---
title: "指月錄 · 吉州隆慶院慶閑禪師"
description: "指月录是明代瞿汝稷编纂的一部重要佛教典籍，成书于万历年间。该书以禅宗公案为核心，收录了从佛祖释迦牟尼到宋代高僧的六百余则禅门语录和典故，系统梳理了禅宗传承脉络。瞿汝稷作为晚明著名居士，以指月为喻，强调文字只是指向真理的工具而非真理本身，体现了禅宗不立文字、直指人心的宗旨。这部著作不仅保存了大量珍贵禅宗史料，更以其精要的选编和独到的评点，成为研究中国禅宗思想发展的重要文献，在佛教史上具有承前启后的地位，至今仍是禅学研究者必读经典。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cma8x2xs502d1l404kaeeaaiw"
---

### ▲吉州隆慶院慶閑禪師

福州古田卓氏子。母夢胡僧授以明珠而孕。及生。白光滿室。幼不近酒胾。年十一出家。二十遠遊。貌豐碩。寡言語。惟道是究。所至自處。罕與人接。有即之者。一舉手而去。父事黃龍。龍甚重之。時與翠巖順公。同在黃檗。順時時詰問師。師橫機無所讓。順謂龍曰。閑輕易且語。未辨觸淨。龍曰。法如是。以情求閑。乃成是非。師甞問龍。文首座何如在黃檗時。龍曰。渠在黃檗時。如人暴富。用錢如糞土。邇來如數世富人。一錢不虗用。既龍過雙嶺。師謁龍。龍問。甚處來。師曰百丈。曰幾時離彼。師曰。正月十三。龍曰。脚跟好痛與三十棒。師曰。非但三十棒。龍喝曰。許多時行脚。無點氣息。師曰。百千諸佛亦乃如是。龍曰。汝與麼來。何曾有纖毫到諸佛境界。師曰。諸佛未必到慶閑境界。龍隨問。如何是汝生緣處。師曰。早晨喫白粥。如今又覺饑。問我手何似佛手。師曰。月下弄琵琶。問我脚何似驢脚。師曰。鷺鷥立雪非同色。龍咨嗟而視曰。汝剃除鬚髮。當為何事。師曰。祇要無事。龍曰。既無事。何須剃髮。師曰。若不剃髮。爭知無事。曰與麼則數聲清磬是非外。一個閑人天地間也。師曰。是何言歟。曰靈利衲子。師曰。也不消得。龍便喝。師拍一拍。龍又喝。師便出。復侍次。龍曰。此間有辨上座者。汝著精彩。師曰。他有甚麼長處。曰他拊汝背一下又如何。師曰。作甚麼。曰他展兩手。師曰。甚處學這虗頭來。龍大笑。師却展兩手。龍喝。師便出。齋後。又侍立。龍問。𢤱𢤱鬆鬆。兩人共一椀。作麼生會。師曰。百雜碎。曰盡大地是個須彌山。撮來掌中。汝又作麼生會。師曰。兩重公案。曰這裏從汝胡言漢語。若到同安。如何過得。英邵武在同安。師將徃謁。故云師曰。渠也須到這個田地始得。曰忽被渠指火罏曰。這個是黑漆火罏。那個是黑漆香桌。甚處是不到處。師曰。慶閑面前。且從恁麼說話。若是別人。笑和尚去。龍拍一拍。師便喝。明日同看僧堂曰。好僧堂。師曰。極好工夫。曰好在甚處。師曰。一梁拄一柱。曰此未是好處。師曰。和尚又作麼生。龍以手指曰。這柱得與麼圓。那枋得與麼匾。師曰。人天大善如識。須是和尚始得。便出。龍出堂外曰。適來與麼。是肯你。不肯你。師曰。若與麼。何曾得安樂處。師上方丈問訊。龍曰。據汝知見。祇得上梢。不得下梢。師曰。某甲上梢亦得。下梢亦得。曰如何是上梢。師曰。風過樹頭搖。曰如何是下梢。師曰。刀斫斧鑿。龍曰。老僧即不然。師曰。如何是上梢。曰頭鬅鬙耳卓朔。曰如何是下梢。曰緊帩草鞋。師曰。謝師答話。龍便喝。明日侍立。龍問。得坐披衣。向後如何施設。師曰。遇方即方。遇圓即圓。曰汝與麼說話。猶帶唇齒在。師曰。慶閑即與麼。和尚作麼生。曰近前來為汝說。師拊掌曰。三十年用底。今朝捉敗。龍大笑曰。一等是精靈。師拂袖而去。由是學者爭歸之　師室中每垂問。魚行水濁。鳥飛毛落。亮座主一入西山。為甚麼杳無消息　元豐四年三月七日。告眾將入滅。說偈曰。露質浮世。奄忽入滅。五十三歲。六七八月。南嶽天台。松風㵎雪。珍重知音。紅罏優鉢。說偈畢。乃入浴。浴出。方以巾搭膝而化。神色不變。為著衣。手足和柔。髮剃復出。畵工就寫其真。首忽自舉。次日仍平視。太守來觀。願留全身。而僧利儼曰。遺言令化。闍維日。薪盡火滅。跏趺不散。以油沃薪益之乃化。是日雲起風作。飛瓦折木。烟氣所至。東西南北四十里。凡草木沙礫之間。皆得舍利。如金色。計其所獲幾數斛。初蘇子由。欲為作記。而疑其事。方臥痁。夢有訶者曰。閑師事何疑哉。疑即病矣。子由夢中作銘。覺復疏之。中有云。稽首三界尊。閑師不止此。憫世狹劣故。聊示其小者。子由其知言哉。洪覺範為師傳贊曰。潛菴為予言。閉為人。氣剛而語急。甞同宿。見其坐而假寐。夢語滾滾。而領略識之。皆古衲機緣。初以為適然。已而每每連榻莫不爾。盖其欵誠於道。精一如此。唐道氳譏明皇。曩於般若聞薰不一。而沉佇想。自起現行。閑之去留。踐履之驗。非聞薰不一者也。

> A native of Gutian, Fuzhou, whose mother dreamed of a foreign monk bestowing a bright pearl upon her before she conceived him. At birth, white light filled the room. As a child, he kept away from wine and meat. At eleven, he left home to become a monk, and at twenty, traveled far and wide. He was large in build and sparing in speech, devoted solely to the Way. Wherever he went, he kept to himself and rarely mingled with others. Should someone approach him, he would raise a hand in greeting and move on. He served Huanglong as his teacher, and Huanglong held him in high regard. At the time, he and Elder Shun of CUIYAN were both at Huangbo. Shun frequently tested the master with questions, and the master met him with sharp retorts, yielding nothing. Shun told Huanglong, "Xianqing is quick with words, but I can't tell if he's touched the pure or the defiled." Huanglong said, "The Dharma is thus. To seek Xian with emotions only creates right and wrong." The master once asked Huanglong, "How does Chief Seat Wen compare to when he was at Huangbo?" Huanglong said, "When he was at Huangbo, he was like one newly wealthy, spending money like dirt. Lately, he's like a man rich for generations—not a single coin wasted." After Huanglong moved to Shuangling, the master went to pay respects. Huanglong asked, "Where have you come from?" The master said, "Baizhang." "When did you leave there?" "The thirteenth of the first month." Huanglong said, "Your feet must be sore—thirty blows for you!" The master said, "More than thirty blows, even." Huanglong shouted, "So much time traveling on foot, and not a trace of spirit!" The master said, "Hundreds and thousands of Buddhas are likewise thus." Huanglong said, "Coming like that, have you ever touched a hair's breadth of the Buddha realm?" The master said, "The Buddhas may not have reached Qingxian's realm." Huanglong pressed on, "Then what is the place of your birth?" The master said, "I ate plain porridge this morning, and now I feel hungry again." Huanglong asked, "How is my hand like a Buddha's hand?" The master said, "Playing the pipa under the moon." "How is my foot like a donkey's foot?" "An egret standing in snow—not the same color." Huanglong sighed and looked at him, saying, "You've shaved off your hair and beard. What is it for?" The master said, "Simply to have nothing to do." Huanglong said, "If there's nothing to do, why shave at all?" The master said, "If I hadn't shaved, how would I know there's nothing to do?" Huanglong said, "Then—a few clear chimes beyond right and wrong, an idle man between heaven and earth." The master said, "What words are those?" Huanglong said, "A sharp monk indeed." The master said, "Not even worth that." Huanglong shouted, and the master clapped once. Huanglong shouted again, and the master left. Later, while waiting on Huanglong again, Huanglong said, "There's a certain Senior Seat Bian here—you'd better watch yourself." The master said, "What's so special about him?" Huanglong said, "What if he pats you on the back?" The master said, "What for?" "Then he spreads both hands." The master said, "Where did he learn such empty tricks?" Huanglong laughed heartily. The master then spread both hands himself, and Huanglong shouted. The master left. After the midday meal, while again standing in attendance, Huanglong asked, "Carefree and loose, two people share one bowl—how do you understand this?" The master said, "All smashed to bits." Huanglong said, "The whole great earth is a single Sumeru Mountain; gathered into the palm of the hand—how do you understand that?" The master said, "A double case." Huanglong said, "Here you can speak all sorts of nonsense, but when you reach Tong'an, how will you get through?" <note>Ying of Shaowu was at Tong'an, and the master was about to visit him. Hence the remark.