圓悟佛果禪師語錄 17.41

17.41

He cited: "Under Xuefeng's assembly there was a monk who took his leave and went to erect a hermitage in the mountains. For a long time he did not shave his head. He made a wooden ladle himself and ladled water at the creek to drink. At that time, a monk saw him and asked, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch coming from the West?' The master [of the hermitage] held up the ladle and said, 'The creek is deep, and the ladle's handle is long.' The monk returned and related this to Xuefeng. Xuefeng said, 'Quite extraordinary.' One day Xuefeng and his attendant went taking a razor. As soon as they met, he asked, 'If you can speak, I will not shave your head.' The master then took water to wash his head, and Xuefeng shaved it off for him."
The Master critiqued this, saying, "Although the hermitage master was cast of pig iron, Xuefeng was indeed the pincers and hammer of our fundamental lot. Had they originally been completely muddled, how could one see what shakes heaven and moves earth? Do you understand thoroughly? 'With golden arrowheads long accustomed to a hundred battles, / The iron whip has mighty strength, regretting there is no rival.'"