萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 4.21

4.21

師云。蓬蒿貪雨露。松柏耐風霜。歲寒然後知松柏之後凋。此隨緣不變之旨。簪纓落薄之談。有力大人堪任此事也。平步雲霄。一超直入如來地。已是太遲也。殊不知。積代簪纓本來富貴。論語柳下惠為士師。三黜人曰。子未可以去乎。曰。直道而事人安往而不三黜。枉道而事人。何必去父母之邦也。司馬相如字犬子。少喪父母。九歲與人牧猪。聞藺相如為卿相。改名相如。棄猪就學。猪主杖之。先生問知賢。留門外草庵。十年無書與讀。遣去。過昇仙橋。題柱曰。若不乘駟馬車。不過此橋。後造得子虛賦。將軍楊得意。夜宿殿中。誦此賦。帝曰。朕恨不與此人同時。將軍奏曰。見在蜀地。帝命往召。同乘駟馬車過橋。封侍中。蕭何曹參。成漢高祖帝業。巢父許由。避堯洗耳飲牛。老子云。寵辱若驚。得之若驚。失之若驚。以上四雙八事。皆一句密老。一句洞山。妙哉圭峯舉喻。譬如皇族淪落微賤。習以性成。後遇薦拔。雖復本位。三端六藝。要重更改習學力用方全。雖然天童分上猶落階級。不見道。寵辱若驚深自信。真情參跡混漁樵。

The Master said: Mugwort and weeds crave rain and dew; pines and cypresses endure wind and frost. 'Only when the year grows cold do we know that pine and cypress are the last to fade.' This is the principle of according with conditions without changing, the discourse on hairpins and tassels falling into poverty: only a great person of power can shoulder this task. 'Walking flat on clouds and mist, directly entering the Tathāgata's stage in a single leap'—this is already too late! Little do they know that an illustrious clan of hairpins and tassels is originally wealthy and noble. The Analects says: When Liuxia Hui was a judge, he was dismissed three times. People said, 'Can you not yet leave?' He said, 'Serving others with straight principles, where could I go and not be dismissed three times? If I served others with crooked principles, why would I need to leave the land of my parents?' Sima Xiangru, style Quanzi, lost his parents when young. At nine, he herded pigs for others. Hearing that Lin Xiangru had become a minister of state, he changed his name to Xiangru, abandoned the pigs, and went to study. The pig owner beat him with a staff. The teacher recognized his worth, kept him in a thatched hut outside the gate, and for ten years gave him no books to read before sending him away. Crossing the Bridge of Ascending Immortals, he wrote on a pillar: 'If I do not ride in a four-horse carriage, I will not cross this bridge.' Later he composed the 'Zixu Rhapsody.' General Yang Deyi stayed overnight in the palace and recited this rhapsody. The Emperor said, 'I regret not being of the same time as this person!' The general reported, 'He is currently in the land of Shu.' The Emperor ordered him summoned; riding a four-horse carriage, he crossed the bridge and was appointed Palace Attendant. Xiao He and Cao Shen established Emperor Gaozu's imperial enterprise in the Han; Chaofu and Xu You shunned Yao, washing their ears and watering their cattle. Laozi says, 'Favor and disgrace seem alarming: getting it is alarming, losing it is alarming.' The four pairs of eight matters above are each one line for old Mi, and one line for Dongshan. Wonderful was Guifeng's parable: for example, a member of the imperial clan falls into destitution and lowliness, and habits become second nature; later, when he is recommended and elevated, although he returns to his original rank, the three upright principles and six arts must be relearned and practiced anew before his power and functioning are complete. Even so, on Tiantong's part, it still falls into gradual stages. Have you not heard it said: 'Favor and disgrace seem alarming—having deep self-confidence; / With true feeling, one blends one's traces among fishermen and woodcutters'?