虛堂和尚語錄 9.125

9.125

Ascending the hall, he raised this: "Because the Black-Clan Brahmin held up Chinese parasol tree flowers to offer, the World-Honoured One said, 'Put it down.' The Brahmin put down the parasol tree flowers in his left hand. The World-Honoured One said again, 'Put it down.' The Brahmin put down the parasol tree flowers in his right hand. The World-Honoured One said once more, 'Put it down.' The Brahmin said, 'Both my hands are now completely empty; I wonder what I should put down?' The World-Honoured One said, 'You must put down the six external dusts, the six internal sense faculties, and the six consciousnesses in between—this is the place where you will escape birth and death.' The Brahmin right then awakened to the tolerance of non-arising phenomena." The Master brought it up and said: "The World-Honoured One drew a snake and added feet. At that time, waiting for him to say, 'Both my hands are now completely empty; I wonder what I should put down?' he should merely have said to him: 'If you cannot put it down, carry it off with you.' If this one turning phrase had been uttered, the first monk of the Eastern Land would not equal a non-Buddhist of the Western Heaven."