虛堂和尚語錄 1.136

1.136

He then said: "The Great Way is right before our eyes, yet it is difficult to see before our eyes. If you wish to know the true essence of the Great Way, it is not apart from sounds, sights, and words. Talking like this is very much like breaking a blade of grass to measure empty space. Patch-robed monks do not seek the sages, nor do they value their own numinous nature; a blink of the eyebrows, and it is already missed. What is the use of speaking of spoken sounds and forms, the wild fox's yelp, or the lion's roar? Three thousand leagues away, one dare not raise one's eyes; even if Linji's and Deshan's sticks and shouts fly back and forth, please shelve them high up. Why?" Striking the whisk: "Ever since the clash of arms has quieted, one only hears the song of the people of Yao beating the earth."