續傳燈錄 32.32

32.32

參政李邴居士字漢老。醉心祖道有年。聞大慧排默照為邪禪。疑怒相半。及見慧示眾舉趙州庭柏垂語曰。庭前柏樹子今日重新舉。打破趙州關。特地尋言語。敢問大眾。即是打破趙州關。為甚麼却特地尋言語。良久曰。當初秖道茆長短。燒了方知地不平。公領悟。謂慧曰。無老師後語幾蹉過。後以書咨決曰。某近扣籌室承擊發。蒙滯忽有省入。顧惟根識暗鈍。平生學解。盡落情見。一取一捨。如衣壞絮。行草棘中適自纏繞。今一笑頓釋所疑。欣幸可量。非大宗匠委曲垂慈何以致此。自到城中著衣喫飯抱子弄孫。色色仍舊。既無拘執之情。亦不作奇特之想。其餘夙習舊障亦稍輕微。臨行叮寧之語不敢忘也。重念始得入門而大法未明。應機接物觸事未能無礙。更望有以提誨使卒有所至。庶無玷於法席矣。又書曰。某比蒙誨答備悉深旨。某自驗者三。一事無逆順隨緣即應不留胸中。二宿習濃厚不加排遣白爾輕微。三古人公案舊所茫然。時復瞥地此非自昧者。前書大法未明之語。蓋恐得少為足。當廣而充之。豈別求勝解耶。淨勝現流理則不無。敢不銘佩。

Assistant Administrator Upāsaka Li Bing, courtesy name Hanlao, had been deeply enamored with the ancestral Way for years. Hearing that Dahui denounced Silent Illumination as heterodox Chan, he was half doubtful and half angry. When he saw Dahui instruct the assembly by citing Zhaozhou’s courtyard cypress, presenting the instruction: 'The cypress tree in front of the courtyard is brought up anew today; / It shatters the barrier of Zhaozhou, intentionally seeking words. / May I ask the great assembly: Since it shatters Zhaozhou's barrier, why intentionally seek words?' After a long pause, he said: 'At first I only said the thatch was uneven; / Only after burning it did I know the ground was not level.' The gentleman was awakened. He said to Dahui: 'Had it not been for the venerable master's closing words, I would have almost missed it.' Later, he wrote a letter asking for resolution: 'Recently, calling at your chamber, I was fortunate to receive your incitement and guidance; my dullness and stagnation suddenly had an awakening. Reflecting that my roots and consciousness are dull, and my lifelong learning and understanding all fell into emotional views: taking up and casting away were like wearing tattered cotton and walking among brambles, merely entangling myself. Now, with a single laugh, my doubts are suddenly released—how can my joy be measured? Were it not for the great lineage master's subtle and gracious compassion, how could this have come about? Since arriving in the city, wearing clothes, eating meals, holding my son, and playing with my grandson, everything is as before. There is neither an attitude of clinging nor any notion of something extraordinary. My other old habits and former obstacles have also become slightly lighter. I dare not forget your earnest parting admonitions. Reflecting again that I have only just entered the gate while the Great Dharma is not yet fully clear, when responding to situations and engaging with things, I am not yet able to be unobstructed in every circumstance. I further hope you will provide guidance and instruction to bring me to ultimate attainment, so that I may not bring disgrace upon your Dharma seat.' In another letter he said: 'Recently, receiving your instructional response, I fully understood the profound purport. I have verified three things in myself: First, whether matters are adverse or favorable, I respond in accord with conditions without retaining anything in my mind. Second, although old habits were deep, without applying efforts to dispel them, they naturally become light and faint. Third, ancient gong'ans, which were once completely baffling, now from time to time flash clearly into view—this is not self-delusion. When I spoke in my previous letter of the Great Dharma not yet being fully clear, it was out of fear of taking little as sufficient, so that I should broaden and fulfill it; how could I be seeking some other superior understanding? The flow of pure and superior manifestations is indeed not absent in principle. How could I dare not engrave and keep this in mind?'