萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 5.45

5.45

The Master said: To not tolerate a grain of sand in the eye is too narrow. Caoshan said, 'As for worldly coarse, heavy greed, anger, and delusion—although difficult to cut off, they are actually light. But as for the spotlessness of doing nothing and having no business, this heaviness cannot be surpassed.' Therefore Dongshan said, 'In front of the Hall of the Bright Moon, it is constantly the ninety days of summer.' The ultimate Way cannot be described. The ancients took analogies from their own bodies nearby and from external things far away, linking kinds by metaphor and evocative comparison to illustrate the ultimate Way. Baoci's verse in praise of Longya's half-body says, 'The sun rises over connecting mountains; / The full moon faces the door. / It is not that there is no body, / But that it does not wish to be fully revealed.' Both elders were Dongshan's descendants. Juefan said, 'The sharp dynamic of their family style values mutual interweaving, so that one does not infringe upon the primary position; their words avoid being hundred-percent complete, so that one does not fall into the present time. Yet Baoci's craftsmanship was uniquely marvelous, and his words did not lose the ancestral lineage; this is why he is precious.' Here, 'where the radiance turns, the remnant moon tilts down' illustrates mourning fulfilled and meeting spring. In the commentary to the second nine of the Qian hexagram in the Book of Changes, 'The dragon appears in the field; it is beneficial to see the great man,' the second nine corresponds to the transition between the months of Chou and Yin. At that time, when sprouts begin to emerge from the earth, this signifies the manifestation of yang qi; the image of the Qian hexagram naturally corresponds to this. Old Du's 'Song of the Eight Immortals of the Winecup' has: 'Taking off his cap to bare his pate before princes and dukes; / Though the Son of Heaven summons him, he will not board the boat.' Both forget appearances and neglect etiquette; they cannot be constrained by bounds and limits. One day Danxia Tianran was lying across Tianjin Bridge; the regent Lord Zheng's advance retinue shouted at him to clear the way, but the Master paid no heed. When asked about it, he slowly said, 'I am a monk who has no business.' Zheng respected him as extraordinary. At Xuefeng's evening instruction to the assembly, Xuefeng was lying down in the courtyard. Senior Monk Fu of Taiyuan said, 'In the jurisdiction of the five prefectures, only this Venerable is slightly superior.' Xuefeng then got up and left. These are all wine-bibbers who unfasten their collars, let down their hair, and have no business. When Caoshan's mourning is fulfilled, how does he enjoy it? In the four seasons, spring is rich and noble; in all things, wine is romance and freedom.