萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 4.13

4.13

The Master said: Xuefeng lowered his head and returned to the hermitage; Deshan simply returned to the Abbot's quarters. This is best investigated thoroughly. Yantou secretly disclosed his meaning—now tell me, what did he say? Deshan then desisted again. One might call it: 'Meeting each other, nothing is brought out; raise an intention, and one already knows it is there.' When Deshan ascended the hall the next day, it was truly different from usual. That too was going along with error to make an error work. Yantou went down to the front of the Sangha Hall, clapped his hands, and laughed aloud, saying, 'How wonderful that the old fellow understands the last word! Hereafter, no one in the world will be able to do anything to him.' But take great care not to cover it up! Even though this is so, it was only good for three years: Deshan indeed passed away in three years. Tianjue's verse says: 'The sound of bells and drums was silent when he returned holding his bowl; / Yantou gave a thrust, his words like thunder. / Indeed he had only three years to live; / Could it be that he had received his prediction of passing?' Wansong says: 'Knowing your quilt was torn, he once slept in the same bed with you.' Mingzhao spoke on Deshan's behalf: 'Tut-tut! Nowhere to go, nowhere to go.' Wansong says: 'The nostrils are in another's hands.' Xuedou said: 'I had once heard people talk of the One-Eyed Dragon, but he turned out to have only a single eye. Little did they know that Deshan is a toothless tiger! Had Yantou not seen through him, how could tomorrow have been different from yesterday?' Do you all want to understand the last word? 'Only the old foreigner is allowed to know, not allowed to understand.' Half-concealed and half-revealed, leaking out and slipping up, he did not know either. Dagui Zhe said: 'Yantou was very like a rock splitting on a high mountain, making the wild beasts for a hundred li hide their tracks. Were it not for Deshan's magnanimity and deep clarity, how could yesterday have been different from today?' Wansong says: 'A toothless tiger still has its claws and talons.' Whenever Luzu saw a monk coming, he would face the wall. Nanquan heard of this and said: 'I usually tell people to take responsibility before the empty kalpa, to understand before the Buddha appeared in the world, yet I still haven't found even half a person. For him to act like that—not until the year of the donkey!' If you recognize Nanquan, you will see Yantou, and walk hand-in-hand together with Tiantong. The verse says: