佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 7.47

7.47

Guishan, Wufeng, and Yunyan were together in attendance standing before Baizhang. Baizhang asked Guishan: "Shutting tight the throat and lips, how will you speak?" Guishan said: "I invite the venerable monk to speak instead." Baizhang said: "I would not refuse to speak to you, but I fear that later on it would ruin my descendants." Although Baizhang acted thus, the pot had already been snatched away by someone else. Baizhang also asked Wufeng. Wufeng said: "The venerable monk also must shut them tight." Baizhang said: "Where there is no one, I will shade my brow and look for you." He also asked Yunyan. Yunyan said: "Venerable monk, do you have them or not?" Baizhang said: "It would ruin my descendants." The three men each formed a house of their own. The ancients said: "Countless people die on flat ground; the one who passes through the forest of thorns is an expert hand." Therefore, the houses of lineage masters use the forest of thorns to test people. Why? If it were under ordinary phrases, one could not test people. A patch-robed monk must display dynamic function within the phrase and discern the target within the words. If one is a board-carrying fellow, one mostly dies within the phrase, saying: "Shutting tight the throat and lips, there is no place to open the mouth." If one is an adaptable person, having waves that flow against the current, right upon the questioning there is a way through that does not dull the point or wound one's hands. Guishan said, "I invite the venerable monk to speak instead." Now tell me, what was his meaning? In this place, it is like flint-struck fire or a lightning flash: pressing against the point of his question, he immediately answered, naturally having a path of escape, not expending the slightest bit of strength. Therefore it is said that he investigated the living phrase, not the dead phrase. Baizhang, however, paid him no heed, and merely said: "I would not refuse to speak to you, but I fear that later on it would ruin my descendants." Generally, when lineage masters work for others, they draw out nails and pull out wedges. If it were people nowadays, they would immediately say that this answer did not approve him and did not accept his words. Little do they know that in this place is the single path of vitality, standing precipitous like a thousand-fathom cliff, host and guest exchanging places, vibrantly alive. Xuedou loved the poise and bearing of his words, versatile and free, and also able to hold fast to the territory. Therefore his verse eulogy says: