萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 5.81

5.81

The Master said: Tiantong obtained the samādhi of transcending the bounds; he brushed aside the place where the Hermit tightly hugged the pole-top and dared not stir. Stirring it—if one went on entirely like that, the grass in the Dharma hall would grow ten feet deep. In the case of Upagupta, there was someone attached to the view of self who sought deliverance from the Patriarch. The Patriarch said, 'The method for seeking deliverance requires believing my words and not disobeying my instructions.' The man said, 'Having come to take refuge with the Master, I must certainly heed your command.' The Patriarch then magically created a perilous cliff with a tall tree rising on the mountain, and ordered him to climb the tree. Beneath the tree, he also magically created a great pit a thousand cubits deep and wide. The Patriarch ordered him to let go of his feet; the man received the instruction and immediately let go of both feet. He ordered him to let go of one hand, and he immediately let go of one hand. He ordered him to let go of the other hand as well; the man replied, 'If I let go of the other hand, I will fall into the pit and die.' The Patriarch said, 'We agreed beforehand that you would receive my instructions; why do you disobey me?' At that moment, the man's love of the body was extinguished; he let go of his hand and fell, seeing neither tree nor pit, and immediately realized the fruit of the Way. Changsha's 'mountains of Langzhou, waters of Lizhou' is called a phrase that skillfully uses the perilous cliff. Were it not for the jade person's dream broken into a distinct livelihood, how could the four seas and five lakes have a brand-new sun and moon? The Mao Shi says, 'Gently blows the valley wind,' urging the awakening of insects; the first period after the spring equinox, thunder sounds forth. The Hanshu, in the appraisal of the biography of Li Guang, says: 'Peaches and plums speak not, yet beneath them a path is formed naturally.' The Zongjing says: 'Having accumulated virtuous conduct, one is trusted without words, just as peaches and plums naturally form a path.' Moreover, 'the mountains of Langzhou, the waters of Lizhou'—these words are matters on the side of dragging through mud and water. When Sansheng was in his assembly, he had Senior Monk Xiu ask Sha, 'Where did Nanquan go after his passing?' Sha said, 'When Shitou was a novice, he visited the Sixth Patriarch.' Xiu said, 'I did not ask about Shitou visiting the Sixth Patriarch when he was a novice; where did Nanquan go after his passing?' Sha said, 'I bid you go ponder.' Xiu said, 'The Venerable only has a thousand-foot cold pine, and lacks a sprouting stone bamboo shoot.' Sha did not reply. Xiu said, 'Thank you, Master, for answering the question.' Sha also did not reply. Xiu brought this up to Sansheng. Sheng said, 'If it is really like that, he is still seven paces ahead of Linji.' Sheng went up to the abbot's quarters in person and said, 'The Venerable's answer to the question earlier may be called surpassing the past and without match in the future.' Sha did not reply. Sheng said, 'I have always had doubts about this fellow.' Foyin's verse says: 'A guest sees Changsha, their paths being the same; / Causing people to vaguely probe his family style. / Mount Sumeru, myriad cubits high, grinds away past and present; / Breaking a blade of grass to measure heaven is a futile effort.' Where the ancients held fast, they could let go and take a step at the top of the pole; when letting go, they could hold fast, standing like a wall a thousand cubits high. Why so free and unconstrained? In Hunan city, it is easy to sustain the people; / Rice is cheap, firewood is plentiful, satisfying all four neighbors.