續傳燈錄 30.25

30.25

福州鼓山別峯祖珍禪師。興化林氏子。僧問。趙州遶禪床一匝轉藏已竟此理如何。師曰。畫龍看頭畫蛇看尾。曰婆子道。此來請轉全藏為甚麼秖轉得半藏。此意又且如何。師曰。人無遠慮必有近憂。曰未審甚麼處是轉半藏處。師曰。不是知音者徒勞話。歲寒上堂。尋牛須訪跡。學道貴無心。跡在牛還在無心道易尋。竪起拂子曰。這箇是跡。牛在甚麼處。直饒見得頭角分明。鼻孔也在法石手裏。上堂。向上一路千聖不傳。卓拄杖曰。恁麼會得十萬八千。畢竟如何。桃紅李白薔薇紫。問著春風總不知。示眾云。大道秖在目前。要且目前難覩。欲識大道真體。不離聲色言語。卓拄杖云。這箇是聲。竪起拄杖云。這箇是色。喚甚麼作大道真體。直饒向這裏見得。也是鄭州出曹門示眾。若論此事如人喫飯飽則便休。若也不飽必有思食之心。若也過飽又有傷心之患。到這裏作麼生得恰好去。良久云。且歸巖下宿同看月明時。

Chan Master Biefeng Zuzhen of Gushan in Fuzhou was a son of the Lin family in Xinghua. A monk asked, "Zhaozhou circled the meditation platform once and had already finished turning the canon—what is the principle of this?" The Master said, "When painting a dragon, look at the head; when painting a snake, look at the tail." [The monk] said, "The old woman said, 'I came to request the turning of the complete canon; why did you only turn half the canon?' What is the meaning of this?" The Master said, "If a person has no foresight, he will surely have immediate worries." [The monk] said, "I do not know: where was the half-canon turned?" The Master said, "Unless one is an intimate connoisseur, speaking of it in vain is like speaking of the year's cold." Ascending the hall, [he said], "Seeking an ox, one must follow its tracks; / Learning the Way values having no-mind. / While tracks remain, the ox is still there; / With no-mind, the Way is easy to find." Raising his whisk, he said, "This is the track. Where is the ox? Even if you see its horns clearly, its nostrils are still in Fashi's hands." Ascending the hall, [he said], "The upward path is not transmitted by the thousand sages." Striking his staff, he said, "To understand it in this way is one hundred and eight thousand [miles off]. Ultimately, how is it? Peach blossoms are red, plum blossoms white, roses purple; / Ask the spring wind, and it knows nothing at all." Instructing the assembly, he said, "The Great Way is right before one's eyes, yet before one's eyes it is difficult to perceive. If you wish to know the true substance of the Great Way, it is not apart from sound, color, and words." Striking his staff, he said, "This is sound." Raising his staff, he said, "This is color. What do you call the true substance of the Great Way? Even if you see it right here, it is still leaving Zhengzhou by the Cao Gate." Instructing the assembly, [he said], "Discussing this matter is like someone eating food: when full, one stops. If not full, one inevitably desires food. If overly full, one suffers indigestion. Reaching here, how can one get it just right?" After a long pause, he said, "For now, return beneath the cliff to lodge, and together we shall watch when the moon is bright."