宏智禪師廣錄 3.40

3.40

[The Master] cited: Shiti asked his attendant: “Where are you going?” The attendant said: “Going to the hall for the meal.” Shiti said: “Could I not know that you are going to the hall for the meal?” The attendant said: “Besides this, what else could be said?” Shiti said: “I only asked you about the fundamental affair.” The attendant said: “If asking about the fundamental affair, I truly am going to the hall for the meal.” Shiti said: “You are truly not mistaken to be my attendant.”
The Master said: “Letting it go will not do. Right now one must directly twist his nostrils until they hurt and beat him until his bones come out, only then avoiding seeing a blind donkey following the great herd. Therefore it is said: countless people die on level ground; one who can penetrate the thorn thicket is a skilled hand. And tell me: did this monk just now penetrate it or not? Much emptiness is not as good as a little reality.”