萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 2.13

2.13

The Master said: If you say the dog's buddha-nature truly exists, later he said it does not. If it truly does not exist, earlier he said it does. If you say saying 'has' and saying 'has not' are merely temporary responses to the occasion, squeezed out under pressure, each has its reason. Therefore it is said: A clear-eyed person has no set pattern. Where this monk asked, he wanted to broaden his information and did not rely on his fundamental portion. Zhaozhou said 'Yes,' taking away poison with poison, curing sickness with sickness. This monk then said, 'Since it has it, why does it crash into this skin bag?' He did not know that he himself had been born into a dog's belly! Zhou said, 'Because he knowingly and deliberately transgresses'—one hammer blow hitting two marks, swift and hard to encounter. This monk thought it was judging the fruit according to the cause. If one understands it like that, one wouldn't even qualify to be a lecturer's servant. Later another monk asked again, and then he said 'No.' A person who has attained: saying 'has,' he has an exit; saying 'has not,' he also has an exit. This monk, adhering to the texts and relying on the books, said, 'All sentient beings have buddha-nature; why does a dog not have it?' With a cornering like this, I dare say that even a hand that shifts the heavenly barrier would have no room to turn around. Yet he leisurely said, 'Because it still has karmic consciousness.' Tell me, is there still blood under this monk's skin? Tiantong cannot help but apply moxibustion right on top of a red scar. The verse says: