續傳燈錄 6.8

6.8

南嶽福嚴審承禪師。侍立大陽次。陽曰。有一人遍身紅爛。臥在荊棘林中周匝火圍。若親近得此人大敞鄽開。若親近不得時中以何為據。師曰。六根不具七識不全。陽曰。爾教伊出來我要見伊。師曰。適來別無左右秖對和尚。陽曰。官不容針。師便禮拜。師後至華嚴隆和尚處舉前話。隆曰。冷如毛粟細如氷雪。李相公特上山問。如何是祖師西來意。師指庭前柏樹。公如是三問。師如是三答。公欣然乃有頌曰。出沒雲間滿大虛。元來真相一塵無。重重請問西來意。唯指庭前柏一株。

Chan Master Shencheng of Fuyan on Nanyue was attending and standing beside Dayang. Dayang said, 'There is a person whose entire body is red and festering, lying in a thicket of brambles, surrounded completely by a circle of fire. If one can draw close to this person, the broad markets will open up; if one cannot draw close, what will serve as evidence in daily life?' The Master said, 'The six sense organs are incomplete; the seven consciousnesses are deficient.' Dayang said, 'Tell him to come out; I want to see him.' The Master said, 'Just now there was no one else around to respond to the Upādhyāya.' Dayang said, 'The official does not allow a needle.' The Master then bowed.

The Master later went to the place of Upādhyāya Long of Huayan and cited the previous conversation. Long said, 'Cold as goosebumps, fine as ice and snow.'

Minister Li made a special ascent up the mountain to ask, 'What is the meaning of the Patriarch's coming from the West?' The Master pointed to the cypress tree in front of the courtyard. The Minister asked thus three times, and the Master answered thus three times. The Minister was delighted and presented a verse:

'Appearing and disappearing among the clouds, filling the great void; / Originally, the true mark does not have a single speck of dust. / Repeatedly I inquired about the meaning of the coming from the West; / He pointed only to the single cypress tree before the courtyard.'