虛堂和尚語錄 1.57

1.57

At the informal gathering on New Year's Eve, he picked up his staff: "Before worlds existed, before Buddhas and patriarchs existed, there was already this staff, obstructing east and obstructing west. When worlds were established and Buddhas and patriarchs appeared, it remained scaly and craggy, rough and stubborn as before. Deshan borrowed its nostrils to breathe out air; Bajiao had missing teeth and unconsciously leaked wind. This causes the Chan practitioners under heaven, every one of them, to follow in its footsteps, and at year's end when the year is exhausted, they do not understand how to turn their bodies, solely because they do not distinguish the joints. Having fallen into Bao'en's hands, neither can I cross-examine you. I only want you all to know: 'The three yangs combine in harmony, and the ten thousand things all prosper.' But if you are not yet thus..." He drew a line with his staff, and the assembly retreated.