人天眼目 2.120

2.120

Chan Master Nan asked Chan Master Xian of Longqing: 'Everyone has a native place of birth. Where is your native place of birth, Elder?' Xian said: 'In the morning I eat plain congee; by evening I feel hungry again.' Nan asked again: 'How is my hand like a Buddha's hand?' Xian said: 'Playing the pipa beneath the moon.' Nan asked again: 'How is my foot like a donkey's foot?' Xian said: 'An egret standing in the snow is not the same color.' Huanglong constantly used these three turning words to question students, yet most failed to accord with his intent. Layman Pan Xingsi, Yanzhi of Nanzhou, once asked him the reason. Huanglong said: 'Those who have already passed the checkpoint swing their arms and walk straight on; how would they know there is a checkpoint guard? To ask the checkpoint guard whether it is permissible or not—these are the ones who have not yet passed the checkpoint.' He then composed his own verses: