第八則風穴離微
Case 8: Fengxue's Departure from Subtlety
舉僧問風穴。(這孟婆起也)語默涉離微。如何通不犯。(禍不單行)穴云。常憶江南三月裏。鷓鴣啼處百花香。(言滿天下無口過)雪竇云。劈腹剜心。(當言不避截舌)天童拈云。露躶躶。圓陀陀。直是無稜縫。(開也)且道風穴無稜縫。何似雪竇無稜縫。(白洪崖打赤洪崖)還會麼。和光惹事。(花從愛惜落)刮篤成家(草逐棄嫌生)。
A monk asked Fengxue. (This old hag is waking up.) "When words and silence touch the subtle and the manifest, how can one pass through without offense?" (Misfortunes never come singly.)
Fengxue said, "I always remember in March, south of the river, the partridges call and all the flowers bloom." (Words fill the world without a slip of the tongue.)
Xuedou commented, "Splitting his belly and cutting out his heart." (When it's time to speak, do not fear being silenced.)
Tiantong picked it up, saying: "Naked, utterly bare. Completely round, smooth—truly without a single edge or seam." (Opening.) Now tell me, is Fengxue’s 'without a seam' anything like Xuedou’s 'without a seam'? (The white Hongya strikes the red Hongya.)
Do you understand yet? Soften your light and stir up trouble. (Flowers fall from being cherished.) Scrape the bottom of the pot to build a home. (Weeds grow from being rejected.)
師云。風穴應小釋迦讖。無盡居士。謂仰山後身。如投子為慈濟再來。雪竇號雲門重顯。語錄行世。號眾吼集。有僧問語默涉離微。如何通不犯。語是謗。默是誑。語默向上有事在。外道問佛。不問有言。不問無言。世尊良久。外道禮謝云。世尊大慈大悲。開我迷雲。令我得入。肇法師寶藏論。離微體妙品。其出微。其入離。知入離。外塵無所依。知出微。內心無所為。內心無所為。諸見不能移。外塵無所依。萬有不能羈。葢語涉於微。默涉於離。故云語默涉離微。又問如何通不犯。勝默和尚以此語勘僧。謂之誑謗關。凡有三重。單雙不犯。法眼洞明者。纔舉便知落處。風穴道。常憶江南三月裏。鷓鴣啼處百花香。香。一作鮮。二字皆可。此三關之一也。佛果在五祖為元座。有僧請益風穴語默涉離微。如何通不犯因緣。偶佛鑑來。果曰。懃兄可為頌出布施他。鑑即頌曰。彩雲影裏仙人現。手把紅羅扇遮面。急須著眼看仙人。莫看仙人手中扇。果深喜之。雪竇道。劈腹剜心又作麼生。萬松道。麤言及細語。皆歸第一義。又道。因風吹火。別是一家。傷鱉恕龜。少應有主。雪竇風穴。文武兼濟。將相雙權。闕一不可。天童拈云。露躶躶。圓陀陀。直是無稜縫。萬松道。天童點破。七華八裂了也。更道風穴無稜縫。何似雪竇無稜縫。萬松道。芍藥花開菩薩面。椶櫚樹長夜叉頭。天童道。和光惹事。刮篤成家。更無百端軟語。作頌德之辭。祗有三尺神鋒。為報恩之物。
The Master said: "Fengxue fulfilled the prophecy of the 'Little Sakyamuni.' The layman Wujin regarded him as the reincarnation of Yangshan, just as Tousi was the reappearance of Ciji, and Xuedou was called the 'Yunmen reincarnation of Zhongxian.' His recorded sayings circulated in the world under the title *The Roar of the Multitude*.
"A monk once asked: 'Speech and silence both touch the *Li* (subtle essence) and *Wei* (hidden entry). How can one pass through without violating either?'
"The Master answered: 'Speech is slander; silence is deception. Yet there is something beyond speech and silence.'
"An outsider once asked the Buddha: 'I ask neither about what is spoken, nor about what is unspoken.' The World-Honored One remained silent for a long time. The outsider bowed in gratitude and said: 'The World-Honored One, in his great compassion, has opened my clouds of confusion and allowed me to enter.'
"Master Zhao's *Precious Treasury Treatise* says in the chapter on 'The Subtle Essence of *Li* and *Wei*': 'When it emerges, it is subtle (*Wei*); when it enters, it separates (*Li*). Knowing entry and separation, external dust has nowhere to cling. Knowing emergence and subtlety, the inner mind has nothing to do. When the inner mind has nothing to do, all views cannot move it. When external dust has nowhere to cling, the ten thousand things cannot bind it.'
"Thus, speech touches the subtle (*Wei*), and silence touches the separation (*Li*). Hence the question: 'Speech and silence both touch the *Li* and *Wei*. How to pass through without violating?'
"Master Shengmo used this inquiry to test monks, calling it the 'Gate of Slander and Deception.' It has three levels, involving both violating and not violating singly or in pairs. Only those with the clear eye of Dharma, upon hearing it, immediately know where it lands.
"Fengxue said: 'Always remember, in the third month of Jiangnan, where the partridge cries amid the flowers and all the fragrances of blossoms.' (The word 'fragrance' could also be 'fresh'; both are acceptable.) This is one of the three gates.
"While Foguo served as the head monk at Wuzu's monastery, a monk asked for instruction on the *karma* of Fengxue's saying: 'Speech and silence both touch the *Li* and *Wei*. How to pass through without violating?' By chance, Fujian arrived. Foguo said: 'Brother Qin, please compose a verse to give him.' Fujian immediately recited:
> "Within the colored clouds, an immortal appears, > Hiding his face with a red silk fan. > Quickly, with your eyes, look at the immortal, > Do not look at the fan in the immortal's hand."
"Foguo was deeply pleased.
"Xuedou said: 'What then of ripping open the guts and cutting out the heart?'
"Wansong said: 'Coarse words and fine words—all return to the ultimate truth.' He also said: 'Using the wind to fan a fire is another matter. The turtle injured and the tortoise spared—there should be a master of this.'
"Xuedou and Fengxue were both civil and martial, generals and ministers—neither could be missing.
"Tiantong commented: 'Naked, round and smooth, truly with no edges or seams.'
"Wansong said: 'Tiantong has seen through it, and it's been shattered into seven pieces and eight parts.' Moreover, he said: 'Fengxue has no edges or seams.' How could this compare to Xuedou's 'no edges or seams'?
"Wansong said: 'When the peony blooms, it's the face of a Bodhisattva. When the palm tree grows, it's the head of a yaksha.'
"Tiantong said: 'Harmonize light, stir up trouble. Tap a bamboo, start a family.' There are no more empty, flattering words; only a three-foot divine sword for repaying kindness."