</note> The master said, "He too must reach this ground before he's done." Huanglong said, "What if he suddenly points at the brazier and says, 'This is a black lacquer brazier, that is a black lacquer incense table. What place have you not reached?'" The master said, "In front of Qingxian, such talk is all right. But if it were someone else, they'd laugh at the monk." Huanglong clapped once, and the master shouted. The next day, they went together to look at the monks' hall. Huanglong said, "A fine hall." The master said, "Extremely fine workmanship." "What's so fine about it?" "One beam rests on one pillar." "That's not yet the good part." The master said, "Then what does the Master say?" Huanglong pointed with his hand: "This pillar—how round it is! That beam—how flat!" The master said, "As a great benefactor of gods and humans, it takes the Master to see it." Then he left. Huanglong stepped outside the hall and said, "Just now—was that approving you or not?" The master said, "If it's like that, where is there ever any peace?" The master went up to the abbot's quarters to pay respects. Huanglong said, "Based on your understanding, you only reach the top half, not the bottom." The master said, "I can reach the top half, and also the bottom half." "What is the top half?" "Wind passes, treetops sway." "What is the bottom half?" "Struck by knife, hewn by axe." Huanglong said, "This old monk is not so." The master said, "What is the top half?" "Hair disheveled, ears sticking up." "What is the bottom half?" "Straw sandals tied tight." The master said, "Thank you, Master, for the answer." Huanglong shouted. The next day, standing in attendance, Huanglong asked, "Having taken the seat and donned the robe, how will you carry on afterward?" The master said, "Encounter square, be square; encounter round, be round." Huanglong said, "Speaking like that, you're still attached to lips and teeth." The master said, "Qingxian is like this. What about the Master?" Huanglong said, "Come closer, and I'll tell you." The master clapped his hands and said, "What I've been using for thirty years—caught out today!" Huanglong laughed loudly and said, "What keen spirit!" The master flicked his sleeves and left. From then on, students vied to take him as teacher. In his quarters, the master would often pose the question: "Fish move, water muddies; birds fly, feathers fall. Most Reverend Liang—once he entered West Mountain, why has there been no news of him at all?" On the seventh day of the third month, in the fourth year of Yuanfeng, he announced to the assembly that he was about to enter cessation. He spoke this gatha: "Exposed body in the floating world, Suddenly entering cessation. Fifty-three years old— Six, seven, eight months. Nanyue, Tiantai— Wind in the pines, snow on the mountain streams. Treasure this, kindred spirits: In the red brazier, the udumbara flower." Having spoken the gatha, he entered the bath. After bathing, he sat and draped a towel over his knee—and transformed. His complexion never changed. When they dressed his body, his hands and feet remained soft and warm. After his hair was shaved, it grew back. When a painter came to sketch his portrait, his head suddenly lifted by itself; the next day, it returned to a forward gaze. The governor came to see and wished to keep the whole body enshrined. But the monk Liyan said, "His last words were to