景德傳燈錄 24.98

24.98

Chan Master Zhou of Guangde in Xiangzhou. A monk asked, "When one sees the words and does not study them, how is it?" The Master said, "Throughout the entire world there are no deaf people; who is an intimate knower of the sound?" [The monk] asked, "Who is an intimate knower of the sound?" The Master said, "A broken string cannot be mended, yet through kalpas the ringing sound remains resonant and clear." A monk asked, "According to the teaching it is said: 'Ajita does not cut off afflictions and does not cultivate meditative concentration; the Buddha predicted this person will achieve Buddhahood without doubt.' What is this principle?" The Master said, "The salt is gone and there is also no charcoal." [The monk] said, "When the salt is gone and there is no charcoal, how is it?" The Master said, "Let not a sorrowful person speak to a sorrowful person; speaking to a sorrowful person kills one with sorrow."