a jug壺中天地
Chinese: hu zhong tiandi
Japanese: kochū no tenchi
, singing simple peasant songs, passing the time in that way. Even if all the buddhas came into the world, the earth shook with the six kinds of trembling, and the heavens rained down the four flowers, in the end you would not be able to experience it. And, without a doubt, you would remain stuck in the gutter. I was about to say that this mountain monk [= “I”] has something great that makes it easy to speak words such as these.” After a long silence, he said: “White clouds would rather come to blue peaks; the bright moon — what does it teach under azure skies?”
自牧庵中。隨緣度日。便道涅槃城裏坐致太平。解脱坑中未可安身立命。乃到禾山。也見凌霄峯上。雲自卷舒。羅漢洞前。溪聲浩渺。三門佛殿。無異諸方。厨庫僧堂。仍皆舊轍。便好拗折拄杖。高挂鉢囊。與諸禪德跨露地白牛。遊壺中天地。物外山川。唱村田樂。且恁過時。假使諸佛出興於世。地搖六震。天雨四花。終不能管得。也不疑著渠。且道山僧有何長處便恁麼道。良久。云。白雲乍可來青嶂。明月那教下碧天。