cremate." On the day of cremation, when the firewood was spent and the flames died out, he still sat in meditation, unmoved. They poured oil on the firewood and increased the fire, and only then did he transform. That day, clouds rose and wind blew, tearing off tiles and snapping trees. Wherever the smoke reached—forty li in all directions—sharira were found in grasses, woods, gravel, and sand, all golden in color. In total, they gathered several hu of them. Earlier, Su Ziyou had wanted to write a record of the master but had doubts about these matters. Just then, he fell ill with malaria. In a dream, someone scolded him, saying, "What doubts can you have about Master Xian's deeds? Doubt itself is the illness." Ziyou composed an inscription in the dream, and upon waking, wrote it out. In it, he wrote: "I bow my head to the Three Realms' Honored One, Yet Master Xian is not confined to this. Moved by the world's narrowness, He showed but a glimpse of the small." Ziyou truly knew how to speak. Hong Juefan, in his biography of the master, added this praise: Qian'an told me: Xian was a man of fierce energy and swift speech. Once, sharing a room, I saw him sitting in drowsy meditation, murmuring in his sleep in a steady stream. I listened and recognized the words—they were the encounters and transmissions of ancient monks. At first I thought it coincidence, but afterward, time and again when we shared a bed, it was always so. This was how deeply and single-mindedly he gave himself to the Way. In the Tang dynasty, Da Yun criticized Emperor Minghuang for having once heard the Prajñā teachings without unity of mind, then sinking into stagnant thought, producing his own delusions. Xian's coming and going, the very proof of his practice—this is not the case of one who "heard without unity."

張無垢問大慧曰。某每於夢中。必誦語孟何如。慧舉圓覺曰。由寂靜故。十方世界諸如來心。於中顯現。如鏡中像。無垢曰。非老師莫聞此論也　又慧答向伯恭侍郎書曰。示論悟與未悟。夢與覺一。一段因緣。黃面老子云。汝以緣心聽法。此法亦緣。謂至人無夢。非有無之無。謂夢與非夢一而已。以是觀之。則佛夢金鼓。高宗夢傳說。孔子夢奠兩楹。亦不可作夢與非夢解。却來觀世間。猶如夢中事。教中自有明文。惟夢乃全妄想也。而眾生顛倒。以日用目前境界為實。殊不知。全體是夢。而於其中復生虗妄分別。以想心繫念。神識紛飛為實夢。殊不知正是夢中說夢。顛倒中又顛倒。故佛大慈悲老婆心切。悉能徧入一切法界。諸安立海。所有微塵。於一一塵中。以夢自在法門。開悟世界海微塵數眾生。住邪定者。入正定聚。此亦普示顛倒眾生。以目前實有底境界。為安定海。令悟夢與非夢。悉皆是幻。則全夢有實。全實是夢。不可取不可捨。至人無夢之義。如是而已。來書見問。乃是某三十六歲之所疑。讀之不覺抓著癢處。亦甞以此問圜悟先師。但以手指曰。住住。休妄想休妄想。某復曰。如某未睡著時。佛所讚者。依而行之。佛所訶者。不敢違犯。從前依師及自做工夫零碎所得者。惺惺時却得受用。及乎上牀半醒半覺時。已做主宰不得。夢見得金寶。則夢中歡喜無量。夢見被人以刀杖相逼。及諸惡境界。則夢中怕怖惶恐。自念此身尚存。只是睡著已作主宰不得。況地水火風分散。眾苦熾然。如何得不被回換。到這裏。方始著忙。先師又曰。待汝說底許多妄想絕時。汝自到寤寐恒一處也。初聞亦未之信。每日我自顧。寤與寐分明作兩段。如何敢開大口說禪。除非佛說寤寐恒一。是妄語。則我此病不須除。佛語果不欺人。乃是我自未了。後因聞先師舉諸佛出身處。薰風自南來。忽然去却礙膺之物。方知黃面老子所說。是真語實語如語。不誑語不妄語。不欺人。真大慈悲。粉身沒命不可報。礙膺之物既除。方知寐時便是寤時底。寤時便是寐時底。佛言寤寐恒一。方始自知。這般道理。拈出呈似人不得。說與人不得。如夢中境界。取不得。捨不得。承問妙喜於未悟已前。已悟之後。有異無異。不覺依實供通。子細讀來。教字字至誠。不是問禪。亦非見詰。故不免以昔時所疑處吐露。願居士試將老龐語謾提撕。但願空諸所有。切勿實諸所無。先以目前日用境界作夢會了。然後却將夢中底。移來目前。則佛金鼓。高宗得說。孔子奠兩楹。决不是夢矣　高峰妙禪師。初參斷橋。無所省。既參雪巖欽。令看無字。初每詰其日用所做工夫如何。久之不問做處。一入門便問。阿誰與你拖這死屍來。聲未絕。便痛拳打出。未幾巖遷南明。峰過徑山。忽於夢中。憶斷橋和尚室中所舉萬法歸一一歸何處話。疑情頓發。寢食俱忘。東西不辨。至第六日。在堂下行。見眾僧堂內出。不覺輥於隊中。至三塔閣上諷經。擡頭忽見演和尚真讚。有云。百年三萬六千朝。反覆元來是這漢。頓悟巖所問拖死屍語。如放下百二十斤擔子。乃過南明謁巖。巖屢加煅煉。峰於古人公案。雖不受瞞。及開口則又覺有礙。於日用中。尚不得自由。如欠人債相似。巖遷天寧。峰又隨侍。巖問。日間浩浩時。還作得主麼。峰云。作得主。巖云。睡夢中作得主麼。峰云。作得主。又問。正睡著時無夢無想無見無聞。主在甚麼處。峰茫然不能答。巖云。從今日去。也不要你學佛學法。也不要你窮古窮今。你只饑來喫飯。困來打眠。纔眠覺來。却抖擻精神。我這一覺。畢竟主人公在甚麼處安身立命。峰稟教。即自誓云。𢬵一生作個癡獃漢。定要這一著子明白。經及五年。一日寓菴睡覺。正疑此事。忽同宿道友推枕子墮地作聲。驀然打破疑團。如在網中跳出。追憶日前所疑佛祖誵訛公案。古今差別因緣。恰如泗州見大聖。遠客還故鄉。元來只是舊時人。不改舊時行履處　圜悟禪師。和靈源瞌睡歌云。懵懵懂懂無巴鼻。兀兀陶陶絕忌諱。信任流光動地遷。不論冬夏惟瞌睡。個中滋味佛不知。空咄蛤蚌與螺師。放身不管臥水底。與發長捱布袋兒。鼻息如雷誰顧得。尋常少見有醒時。沒醒時良有以。要明瞌睡中宗旨。從來一覺到天明。佛來不解擡身起。縱使舒光徧大千。終難換我無憂底。校疎親渾打失。瞌睡根靈莫窮詰。有人契會便參同。睡著須知更綿密。

