圓悟佛果禪師語錄 14.28

14.28

Former sages [lived on] a single grain of hemp and a single grain of wheat; ancient worthies endured hardship and ate bland food, purifying their aspirations in this, forgetting sleep and meals, dedicated and precise in their investigation, seeking actual realization—how could they reckon with the so-called abundance of the four requisites? When the Way did not measure up to antiquity, there arose the principle that before the dharmacakra turns, the food wheel must turn first; from this, the monastic groves called the senior elder the "gruel and rice master"—is this not doubly contrary to the ancients? Yet entering the gate of according with conditions and adapting, we temporarily carry out the secondary stage. North Mountain receives people of the Way coming from all directions, relying solely on the southern fields. This autumn happens to meet with an abundant harvest; Chan traveler Juemin has overseen the harvesting. On the verge of departure, he begged for words, so I showed him the preceding conditions. Valuing the lineage root and taking hold of the branches—this is the fundamental affair of a fully awakened and thoroughly penetrated person who benefits both and illuminates simultaneously. Strive to practice it: atop the hundred grasses there is the Patriarch, pointed out by Jiashan to let people recognize him; within the wide, level fields there is great meaning, with Baizhang extending his hand so people will know. If every single grain is fully rounded, it is the solitary transmission of the mind seal; furthermore, if the distant view is completely flat and open, one immediately realizes the supreme noble truth. And tell me, how do you say a phrase about coming out of the grass? The full boatload of bright moonlight is carried back.