萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 1.167

1.167

The Master said: In former times, Yangshan went to Zhongyi to express gratitude for the precepts. Zhongyi clapped his hands from atop the meditation seat and said, 'Ah, ah!' Yangshan crossed from west to east, and from east to west, then returned and stood in the centre, after which he expressed gratitude for the precepts. Zhongyi said, 'Where did you obtain this samādhi?' Yangshan said, 'I learned it at Caoxi, casting off the stamp.' Zhongyi said, 'Tell me, whom did the Caoxi samādhi receive?' Yangshan said, 'It received the One-Night-Awakened One.' Yangshan then asked, 'Where did the Venerable obtain this samādhi?' Zhongyi said, 'I obtained this samādhi at Master Ma's place.' Zen Master Baoche of Magu in Puzhou was just like Yongjia on his first meeting with the Sixth Patriarch: carrying his staff, he came to Zhangjing, circled the meditation seat three times, shook his staff once, and stood tall and erect—he too had learned it at Caoxi, casting off the stamp. This is named the Samādhi King Samādhi; all samādhis are born from this. Zhangjing said, 'It is, it is.' Wansong says: What could be wrong with that? Venerable Shengmo Guang said: 'Being is nothing to be affirmed; non-being is not true non-being. Right and wrong have no master; the ten thousand goodnesses return to the same place. Owls and chickens, day and night, vainly exhaust themselves. I have no three-inch tongue; a soft-shelled turtle may be called a turtle. Kāśyapa does not consent, leaving his brows knit at will.' Wansong says: Much anxiety brings early aging. Magu wanted to check and verify with various places. Magu had also once gone to National Teacher Zhong's place, circled the meditation seat three times, shook his staff, and stood. The National Teacher said, 'Since you are capable of this, what need is there to see this poor monk again?' Magu shook his staff again. The National Teacher said, 'Get out, this wild fox spirit!' Look at how host and guest met there: there was illumination and there was function; there was a head and there was a tail. Truly because what is familiar is hard to forget, he was accustomed to making use of it. Again he went to Nanquan, circled the seat, shook his staff, and stood as before. Nanquan, however, said, 'It is not, it is not.' It was as if he had previously conferred with Zhangjing. Dawei Zhe said, 'When Zhangjing said "It is," he fell into Magu's trap. When Nanquan said "It is not," he also fell into Magu's trap. Dawei would not do so. If someone suddenly came carrying a staff, circled the meditation seat three times, and stood tall and erect, I would simply say to him: "Before you reached here, it would have been well to give you thirty blows."' Wansong says: One must not merely speak of human affairs; just strike! Magu said, 'Zhangjing said it is; why does the Venerable say it is not?' It is no wonder he had doubts. Nanquan said, 'Zhangjing is right, but you are not.' Acting according to the moment, pushing someone over when bordering the precipice. National Teacher Yuantong Shan said, 'Magu is right; Nanquan is not.' These words are just like when Master Yong of Dengfeng Hermitage asked the monk Shenqi, 'I have not seen you for a long time; what have you been doing?' Qi said, 'Recently I saw Hall Director Wei, and there was a place of peace and joy.' Yong said, 'Try raising it for me.' Qi thereupon recounted what he had attained. Yong said, 'You are right, but Wei is not yet right.' Qi could not fathom it. He returned and told Wei. Wei laughed loudly and said, 'You are wrong, and Yong is not wrong.' Qi ran to verify it with Zen Master Nan of Jicui. Nan also laughed loudly. When Yong heard of this, he composed a verse: 'Light and darkness intertwine with the dynamic of killing and bringing to life; / The realm of great people is known to Samantabhadra. / Born on the same branch, not dying on the same branch; / Laughing down the old awl in the hermitage.' Juefan said, 'Observing their words, one can imagine the untrammeled elegance of the playful sport of Dharma joy in those days.' Wansong says: Magu, Zhangjing, and Nanquan—this interest was not shallow either. If one hears 'This is turned by the power of the wind and ultimately comes to ruin,' it is even more amusing. This Old Teacher Wang not only held firm the universe, but also had a path of leaving the world. Venerable Baoning Yong's verse says: 'The colour and pattern are just like the genuine; / Brandished before people, it is all the more bright and new. / When it enters the fire and is smelted again, / In the end, after all, it is counterfeit silver.' Magu, arriving here, collapsed like tiles and dissolved like ice. If one wants the ice river to shoot forth flames and the iron tree to blossom, one must have Tiantong provide another turning word. The verse says: