續傳燈錄 6.7

6.7

郢州興陽清剖禪師。在大陽作園頭。種瓜次。陽問。甜瓜何時得熟。師曰。即今熟爛了也。曰揀甜底摘來。師曰。與甚麼人喫。曰不入園者。師曰。未審不入園者還喫也無。曰汝還識伊麼。師曰。雖然不識不得不與。陽笑而去。住後上堂。西來大道理絕百非。句裏投機全乖妙旨。不已而已有屈祖宗。豈況忉忉有何所益。雖然如是事無一向。且於唱教門中。通一線道大家商量。僧問。娑竭出海乾坤震。覿面相呈事若何。師曰。金翅鳥王當宇宙。箇中誰是出頭人。曰忽遇出頭時又作麼生。師曰。似鶻提鳩君不信。髑髏前驗始知真。曰恁麼則叉手當胸退身三步也。師曰。須彌座下烏龜子。莫待重遭點額回。問從上諸聖向甚麼處去。師曰。月照千江靜。孤燈海底明。鄭金部問。和尚甚麼時開堂。師曰。不歷僧祇數。日月未生前。師臥疾次。大陽問。是身如泡幻泡幻中成辦。若無箇泡幻大事無由辦。若要大事辦識取箇泡幻作麼生。師曰。猶是這邊事。陽曰。那邊事作麼生。師曰。匝地紅輪透。海底不栽花。陽笑曰。乃爾惺惺邪。師喝曰。將謂我忘却竟爾趨寂。

Chan Master Qingpou of Xingyang in Yingzhou served as the garden supervisor at Dayang. While planting melons, Dayang asked, 'When will the sweet melons become ripe?' The Master said, 'Right now they are fully ripe.' Dayang said, 'Pick the sweet ones and bring them here.' The Master said, 'For whom to eat?' Dayang said, 'For the one who does not enter the garden.' The Master said, 'I wonder whether the one who does not enter the garden will still eat them or not?' Dayang said, 'Do you still know him?' The Master said, 'Although I do not know him, I cannot help but give them to him.' Dayang laughed and left.

After taking up residence, he ascended the hall: 'The great truth of the coming from the West is beyond all one hundred negations. Matching wits within phrases completely violates the wondrous purport. Ceasing when one cannot cease wrongs the ancestral lineage; how much more so with rambling talk—what benefit could there be? Even though it is like this, matters are not one-sided. For now, within the gate of expounding the teachings, let us open a single line of path for everyone to discuss.'

A monk asked, 'When Sāgara emerges from the ocean, heaven and earth tremble; when meeting face-to-face, what about this matter?' The Master said, 'The Golden-Winged Bird King confronts the universe; / Among them, who is the one to poke his head out?' The monk said, 'If he suddenly happens to poke his head out, then what?' The Master said, 'Like a falcon snatching a dove, you do not believe it; / Only when tested before a skull will you know the truth.' The monk said, 'In that case, I fold my hands across my chest and retreat three paces.' The Master said, 'The little black turtle beneath the Sumeru throne— / Do not wait until your forehead is marked again before turning back.'

A monk asked, 'Where have the sages from antiquity gone?' The Master said, 'The moon illuminates a thousand rivers in quietude; / A solitary lamp shines bright on the ocean bed.'

Ministry of Works Official Zheng asked, 'When will the Upādhyāya open the hall?' The Master said, 'Not reckoned in asaṃkhyeyas, / Before the sun and moon were born.'

When the Master lay sick, Dayang asked, 'This body is like a phantom bubble; within the phantom bubble it is accomplished. If there were no phantom bubble, the great matter would have no way to be accomplished. If you want the great matter accomplished, how do you understand this phantom bubble?' The Master said, 'This is still a matter on this side.' Dayang said, 'What is the matter on that side?' The Master said, 'The red orb pierces all around the earth; / On the ocean bed no flowers are planted.' Dayang laughed and said, 'Are you indeed so alert?' The Master gave a shout and said, 'Did you think I had forgotten?' and straightaway hastened into quiescence.