萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 1.131

1.131

The Master said: The old woman on the road to Mount Tai was accustomed to following Wuzhuo into and out of the monastery, fully steeped in Mañjuśrī's 'three in front, three in back.' Whenever she saw a monk asking, 'Which way is the road to Mount Tai?', she would point directly in the open to the grand avenue of Chang'an, saying, 'Go straight ahead.' That monk, without any doubt or hesitation, would just walk on. The woman would say, 'A fine master, off he goes like that too!' This old woman also held a hook and awl in hand; from of old, how many worthy and virtuous people has she tripped up? Since this monk could do nothing with her, he picked it up and reported it to Zhaozhou. Zhou said, 'Wait, I will go and check her out for you'—baffling people all over the world. This old fellow did not rest his mind in old age; what was he after? He also wanted to establish the eye of the school. Zhou asked just as before; the woman answered just as before. Some split the story into two pieces: the first part faults the monk and supports the woman; the second part faults the woman and supports Zhaozhou. Only Xuanjue said, 'The former monk questioned and answered like that, and later Zhaozhou also questioned and answered like that; tell me, where was the checking out?' Wansong says: It was completely checked out. [Xuanjue] also said, 'Not only was she checked out by Zhaozhou, she was also checked out by this monk.' Wansong says: Not only does this entangle Xuanjue, it also entangles Wansong. Langya said, 'Great and small Zhaozhou lost body and life in this woman's hands.' Even though it is so, many misunderstand. Wansong says: Take care not to measure others by yourself. Guishan Zhe said, 'Patch-robed monks of the world only know to ask the old woman for the road, but do not know the mud is deep beneath their feet. Were it not for old man Zhaozhou, how could his horse-sweat battle-merit be displayed?' Even so, it must rely on Tiantong's singing and praise to bring it forth. The verse says: