汾陽無德禪師語錄 1.62

1.62

Hedong Transport Commissioner Zheng of the Ministry of Works entered the monastery to meet [the Master]. During their tea and conversation, the Commissioner said, "May this humble person leave a verse to present to the Master?" The Master said, "How could I dare, Commissioner, [accept] your kind creation?" The Commissioner wrote a verse in seal script upon the wall, which said: / 'Let not yellow paper obstruct your eyes, / The azure clouds naturally have their shade. / Do not take idle scholastic understanding, / And bury the mind of the ancestral masters.' / He added, "I will simply use this verse to test the elders under heaven." The Master said, "In that case, Fenyang is also inside it." The Commissioner said, "Wearing a cangue and passing the indictment." The Master said, "I will not examine it further." The Commissioner said, "A twofold gong'an." The Master said, "Knowing it is enough." The Commissioner was silent for a good while. The Master exhaled with a whoosh. The Commissioner said, "Wenbao! Wenbao!" The Master said, "Where is it?" The Commissioner said, "Not permitting this humble person to catch his breath—how can you resent others saying a stagnant elder is here?" The Master said, "What kind of talk is that?" The Commissioner said, "The truth." The Master said, "You also cannot be let off." The Commissioner said, "May I request a verse from the Master?" The Master said, "I do not bother with brush and ink." The Commissioner said, "I request the Master to recite it orally." The Master then chanted a verse, saying: / 'In wild weeds, one toils to seek a path; / Cliffside pines spread their shade afar. / How many travelers with abstruse understanding / Have lost their original mind!'