大慧普覺禪師語錄 7.22

7.22

Instructing the assembly, he brought up the following: "A monk asked Xiangyan, 'What is the Way?' Xiangyan said, 'A dragon humming in a withered tree.' The monk said, 'What is a person in the Way?' Xiangyan said, 'Eyes in a skull.' The monk also asked Shishuang, 'What is a dragon humming in a withered tree?' Shishuang said, 'It still carries joy.' 'What are eyes in a skull?' Shishuang said, 'They still carry consciousness.' The monk also asked Caoshan, 'What is a dragon humming in a withered tree?' Caoshan said, 'The bloodline is unbroken.' 'What are eyes in a skull?' Caoshan said, 'Not completely dried up.' Whereupon there was a verse: 'A dragon humming in a withered tree truly sees the Way; / When the skull is without consciousness, the eyes are first clear. / When joy and consciousness are exhausted, all news is exhausted; / How could that person distinguish the pure within the turbid?' The old man Yuanwu said, 'One person penetrated the leakage of words; one person penetrated the leakage of feelings; one person penetrated the leakage of views.'"
The Master said, "Can you people pick them out? If you cannot pick them out, I will not spare my eyebrows to explain it completely for you: Xiangyan penetrated the leakage of words, yet was bound to death by words and phrases; Shishuang penetrated the leakage of feelings, yet was driven to death by feelings and consciousness; Caoshan penetrated the leakage of views, yet was deluded to death by seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing. It has been clearly stated; let those with eyes distinguish it!"