虛堂和尚語錄 1.81

1.81

乃竪拂子云：「恁麼則易，不恁麼則難。恁麼則易，有結有解，把纜放舡；不恁麼則難，有始有終，無事不辦。諸方逼生蠶作繭、特牛產兒；我者裏買帽相頭，隨家豐儉。不覺也過了一夏，來朝解開布袋，各自爾東我西前程，忽有人道著報恩，爺名不須諱却。何故？」擊拂子：「秋風吹渭水，落葉滿長安。」

He then raised his whisk and said, "Being thus is easy; not being thus is difficult. Being thus is easy: there is tying and untying, taking the mooring-rope and letting go the boat. Not being thus is difficult: there is a beginning and an end, nothing left undone. In other quarters, they force silkworms to make cocoons and special bulls to give birth to calves. Here with me, we buy the hat to fit the head, according to the wealth or frugality of the household. Unawares, another summer has passed. Tomorrow morning, opening the cloth bag, each of you going east and I west along our ways forward, if someone suddenly mentions Bao'en, you need not conceal your father's name. Why is that?" Striking the whisk: "The autumn wind blows over the River Wei; fallen leaves fill Chang'an."