佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 10.13

10.13

The twenty-eight [patriarchs] of the Western Heaven and the six [patriarchs] of the Tang land transmitted only this bit. Do all of you know where it comes down? If you know, you avoid this fault; if you do not know, you are still just a wild fox spirit. Some say that he twisted his nostrils around to deceive people. If it were truly like that, what principle would that make? Daguang was adept at helping people; within his words was an escape route. In general, a lineage master must pull out nails and extract pegs for people, remove stickiness and untie bonds—only then is he called a kalyāṇamitra. Daguang danced, and this monk bowed; at the end, the monk instead danced, and Daguang said, "This wild fox spirit!" It was not to turn this monk around; after all, he did not know the exact fact. If you just keep dancing, passing it on to one another like this, when will you ever find rest? Daguang said, "Wild fox spirit"; this phrase cut off Jinniu—it was quite extraordinary. Therefore it is said: he investigated living phrases, not dead phrases. Xuedou simply cherished his saying, "This wild fox spirit," and so he eulogised it. Tell me: is this "wild fox spirit" the same as or different from "Zang's head is white, Hai's head is black"? [And what about] "this lacquer bucket" or, again, "fine monk"? Tell me: are they the same or different? Do you know? Everywhere you meet him. Xuedou's verse says: