Blue Cliff Record
Yuanwu Keqin belonged to the Linji school. He was the teacher of Dahui Zonggao, who introduced the Hua Tou practice.
Starting from the year 1112 on, Yuan-wu started to lecture on the Pai-tse sung-ku ("One Hundred Old Cases and Verses "), compiled by Xuedou Zhongxian (Wade-Giles: Hsueh-tou Chung-hsien; Japanese: Setcho Juken) (980–1052). These lectures resulted in the Pi-yen lu, the "Blue Cliff Record".
The Blue Cliff Record gives clear instructions about the correct approach to Ch'an kung-an. Yuan-wu went as far as to annotate the poems line by line, to make clear the correct reading of Hsueh-tou's appended verses, which are complex, because of the rich use of symbolism, and the allusions to Chinese secular literature and to Ch'an history.
According to the Chán-tradition, the Blue Cliff Record gained such a popularity, that Dahui Zonggao burned all the copies he could lay hands on, and the wooden printing blocks.
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