佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 5.41

5.41

Although Xuefeng and Sansheng stepped in and stepped out, nudged each other and pressed each other, victory and defeat were not yet decided. Tell me, what kind of eyes did these two venerable adepts possess? Ever since Sansheng received the instruction from Linji, he traveled widely through all quarters, and everywhere he went he was treated as an eminent guest. Look at the topic of inquiry he raised—how many people could not get a handle on it! Without touching on rational principle or Buddhist doctrine, he instead asked: "What does the golden fish that has passed through the net take for food?" Tell me, what was his intention? As the golden fish that has passed through the net does not ordinarily eat someone else's fragrant bait, one does not know what it takes for food. Xuefeng was an expert; as if with ease, he answered him with only a point or two, saying back to him: "Wait until you emerge from the net, then I will tell you." Fenyang called this an "inquiry presenting understanding"; the Dongshan lineage called it an "inquiry borrowing an affair." One must transcend the ordinary and surpass the herd, obtaining great functioning, with an eye on the crown of the head, before one is called a golden fish that has passed through the net. But what can be done? Xuefeng was an expert: without hesitating to diminish the man's reputation, he instead said: "Wait until you emerge from the net, then I will tell you." Look at the two houses: they held their borders firmly, like cliffs rising ten thousand fathoms. Were it not for Sansheng, at this single phrase one could go no further. Yet what can be done? Sansheng was also an expert; only then was he able to say to him: "A kalyāṇamitra of fifteen hundred people, yet you do not even recognize a turning phrase!" Xuefeng then said: "This old monk's tasks as abbot are many." These words were so unyielding and leisurely! When experts meet, with one capture and one release, meeting the strong they become weak, meeting the lowly they become noble. If you understand it in terms of victory and defeat, you have not yet even dreamed of Xuefeng. Look at the two of them: at first solitary, precipitous, and steep; in the end both utterly slack and negligent. Tell me, is there still gain and loss, victory and defeat? In the exchanges between experts, they certainly do not know such things. When Sansheng was the monastery director under Linji, Linji, about to pass away, gave a pointer saying: "After I depart, you must not extinguish my Treasury of the True Dharma Eye." Sansheng came forward and said: "How could I dare extinguish the Venerable's Treasury of the True Dharma Eye?" Linji said: "In the future, if someone asks you, how will you respond?" Sansheng gave a shout. Linji said: "Who would have known that my Treasury of the True Dharma Eye would be extinguished by this blind donkey!" Sansheng then bowed. Being Linji's true heir, only he dared to make such an exchange. At the end, Xuedou only versified the golden fish that has passed through the net, revealing the place where these experts met. His verse says: