袁州仰山慧寂禪師語錄 1.21

1.21

At the end of the summer retreat, when the Master paid his respects to Guishan, Guishan said: "You have not been seen coming up the whole summer; what duties were you engaged in down below?" The Master said: "Down below, I hoed a patch of slash-and-burn field and sowed a basket of seed." Guishan said: "You did not spend this summer in vain." The Master in turn asked: "May I inquire what duties the Upādhyāya was engaged in during the summer?" Guishan said: "A single meal at midday, a single sleep after dark." The Master said: "The Upādhyāya also did not spend this summer in vain." Having spoken, he stuck out his tongue. Guishan said: "Why must you, Jizi, injure your own life?" (Guishan Zhe said: "Yangshan's eyes illuminated the four continents, but coming before Dayuan, he fell flat on clean ground. Dayuan can indeed be called having the affinity of nurturing a son, but he could not avoid being on the lips of later generations." Longmen Yuan said: "When the father and son of Guiyang meet in everyday life, their play of spiritual powers is no small matter. Is there anyone who understands? If not, this mountain monk will tell you all: having opened a patch of slash-and-burn field, dense and unbroken, through two meals of gruel and rice its way is naturally managed. This mountain monk met with you all throughout the summer, but you yourselves did not recognize it. If you also recognize it into a single whole, what kind of whole is it? Look closely at the arrow right before the gate!" Xichan Ru said: "Father and son of Guiyang go out and enter, roll up and unfold, achieving complete mastery. You must definitely not make conventional truth reckonings, nor make Buddhadharma understandings of it. Since none of such reckonings are permitted, after all how do you understand it? Opening a patch of slash-and-burn field, planting a basket of millet; looking back at leisure, the mountains are blue and the waters green again. All day just one meal, after night just one lodging; when tired, stretch out your legs to sleep, a thousandfold and myriadfold sufficient. Together as the eighth and ninth months arrive, yellow chrysanthemums spread luxuriantly beside the hedge." Donglin Yan said: "Monks nowadays gather in flocks of hundreds and thousands, passing through winter and spending the summer wasting their days in vain, deeply doing a disservice to the ancients. It is not that Donglin criticizes the past sage, but Yangshan showed off his cleverness too much; sticking out his tongue was only getting half of it.")