佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 10.3

10.3

Yanguan one day called to his attendant, "Bring me the rhinoceros-horn fan." Although this matter does not reside in verbal phrases, still it is used to examine someone's lifelong mettle and operational tactics; moreover, it must be manifested depending on words like this. On the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, one must have strength and be one's own master. When the myriad environments clash together, seeing them one is unmoving; this can be called merit of no-merit, strength of no-strength. Yanguan was Chan Master Qi'an. In ancient times they used rhinoceros horn to make fans. At the time, how could Yanguan not have known that the rhinoceros-horn fan was broken? He deliberately asked his attendant. The attendant said, "The fan is broken." Look at those ancients: throughout the twelve periods of the day they were constantly inside colliding and bumping into this. Yanguan said, "Since the fan is broken, bring me back the rhinoceros!" Now tell me, what did he want the rhinoceros for? He only wanted to test whether the other person knew where it landed or not. Touzi said, "I do not refuse to bring it out, but I fear its head and horns would not be intact." Xuedou said, "I want head and horns that are not intact." He too directly hit the mark along with the phrase. Shishuang said, "If it were returned to the master, then there would be none." Xuedou said, "The rhinoceros is still there." Zifu drew a circle and wrote the character 'ox' inside it; because he was Yangshan's heir, throughout his life he loved using environmental presentations to receive people and clarify this matter. Xuedou said, "Why didn't you bring it out earlier?" Here again he pierced his nostrils. Baofu said, "The master is advanced in years; it would be better to invite someone else." These words were spoken quite securely. The previous three statements are easier to see, but this one sentence has a far-reaching meaning. Xuedou also broke it through. Formerly when I, this mountain monk, was deliberating at Head Monk Qing's place, [he] said, "The Master is advanced in years and senile; he catches the head and forgets the tail. Earlier he demanded the fan, and now he demands the rhinoceros. It is difficult to serve him. Therefore [Baofu] said: 'It would be better to invite someone else.'" Xuedou said, "What a pity that the toil had no merit." These are all standard patterns for delivering phrases. When ancients saw thoroughly into this matter, although each was different, once it was spoken it hit the mark a hundred times out of a hundred; there had to be a way of escape, and sentence after sentence did not lose the bloodline. Nowadays, when people are asked, they merely indulge in rationalizations and calculations. Therefore, throughout the twelve periods of the day, people must chew on it until water drips and ice freezes, seeking a place of realization. Look at how Xuedou strings together his eulogy: (Chuāng [摐]: phonetic qi-gong, meaning to collide/bump).