虛堂和尚語錄 2.106

2.106

At the informal gathering for concluding the summer retreat, a monk asked, "For patch-robed monks, the fifteenth day of the fourth month cannot bind them, and the fifteenth day of the seventh month cannot release them. In the end, where do they settle their body and establish their life?" The Master said, "Turning a somersault on the tip of a needle." The monk said, "Can one attain such freedom and ease?" The Master said, "Do not roll your eyes backward in a lime basket." The monk said, "It may be called not spending the summer's time in vain." The Master said, "The sharpness of a knife or an awl." The monk said, "If suddenly someone down the road asks, 'What did the upādhyāya show people this summer?', how will it be?" The Master said, "Add much, subtract little." The monk said, "Even the Buddhas of the three times could not comprehend it." The Master said, "This mountain monk comprehends it even less." The monk said, "Tonight the upādhyāya has spoken it all to the student." He then made prostrations.