> Zhang Wugou once asked Dahui, "Whenever I fall asleep, I always dream of reciting the Analects and Mencius. What does that mean?" Dahui quoted from the \*Perfect Enlightenment Sutra\*, "Because of stillness, the minds of all Tathagatas throughout the ten directions appear within it, like images in a mirror." Wugou said, "Without you, Master, I would never have heard such a teaching." Dahui also replied to Vice Minister Xiang Bogong in a letter, saying: "You ask about the difference between enlightenment and non-enlightenment, and how dream and waking are one. This is a profound matter. The Yellow-Faced Old Man (the Buddha) said, 'If you listen to the Dharma with a discriminating mind, that Dharma itself becomes conditioned.' The saying that a sage has no dreams is not about the absence of existence or non-existence. It means that dream and waking are ultimately one. Seen this way, the Buddha's dream of the golden drum, King Gaozong's dream of Fu Yue, and Confucius's dream of placing offerings between two pillars cannot be understood as either dream or non-dream. The scriptures clearly state, 'Come and observe the world—it is like a dream.' Dreams are complete delusion. Yet sentient beings are inverted, taking their daily experiences as real, not realizing that everything is a dream. Within that, they create further illusory distinctions, regarding the wandering of consciousness and scattered thoughts as real dreams. They do not know this is dreaming within a dream, inversion upon inversion." "That is why the Buddha, with vast compassion and an urgent, caring heart, enters all realms of reality. In every mote of dust within all established dharma realms, through the dream-liberation practice, he awakens sentient beings as numerous as dust motes in world-systems. Those dwelling in wrong concentration are led into right concentration. This is also how he universally shows inverted beings that the concrete realms they experience are but an unsteady sea, so they may realize that dream and waking are both illusion. Then the entire dream is real, and all reality is a dream—nothing to grasp, nothing to discard. The meaning of 'a sage has no dreams' is exactly this." "Your letter raises a doubt I myself had at age thirty-six. Reading it, I could not help scratching an itch. I once asked my late teacher, Master Yuanyu (Yuanwu), the same question. He just pointed his finger and said, 'Stop! Stop! Cease your deluded thinking.' I said, 'When I am awake, I follow what the Buddha praised and avoid what he condemned. All the small insights I gained from my teacher and my own practice work well when I am