虛堂和尚語錄 9.136

9.136

Ascending the hall for opening the stove and rebuilding the Buddha hall, a monk asked: "Deshan dismantled it as soon as he entered the gate, while the Venerable rebuilt it anew upon entering the gate; what is the meaning of this?" The Master said: "The moment you entered the gate, your nostrils were pierced first." The monk said: "If so, then each establishes his own house style." The Master said: "Lower your voice, lower your voice; walls have ears." The monk said: "Let this matter rest. I recall Zhaozhou instructing the assembly: 'Thirty years ago, by the stove, I spoke a phrase with neither host nor guest.' What is the meaning of this?" The Master said: "Cast fifty oxen as bait, raise the arm to angle in the vast ocean." The monk said: "What is the phrase with host and guest?" The Master said: "A dull bird beside the fence resolutely does not leave." The monk said: "One might say: observing the color of the fire amidst cold and warmth, the ancestral teacher's mind-seal is personally transmitted." The Master said: "Indeed, you cannot leap out." The monk said: "Zhaozhou said: 'A phrase with neither host nor guest—until now, no one has brought it up.' What about this?" The Master said: "Sun Bin feigned idiocy." The monk said: "Today at Jingshan when the stove is opened, do you still allow the student to debate?" The Master said: "Cutting nails and cleaving iron is not yet an adept."