Small Group Consultation

The summer retreat begins. The entire earth is oneself—where does one dwell? All ten directions are a single monastery—how does one stay within? A cliff stands ten thousand fathoms high; lift your head and shatter the void. Forge straight ahead without hesitation; walk freely across the crossroads. Vast and open, with nothing to cultivate or realize—who then examines the wax figure? Only when Golden Peak Mountain nods in agreement—yes, yes—and Tiger Run Spring bursts into laughter—ha, ha—does it become clear. Yet, as for Dayu's pickled vegetables and Tianping's two errors, how then should we speak of them? Striking the whisk, he said: Gently, gently, I discuss it with you.

Winter Solstice. (He) picks up the staff and says:

"All the Buddhas of the past have already used it. All the Bodhisattvas of the present are using it now. All future practitioners will use it. But here, I don't go along with that at all.

This winter, the fields have ripened. Old debts are melted away. The granaries are full; the rice baskets are not empty. There's no harm in heaping the platters high, to properly display the family style in this season.

Then you'll see Cloud Peak Pavilion and Crouching Tiger Cliff, congratulating each other. With hands folded before the chest, they lean in and whisper: 'If we could get two harvests a year, we could start construction on the monks' hall and the Dharma hall.'

That's fine, but as for the use of it tonight—is it different from, or the same as, that of the Buddhas and Patriarchs of old?"

He strikes the staff down and says: "Righteousness emerges; the year is abundant."

Summer Retreat. The scorching sun blazes, while cool breezes gently blow. The Yellow-Faced Sage, at this very time, once took his whisk and drew a perfect circle, saying: "Cast this net across the four directions of the world, to gather and uplift all living beings. This is called 'restraining the feet to protect life, setting a time to attain realization.'" For over two thousand years since, it has yet to be fully gathered. Now, in this very place of practice, we strive to lift its main ropes and grasp its guiding threads, embracing sages and ordinary beings alike, all caught in a single net. If you already possess the thirty-six scales, the whisk strikes, saying: "In the sound of this thunderclap, leap upward with a single bound, passing through the Dragon Gate." But if you have not yet reached this stage, beware—do not merely touch your forehead.