佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 1.26

1.26

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!