無門關 1.139

1.139

Because Senior Monk Ming chased after him as far as Dayu Ridge, the Sixth Patriarch, seeing Ming arrive, threw the robe and bowl onto a rock and said, "This robe symbolizes faith; can it be contested by force? Take it as you please!" Ming then tried to lift it, but it was as unmovable as a mountain. Hesitant and trembling with fear, Ming said, "I have come to seek the Dharma, not for the robe. I pray that the postulant will give me instruction." The Patriarch said, "Think neither of good nor of evil. At just such a moment, which is Senior Monk Ming's original face?" Ming had a great awakening right then. Sweat poured over his whole body. Weeping tears, he bowed and asked, "Apart from the secret words and secret meanings given above, is there still further meaning?" The Patriarch said, "What I have spoken for you just now is not secret. If you reflect back upon your own face, the secret is on your side." Ming said, "Although I was among the assembly at Huangmei, I truly had not realized my own face. Now, receiving your instruction on an entry point, it is like a person drinking water: he knows for himself whether it is cold or warm. Now the postulant is my master." The Patriarch said, "If you are like this, then you and I share Huangmei as our master. Guard and maintain it well."