圓悟佛果禪師語錄 8.24

8.24

Ascending the hall, [the master] said, "'Having words and having no words' has already cut off dispute; 'neither matter nor mind' directly leaps beyond creeping vines. Having arrived here, is there any room to open the mouth? Do not say that Senior Monk Qin's mouth is like a carrying pole; even if the Buddhas of the three periods and the successive generations of patriarchs came forth, with eloquence like a rushing torrent and dynamic sharpness like flashing lightning, they could not avoid blunting their points and tying their tongues. Why? Simply because the wind's head is too stiff! Although this is so, if you can directly take it on right here, you are like a dragon reaching the water, like a tiger leaning against the mountain; you possess the resolve and spirit of a great hero, and are equipped with the means to cut off all nets and snares. Therefore it is said, 'The sword that kills people, the sword that gives people life.' Thus this side, that side, transcendent, descending, having affairs, having no affairs, the Buddha realm, the demon realm—all are cut off at once. If someone should suddenly ask, 'I wonder, where are the sword and blade?' Do you understand thoroughly? Formerly, the sweat-stained horse was known by no one; it is only necessary to discuss once more the merit that covers the era." He further brought up: "A monk asked Yunmen, 'What about when the tree withers and the leaves fall?' Yunmen said, 'The body is exposed in the autumn wind.'" The master said, "Yunmen's eye is like a shooting star; his dynamic sharpness is like flashing lightning. When he picks it up and brings it forth, it is certainly extraordinary. Now if someone should suddenly ask this mountain monk, 'What about when the tree withers and the leaves fall?' I would simply say to him, 'The clouds and mist of a thousand mountains roll away; in a single gaze one sees the village ahead.'"