萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 5.87

5.87

The Master said: As for Longya's meditation cushion and meditation board, Cuiwei and Linji instructed him before the assembly to bring them; why could he not put them to use? When Baizhang raised the story of the wild fox, Huangbo asked, "The ancient mistook one turning phrase and fell into a wild fox's body for five hundred births; if phrase after phrase is not mistaken, what does it amount to?" Baizhang said, "Come closer, and I will tell you." Huangbo came close and first gave Baizhang a slap. Baizhang said, "I thought the fox's beard was red, but there is also a red-bearded fox!" This is a true adept on the spot. Longya was not un-adept, but "he did not intend to settle matters right before the eyes"; he did not wish to produce thunder and sweep with lightning on the spot, being precipitous for a time. An ancient poem: "A thousand li of moonlight in mid-autumn; / A hundred thousand troops' sound in the midnight tide." It is called beggar-like, lacking containment. A monk asked Jingqing, "The student has not reached the source; please provide an expedient, Master." Jingqing said, "What source is it?" The monk said, "That source." Jingqing said, "If it is that source, how could it receive an expedient?" An attendant asked, "Just now, was that settling him?" Jingqing said, "No." The attendant further asked, "Was it not settling him?" Jingqing said, "No." The attendant said, "What is the Venerable's revered intention?" Jingqing said, "A drop of ink forms dragons in two places." "Settling" is like accomplishing and wrapping up. He feared that becoming a public circulation would disgrace the family style. Dongshan instructed Caoshan, saying: "At the place of my late master Yunyan, I personally received the seal of the Treasure Mirror Samādhi, the essential core of things exhausted; now I bestow it on you. Guard and maintain it well; do not let it be cut off. In the future, only if you meet a true vessel of the Dharma may you transmit it. You must keep it secret and hidden; do not let it be revealed, out of concern that belonging to public circulation would make it difficult to guide later people." A monk asked Tong'an Cha, "What is 'without arms and weapons'?" Tong'an said, "Empty space does not hang a sword; the jade rabbit is not clad in scales." It is handed down in the world that the Heavenly River connects with the sea. Every year in the eighth month, by the seashore, there is a floating raft coming and going without failing its trust. Zhang Qian, the Marquis of Bowang, took ample provisions, boarded the raft, and departed. In haste, he was unaware of day or night, and suddenly arrived at a place where he saw city walls and residences. Inside the rooms were many weaving maidens; there was only one man leading an ox to the water's edge, not letting it drink, who asked in surprise, "What person has come here?" Zhang Qian asked, "What place is this?" He replied, "You may go to Shu and ask Yan Junping." He did as told. Junping said, "In such-and-such month of such-and-such year, a guest star trespassed upon the Ox and Dipper constellations." In the *Yinhualu*, the *Book of Han* records that Zhang Qian traced the source of the river, which speaks of the distance of his mission as an envoy; there is truly no mention of the Heavenly River. Only the *Bowuzhi* says that someone provisioned himself, rode a raft, reached the Heavenly River, saw the man watering his ox, and asked Junping, and that the guest star trespassing upon the Ox and Dipper was this person. This praises Longya letting it go when it was time to use it, and after letting it go, acting independently as master. A monk asked Caoshan, "Why can grass that does not sprout hide a fragrant elephant?" Caoshan said, "Fortunately, the Ācārya is an adept." He also asked Caoshan, "How is it grass that does not sprout?" A bottomless basket is Longya's great functioning of non-functioning. Therefore the fragrant elephant is not trampled by donkeys and mules, and the live snake does not die under the words. Longya instructed the assembly, saying: "Those who travel to study must penetrate the Buddhas and Patriarchs before they can attain it. Venerable Xinfeng said: 'The verbal teachings of the Buddhas and Patriarchs are like natural mortal enemies; only then do you have a share in study.' If you cannot penetrate them, you will be deceived by the Buddhas and Patriarchs." A monk then asked, "Do the Buddhas and Patriarchs still have the intention to deceive people or not?" Longya said, "Do you say that rivers and lakes still have the intention to obstruct people?" He further said, "Although rivers and lakes have no intention to obstruct people, because people of the times cannot cross them, rivers and lakes end up obstructing people. It cannot be said that rivers and lakes do not obstruct people." Longya penetrated the intention of the Patriarchs as natural mortal enemies; therefore it is said, "As for being clear, they were clear, but furthermore there is no intention of the ancestral teacher coming from the west." How could rivers and lakes obstruct people? A common proverb says: "Unable to swim oneself, one blames the river's winding bends." An old elder said, "Unable to swim oneself, one blames the pit for being hot."