瑞州洞山良价禪師語錄 1.3

1.3

Next, he visited Guishan and asked, "Recently I heard about National Teacher Huizhong of Nanyang's talk on insentient beings expounding the Dharma, but I have not fathomed its subtleties." Guishan said, "Ācārya, do you still remember it?" The Master said, "I remember it." Guishan said, "Try bringing it up once and let me see." The Master then brought it up: "A monk asked, 'What is the mind of the ancient Buddhas?' The National Teacher said, 'Walls, tiles, and rubble are it.' The monk asked, 'Aren't walls, tiles, and rubble insentient?' The National Teacher said, 'They are.' The monk asked, 'Do they still understand how to expound the Dharma?' The National Teacher said, 'They expound it constantly, expound it blazing forth, without interruption.' The monk asked, 'Why don't I hear it?' The National Teacher said, 'You yourself do not hear it, but you cannot hinder those who do.' The monk asked, 'I wonder, what kind of person can hear it?' The National Teacher said, 'All the sages can hear it.' The monk asked, 'Does the upādhyāya still hear it?' The National Teacher said, 'I do not hear it.' The monk said, 'Since the upādhyāya does not hear it, how do you know that insentient beings understand how to expound the Dharma?' The National Teacher said, 'Fortunately, I do not hear it. If I were to hear it, I would be equal to all the sages, and you would not hear me expounding the Dharma.' The monk asked, 'If so, then do sentient beings have no share in it?' The National Teacher said, 'I speak for sentient beings, not for all the sages.' The monk asked, 'What happens after sentient beings hear it?' The National Teacher said, 'Then they are no longer sentient beings.' The monk asked, 'Upon what canonical teaching is insentient beings expounding the Dharma based?' The National Teacher said, 'Clearly, words not conforming to the canons are not the talk of a gentleman. Have you not seen the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, which says: "The lands expound, sentient beings expound, everything in the three periods of time expounds"?'" When the Master finished recounting, Guishan said, "I have it here as well, but one rarely encounters the right person." The Master said, "I am not yet clear; I beg the master to give me instruction." Guishan held up his fly-whisk and said, "Do you understand?" The Master said, "I do not understand. Please, Upādhyāya, explain it." Guishan said, "The mouth born of father and mother will ultimately never explain it for you." The Master said, "Is there anyone else who admired the Way at the same time as the Master?" Guishan said, "From here, going to You County in Liling, where stone grottos are joined together, there is the Man of the Way, Yunyan. If you can brush aside the weeds and look up to his wind, he will surely be esteemed by you." The Master asked, "I wonder, what is that person like?" Guishan said, "He once asked this old monk, 'What about when a student wishes to follow the master?' This old monk told him, 'You must directly cut off all leakage before you can attain it.' He said, 'Can one still not transgress the master's instruction?' This old monk said, 'Above all, you must not say this old monk is here.'"