---
title: "雲溪俍亭挺禪師語錄 · 示眾"
description: "雲溪俍亭挺禪師語錄是清代臨濟宗高僧淨挺禪師的語錄彙編由弟子智淙等人編纂成書。該書誕生於清初佛教復興背景下記錄了淨挺禪師的開示法語機鋒對答及偈頌等內容充分展現其禪學思想與實踐方法。作為臨濟宗的重要文獻此語錄不僅傳承了禪宗心法也反映了清初禪林的風貌對研究清代佛教史和禪宗思想具有重要價值是了解當時禪師修行與教化的一手資料。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cmgn0ayge1814l404guq8h10p"
---

## 雲溪俍亭挺禪師語錄卷之三

> Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Yunxi Liangting Ting, Volume 3

侍者智樞、智信編

> Compiled by Attendants Zhishu and Zhixin

示眾。「溪山雲月處處同風，水鳥樹林時時顯道。古人不謾語。一大藏教是謾語，千七百則公案是謾語，天下老和尚舌頭是謾語。為甚道古人不謾語？須知古人話頭總只應個時節有問有荅，蓋是尋常一切處成現，轉轆轆地不費纖毫氣力，自成文彩、自有眼目，不是尋常湊泊得的。祗如芙蓉楷與投子青遊園次，青以拄杖付楷曰：『理合與麼。』楷曰：『與和尚提鞋挈杖不為分外。』青曰：『有同行在。』楷曰：『那一個不受教？』青遂休去。至晚，青謂曰：『早來說話未盡。』楷曰：『更請舉看。』青曰：『卯生日，戌生月。』楷即點燈來。青曰：『上來下去總不空然。』楷曰：『在左右理合如是。』青曰：『奴兒婢子誰家屋裏無？』楷曰：『和尚尊年，缺他不可。』青日：『與麼殷勤。』楷曰：『報恩有分。』看他兩人絲來線去，全表尊貴一門，問在荅處、荅在問邊，總不傷鋒犯手，這便是個回互正偏的樣子。若是臨濟門頭，一言半句火急殺人，然亦有閑閑說來自饒旨趣的。禾山普問黃龍南：『倒卻門前剎竿著，意旨何如？』龍曰：『上人出蜀曾到玉泉否？』普曰：『曾到。』龍曰：『曾挂搭否？』普曰：『一夕便發。』龍曰：『智者道場，關將軍打供，與結緣幾時何妨？』普嘿然良久，理前問，龍遂俛首。南公幾句話頭，一片肝腸和盤托出，將他飲光尊者些兒活計盡情漏洩了也。可惜許禾山這漢太煞鈍置。臨濟下主賓互換各逞宗猷，丹霞、龐老作俑在前，舉師叔到瑯琊描摸欲盡，我如今再舉一節樣子。法昌遇與英邵武別，謂曰：『三年聚首，無事不知，檢點將來，不無滲漏。』以拄杖劃一劃，云：『這個且置，宗門事作麼生？』英曰：『須彌安鼻孔。』遇曰：『臨崖看滸眼，特地一場愁。』英曰：『深沙努眼睛。』遇曰：『爭奈聖凡無異路，方便有多門。』英曰：『鐵蛇鑽不入。』遇曰：『有甚共語處？』英曰：『自緣根力淺，莫怨太陽春。』卻劃一劃，云：『宗門且置，這個事作麼生？』遇擬掌，英約住曰：『這漳子莫無去就，然也是我致得。』他兩人弄一毬子，你抑我揚、你坐我立，何等自由自在分？風穴見鏡清、慈明見楊大年，總只一鼻孔出氣，發明賓主宗風。古人云：『一喝分賓主，照用一時行。主且不是賓，照且不是用。』既然主不是賓、照不是用，為甚一喝中卻總具得？一不成、二不就，收得儱、放得開，說分也得、說合也得。又云：『賓則始終賓，主則始終主。』既然主還是主、賓還是賓，為甚卻許互換？闍黎與老僧亦能迷卻天下人、亦能悟卻天下人，這些所在須要一一分明，不可囫圇吞個棗子。賓看主、主看賓，是臨濟一期說話；賓中主、主中賓，是臨濟當日法門，不可扯做一例。猶之妙德尊寰宇五則語，是曹山一時問荅，不似白衣須拜相五偈與五位功勳相配也。去聖時遙，承虛接響，總只一味糊塗，參學人大須仔細。」

