撫州曹山本寂禪師語錄 1.2

1.2

Without encountering an enlightened age and Master He, the unworked jade of Mount Jing would lie hidden in vain among the stones of Jing; how could its beauty, splendid enough to equal multiple walled cities, ever be revealed? True jade is certainly not lacking; it is only that an enlightened age and Master He are truly difficult to bring together. In the past, the recorded sayings of Heyu of Xinfeng first circulated widely in the world, but fish eyes were mixed with pearls, and pure gold was amidst sand. Elder Gimoku was deeply grieved by how profound the corruption had become. Turning to Master Guo's Wuzong lu and a host of other works, he took their essence and discarded their coarseness, and the record was finally completed. I have a very close friendship beyond worldly bounds with the Elder. He sent it to me to read. I said, 'Elder! Are you not the Master He for the jade of Xinfeng? Yet even if there is a Master He, if he does not meet an enlightened age, how could he achieve this? How splendid! As an evidence of the cultural brilliance of our Great East reaching the excellence of today, how could the disciples of the Confucian school dare not praise its excellence and rejoice in its joy?' The printing blocks of the record of Xinfeng are already completed, and the record of Heyu is now also completed. Unworthy though I am, I write down that in which I find excellence and joy, so that people of broad vision may know the Elder's true Dharma eye.