續傳燈錄 21.48

21.48

泉州尊勝有朋禪師。本郡蔣氏子。丱歲試經。中選下髮。多歷教肆。嘗疏楞嚴維摩等經。學者宗之。每疑祖師直指之道。故多與禪衲遊。一日謁開元。跡未及閫。心忽領悟。元出遂問。座主來作甚麼。師曰。不敢貴耳賤目。元曰。老老大大何必如是。師曰。自是者不長。元曰。朝看華嚴夜讀般若則不問。如何是當今一句。師曰。日輪正當午。元曰。閑言語更道來。師曰。平生仗忠信。今日任風波。然雖如是。秖如和尚恁麼道有甚交涉。須要新戒草鞋穿。元曰。這裏且放爾過。忽遇達磨問。爾作麼生道。師便喝。元曰。這座主今日見老僧氣衝牛斗。師曰。再犯不容。元拊掌大笑。

Chan Master Youpeng of Zunsheng in Quanzhou was a son of the Jiang family of that prefecture. In his youth he passed the scriptural examination, was selected, and shaved his head. He frequented the scriptural academies and once commented on scriptures such as the Śūraṅgama and Vimalakīrti; scholars honoured him. He was always skeptical of the Patriarch's path of direct pointing, so he associated much with Chan monks. One day he went to call upon Master Kaiyuan. Before his steps reached the threshold, his mind suddenly grasped realization. Kaiyuan came out and asked, 'What has the lecturer come to do?'
The master said, 'I dare not value the ears and disparage the eyes.'
Kaiyuan said, 'At your advanced age, why must you act like this?'
The master said, 'Those who consider themselves right do not last.'
Kaiyuan said, 'I will not ask about reading the Avataṃsaka in the morning and the Prajñā at night. What is the phrase of the present moment?'
The master said, 'The sun is directly at noon.'
Kaiyuan said, 'Idle words—speak further!'
The master said, 'Throughout my life I have relied on loyalty and trustworthiness; today I let the wind and waves take their course. Even though it is like this, what connection does the Upādhyāya's speaking like this have? One must wear a newly ordained monk's straw sandals.'
Kaiyuan said, 'Here I will let you pass for now. If you suddenly met Bodhidharma and he asked you, what would you say?'
The master gave a shout.
Kaiyuan said, 'This lecturer, seeing this old monk today, has energy soaring to the Bull and the Dipper!'
The master said, 'A second offense will not be tolerated.'
Kaiyuan clapped his hands and laughed heartily.