alert. But once I lie down, half-asleep, I lose control. If I dream of gold and treasure, I am filled with joy. If I dream of knives and weapons or terrifying scenes, I am gripped by fear. I think to myself, my body still exists, yet once asleep I cannot control things. How much harder when the four elements scatter and all pains blaze—how could I not be carried away? Only at that point do I start to panic.'" "My late teacher then said, 'When all those deluded thoughts you speak of have ceased, you yourself will arrive at the place where waking and sleeping are one.' At first I did not believe it. I thought, every day I clearly experience waking and sleeping as two separate things—how dare I speak so boldly of Chan? Unless the Buddha's claim that waking and sleeping are one is a lie, then my problem needs no cure. But the Buddha's words do not deceive. It was only my own failure to understand. Later, when my teacher brought up where all Buddhas arise, I heard 'a fragrant breeze comes from the south'—and suddenly the obstruction on my chest fell away. Only then did I know that the Yellow-Faced Old Man spoke true words, real words, words as they are—not deceptive, not misleading. His great compassion is such that I could never repay it even by smashing my body and losing my life." "With the obstruction gone, I realized that sleeping is exactly waking, and waking is exactly sleeping. Only then did I personally understand what the Buddha meant by 'waking and sleeping are one.' This principle cannot be shown to others or explained to them. Like dream states, it cannot be grasped and cannot be discarded." "You ask me, Miaoxi, whether there is a difference before and after enlightenment. I cannot help but honestly confess. Having read your letter carefully, I see it is sincere in every word—not a challenge, not an interrogation. So I have revealed my old doubts. I hope you, layman, will take up the words of Old Pang and contemplate them: 'May we empty all that exists; do not solidify what does not.' First, treat your daily waking experiences as dreams. Then bring your dreams into your waking life. Then the Buddha's golden drum, King Gaozong's dream of Fu Yue, and Confucius's dream between the pillars are clearly not dreams." --- Master Gaofeng Miao first studied under Duanqiao without much progress. Then he studied under Xueyan Qin, who had him investigate the word "nothing." At first Xueyan constantly asked what he was working on in daily life. After a while, he stopped asking about his practice. The moment Gaofeng entered the door, Xueyan would ask, "Who is dragging this corpse around for you?" Before the echo of his voice faded, Xueyan would beat him and drive him out. Before long, Xueyan moved to Nanming, and Gaofeng went to Jingshan. One day, suddenly in a dream, he recalled Duanqiao's questioning about "all dharmas return to one—where does the one return?" A mass of doubt erupted. He forgot to eat and sleep, and could no longer distinguish east from west. On the sixth day, while walking in the hall, he