法演禪師語錄 1.4

1.4

When the Master received the certificate of appointment at Baiyun, he held it up, showed it to the assembly, and said: "Assembly! If you understand it only like this, you bury the lineage style, and your offense is not small. Fortunately, there is a ready-made gong'an; please let the karmadāna read it out to the assembly." After the certificate was read out, he was handed the Dharma robe; holding it up, he said: "Since it could not be lifted atop Dayu Ridge, why is it here instead? Tell me, is it this here, or is it that there?" He then said: "Carrying the bottle, I draw the cool water myself; / Then putting on the kāṣāya, I act as the host." Thereupon he put it on. Pointing before the Dharma seat, he said: "The elephant king turns; the lion strides; looking at them, my brows knit together. Even though it is like this, now that matters have come to such a pass, it is difficult to decline. Wherever there is a road that can be ascended, even higher persons walk it." Thereupon he ascended the seat. A monk asked: "Chan is not conceptual thought; the Way transcends meritorious deeds. What do you say as the turning phrase?" The Master said: "The assembly sees you." The student said: "I knew the Upādhyāya had such dynamic sharpness." The Master said: "An ācārya standing out alone." The student said: "Today it has instead turned into rashness." The Master said: "Held up, it does not become a dragon." He asked: "Fighting long on the battlefield, the name is accomplished today; without engaging in meritorious deeds, how do you speak?" The Master said: "The long snake [formation] is still tolerable; how could one withstand the crescent moon?" The student said: "Used to being trained with golden arrowheads, having fought a hundred battles, / With much strength in my iron whip, I regret having no enemy." The Master said: "Knowing that you are not made of gold teeth, / How could you draw the bow to shoot Yuchi?" The student said: "Seeing with the eye is not as close as touching with the hand." The Master said: "The new elder is defeated." The student said: "The mouth is the gate of calamity." The Master hissed and then said: "The autumn wind soughs and the jade dew hangs like pearls; the water is green, the mountains verdant, crickets chirp and cicadas buzz; the gate of universal penetration is wide open. Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra have pierced through the nostrils of all of you, yet you yourselves conceal it face to face." He spoke again: "All Buddhas did not appear in the world, yet they spoke for forty-nine years. I wonder, what did they say? Shaolin has a subtle secret, bringing disaster upon descendants so that up to now they cannot clear it up; why speak further of any subtle secret? If a person recognizes the patriarchs and Buddhas, right where they are they immediately transcend. Let transcendence and non-transcendence be set aside for a moment: tell me, where are the patriarchs and Buddhas right now? If no one can say, this mountain monk will not spare his eyebrows and will bring it out for you all." He slapped the meditation bench once.