萬松老人評唱天童覺和尚頌古從容庵錄 6.41

6.41

The Master said: Shishuang encountered the disaster of the Huichang era and lived in commoner's clothing at Tao's workshop in Liuyang, Changsha. At the beginning of the Dazhong era, a monk arrived from Dongshan after the summer retreat ended. Shishuang asked, "Where have you recently come from?" The monk said, "Dongshan." Shishuang said, "What words did the Venerable give to instruct his disciples?" The monk said, "Recently on the day the summer retreat ended, the Venerable ascended the hall and told the assembly, 'Brethren, at the beginning of autumn and the end of summer, whether heading east or west, you must go directly to a place where there is not an inch of grass for ten thousand miles.' After a pause he said, 'Just as for a place where there is not an inch of grass for ten thousand miles, how do you go?'" Shishuang said, "Stepping out the door, it is grass." The monk reported this back to Dongshan. Dongshan said, "These are the words of a good spiritual friend of fifteen hundred people; how many such people could there be in the great Tang empire?" Soon afterward, the awl in the sack showed its point; the fruit ripened and its fragrance drifted. The assembly asked him to don the monastic robe again and dwell at the Shishuang bodhimaṇḍa, truly matching Wuben's prediction. Because of this gong'an, Shishuang's practice of the Way became known throughout the empire. Later, Chan Master Dayang Yan said: "Nowadays I would say directly: even without stepping out the door, grass is everywhere overflowing. Tell me, where should one walk?" After a pause he said, "Do not keep guard over the greenness of exotic grass on a cold cliff; sitting amidst white clouds, the lineage is not subtle." National Teacher Yantong Shan said: "Now tell me, what about the phrase right under everyone's heels right now? How do you speak it? If you say there is not an inch of grass for ten thousand miles, I allow you to study with Dongshan. If you say stepping out the door it is grass, I allow you to study with Shishuang. If you say even without stepping out the door, grass is everywhere overflowing, I allow you to study with Dayang. If you cannot say any of them, I allow you to study with Yansheng. Why? 'Only a fine breeze comes onto the mat; no idle words fall among people.'" Wansong says: If you wish to speak all three phrases, you still need to study with Tiantong. The verse says: