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逢祖殺祖

Pronunciations

Basic Meaning: when you meet a patriarch, kill the patriarch

Senses:

  • Syn. with 'when you meet the buddha, kill the buddha'  逢佛殺佛. A representative expression of the Chan school 禪宗 aim of transcending all conceptual, social, and doctrinal conventions, in order to see oneʼs nature 見性. In the commentary to the first case of his Wumen guan 無門關 (Zhaozhouʼs dog 趙州狗子) Wumen Huikai 無門慧開 (1183–1260) states the following: "It will be as if you snatch away the great sword of the valiant general Guan and hold it in your hand. When you meet the Buddha, you kill him; when you meet the patriarchs, you kill them. On the brink of life and death, you command perfect freedom; among the six destinies and four kinds of birth, you enjoy a merry and playful samādhi." (adapted from Sekida, Katsuki in Two Zen Classics: Mumonkan and Hekiganroku. New York: Weatherhill, 1996 [1977]). 「如奪得關將軍大刀入手、逢佛殺佛、逢祖殺祖、於生死岸頭得大自在、向六道四生中遊戲三昧」 〔T 2005.48.293a8–10〕 . [Erez Joskovich; source(s): ZGDJT, Nakamura]
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    [Dictionary References]

    Zengaku daijiten (Komazawa U.) 1137b

    Bukkyōgo daijiten (Nakamura) 1241a

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    Entry created: 2019-07-01