萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 5.79

5.79

The Master said: Great Master Zhaoxian of Changsha in Hunan, whose taboo name was Jingcen. Juefan said, 'The Chan master was Daji's grandson, Nanquan's son, and Zhaozhou's elder brother. Patchrobed monks of the time, even those as stubborn as Yangshan, still deferred to him and called him "Big Worm Cen".' He entered the hall and said, 'If I were exclusively to raise the ancestral school, the grass in the Dharma hall would grow ten feet deep. Out of necessity, I say to you all: the entire world of the ten directions is a śramaṇa's eye; the entire world of the ten directions is a śramaṇa's whole body; the entire world of the ten directions is one's own radiance; the entire world of the ten directions is within one's own radiance; in the entire world of the ten directions, there is not a single person who is not oneself. I often say to you all: the buddhas of the three periods together with the sentient beings of the dharmadhātu are the light of Mahāprajñā. When the light has not yet manifested, where do you sentient beings understand? When the light has not yet manifested, there is not even news of buddhas or sentient beings; whence could mountains, rivers, and countries come?' Sha ordered a monk to ask Hermit Hui. The Hermit was one among Nanquan's followers who did not appear in the world, one of those of hidden accord and secret verification. In the Lamp Records, he is listed at the very end among those without situational phrases. However, since this dialogue exists, combining it into a biography would not be out of place. The monk acted as a special envoy, went to see the Hermit, and transmitted Changsha's Dharma inquiry, saying, 'How was it before the Hermit met Nanquan?' Hui was silent. The monk advanced and said, 'How about after meeting Nanquan?' Hui said, 'There could not be anything else.' Wansong says: Once dead, do not come back to life. The monk returned and recounted this to Sha. Sha stated a verse: 'A person sitting on top of a hundred-foot pole, / Although having gained entry, is not yet true.' This shares the same ailment as Yantou saying that Xuefeng and Deshan did not understand the final phrase. Wansong often says to people: It is very much like someone selling off his ancestral family gate, estate, relatives, and his own person in a single deed, only to acquire a crystal bottle, guarding it around his body all day long like his own eyes. Do not let Wansong see it; I will surely crush it, causing him to let go his hands and swing his arms, becoming a carefree fellow free of taboos. Shengmo said, 'Letting go the hands beneath the sheer cliff, / Dividing the body amid myriad phenomena. / Only then can the mountains of Langzhou and the waters of Lizhou, / Within the king's transforming influence across the four seas and five lakes, / Match Tiantong's water buffalo dragging the plow and pulling the harrow.' The verse says: