佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 9.37

9.37

When Xuansha's practice reached the place where emotional defilements and intellectual thoughts were extinguished, completely clean and stark naked, only then could he speak in this way. At that time in all quarters, monasteries looked toward one another. He routinely addressed the assembly, saying: "The venerable masters in all quarters all speak of receiving people and benefiting living beings. If suddenly three kinds of sick people come, how will you receive them? To the blind, you hold up a mallet or raise a whisk, but they do not see. To the deaf, with the samādhi of words, they do not hear. To the mute, you tell them to speak, but they cannot speak. How will you receive them? If you cannot receive these people, the Buddha Dharma has no spiritual efficacy." If people nowadays understand this as literal blindness, deafness, and muteness, they will never be able to grasp it. Therefore it is said: "Do not die within the words"; you must understand Xuansha's intent before you can get it. Xuansha often used these words to receive people. A monk had stayed with Xuansha for a long time. One day Xuansha ascended the hall, and the monk asked the venerable master, "Regarding the talk of the three kinds of sick people, does the Venerable Master allow a student to state the reasoning?" Xuansha said, "Allowed." The monk then said, "Take care," and went down. Xuansha said, "Not so, not so." This monk understood Xuansha's intent. Later Fayan said, "Only when I heard Venerable Master Dizang bring up this monk's words did I understand the talk of the three kinds of sick people." If you say this monk did not understand, why did Fayan say that? If you say he did understand, why did Xuansha say, "Not so, not so"? One day Dizang said, "I have heard that the Venerable Master has a saying about three kinds of sick people; is this true?" Xuansha said, "It is." Dizang said, "I, Guichen, currently possess eyes, ears, nose, and tongue: how does the Venerable Master receive me?" Xuansha directly let it drop. If you understand Xuansha's intent, how could it lie in words and phrases? What he understood was naturally extraordinary. Later a monk recounted this to Yunmen. Yunmen understood his intent at once and said, "Make your prostrations." The monk finished prostrating and rose. Yunmen thrust at him with his staff; the monk stepped back. Yunmen said, "You are not blind." He called him closer again. The monk came forward. Yunmen said, "You are not deaf." He then said, "Do you understand?" The monk said, "I do not understand." Yunmen said, "You are not mute." At this, the monk had an awakening. If he had been a real fellow at that time, as soon as Yunmen said "Make your prostrations," he would have overturned the meditation seat—how could there have been so many entangling vines? Now tell me: where Yunmen and Xuansha realized, was it the same or different? Where the two of them realized was entirely one and the same. Look at how the ancients came forth and devised thousands of expedient methods, their intent on the hook, taking so much bitter trouble merely to make each person understand this one matter. The old master of Wuzu said, "One person can speak of it but does not understand; one person understands but cannot speak of it. If the two come to practice, how will you discern them? If you cannot discern these two people, you will certainly be unable to untie bonds and release fetters for others. If you can discern them, as soon as you see them enter the gate, I have already put on straw sandals and walked several rounds in your belly! Yet you are still unawakened—what bowl are you looking for when you go out?" Better not understand it as literal blindness, deafness, and muteness. If you calculate like that—therefore it is said, "The eye seeing forms is like being blind; the ear hearing sounds is like being deaf." And it is said, "With the eye full, do not gaze at form; with the ear full, do not listen to sound. Mañjuśrī is constantly before the eyes; Guanyin plugs the ear root." Reaching this point, where seeing with the eyes is like being blind and hearing with the ears is like being deaf, only then can you not differ much from Xuansha's intent. Do you people recognize where the blind, deaf, and mute fellow ends up? Look at Xuedou's verse: