萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 3.9

3.9

The Master said: Mount Longmen in Jiangzhou was cut through by Yu; it is also called the Yu Gate, and it has three tiers. The *Water Classic* says: 'Sturgeon and tuna emerge from Gong Cave; in the third month they ascend and cross the Dragon Gate. Those that succeed in crossing become dragons; those that do not, bang their foreheads and turn back.' 'At the first rise of waves on the tiers' refers to the waves on the three tiers. The *Commentary on the Words of the Text* of the *Classic of Changes* says: 'Clouds follow the dragon; wind follows the tiger.' Clouds and thunder ushering it along make it a dragon. The two great beings leapt up with awe-inspiring force: Sansheng was like the first rise of waves on the tiers, and Xuefeng was like clouds and thunder ushering him along. Once Sansheng had crossed the Dragon Gate, how could Xuefeng be willing to steep him in a pickle jar? When Linji sent off Luopu, he said: 'Under Linji's gate there is a red-tailed carp, shaking its head and wagging its tail, heading southward; in whose pickle jar will it be steeped to death?' Below, it directly praises Xuefeng's 'the old monk has many administrative duties,' as well as Sansheng's two questions. 'An elder who does not alarm the crowd; / accustomed to facing formidable foes, he has no fear from the start.' In the annals of Emperor Guangwu, the troops of Wang Xun and Wang Yi numbered a million and advanced to besiege Kunyang. Guangwu himself led as vanguard and killed several tens of men. The generals were all delighted, saying: 'General Liu was usually timid upon seeing minor foes, yet today he is valiant upon seeing formidable foes—truly extraordinary!' At first glance he does not even seem to weigh five ounces, yet when carefully examined and inquired into, on a thousand-catty scale he cannot be budged. Later, under Xuefeng's gate, the two schools of Yunmen and Fayan emerged—was this not indeed a deep source with a long flow? Gain and loss, disgrace and fame, praise and blame, pain and pleasure are the eight winds. To a fundamental ancestral master like him, they pass like wind by the ears. Venerable Xing of Tanzhe said to Venerable Yi of Qingshou: 'If I call you a father, what about that?'