第十六則馬祖圓相
Case 16: Mazu's Circle
舉馬祖見僧來。便畫一圓相。(便好以脚擦却)云入也打。不入也打。(打云。謹依來命)僧便入。(著甚來由)祖便打。(不曾放過)僧云。和尚打某甲不得。(倚官挾勢)祖靠却柱杖便休。(大似欺軟怕硬)天童拈云。跨門之機。(左着右着。轉開走作)室中之意。(社鼠城狐。占姧把穩)具眼者分明辨取(你恰問着箇瞎漢)。
When a monk came to see Mazu, the master drew a circle on the ground. (Better to have erased it with his foot.) "If you enter, I'll hit you. If you don't enter, I'll also hit you." (Striking, he said: "I respectfully follow your command.") The monk stepped inside the circle. (What's the point of that?) Mazu immediately struck him. (Never one to let an opportunity pass.) The monk said, "Master, you cannot hit me." (Relying on authority and power.) Mazu leaned against his staff and stopped. (Much like bullying the weak and fearing the strong.)
Tiantong commented: "The opportunity at the threshold." (Move left or right—once you turn, you lose it.) "The meaning inside the chamber." (Temple rats and city foxes—they know how to seize advantage and stay secure.) "Let those with clear eyes discern it." (You've just questioned a blind man.)
師云。六祖謂讓和尚曰。汝向後出一馬駒。踏殺天下人去在。清源謂石頭曰。眾角雖多。一麟足矣。雪竇道。十影神駒立海涯。五色祥麟步天岸。江西主馬祖神駒。湖南主石頭祥麟。歧分五派。於今洋洋。馬祖一日見僧來。便畫一圓相。溈仰下或畫圓相。以境智接人。馬祖借來作耀眼鏡。大岳雪竇同到五祖戒處。大岳獨見戒。岳便畫一圓相。戒云。是甚麼。岳云胡餅。戒云。趁爐竈熱。更搭一箇。岳擬議。戒以杖打出三門。岳謂雪竇曰。這沒人情漢。休去見好。且道與溈山境智。是同是別。馬祖見這僧來。便畫圓相云。入也打。不入也打。雙下兩關。使伊進退無門。這僧見義勇為。當仁不讓。蹈湯赴火。慣戰作家。祖便打。當時若是萬松。接住拄杖。猛與一推。看他馬祖有何方便。却喫棒了。供欵道。和尚打某甲不得。賴有此耳。馬祖秉殺活機。靠却拄杖便休。急流勇退。興盡而歸。雪竇拈云。二俱不了。和尚打某甲不得。靠却拄杖。擬議不來。劈脊便棒。佛果道。祇為靠却拄杖休去。惹得雪竇許多葛藤。萬松道。馬祖有當斷不斷不招其亂底劍。放過更好。天童道跨門之機。室中之意。且道那箇是跨門之機。外道手握活兒問佛。手中兒為死為活。世尊以足跨門限云。你道我欲入欲出。又有一外道插一莖草於地上云。此是世界中心。世尊乃移草插於傍云。此是世界中心。馬祖道入也打。不入也打。此語占田地寬。及至見僧入圓相中作主。靠却拄杖便休。犬銜赦書。諸侯避路。雪竇道。二俱不了。祇見跨門之機。不見室中之意。是以天童道。具眼底辨取。還見麼。糞掃堆中清淨土。干戈叢裏太平基。
The Master said: The Sixth Patriarch told Master Rang, "In the future, a colt will emerge from you, trampling all the world's people underfoot." Qingyuan told Shitou, "Though there may be many horns, one unicorn is enough." Xuedou said, "A spirit colt with ten shadows stands by the ocean's edge; a five-colored auspicious unicorn walks along heaven's shore." In Jiangxi, Mazu was the spirit colt; in Hunan, Shitou was the auspicious unicorn. Their teachings split into five schools, flourishing to this day.
One day, Mazu saw a monk approaching and drew a circle in the air. Under the Guishan and Yangshan schools, they would also draw circles, using the principle of object and wisdom to guide students. Mazu borrowed this method as a dazzling mirror. Dayue and Xuedou once visited Five Patriarchs Jie. Dayue went alone to see Jie and drew a circle. Jie asked, "What is it?" Dayue replied, "A flatbread." Jie said, "Since the oven is hot, bake another one." Dayue hesitated, and Jie struck him with his staff and drove him out the gate. Dayue said to Xuedou, "This heartless fellow—no need to see him again." But tell me, is this the same as the "object and wisdom" of Guishan, or different?
When Mazu saw that monk coming, he drew a circle and said, "If you enter, I'll hit you. If you don't enter, I'll hit you." He set both barriers, leaving no way in or out. This monk, seeing righteousness, acted bravely. Not yielding to anyone, he walked through fire and boiling water—a seasoned warrior. Mazu struck him. If it had been me, Wansong, I would have grabbed his staff and given him a strong shove, to see what Mazu could do. But instead, he took the beating and then confessed, "Master, you cannot strike me!" That much he had. Mazu, wielding the power over life and death, simply leaned on his staff and stopped. He retreated swiftly, leaving when the inspiration was spent.
Xuedou commented: "Both failed him. 'Master, you cannot strike me'—then leaning his staff and stopping." If he hesitated, he would be beaten on the back. Foguo said, "It was only because he stopped and leaned his staff that Xuedou got all tangled up in this." Wansong says, "Mazu had a sword that could cut, yet he didn't cut when he should have, avoiding chaos. It was better to let go."
Tiantong said, "The intention at the threshold and the meaning within the room. Tell me, which is the intention at the threshold?" An outsider once held a living chick in his hand and asked the Buddha, "Is the chick in my hand alive or dead?" The World-Honored One put one foot over the threshold and said, "Tell me, do I want to enter or leave?" Another outsider stuck a blade of grass in the ground and said, "This is the center of the world." The World-Honored One moved the grass to the side and said, "This is the center of the world." Mazu said, "If you enter, I hit you. If you don't enter, I hit you." These words claimed a vast territory. But when the monk took charge within the circle, Mazu simply leaned on his staff and stopped. A dog carrying a pardon letter—the feudal lords step aside.
Xuedou said, "Both failed him." He only saw the intention at the threshold, not the meaning within the room. Therefore, Tiantong said, "One with clear eyes should discern. Do you see it? In a pile of rubbish, clean land; amidst a forest of weapons, the foundation of peace."