宏智禪師廣錄 4.236

4.236

上堂舉。僧問趙州。王索仙陀婆時如何。州曲躬叉手。雪竇拈云。索鹽奉馬。師云。雪竇一百年前作家。趙州百二十歲古佛。趙州若是雪竇不是。雪竇若是趙州不是。且道。畢竟如何。天童不免。下箇注脚。差之毫釐。失之千里。會也打草驚蛇。不會也燒錢引鬼。荒田不揀老俱胝。只今信手拈來底。

Ascending the hall, [the Master] brought up: A monk asked Zhaozhou, "What is it like when the king demands saindhava?" Zhaozhou bowed low with clasped hands. Xuedou took this up and said, "Demanding salt, presenting a horse." The Master said: "Xuedou was an adept of a hundred years ago; Zhaozhou was an ancient Buddha of one hundred and twenty years. If Zhaozhou was right, Xuedou was not right; if Xuedou was right, Zhaozhou was not right. Tell me, what is it ultimately? Tiantong cannot avoid adding a footnote: Miss by a fraction of an inch, and you are off by a thousand miles. If you understand, it beats the grass and startles the snake; if you do not understand, it burns paper money and draws ghosts. Old Juzhi did not pick and choose in the overgrown field; it is just what is picked up freely right now."