明覺禪師語錄 4.140

4.140

Baofu went to a hermitage master's place. While having tea and chatting, the hermitage master said, "A monk asked me, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch coming from the West?' I held up my whisk; I wonder if that passed or not?" Baofu said, "How would I dare say whether it passed or not? But here is a question: someone praises this matter, like a tiger with horns; someone disparages this matter, not worth a tiny bit. Equally it is such a matter—why are the praise and disparagement not the same?" The hermitage master said, "Just now it came out purely by chance." A senior venerable said, "How could one disparage it either?" Another senior venerable said, "Spare your eyebrows!" The Master made a substitute phrase for all of them, saying: "Were it not for the upādhyāya's verification, the whisk would be useless for a lifetime."