第五則 椑樹洞山(參學)
Case 5: The Catalpa Tree at Dongshan
示眾云。正按傍提。一句了然超百億。左敲右擊。片言可以越三千。不涉唇皮。誰能舉似。
The Master addressed the assembly, saying:
"With a direct push or a sideways lift, a single phrase clearly transcends countless realms. With a tap on the left or a strike on the right, a few words can leap over three thousand worlds. Without moving the lips, who can point it out?"
舉椑樹省禪師問洞山甚麼處來(不勞勘)。山云親近來(實頭人難得)。樹云。若是親近。用動這兩片皮作甚麼(入草求人)。後曹山聞舉乃云一子親得(便宜不出當家)。
Master Jushusheng asked Dongshan, "Where have you come from?"(No need to investigate.)
Dongshan replied, "From a place of close intimacy."(A truly genuine person is rare.)
Shusheng said, "If it is close intimacy, then what is the use of moving these two lips?"(Entering the weeds to seek someone.)
Later, Caoshan heard of this exchange and remarked, "One person truly attained it."(Gaining advantage without leaving one's own home.)
師舉祖燈錄云。宣州椑樹慧省禪師。因洞山來參。樹問來作甚麼。山云來親近和尚。樹曰。若是親近。用動這兩片皮作麼。山無對。林泉道。悞入桃園。後曹山云一子親得。此乃父為子隱子為父隱。直在其中。丹霞舉處謂。問甚麼處來。本是問作甚麼來。答云親近來。此豈非問答相應也。後又遺漏。山無對。此乃不見曹山道一子親得之意。蓋編錄之不審也。況洞上宗風語忌十成。機貴回互。洞山無對。豈非向空劫以前承當。佛未出世時會得。曹山爭肯證父攘羊。受責於仲尼。故云一子親得。空王寶印豈假親傳。無縫伽黎何消密付。此師資道合猶參乎一。唯亦當以一貫之而稱許者哉。還知麼。肐膊到頭難外屈。休云孫子不如兒。更看丹霞別般誇羨。頌曰。
The Master cited the *Ancestral Lamp Record*: Chan Master Huisheng of Xuanshou’s Cypress Tree Temple. When Dongshan came to visit, the Tree asked, “What have you come for?” Dongshan said, “I’ve come to draw near to the venerable master.” The Tree said, “If you’ve come to draw near, why move those two lips?” Dongshan had no reply.
Linquan commented: “He mistakenly entered the peach orchard.”
Later, Caoshan said: “One son truly attained.” This is like “the father conceals for the son, the son conceals for the father—uprightness lies within it.”
Danxia, raising the case, said: “When asked ‘Where have you come from?’—it was originally asking ‘What have you come for?’ He answered, ‘I’ve come to draw near.’ Wasn’t this already a matching question and answer? Yet later it says ‘he had no reply’—this is because he didn’t see Caoshan’s meaning of ‘one son truly attained.’ It must be due to careless editing in the record.
Moreover, the style of the Dongshan lineage avoids speaking to the fullest—the vital function values mutual turning. Dongshan having no reply—wasn’t that taking up the responsibility before the empty eon, realizing it before the Buddha appeared in the world? How could Caoshan willingly testify that the father stole a sheep and be reproached by Confucius? Therefore he said, ‘One son truly attained.’
The precious seal of the Empty King—does it rely on intimate transmission? The seamless robe—what need for secret bestowal? When master and disciple’s way joins, it is still participating in the One. Even Confucius praised those who could ‘unite it with one thread.’
Do you understand? When the arm reaches the head, it cannot bend outward— Don’t say the grandson is not like the son.
Now observe Danxia’s special praise. His verse says:
從來父子不相離(天使其然)。石女何勞更問伊(多羅閑管)。昨夜寒巖無影木(根非生下土)。白雲深處露橫枝(葉不墜秋風)。
Father and son have never been apart—heaven made it so. Why trouble the stone maiden with further questions?—unnecessary concern. Last night, on the cold cliff, a shadowless tree—its roots not born from earthly soil. Deep within the white clouds, a branch stretches sideways—its leaves untouched by autumn winds.
師云。非同世之君君臣臣父父子子。假以忠孝親情以喻至道。曩劫以來與汝本來真如佛性妙覺明心無斯須而曾捨離。故云從來父子不相離。豈止椑樹洞山同聲相應同氣相求者歟。故石女以無情無口之口虗心冷氣倦審問伊。而復竊聽。昨夜寒嵓無影古木向白雲深處偶露橫枝。若不解無中出有。爭能達意外之玄。儻肯於劫外承當。更何必而今相見。還知不動唇皮道得處麼。萬籟把吾休失笑。我笑虗空舌更長。
The master said, "This is not like the worldly relationships of ruler and subject, father and son, where loyalty, filial piety, and familial affection are used as metaphors for the ultimate truth. Since beginningless time, your original true suchness, Buddha-nature, wondrous awareness, and luminous mind have never been separated from you for even a moment. That is why it is said, 'Father and son have never been apart.' How could this be limited to those who, like the trees of Dongshan, echo each other's voices and seek each other's breath?
Thus, the stone woman, with her mouthless mouth of no feeling, her empty heart and cold breath, wearily questioned him, then secretly listened. Last night, on the cold cliff without a shadow, an ancient tree, deep within the white clouds, by chance revealed a horizontal branch. If you do not understand how something can emerge from nothing, how can you grasp the mystery beyond expectation? If you are willing to take it up beyond the eons, what need is there to meet now?
Do you know where the word is spoken without moving the lips? The myriad sounds hold me back—do not lose yourself in laughter. I laugh, for the tongue of emptiness is even longer."