佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 6.27

6.27

Chan traveler Liang was truly a battle general. In Qinshan's hands, he wheeled left and circled right, dropping his whip and flashing his stirrups. At the very end, what a pity—his bow broke and his arrows were exhausted. Even though this was so, General Li has his own glorious reputation; failing to be enfeoffed as a marquis is also of no account. In this gong'an, one exit and one entry, one capture and one release: responding directly to the dynamic function face to face, swift and immediate face to face, falling neither into existence nor nonexistence, gain nor loss—this is called the profound dynamic. With the slightest lack of power, there is an immediate stumble. This monk was also an extraordinarily sharp patch-robed monk: in putting forward a question, he startled the assembly. Qinshan, being an adept lineage master, immediately knew where his question landed. A "barb" means an arrowhead. "What about when one arrow pierces through three passes?" Qinshan's meaning was: Setting aside your shooting through them, try letting out the master within the pass and let us see. Liang said, "Then knowing my error, I must correct it"—this was also quite extraordinary. Qinshan said, "What other time are you waiting for?" Look at how he responded: Qinshan's interrogation left not the slightest gap. Afterward, Chan traveler Liang instead said, "A good arrow shot with nowhere to hit," shook his sleeves, and walked out. The moment Qinshan saw him speak like this, he called out, "Come here a moment, ācārya!" Chan traveler Liang indeed could not hold his ground, and turned his head. Qinshan seized him and said, "Let alone a single arrowhead breaking through the three passes—for Qinshan's sake, try shooting an arrow and let me see!" Liang hesitated. Qinshan then struck him seven blows with the staff and furthermore recited an incantation after him, saying, "Just let this fellow doubt for thirty years!" Nowadays meditation monks all say, "Why did he not hit him eight times, nor hit him six times, but only hit him seven times? Otherwise, waiting until he asked 'try shooting an arrow for Qinshan's sake and let me see', he struck." It may seem like it, but it is not yet it. For this gong'an, your breast must harbor not the slightest intellectual calculation; transcending speech and words, only then can you break through the three passes in a single phrase and have a place to release the arrow. If you retain right and wrong, you will never grasp it. At that time, had this monk been a real man, Qinshan would also have been in great peril. Since he could not execute this command, he could not help running backward. Tell me: who, ultimately, is the master within the pass? Look at Xuedou's verse, which says: