禪林寶訓 2.7

2.7

Zhantang said: 'A person's conduct cannot be fully known by a single question and answer. For one whose tongue is glib and sharp may not be trustworthy in deeds, while one whose speech is clumsy and hesitant may not be deficient in principle. Even if one refutes their words, one may not have exhausted their principle; being able to subdue their mouth does not mean subduing their heart. Knowing people is difficult—this was a distress even to the sages. How much more so for the monks of recent times! Their cleverness is not applied to understanding the sentiments of things; seeing and hearing are mostly used only to watch for faults and gaps. They run counter to the wishes of the community and diverge from the direction of the Way. They value each other for deceit and conceal things from one another through fraud, causing the Way of the buddhas and patriarchs to decline and become ever more superficial, to the point of being nearly irremediable.' (Letter in reply to Luzhi).