saw monks coming out of the monastics' quarters and unconsciously fell in among them. When they reached the third pagoda to chant sutras, he looked up and suddenly saw an inscription on a portrait of Master Yan, which read: "A hundred years, thirty-six thousand mornings—turn it over, and it's always been this very fellow." In that instant, he awakened to Xueyan's question about dragging the corpse. It was like setting down a burden of a hundred twenty pounds. He then went to Nanming to see Xueyan. Xueyan continued to temper him. Though Gaofeng could no longer be deceived on the old gong'ans, the moment he opened his mouth, he still felt obstruction. In daily life, he still lacked freedom, like a man in debt. When Xueyan moved to Tianning, Gaofeng followed him. Xueyan asked, "In the bustling daytime, can you still be master of yourself?" Gaofeng said, "Yes." Xueyan asked, "What about in dreams—can you be master?" Gaofeng said, "Yes." Xueyan asked again, "When you are sound asleep, with no dreams, no thoughts, no seeing, no hearing—where is your master then?" Gaofeng was at a loss and could not answer. Xueyan said, "From today on, you don't need to study Buddhism or study Dharma. You don't need to investigate antiquity or the present. Just eat when hungry, sleep when tired. When you wake up, rouse your spirits and ask: this awareness—where does its master dwell and establish itself?" Gaofeng accepted this instruction and vowed, "I will spend my whole life as a fool if I must—but I will clarify this one point." After five years, one day while napping in a hermitage, he was still wrestling with this question. Suddenly his roommate pushed his pillow, and it fell to the floor with a clatter. In that instant, the mass of doubt shattered, like jumping out of a net. Recalling all the cases and stories that had puzzled him before—the Buddha's and ancestors' intricate gong'ans, the varied causes of past and present—he was like a traveler who finds the Great Sage at Sizhou, or a wanderer returning to his homeland. It turned out it was always the same old person, not changing his old walk. --- The Chan master Yuanwu wrote a companion verse to Lingyuan's "Song of Sleepiness": In a daze, in a blur—nothing to hold onto, Sitting still, utterly still—beyond all taboos. Let the fleeting light shift the earth, Year-round, winter or summer—only sleep. The taste of this—even Buddhas don't know, Who'd pity clams, oysters, and snails? Let the body go, lying on the riverbed, Hair unwashed, a bag dragged along. Snores like thunder—who cares? Seldom do we see awakening, And when no waking comes, there's good reason: I'm determined to fathom the essence of sleep. But since antiquity, one nap lasts till dawn— Even if Buddha comes, I won't lift myself up. Though light may fill the universe, It cannot change my carefree bottom. Fate and distance, both are lost, The spirit of sleep is too deep to question. If someone meets in accord, we join the same stream— But know, when sleeping, one must be even more intimate.

## 指月錄卷之二十六