[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003) › 7.17 # 佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 7.17 佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 7.17 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [7.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.7.17) 趙州乃南泉的子。道頭會尾。舉著便知落處。南泉晚間復舉前話問趙州。州是老作家。便脫草鞋。於頭上戴出。泉云。子若在却救得猫兒。且道真箇恁麼不恁麼。南泉云。道得即不斬。如擊石火似閃電光。趙州便脫草鞋。於頭上戴出。他參活句。不參死句。日日新時時新。千聖移易一絲毫不得。須是運出自己家珍。方見他全機大用。他道。我為法王於法自在。人多錯會道。趙州權將草鞋。作猫兒。有者道。待他云道得即不斬。便戴草鞋出去。自是爾斬猫兒。不干我事。且得沒交涉。只是弄精魂。殊不知。古人意。如天普蓋。似地普擎。他父子相投。機鋒相合。那箇舉頭。他便會尾。如今學者。不識古人轉處。空去意路上卜度。若要見。但去他南泉趙州轉處便見好。頌云。 > Zhaozhou was Nanquan's true heir. When the head was spoken, he understood the tail; as soon as it was brought up, he knew where it settled. In the evening Nanquan brought up the previous case again to ask Zhaozhou. Zhou was an old adept; he immediately took off his straw sandals, put them on his head, and walked out. Nanquan said, "Had you been there, you would have saved the cat." Now tell me, was it truly like this or not like this? Nanquan said, "If you can speak, I will not cut it"—like sparks struck from flint, like a flash of lightning. Zhaozhou immediately took off his straw sandals, put them on his head, and walked out. He investigated the living phrase, not the dead phrase; daily new, hourly new, a thousand sages cannot alter it by a single thread. One must bring forth one's own family treasure to see his total dynamic function. He said: "I am the Dharma King, sovereign in the Dharma." Many people mistakenly understand, saying: "Zhaozhou expediently treated the straw sandals as the cat." Some say: "Waiting for him to say 'If you can speak, I will not cut it,' he put the straw sandals on his head and went out—naturally it was you cutting the cat, it had nothing to do with me." None of this has any connection whatsoever; it is merely toying with the spirit. Little do they know that the ancient's intention was like heaven covering universally, like earth supporting universally. Father and son were in accord, dynamic sharpness matching. When one raised the head, the other understood the tail. Students nowadays do not know the ancient's turning point; in vain they guess and calculate on the path of thought. If you want to see, just go to that turning point of Nanquan and Zhaozhou, and you will see it well. The verse says: > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 7.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.7.16) - [Next: 7.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.7.18) - [Up: 7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.7) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003~en-mt.7.17) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.7.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2003.7.17) · Pramāṇa