虛堂和尚語錄 9.137

9.137

乃云：「有雪有霜，有寒有燠，四時遷謝，變化不同。山僧今年八十五，骨冷如氷，纔聞燠字，舉手而謝之。何故？免得老來挑灰弄火。」

He then said: "There is snow and there is frost, there is cold and there is warmth; the four seasons transition and decline, their transformations diverse. This mountain monk is eighty-five this year, his bones cold as ice; the moment I hear the word 'warmth', I raise my hand and decline it. Why? It saves an old man from raking ashes and playing with fire."