汾陽無德禪師語錄 1.52

1.52

A monk asked, "Please point out for me, Master, the place of intimacy."
The Master said, "Yeah!"
"What is the meaning of this?"
The Master said, "The pattern of the imperial bulletin."
He asked, "What is the eye of the correct Dharma?"
The Master said, "It has already been poked blind."
"I wonder: is there still an affair beyond, or not?"
The Master said, "There is."
"What is the affair beyond?"
The Master said, "Groping heaven and feeling earth."
He asked, "How is it when the single lamp is not yet lit?"
The Master said, "Extinguished."
"How is it after it is extinguished?"
The Master said, "Bright."
"I wonder: how is it when illuminating?"
The Master said, "Constantly burning without interruption, from past to present perpetually bright."
He asked, "Having long resounded with Fenyang's full might and power, please unfold the golden fur a little for the assembly to see."
The Master said, "It will be revealed after three days."
"Then the student takes three steps back."
The Master said, "Come back again after a month."
He asked, "According to the ancients, it is said: 'It does not dwell in the middle way, nor does it abide in the two extremes.' From the perspective of a patch-robed monk, how does one dock?"
The Master said, "Where do you usually dock?"
"Today it is entirely on account of this question."
The Master said, "Frequently lifting the oar at the shoals—when has it not entered the mud?"
"Then the great assembly listens attentively, and the student bows."
The Master said, "The great assembly has already listened attentively, and the student has already bowed. There is no need to forcibly pursue it; I know you are able to contrive oddities. Is there anyone else contriving oddities? Come forward and I will dispel the oddities for you. When you know an oddity and are not alarmed, the oddity destroys itself."
He further said, "Venerable elders! The Buddha-Dharma is not this kind of reasoning. When the Ancestral Master came, was there this much chattering, or not? Originally the Second Ancestor merely offered three bows and stood in his place—tell me, what kind of principle did he attain that he thereupon succeeded to the ancestral seat? Do you understand? Return to the hall."