萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 3.33

3.33

The Master raised this: Baizhang entered the hall. When the assembly had just gathered, he drove them all out with his staff. Then he called to the great assembly. As the assembly turned their heads, Zhang said, 'What is it?' The various quarters designate this as Baizhang's phrase upon leaving the hall. It is well worth investigating. Wang Jinggong said, 'I obtained a single phrase of Xuefeng's and became prime minister.' When someone firmly asked for further explanation, Jinggong said, 'That old fellow used to say to people: "What is it?"' This phrase of the verse praises calling the monk, his turning his head, and 'What is it?' 'Do you recognize me or not?'—the word *bu* has the sound *fu-jiu* [reading *fou*], meaning 'not'; the intention is to ask, 'Do you recognize me or no?' Yangshan wielded an unprincipled hand to strike at an unguarded household. If this monk had caught a glimpse within the flash of flint-sparks, he could be said to recognize the emperor in the bustling marketplace. If he should suddenly hesitate, then 'vaguely, the moon over the vines forms a hook once more.' Huangbo entered the hall; when the assembly had just gathered, he drove them all out with his staff. Then he called to the great assembly. As the assembly turned their heads, Bo said, 'The moon is like a curved bow: little rain and much wind.' The verse's meaning employs this. Shishi Shendao and Yangshan were enjoying the moon. Yang asked, 'When the moon is crescent, where does the round form go? When it is round, where does the crescent form go?' Shi said, 'When it is crescent, the round form is hidden; when it is round, the crescent form is present.' Yunyan said, 'When it is crescent, the round form is present; when it is round, the crescent form is absent.' Daowu said, 'When crescent, it is not crescent; when round, it is not round.' 'Forms a hook' refers to the crescent form. Luo Binwang's poem says, 'Since it can be round as a mirror, / Why must it bend like a hook?' The Huayan school names this the gate of the simultaneous establishment of the secret, the hidden, and the manifest. Moreover, the teachings say that a tenth-stage bodhisattva sees the nature like looking at the moon through fine silk gauze (*luohu*); reading it as 'gauze moon' (*luoyue*) would also work. However, Li Bai's poem has: 'The vine moon hangs before the morning mirror; / Pine winds sound like evening strings.' The word *luo* ('vine') has a more expansive meaning. Tiantong uses the hazy new moon dimly reflected among misty vines: though not round and bright, its sharp corner is already revealed. He versifies this monk's condition of being half bright and half dark, as if existing yet as if perished. Wansong is very much like a commissioner of salt and iron; truly, because Tiantong's needlework is deep and fine, if the threads are not unbroken, it is difficult to complete the woven brocade. When Senior Uncle Mi was walking with Dongshan, they saw a white hare pass by. Mi said, 'How brisk!' Shan said, 'How so?' Mi said, 'Like a commoner appointed prime minister.' Shan said, 'Such an old man, and you speak like this!' Mi said, 'What about you?' Shan said, 'Noble for generations, fallen on hard times for a while.' Sima Xiangru's *Rhapsody on the Shanglin Park* says: 'The scion of a thousand pieces of gold does not sit under the eaves.' Ruan Ji often rode in a wicker cart; whenever he reached a dead-end road, he would weep bitterly and turn back. Wansong says: If you can return home along the road, you can turn yourself around and return to the father. Haven't you heard it said: 'A single thought turning the light around is identical to the original attainment'? Since it is so, why is it that when the unmoving wisdom of all buddhas arrives on the part of all sentient beings, it is called vast and boundless karmic consciousness? Had you known early on that the lamp was fire, the rice would have been cooked long ago.