佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 1.11

1.11

Regarding Xuedou's verse eulogy on this gong'an, it is just like one skilled in wielding the Tai'a sword, sprawling and circling in the empty void, naturally not offending the sharp edge. If one lacks this kind of skill, the moment one touches it, one sees injury from the blade and harm to the hand. If one possesses the eye, see how in his picking up and letting down, praising and blaming, he uses only four lines to settle a gong'an. Generally speaking, verses on antiquity are simply roundabout ways of talking about Chan; bringing up antiquity is just settling the case based on the testimony. Xuedou gives him a thrust, saying straight off: / 'The holy truth is vast and void; / When will you distinguish it clearly?' / For Xuedou to place this line under his first line is remarkably extraordinary. But tell me, in the end, how do you distinguish it clearly? Even with iron eyes and copper pupils, you cannot grope for it. Arriving here, can it be estimated by emotional consciousness? Therefore Yunmen said, 'Like sparks struck from flint, like a flash of lightning.' This little bit does not fall into mental calculations, consciousness, or emotional thoughts. Waiting for you to open your mouth, what is it good for? When calculations arise, the sparrow hawk has already crossed to Silla. Xuedou said, 'You patch-robed monks of the world, when will you distinguish it clearly?' For 'Who is facing me?', he adds 'He still said, "I do not know."' This is Xuedou being overly grandmotherly, helping people again and again. But tell me: are 'vast and void' and 'I do not know' one or two? For one who has clarified it, it goes without saying. For one who has not clarified it, they definitely split it into two halves. People in various quarters usually say that Xuedou picked it up once again, not knowing that the four lines already eulogized the whole gong'an, and only later, out of compassion, did he eulogize the subsequent events: / 'Because of this, he secretly crossed the river; / How could he avoid generating brambles?' / Bodhidharma originally came to this land to untie bonds and loosen ropes for people, to pull out nails and extract wedges, and to clear away brambles; why then is it said that he generated brambles? Not only then, but beneath everyone's feet right now, it is already several fathoms deep! / 'Though all the people of the country pursue him, he will not return; / For thousands of ages and myriad ages, remembering him in vain!' / How unheroic! But tell me, where is Bodhidharma? If you see Bodhidharma, you will see Xuedou's ultimate act for people. Fearing that people would pursue emotional views, Xuedou turned the mechanism around and produced his own view, saying: / 'Stop remembering! / The pure breeze sweeps the earth—what limit is there?' / Since you stop remembering, what about the matter beneath your feet? Xuedou says: right now, in this place, the pure breeze sweeps the earth—in heaven and on earth, what limit is there? Xuedou picked up the events of thousands of ages and myriad ages and threw them right in front of you. Not only was there no limit for Xuedou at that time, but what limit is there for all of you? Again, fearing that people would cling here, he further applied an expedient and said in a loud voice, 'Is there an ancestral master here?' He said himself, 'There is.' Arriving here, Xuedou does no harm in acting for others with pieces of an earnest heart. He said himself, 'Call him over to wash this old monk's feet.' This severely diminishes one's majesty and brilliance! At that time, it would also have been good to give him his proper hands and feet. But tell me, where was Xuedou's intent? Arriving here, is it right to call him a donkey, is it right to call him a horse, or is it right to call him an ancestral master? How can he be named or depicted? Often people call it Xuedou ordering the ancestral master around. Fortunately, it has nothing to do with it! But tell me, ultimately how is it? It is only permitted for the Old Barbarian to know; it is not permitted for the Old Barbarian to understand.