虛堂和尚語錄 9.57

9.57

The master then said: "The mountain monk has held the title of elder for forty years now. During these forty years, I have resided in ten monasteries. In that time, discussing the present and investigating antiquity, speaking of the east and talking of the west—all of it was an arrangement of thresholds and doors. At the critical crux, I have not yet managed to speak a single word. Today, as the winter solstice approaches and the season arrives to record the clouds, on the contrary, it is not as clear as that single phrase from forty years ago before I had opened my mouth. And what is that single phrase from forty years ago before I had opened my mouth?" Striking the staff: "Above all, it is not this phrase."