佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 4.8

4.8

Look at him acting like this, coming straight out and going straight in, moving straight forth and coming straight back: this is the authentic lineage of Linji, possessing such dynamic functioning. If you can penetrate through, you can overturn heaven and earth, finding application for yourself. Senior Monk Ding was such a fellow: slapped once by Linji, he got up from prostrating and immediately knew where it landed. He was a northerner, very simple and straightforward. After attaining it, he never came forth to appear in the world. Later, he made full use of Linji's dynamic function, which was quite outstanding. One day, he met Yantou, Xuefeng, and Qinshan on the road. Yantou asked, "Where do you come from?" Ding said, "From Linji." Yantou said, "May the Venerable be blessed." Ding said, "He has already passed away." Yantou said, "The three of us came specially to pay homage. Our karmic fortune is meager, and we have met with his passing. We wonder what words and phrases the Venerable had while he was alive? Please cite one or two for us to examine, Senior Monk." Ding then cited: One day Linji addressed the assembly, saying, "On the lump of red flesh there is a true person of no rank, constantly going in and out through the sense gates of each of you. Those who have not yet verified it, look, look!" At that time a monk came forward and asked, "What is the true person of no rank?" Linji seized him and said, "Speak! Speak!" The monk hesitated; Linji pushed him away, saying, "What dry shit-wiper is the true person of no rank?" and returned to his abbot's quarters. Yantou unconsciously stuck out his tongue. Qinshan said, "Why didn't you say, 'It is not a true person of no rank'?" Ding seized him and said, "How far apart are the true person of no rank and not a true person of no rank? Speak quickly! Speak quickly!" Qinshan was speechless; his face turned yellow and green. Yantou and Xuefeng stepped forward, bowed, and said, "This newly ordained monk does not know good from bad and has offended you, Senior Monk. We pray you be compassionate and let him off." Ding said, "Were it not for you two old fellows, I would have beaten this bed-wetting imp to death!" Again, when Ding was returning from a vegetarian feast in Zhenzhou, resting on a bridge, he met three lecturers. One asked, "What is the deep place of the Chan river? One must probe to the bottom." Ding seized him and was about to throw him off the bridge. The other two lecturers hurriedly pleaded, saying, "Stop, stop! He has offended you, Senior Monk. We pray you be compassionate." Ding said, "Were it not for you two lecturers, I would have let him probe straight to the bottom!" Look at such methods of his: completely the dynamic functioning of Linji. Further, look at Xuedou's verse eulogy: