大慧普覺禪師語錄 7.20

7.20

Instructing the assembly, [the Master] said: "The moment it touches lips and mouth, it falls into verbal explanations; not falling into verbal explanations, it sinks into silence. Sinking into silence becomes deception; clinging to verbal explanations becomes slander. Not speaking is not slander, not being silent is not deception. You must know that toward the transcendent there is another path; those with clear eyes know it is there, yet it is simply hard to approach." He then took up his staff and said, "The staff can indeed be approached, but it simply does not know it is there. I venture to ask the great assembly: that which can be approached does not know it is there, and that which knows it is there cannot be approached. Right at such a time, which one is in front, and which one is behind? Right now among the assembly, is there anyone who is not deceived by others? Come forward and try to determine it and see." After a pause he said, "If not for shooting the stone tiger at Lantian, General Li would almost have been killed in vain." He struck once.