圓悟佛果禪師語錄 1.48

1.48

Ascending the seat, he took up incense, showed it to the assembly, and said: "Its radiance swallows myriad phenomena; its breath cuts off all dust. From parting the grass and gazing at the wind at first, to entering the marketplace with open hands—usually one does not wish to display it fully, for fear of startling the flock and stirring the assembly. Today I take it up to offer on behalf of the reigning emperor, to celebrate his sagely longevity." Next he took up incense, saying: "Offered on behalf of the prefectural governor, the minister, and the noble dignitaries of the various offices." Next he took up incense, saying: "Having endured the utmost hardships in the Huai basin for ten years, and having received direct personal verification in the single path of clear emptiness, I dare not be ungrateful: I offer this on behalf of my late teacher, Wuzu, to repay the milk of the Dharma." The Reverend Zhengfa struck the gavel. The Master then said: "Harness a bow of a thousand jun and release it in a single strike; shooting through the Iron Enclosure admits no hesitation. Beneath a single word, killing and reviving are fully displayed; within a tiny dynamic, myriad phenomena are encompassed. You must point directly to it right at the head, so that a thousand eyes may suddenly open; if you look around and hesitate further, you will merely be grabbing at heaven and groping in the earth. If anyone has grasped it, step forward from the assembly and let us meet." A monk asked: "The three rolls of the drum have ended, and the fourfold assembly is present at the banquet. The student has come up: I ask the Master to expound the Dharma." The Master said: "The sky clears and the sun rises." The monk advanced: "Is it only this, or is there something more?" The Master said: "Just settle one end for now." The monk advanced: "What about when there are two ends?" The Master said: "See that you cannot undertake it." The monk asked: "A hundred flowers competing in beauty is the lineage style of Mañjuśrī; a single span of clear sky is the realm of Samantabhadra. Leaving aside these two roads, please give instruction, Master." The Master said: "The bamboo shoot of stone sprouts a stalk ten feet long." The monk advanced: "Could this be the place where the Venerable assists people?" The Master said: "Hanging down on both ends, here and there." The monk advanced: "Please, Master, bring it forth." The Master said: "Still not knowing it yourself." The monk advanced: "In that case, riding an ox through the market." The Master said: "In the end, it is confused and contrary." The monk asked: "There is a phrase that completely fulfills the rules: today at the opening of the hall, what auspicious sign is there?" The Master said: "Heaven and earth are vast without boundary; the bright sun is in the sky, illuminating the universe." The monk advanced: "A single drop of water and ink turns into a dragon in two places." The Master said: "What are you saying about two places?" A monk asked: "Speech and silence touch upon departure and subtlety; how can one penetrate without violating [either]?" The Master said: "Heaven knows, earth knows." The monk advanced: "In that case, the verification is right before our eyes." The Master said: "What do you see?" The monk advanced: "The sun and moon illumine the virtue of heaven; the mountains and rivers strengthen the imperial dwelling." The Master said: "That is somewhat closer." He then said: "Total dynamic and great function are realized wherever one touches; pure radiance filling the eyes runs through past and present. A single dust grain contains the realm of phenomena; a single thought pervades the ten directions. The entire great earth is a genuine person; the whole ocean of lands is great liberation. It only depends on the person reversing their light a little and looking with their own eyes; one can then personally verify the unborn and suddenly surpass expedients. Therefore, the appearance of the Buddhas in the world is for the one great cause; the coming of the Patriarch from the west was also nothing other than seeing one's nature and becoming a Buddha. Just as today, having received the emperor's decree, we construct a great monastery, receive a name plaque, ordain monks, and celebrate his sagely longevity. This one Dharma event shines upon the past and leaps into the present; the prefect's banners brightly arrive, and the carriages of the worthy fully assemble. The fourfold assembly gazes up in reverence, and the myriad people sing songs. For the state we open the hall to extol the lineage teaching. This mountain monk dares not hide it in a pouch or cover it under a quilt; whatever the Buddhas have not exhausted in speech, and wherever the patriarchs could not lift it up, I shall lay wide open in the shape of the character eight before the assembly." He then raised his fly whisk, saying: "Does the great assembly still see?" Striking the meditation bench, he said: "Do you still hear? Penetratingly liberated in the seeing, clear and bright in the hearing: with a single thought returning to the root and heading back to the source, you are endowed with the three eyes on the crown of the head. For ten thousand miles there is not the slightest blemish; the thousand sages all stand in the downwind. Cutting off the heads of the reward and transformation Buddhas, you stand straight like a wall of a thousand fathoms. Tell me: what person's realm is this? The carved bow is already hung up, the beacon fires have ceased; songs of myriad miles celebrate universal peace." He stepped down from the seat.