<!-- Pramāṇa, a library of Indian primary sources · https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2000.9.57 -->

[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [虛堂和尚語錄](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2000) › 9.57

# 虛堂和尚語錄 9.57

虛堂和尚語錄 9.57

- **Language:** Classical Chinese

### [9.57](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2000.9.57)

師乃云：「山僧得長老之名，已四十年，於四十年中，住十箇院子，其間論今考古，說東話西，盡是門頭戶底之設，其緊切處，不曾道著得一字子。今則時臨亞歲，節屆書雲，反不如四十年前未曾啟口底一句子分曉。且作麼生是四十年前未曾啟口底一句子？」卓主丈：「要且不是這一句子。」

> The master then said: "The mountain monk has held the title of elder for forty years now. During these forty years, I have resided in ten monasteries. In that time, discussing the present and investigating antiquity, speaking of the east and talking of the west—all of it was an arrangement of thresholds and doors. At the critical crux, I have not yet managed to speak a single word. Today, as the winter solstice approaches and the season arrives to record the clouds, on the contrary, it is not as clear as that single phrase from forty years ago before I had opened my mouth. And what is that single phrase from forty years ago before I had opened my mouth?" Striking the staff: "Above all, it is not this phrase."  
> — English (machine translation) (machine translation)

- [Previous: 9.56](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2000.9.56)
- [Next: 9.58](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2000.9.58)
- [Up: 9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2000.9)

## Translations (1)

- [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2000~en-mt.9.57) — English, machine translation

---
Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2000.9.57](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2000.9.57) · Pramāṇa
