明覺禪師語錄 1.23

1.23

Ascending the hall, a monk asked: "What is the realm of Cuifeng?" The Master said: "Those with eyes see it." The student said: "Who is the person within the realm?" The Master said: "Greedily watching the white waves, he loses the oar from his hands." [The monk] asked: "What is the Upādhyāya's family custom?" The Master said: "When a guest comes, one must look." [The monk] advanced and said: "In that case, this student has been able to see it." The Master said: "Thirty years later." [The monk] asked: "What is the primary truth?" The Master said: "A Daoist priest riding an ox backward." The student said: "I beg the Master to grant upāya once again." The Master said: "A holeless iron hammer." [The monk] asked: "Is the Way far off?" The Master said: "Green mountains flank the turbulent stream." The student said: "In that case, I have heard what has not been heard." The Master said: "A thousand miles, ten thousand miles." The Master then said: "To sing and respond together before the great assembly, you must be such a fellow before you can do it. If you do not yet have the eye that cuts through the blade in rushing currents, do not bother to bring it up. Therefore it is said: 'Like a great mass of fire—approach it, and your face will be scorched; also like leaning upon the precious sword Tai'e—charge forward, and you will lose your life.'" The Master then recited a verse: / "Tai'e held crosswise makes the ancestral hall cold; / For a thousand miles, the myriad affairs must cease. / Do not wait for its cold gleam to flicker lightly." / He then said: "Look, look!" He then stepped down from the seat.