萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 5.84

5.84

Case: Longya asked Cuiwei, 'What is the meaning of the Ancestral Master's coming from the West?' (Raising it once, it is fresh once.) Cuiwei said, 'Pass me the meditation board.' (Investing capital to seek profit.) Longya took the meditation board and gave it to Cuiwei. (Motionless and dim.) Cuiwei took it and struck him at once. (Knowing well how it is.) Longya said, 'Strike as you will; nevertheless, there is no meaning of the Ancestral Master's coming from the West.' (Half consenting, half not consenting.) He also asked Linji, 'What is the meaning of the Ancestral Master's coming from the West?' (Stubborn hide and callous flesh.) Linji said, 'Bring me the rush mat.' (Good books are mostly the same.) Longya took the rush mat and gave it to Linji. (Taking the mistake and continuing with the mistake.) Linji took it and struck him at once. (Striking following the movement of his hand.) Longya said, 'Strike as you will; nevertheless, there is no meaning of the Ancestral Master.' (Being so soft yet stubborn.) Later, when Longya was residing at a monastery, a monk asked, 'When the Venerable asked Cuiwei and Linji about the Ancestral Master's meaning in those years, did the two venerable elders understand it or not?' (A poor boy thinking of old debts.) Longya said, 'Understand, they did understand; nevertheless, there was no meaning of the Ancestral Master.' (Striking a burnt brick, frozen solid to the bottom.)