宏智禪師廣錄 3.34

3.34

[The Master] cited: A monk asked Xuefeng: “How is it when it is cold spring water in an ancient ravine?” Xuefeng said: “Staring into it, one cannot see the bottom.” The monk said: “How about one who drinks it?” Xuefeng said: “It does not enter through the mouth.” The monk cited this to Zhaozhou. Zhaozhou said: “It cannot enter through the nostrils.” The monk then asked Zhaozhou: “How is it when it is cold spring water in an ancient ravine?” Zhaozhou said: “Bitter.” The monk said: “How about one who drinks it?” Zhaozhou said: “He dies.” Xuefeng heard this and said: “Zhaozhou is an ancient buddha.” From then on he did not answer questions.
The Master said: “To support and uphold the ancestral vehicle truly requires a great master. Xuefeng discerned the body and mind of a good friend to fifteen hundred people; Zhaozhou wielded the technique of an old adept of a hundred and twenty years—indeed extraordinary. Nowadays among the community, they fix the purport according to words, making disparaging criticisms at random, gravely wronging the ancients. That being so, following the table and giving the drinking rules seems like having an appreciative listener; carving the bone and engraving the heart rarely encounters a bright mirror.”