續傳燈錄 35.23

35.23

蘇州虎丘㑃堂善濟禪師。題魚籃觀音像贊。曰雲𩬆濃粧苦強顏。為他閑事入塵寰。携來活底無人買。只作尋常死貨看。

Chan Master Aotang Shanji of Huqiu in Suzhou inscribed a praise on an icon of the Fish-Basket Avalokiteśvara: 'With cloud-like coiffure and heavy makeup, she painfully forces a smile, / Entering the dusty world for the sake of other people's trivial matters. / Bringing a living one, no one buys it; / They only look upon it as ordinary dead goods.'