續傳燈錄 11.69

11.69

真州長蘆贊禪師。僧問。拈槌舉拂即不問。如何是喝散白雲底意氣。師曰。喫棒。僧云。爭奈人天大眾何。師曰。罪不重科。問如何是佛法大意。師曰。老僧奉聖旨開堂。僧云。恁麼則天人群生類皆承此恩力。師曰。知恩方解報。問一棒打破虛。空時如何。師曰。費力。僧云。恁麼則百雜碎。師曰。秖為終日區區。師乃曰。起動大眾。若於佛法中也無可得伸剖。諸人盡是久參先德達佛知見。不可更教這裏談禪說道。實為舉足動步不離道場。乃至林間宴坐經行無非佛事。良久曰。參。

Chan Master Zan of Changlu in Zhenzhou. A monk asked, "Taking up the mallet and raising the whisk aside, what is the spirit that shouts away the white clouds?" The Master said, "Take a blow of the stick!" The monk said, "What about the great assembly of devas and humans?" The Master said, "A crime is not penalized twice." He asked, "What is the great meaning of the Buddhadharma?" The Master said, "This old monk opened the hall by imperial decree." The monk said, "If so, then devas, humans, and all kinds of living beings all receive the power of this grace." The Master said, "Only when one knows grace can one know how to repay it." He asked, "How is it when a single blow of the stick shatters empty space?" The Master said, "A waste of effort." The monk said, "If so, then it is smashed to bits." The Master said, "Just because of your busying yourself all day long." The Master then said, "I have troubled the assembly. In the Buddhadharma, there is nothing that can be expounded. You are all venerable ones who have practiced long and penetrated the Buddha's knowledge and vision; you must not further make me talk of Chan and speak of the Way here. Truly, lifting a foot and taking a step does not depart from the bodhimaṇḍa, and even sitting in peaceful meditation or circumambulating in the forest is nothing other than Buddha-work." After a good while, he said, "Investigate!"