如淨和尚語錄 2.50

2.50

Giving a shout, he said: “Assembly! This single shout—before Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja appeared, it was already missed! How much more so coming here again today, shouting wildly and recklessly—what kind of bubbling babble and clattering bowl sounds are these? If there is someone in the assembly who bravely comes forward, cleaves open the shit-mouth, knocks out the teeth, and shoves him into the shit pit, avoiding seeing such a mess and casually cheating people! Even granting it were so, that too would be clenching a fist behind the back, raising the voice to stop an echo. Yet through skillful means many gates are set up, opening up a path. Is there anyone coming forward?”
After a long pause, he said: “Since there is no one, I shall temporarily borrow this shout to pile up the mess and cheat people!”
He gave a shout: “There is host and there is guest; there is illumination and there is function. Do you know where it lands? If you know where it lands, you know where it arises. If you know where it arises, you know where it ceases. If you know where it ceases, you know that arising and ceasing are both extinguished, and silent extinction becomes manifest. In daily activities, it appears in six places: in the eye it is called seeing—you must gouge out your eyeballs, completely seeing nothing, and only then see everything; only then can it be called seeing. In the ear it is called hearing—you must stop up the ear root, completely hearing nothing, and only then hear everything; only then can it be called hearing. In the nose it is called smelling—you must knock off the nostrils, distinguishing neither fragrant nor foul, and only then distinguish everything; only then can it be called smelling. On the tongue it is discussing—you must pull out the tongue, heaven and earth sealed in silence, and only then blazingly discuss without interruption; only then can it be called discussing. In the body it is called the person—you must cast off the four great elements, entirely without reliance, and only then manifest forms according to their kinds; only then can it be called a person. In the mind it is called consciousness—you must cut off conditioned grasping forever, emptying the three asaṃkhyeya kalpas, and only then arise and cease without stopping; only then can it be called consciousness. The six places manifest as above without interruption. As mentioned earlier, there is host and there is guest, there is illumination and there is function, bringing host and guest to interchange, illumination and function to interpenetrate. Up to the Buddhas of the three periods and the six generations of Patriarchs, down to animals, different species, grasses, trees, and insects—all are this single shout, without exception. Then you see that before Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja appeared is simply now, and now is simply before Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja appeared—without duality, without division, without difference, and without interruption! If judged by this mountain monk’s view, what shout is there? What discussion is there? Originally there were not so many varieties; all must take the stick! What is missed? What is not missed? Furthermore, there are Linji’s four shouts; while walking, there is no harm in swinging one’s arms—I will pierce the nostrils of each one:
Bah! ‘A shout like the jeweled sword of the Vajra King’—a shit-wiper stick!
‘A shout like a crouching lion’—a rat in a hole!
‘A shout like a probing pole and shadowing grass’—a fellow angling for frogs!
‘A shout not functioning as a shout’—a ghoul before a skull!
Tonight Qingliang speaks like this, which is called treating a dead horse. Even if this shout revives it, how can it escape being a sound of bubbling babble and clattering bowls? Even so, tell me: before Bhīṣmagarjitasvararāja appeared, where did it come from? Can you settle it? If you can settle it, what fault is there in shouting wildly and recklessly? It saves searching with folded hands beside the meditation chair. If not yet so, beware of fists and toes flying in anger! Bah!”