虛堂和尚語錄 9.68

9.68

復舉：「涌泉因雪峯訪，乃門送峯入轎了，泉云：『者箇四人舁，那箇幾人舁？』峯聳身云：『道甚麼？』泉再舉，峯云：『行行，他不會。』」師拈云：「電光石火之機，具大眼目，卒難湊泊，涌泉危流中失却手橈，雪峯過在後語。當時若是徑山，待他聳身云：『道甚麼？』只向他道：『請和尚穩乘轎子。』非惟坐斷雪峯舌頭，亦使天下人針劄不入。」

He further brought up: "Because Xuefeng came to visit, Yongquan accompanied him to the gate to see him into his sedan chair. Yongquan said, 'This one is carried by four men; how many carry that one?' Xuefeng drew himself up and said, 'What did you say?' Yongquan brought it up again. Xuefeng said, 'Walk on, walk on; he does not understand.'"
The Master commented, "In the dynamic of sparks struck from flint and flashes of lightning, endowed with great eyes, it is difficult indeed to align with it. Yongquan lost his oar in the treacherous current; Xuefeng's fault lay in his subsequent words. If it had been Jingshan at that time, waiting for him to draw himself up and say, 'What did you say?' I would simply have said to him, 'Please, Upādhyāya, ride steadily in your sedan chair.' Not only would this have cut off Xuefeng's tongue, it would also have left no room for anyone in the world to insert a needle."