虛堂和尚語錄 2.22

2.22

Ascending the hall, he cited: "On the road to Mount Tai there was an old woman. Whenever a monk asked, 'Which way is the road to Mount Tai?' the old woman said, 'Go straight ahead.' As soon as the monk walked off, the woman said, 'A fine monk, off he goes like that!' Zhaozhou heard of this and said, 'Wait until I go and investigate that old woman.' When Zhaozhou arrived, he asked as before, and the woman answered as before. Zhaozhou returned to the monastery and said, 'I have thoroughly investigated that old woman.'" The Master said, "This old woman set up a battle array where not an inch of grass grows. Zhaozhou, deploying no military strategy, sought to smash it directly; yet when the blades crossed, he suffered a loss instead. To say, 'I have thoroughly investigated her' is very much like carrying someone else's coffin into one's own house to weep. Is there anyone who can take charge for Zhaozhou?" Striking his staff, he said, "Having investigated her, strike them all in one blow!"