虛堂和尚語錄 9.125

9.125

上堂，舉：「世尊因黑氏梵志，擎合歡梧桐花獻，世尊云：『放下著。』梵志放下左手梧桐花。世尊又云：『放下著。』梵志放下右手梧桐花。世尊復云：『放下著。』梵志云：『我今兩手盡空，未審放下箇什麼？』世尊云：『爾放下外六塵、內六根、中六識，是爾免生死處。』梵志當下悟無生法忍。」師拈云：「世尊畫蛇添足，當時待他道：『我今兩手盡空，未審放下箇什麼？』祇向伊道：『爾放不下，擔將去。』若下得者一轉語，東土初僧，不如西天外道。」

Ascending the hall, he raised this: "Because the Black-Clan Brahmin held up Chinese parasol tree flowers to offer, the World-Honoured One said, 'Put it down.' The Brahmin put down the parasol tree flowers in his left hand. The World-Honoured One said again, 'Put it down.' The Brahmin put down the parasol tree flowers in his right hand. The World-Honoured One said once more, 'Put it down.' The Brahmin said, 'Both my hands are now completely empty; I wonder what I should put down?' The World-Honoured One said, 'You must put down the six external dusts, the six internal sense faculties, and the six consciousnesses in between—this is the place where you will escape birth and death.' The Brahmin right then awakened to the tolerance of non-arising phenomena." The Master brought it up and said: "The World-Honoured One drew a snake and added feet. At that time, waiting for him to say, 'Both my hands are now completely empty; I wonder what I should put down?' he should merely have said to him: 'If you cannot put it down, carry it off with you.' If this one turning phrase had been uttered, the first monk of the Eastern Land would not equal a non-Buddhist of the Western Heaven."