虛堂和尚語錄 9.121

9.121

Ascending the hall, he raised this: "Prime Minister Zhang Wujin was having a night conversation with Venerable Buqun Hao of Yuquan. Wujin said, 'Old Dongshan Chu was also very extraordinary when he said, "On the peak of Mount Wutai, clouds steam rice; in front of the Buddha Hall's steps, dogs piss at the sky," wanting to clarify the Dharma-body.' Hao said, 'What is extraordinary about that? It only praises what pertains to the Dharma-body, but does not praise what transcends the Dharma-body.' Wujin spoke in Sichuan dialect, saying, 'What is that which transcends the Dharma-body?' Hao urgently called for paper, and before it arrived, he wrote in large characters right on the gold-lacquered table: 'For a whole night the rain poured in torrents, beating down the grape trellis. The monastery administrators called upon all the postulants and laborers—some propping it up, some bracing it; bracing and propping until dawn, it remained just as pitiful as before.' He threw down the brush and laughed heartily, and Wujin had it engraved in stone." The Master brought it up and said: "Everyone says that the two elders gave full rein to unimpeded eloquence and clarified the dynamic of killing and bringing to life. Little do they know that when the swords of wisdom clash against each other, each has its strengths and flaws."