虛堂和尚語錄 1.175

1.175

Ascending the hall, [the Master] cited: "Upādhyāya Baiyun Rui addressed the assembly: 'The ancients left behind a word or half a phrase. When you have not penetrated it, it is like striking against an iron wall; suddenly, one day you penetrate it, and only then do you realize that you yourself are the iron wall. Tell me, how do you penetrate it right now?' He then said: 'Iron wall, iron wall!'"
The Master said: "Baiyun feared people would not understand, so he merely explained the meaning according to the letter. As for patch-robed monks, to fuse the myriad forms before their eyes and knead empty space upon their palms is still just a turning phrase—how much more so the matter of that other side!"