大慧普覺禪師語錄 5.6

5.6

到天童，請上堂，僧問：「暫借一問以為影草時如何？」師云：「沒這閑工夫。」進云：「莫便是和尚答話也無？」師云：「是。」進云：「恁麼則今日得聞於未聞。」師云：「聞底事作麼生？」進云：「未鳴鼓已前，聞和尚道了也。」師云：「道甚麼聻？」進云：「也知和尚有時恁麼、有時不恁麼。」師云：「錯下註脚。」問：「趙州訪一菴主云：『有麼有麼？』主竪起拳頭，州云：『水淺不是泊船處。』此意如何？」師云：「拳頭。」進云：「又訪一菴主，主亦竪起拳頭，趙州為甚麼却道：『有縱有奪。』」師云：「也只是箇拳頭。」進云：「既只是箇拳頭，為甚麼兩處勘辯？」師云：「爾但兩處看。」進云：「未審和尚今日與天童大眾相見，還有為人處也無？」師云：「有。」進云：「恩大難酬。」便禮拜，師乃云：「垂萬里鉤，駐千里烏騅；布漫天網，打衝浪鯤鯨，此是天童老人尋常用底。育王今日得得入山瞻禮，客聽主裁令陞此座，到這裏說箇甚麼即得？莫是說心說性得麼？說玄說妙說理說事得麼？既總不得，不可只恁麼休去。既不可休去，又不可說心說性、說玄說妙、說理說事，莫是世諦流布得麼？若恁麼，喚作順水張帆，未是衲僧用處，雖然如是，略借主人威光，與大眾赴箇時節，且道：即今是甚麼時節？尺蠖之屈乃欲求伸，擊碎蟠桃核，得見箇中仁，箇中仁既見，此道出常情。且道出常情一句作麼生道？還委悉麼？眼光爍破四天下，主盟此道是渠儂。」復云：「適來蒙堂頭老人舉僧問香林：『如何是衲衣下事？』林云：『臘月火燒山。』」師云：「此是香林語，堂頭今日舉，育王隨摟摗也未敢相許。因甚麼未敢相許？選佛若無如是眼，假饒千載又奚為。」

Arriving at Tiantong, [the Master] was invited to ascend the hall. A monk asked, "How is it when temporarily borrowing a question to serve as shadow-grass?" The Master said, "I have no such leisure time." [The monk] advanced and said, "Could that not be the Reverend's reply?" The Master said, "It is." [The monk] advanced and said, "If so, then today I have heard what was never heard before." The Master said, "What was it that you heard?" [The monk] advanced and said, "Before the drum was beaten, I already heard the Reverend speak." The Master said, "What was spoken?" [The monk] advanced and said, "I also know that the Reverend is sometimes like this, sometimes not like this." The Master said, "A mistaken footnote." [Another monk] asked, "Zhaozhou visited a hermit and said, 'Is there? Is there?' The hermit held up his fist. Zhaozhou said, 'The water is shallow; this is not a place to moor a boat.' What is the meaning of this?" The Master said, "A fist." [The monk] advanced and said, "He visited another hermit, and that hermit also held up his fist; why did Zhaozhou instead say, 'There is giving and there is taking away'?" The Master said, "It is also just a fist." [The monk] advanced and said, "Since it is just a fist, why did he test and discern at the two places?" The Master said, "You just look at both places." [The monk] advanced and said, "I wonder, when the Reverend meets with the Tiantong assembly today, is there any place where he acts for people's sake?" The Master said, "There is." [The monk] advanced and said, "Great kindness is hard to repay." He then bowed. The Master then said, "Lowering a ten-thousand-li hook to halt a thousand-li dark steed; spreading a heaven-covering net to catch wave-surging kuns and whales—this is what the old man of Tiantong routinely employs. Today Yuwang, having come especially into the mountain to pay respects, obeys the host's discretion as a guest and is ordered to ascend this seat. Coming to this point, what can I say that will do? Could speaking of mind and speaking of nature do? Could speaking of the profound and speaking of the wondrous, speaking of principle and speaking of phenomena do? Since none of these will do at all, I cannot just stop like this. Since I cannot stop, and yet cannot speak of mind or nature, speak of the profound or wondrous, speak of principle or phenomena, could spreading worldly convention do? If so, that is called hoisting a sail with the wind—not yet the patch-robed monk's function. Although this is so, briefly borrowing the host's majesty, I shall meet this occasion together with the great assembly. Tell me: just now, what occasion is it? The inchworm's bending is merely seeking to stretch; smashing the flat-peach pit, one gets to see the kernel inside. Once the kernel inside is seen, this path transcends ordinary feelings. And tell me, how do you say a phrase that transcends ordinary feelings? Do you thoroughly understand? / His radiant gaze shatters the four continents; / the one who presides over this path is none other than he." [The Master] spoke again: "Just now I received the Abbot venerable elder's citation of a monk asking Xianglin: 'What is the matter beneath the patch-robe?' Xianglin said, 'Fire burns the mountain in the twelfth month.'" The Master said, "These are Xianglin's words; the Abbot brings them up today; Yuwang follows along in the rummaging, yet does not dare to approve. Why not dare to approve? If choosing buddhas lacks such an eye, even if a thousand autumns pass, what would it avail?"