禪林寶訓 3.38

3.38

Shantang, together with Minister Han Zicang, Wan'an, Head Monk Yan, and Xian Zhenmu, took refuge from the troubles at Yunmen Hermitage. Lord Han asked Wan'an: “I heard recently that you were seized by the soldiers of Li Cheng. By what means did you manage to escape?” Wan'an replied: “Yesterday when I was bound in captivity, starving and freezing for days on end, I judged that I was certain to die. By chance a great snowfall buried the building, and the wall of the house where I was bound collapsed without apparent cause. That night, more than a hundred people fortunately escaped.” The Lord asked: “At the very moment you were held captive, how did you dismiss [the fear] from your mind?” Wan'an did not answer. The Lord questioned him again. Wan'an said: “What is there in this worth speaking of? We who study the Way take righteousness as our foundation; there is only death, so what is there to fear?” The Lord nodded at this. From this it is known that when our predecessors encountered worldly disasters, life, and death, all had their proper resolution (Zhenmu ji).