虛堂和尚語錄 3.127

3.127

上堂，舉：「紫胡和尚示眾云：『三十年來住紫胡，二時粥飯氣力粗，無事上山行一轉，借問時人會也無？』」師云：「紫胡年老心孤，東行西行，又問人道會不會。徑山崇罔峻領，列在面前，又值雪寒，但未得去，待春融也須行一兩遭，只是不問人會不會。何故？」擊拂子：「水月以喻兮，古來已多；我今不然兮，所陳伊何。參！」

Ascending the hall, he cited: "Venerable Zihu instructed the assembly, saying: 'For thirty years I have lived at Zihu; / with two meals of porridge and rice, my energy is robust. / Having nothing to do, I go up the mountain for a stroll, / and ask people of the time: do you understand or not?'" The Master said: "Zihu grew old and his mind was lonely; walking east and walking west, he further asked people, 'Do you understand or not?' Jingshan's lofty peaks and steep ridges are arrayed before us; moreover, encountering the snowy cold, I simply have not been able to go. When spring thaws, I must also take a stroll once or twice, but I simply will not ask people whether they understand or not. Why?" Striking his whisk, he said: "Metaphors using the moon in the water have been many since antiquity; / I am not so today—what is it that I declare? Participate!"