佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 1.26

1.26

雪竇頌一百則公案。一則則焚香拈出。所以大行於世。他更會文章透得公案。盤礴得熟。方可下筆。何故。如此。龍蛇易辨。衲子難瞞。雪竇參透這公案。於節角聱訛處。著三句語。撮來頌出。雪上加霜。幾乎嶮墮。只如德山似什麼。一似李廣天性善射。天子封為飛騎將軍。深入虜庭。被單于生獲。廣時傷病。置廣兩馬間。絡而盛臥。廣遂詐死。睨其傍有一胡兒騎善馬。廣騰身上馬推墮胡兒。奪其弓矢。鞭馬南馳。彎弓射退追騎。以故得脫。這漢有這般手段。死中得活。雪竇引在頌中。用比德山再入相見。依舊被他跳得出去。看他古人。見到。說到。行到。用到。不妨英靈。有殺人不眨眼底手脚。方可立地成佛。有立地成佛底人。自然殺人不眨眼。方有自由自在分。如今人有底。問著頭上一似衲僧氣概。輕輕拶著。便腰做段。股做截。七支八離。渾無些子相續處。所以古人道。相續也大難。看他德山溈山如此。豈是滅滅挈挈底見解。再得完全能幾箇。急走過。德山喝便出去。一似李廣被捉後設計。一箭射殺一箇番將。得出虜庭相似。雪竇頌到此。大有工夫。德山背却法堂。著草鞋出去。道得便宜。殊不知。這老漢。依舊不放他出頭在。雪竇道。不放過。溈山至晚間問首座。適來新到在什麼處。首座云。當時背却法堂。著草鞋出去也。溈山云。此子他日。向孤峯頂上。盤結草庵。呵佛罵祖去在。幾曾是放過來。不妨奇特。到這裏。雪竇為什麼道。孤峯頂上草裏坐。又下一喝。且道落在什麼處。更參三十年。

Xuedou wrote verses on one hundred gong'ans; one by one he burned incense and held them forth, which is why they have circulated so widely throughout the world. Furthermore, he understood literature and had thoroughly penetrated the gong'ans; only after thoroughly settling and mastering them could he set brush to paper. Why was this so? Dragon and snake are easily distinguished, but a patch-robed monk is hard to deceive. Xuedou penetrated this gong'an, and at its joints, twists, and stubborn points he appended three lines of remarks, gathering them up to bring out in verse: 'Adding frost atop snow, he once fell into peril.' Just what was Deshan like? Exactly like Li Guang, who was gifted by nature at archery. The Son of Heaven enfeoffed him as the Flying Cavalry General. He went deep into the barbarian court and was captured alive by the Chanyu. At that time Guang was wounded and ill; they placed Guang between two horses, laid him inside a net, and carried him. Guang feigned death, and glancing to the side saw a barbarian youth riding a fine horse. Guang vaulted onto the horse, threw the youth off, seized his bow and arrows, whipped the horse to gallop south, and drew the bow to shoot back and repel the pursuing cavalry, thereby making his escape. This fellow had this kind of skill, attaining life amidst death! Xuedou drew upon this in his verse to compare Deshan's entering again for an interview, and still being able to leap out. Look at those ancients: their vision reached it, their speech reached it, their actions reached it, their function reached it—truly heroic and spirited! Only one who has the skill of killing people without blinking an eye can become a Buddha on the spot; one who becomes a Buddha on the spot naturally kills people without blinking an eye, and only then has a share of complete freedom and autonomy. Nowadays, there are people who, when asked, superficially possess the air of a patch-robed monk, but when lightly pressed, their waist is cut in half, their thighs are severed, and they break into seven or eight pieces, having no continuity whatsoever. Therefore the ancients said, 'Continuity is also exceedingly difficult.' Look at Deshan and Guishan acting like this: could this be a scattered and fragmentary understanding? 'How many can emerge completely whole again? Hurriedly he runs past.' Deshan shouted and went out, just like Li Guang who, after being captured, devised a plan, shot dead a barbarian general with a single arrow, and managed to escape the barbarian court. In versifying up to here, Xuedou put forth immense effort. Deshan turned his back on the Dharma Hall, put on his straw sandals, and went out, thinking he had gained the upper hand; little did he know that this old fellow still did not let him stick his head out! Xuedou said, 'He does not let him pass.' In the evening, Guishan asked the head monk, 'Where is that newcomer who arrived earlier?' The head monk said, 'At that time he turned his back on the Dharma Hall, put on his straw sandals, and went out.' Guishan said, 'This fellow, in the future on the summit of a solitary peak, will build a thatched hut, scolding the Buddhas and reviling the ancestral masters.' When had he ever let him pass? Truly extraordinary! Arriving here, why did Xuedou say, 'On the summit of a solitary peak he sits amidst the weeds,' and then give another shout? Tell me, where does this fall? Investigate for another thirty years!