大慧普覺禪師宗門武庫 1.92

1.92

王荊公，一日訪蔣山元禪師，坐間談論品藻古今，山曰：「相公口氣逼人，恐著述搜索勞役，心氣不正，何不坐禪體此大事？」公從之，一日謂山曰：「坐禪實不虧人，余數年要作胡笳十八拍不成，夜坐間已就。」山呵呵大笑。

One day, Duke Wang of Jing visited Chan Master Yuan of Mount Jiang. During their conversation, they evaluated ancient and modern times. Jiangshan said, “Your Excellency’s breath presses upon people; I fear that the exertion of researching for your writings has made your mind-energy unbalanced. Why not sit in meditation to embody this great matter?” The Duke followed his advice. One day he said to Jiangshan, “Sitting in meditation truly does not fail a person. For several years I wanted to compose ‘Eighteen Beats of the Nomad Flute’ without success, but during night meditation it was already completed.” Jiangshan laughed out loud with a ‘ha-ha!’