撫州曹山元證禪師語錄 1.59

1.59

A monk asked Xiangyan, "What is the Way?" Xiangyan said, "A dragon roaring inside a withered tree." The monk said, "Who is the person within the Way?" Xiangyan said, "An eyeball inside a skull." The monk did not understand, so he asked Shishuang, "What is a dragon roaring inside a withered tree?" Shishuang said, "It still carries joy." The monk said, "What is an eyeball inside a skull?" Shishuang said, "It still carries consciousness." Again he did not understand, so he brought it up to the Master. The Master said, "The old śrāvaka Shishuang holds this kind of view." He then presented a verse, saying:
"The dragon roaring in a withered tree is truly seeing the Way;
When the skull has no consciousness, the eyes first become clear.
When joy and consciousness are exhausted, all tidings end;
How can that person distinguish the clear amidst the turbid?"
The monk then asked the Master again, "What is a dragon roaring inside a withered tree?" The Master said, "The bloodline is unbroken." He said, "What is an eyeball inside a skull?" The Master said, "It does not dry up completely." He said, "I wonder, is there anyone who gets to hear it?" The Master said, "Throughout the great earth, there is not a single person who does not hear it." He said, "I wonder, what chapter and verse is the dragon roaring inside a withered tree?" The Master said, "I do not know what chapter and verse it is; all who hear it perish."