明覺禪師語錄 1.67

1.67

On the day the Master inaugurated the hall, he looked around at the great assembly before the Dharma seat and said, "If we discuss meeting according to our fundamental share, there is no need to mount the precious seat." He then drew a line with his finger and said, "All of you, look along my hand: immeasurable lands of all the buddhas appear at once before you. Each of you observe closely. If you still do not know their boundaries, you cannot avoid dragging through mud and water." He immediately ascended the seat. After the Controller of Monks finished reading the proclamation, the karmadāna struck the gavel and said, "Assembly of dragons and elephants at the Dharma banquet, you should contemplate the primary truth!" At that time a monk came forward. The Master stopped him and said, "The Tathāgata's treasury of the true Dharma eye is entrusted today. If released, tiles and rubble gleam; if held fast, pure gold loses its luster. The authority is in my hands; killing and giving life depend on the moment. If there is an adept, let us bear witness together!" The monk then asked, "Having departed far from Cuifeng's ancestral seat and already arrived at the Xuedou bodhimanda, I wonder whether this is one or two?" The Master said, "A horse incapable of a thousand leagues vainly chases the wind." The monk further asked, "In that case, the clouds disperse and the moon shines on every house." The Master said, "A fellow with a dragon's head and a snake's tail!" A monk asked, "The stick of Deshan and the shout of Linji are already prominent; how does the upādhyāya receive people?" The Master said, "I let this one move pass." As the monk hesitated, the Master gave a shout. The monk said, "I wonder, is it only like this, or is there something else?" The Master said, "Shooting at a tiger without precision, you vainly exhaust the arrow's feathers." A monk asked, "Spreading hair to cover the mud—for what reason was this done? Offering the entire body for half a verse—for whom was it performed?" The Master said, "In the heavens above and beneath the heavens, I alone am the honored one." The monk further asked, "If so, then standing in the snow, how could the wondrous purport be transmitted? Only after bowing three times was it truly intimate." The Master said, "Do not talk nonsense!" A monk asked, "When King Brahmā invited the Buddha, it was for the sake of sentient beings; when the Scholar invites the Master, for what matter is it?" The Master said, "Acquaintances fill the world." The monk further asked, "In that case, the great assembly receives the bounty." The Master said, "What about your own part?" The monk further asked, "The Scholar bears witness." The Master said, "Not yet!" A layman asked, "Gathered together from the ten directions, each and every one learns non-action. This is the place of the buddhas' selection; empty of mind, one passes the examination and returns home. How does one succeed in passing the examination?" The Master said, "In vain you have your forehead dotted." The layman further asked, "If so, then one's whole life is wasted." The Master said, "Told to cease, you refuse to cease." A monk asked, "With a single burning, dragons duel; all myriad phenomena arrive together. I wonder, what realm is this?" The Master said, "The golden palace is overgrown with grass." The monk further asked, "Is there anything further beyond?" The Master said, "White clouds for a thousand leagues, ten thousand leagues." A monk asked, "Blowing the great Dharma conch, beating the great Dharma drum, while the court officials attend the banquet—how is it right now?" The Master said, "The pure wind comes without ceasing." The monk further asked, "In that case, one has encountered the master." The Master said, "Once a word has left the mouth, a team of four horses cannot overtake it." The monk bowed, and the Master said, "I let this one move pass." The Master then looked all around at the great assembly once again, and said, "With humans and devas gathered everywhere, what matter should be clarified? How could we merely divide guest and host, galloping back and forth in questions and answers, and take that to be the ancestral vehicle? The expansive ancestral style commands sovereign majesty, blazing through past and present, holding fast heaven and earth. The thousand sages only say they know it themselves; the five vehicles cannot establish it. Therefore, awakening to the purport before the sound, one is still confused about the subtle stirrings of observing and reflecting; knowing the ancestral school beneath words, one is still ignorant of what lies beyond emotion and consciousness. If all of you wish to know genuine mutual support, simply look up without clinging above, and cut off your own self below; naturally the constant light will appear before you, and each of you will stand steep as a thousand-fathom cliff. Can you discern and clarify it yet? If you have not discerned it, discern it! If you have not clarified it, clarify it! Having discerned and clarified it, you can sever the stream of birth and death and occupy the seats of the patriarchs and buddhas together. Wondrous and complete transcendent awakening is right at this moment, capable of repaying the kindness that cannot be repaid, so as to assist the transformation of non-action."