大慧普覺禪師宗門武庫 1.67

1.67

The Reverend Doushuai Yue was head monk at Qixian on Mount Lu. At that time, Xiong Botong, military commissioner of Hongzhou, invited him to reside [as abbot] at Long'an Doushuai. Yue set three questions to interrogate students. The first said: 'Parting the weeds to investigate the profound is solely aimed at seeing into one's nature. Right now, where is your own-nature, Venerable Sir?' The second said: 'Only when one recognizes own-nature does one escape birth and death. When your eyesight falls to the ground, how will you escape?' The third said: 'If you have escaped birth and death, then you know where you will go. When the four great elements separate, where will you go?' Wujin replied with three verses. The first said:
'Somber and dense are the summer trees where the cuckoo cries; / The sun pierces the floating clouds and the universe is clear. / Do not ask Zeng Can about Zeng Xi; / From ancient times, a filial son avoids uttering his father's name.'
The second said:
'In the human realm, the ghost messenger arrives with a tally to fetch you; / In heaven, the flower-crown is just now withering away. / A fine moment to turn one's body around— / Do not let Old Yama know of it casually!'
The third said:
'Drums beat in harmony for the wife of Li the Eldest in the eastern village; / In the autumn wind of the open wilderness, tears drench the robes. / Green reeds and red smartweed line the southern bank of the river; / Yet here sits Zhang the Third upon the fishing rock.'
Yue resided at Doushuai for five years. One day he recited a verse, saying: 'At forty-eight, / Saints and ordinary men are completely slain. / If you are not a hero, / The path at Long'an is slippery.' He then abruptly passed away.