448 t. griffith foulk
duozi ta ),^33 and to have publicly pronounced on Vulture Peak
(Ling shan ) that “I have the collection of the eye of the true dharma
(zhengfa yanzang ), the wonderful mind of nirva, which I pass
on to Mahkyapa.”^34 That public naming of his dharma heir, the
text tells us, took place when the World Honoured One (shizun )
held up a ower to instruct the assembly (chihua shizhong ),
and Kyapa smiled faintly.
This version of the transmission story eventually gained widespread
acceptance in Song Chan records. It appears in its full-blown form as
the sixth case in the Gateless Barrier (Wumen guan ), a collection of
koans (gong’an ) compiled by Wumen Huikai (1184–1260)
and printed in 1229:
The World Honoured One Holds Up a Flower (shizun nian hua
)
When the World Honoured One long ago was at a gathering on Vul-
ture Peak, he held up a ower to instruct the assembly. At that time,
everyone in the assembly was silent; only the venerable Mahkyapa
broke into a faint smile. The World Honoured One said, “I have the
collection of the eye of the true dharma, the wonderful mind of nirva,
the subtle dharma gate which in its true form is formless. Not relying on
scriptures, as a separate transmission apart from the teachings, I pass it
on to Mahkyapa.”
Wumen says:
Yellow faced Gautama [i.e., kyamuni] is certainly unscrupulous. He
forces one of good family to be his maidservant, and displays a sheep’s
head while selling dog meat. I was going to say how remarkable it was.
But if at the time the entire assembly had smiled, how could the trans-
mission of the collection of the eye of the true dharma have occurred?
Or again, supposing that Mahkyapa had not smiled, how could the
transmission of collection of the eye of the true dharma have occurred?
If you say that the collection of the eye of the true dharma has a trans-
mission that is the old yellow faced one deceitfully hawking his wares at
the village gate. If you say that there is no transmission, then why was
Mahkyapa singled out for approval?
[Wumen’s] verse (song ) says:
Holding up the ower,
His tail is already exposed;(^33) ZZ 2B–8–4.306a.
(^34) ZZ 2B–8–4.3306c.