虛堂和尚語錄 2.126

2.126

除夜小參，僧問：「年窮歲逼，烏龜上壁，豈不是和尚語？」師云：「只得自傷己命。」僧云：「忽然眾中有箇通方作者，冷笑一聲，老師未免面熱汗下。」師云：「爾更近前驗我看。」僧近前云：「了。」師云：「果然。」

At the informal gathering on New Year's Eve, a monk asked, "'The year is exhausted, the season is pressing, the tortoise climbs the wall'—is this not the upādhyāya's saying?" The Master said, "I can only grieve for my own life." The monk said, "If suddenly an adept who penetrates everywhere in the assembly lets out a cold laugh, the teacher will inevitably feel his face burning and sweat running down." The Master said, "Step closer and examine me further." The monk stepped forward and said, "Finished." The Master said, "Indeed."