虛堂和尚語錄 1.81

1.81

He then raised his whisk and said, "Being thus is easy; not being thus is difficult. Being thus is easy: there is tying and untying, taking the mooring-rope and letting go the boat. Not being thus is difficult: there is a beginning and an end, nothing left undone. In other quarters, they force silkworms to make cocoons and special bulls to give birth to calves. Here with me, we buy the hat to fit the head, according to the wealth or frugality of the household. Unawares, another summer has passed. Tomorrow morning, opening the cloth bag, each of you going east and I west along our ways forward, if someone suddenly mentions Bao'en, you need not conceal your father's name. Why is that?" Striking the whisk: "The autumn wind blows over the River Wei; fallen leaves fill Chang'an."