> The master addressed the assembly. "Mountains, streams, clouds, and moonlight—everywhere the same wind blows. Waterfowl and forest trees—every moment reveal the Way. The ancients did not speak idly. The entire Buddhist canon is idle talk. The seventeen hundred koans are idle talk. The tongues of all the old masters under heaven are idle talk. Why then do we say the ancients did not speak idly? Understand this: the words of the ancients always responded to the occasion—there were questions and answers. It was simply that in every ordinary place, everything was fully manifest, turning smoothly without the slightest exertion of effort. They formed their own patterns, possessed their own eyes—not something ordinary people could patch together. Take, for example, when Furong Kai was walking in the garden with Touzi Qing. Qing handed his staff to Kai and said, 'In principle, it should be like this.' Kai said, 'Carrying your shoes and staff for you would not be overstepping.' Qing said, 'There are fellow travelers present.' Kai said, 'Which one of them is not receiving instruction?' Qing then let the matter drop. That evening, Qing said to him, 'Our conversation this morning was not fully expressed.' Kai said, 'Please continue.' Qing said, 'Born in the hour of the rabbit, born in the month of the dog.' Kai immediately brought a lamp. Qing said, 'Coming up and going down—nothing is in vain.' Kai said, 'Being at your side, in principle it should be so.' Qing said, 'Servant boys and maids—whose household is without them?' Kai said, 'You, venerable elder, cannot do without them.' Qing said, 'Such attentiveness.' Kai said, 'I have a share in repaying your kindness.' Look at these two—thread coming, line going—fully expressing the gate of nobility. The question lies in the answer; the answer lies beside the question. Neither ever clashes or forces the issue. This is the pattern of mutual interpenetration of the upright and the biased. If it were at the gate of Linji, a single word or half a phrase would kill with urgent ferocity. Yet there are also those who speak leisurely, rich with meaning. Heshan Pu asked Huanglong Nan: 'What is the meaning of "Topple the flagpole in front of the gate"?' Nan said: 'Venerable one, when you left Shu, did you reach Yuquan?' Pu said: 'I did.' Nan said: 'Did you stay there?' Pu said: 'I left after one night.' Nan said: 'The site of the Wise One's practice. General Guan made offerings and formed connections—what harm in staying a while?' Pu was silent for a long time, then returned to his former question. Nan then bowed his head. Master Nan's few words—his whole heart and liver laid out completely—utterly revealed the little bit of living skill of the Venerable Mahakasyapa. What a pity! This fellow Heshan was far too dull and clumsy. In the Linji line, host and guest exchange roles, each displaying their ancestral prowess. Danxia and Layman Pang led the way earlier. My teacher-uncle, when he visited Langya, described it almost completely. I will now present another example. Fachang Yu, parting from Ying Shaowu, said: 'Three years gathered together, nothing unknown. Examining it now, there is no lack of leaks.' He drew a line with his staff and said: 'This we set aside for now. What about the matter of the school?' Ying said: 'Mount Sumeru fits in a nostril.' Yu said: 'At the cliff's edge, watching the swirling water—specially, a wave of sorrow.' Ying said: 'The deep sands strain their eyes.' Yu said: 'But how? Sage and ordinary share no different path; expedient means have many gates.' Ying said: 'An iron snake cannot bore through.' Yu said: 'What is there to talk about?' Ying said: 'It is only because my roots and strength are shallow—do not blame the spring sun.' Then he drew a line and said: 'The school we set aside. What about this matter?' Yu made as if to slap him. Ying stopped him and said: 'This bumpkin has no sense of propriety, yet it is also because of me.' These two played with a single ball—you press, I lift; you sit, I stand. How free and unhindered! Fengxue meeting Jingqing, Ciming meeting Yang Dayan—all breathed through the same nostrils, elucidating the host-guest ancestral style. The ancients said: 'One shout distinguishes host and guest; illumination and function are simultaneously enacted. Host is precisely not guest; illumination is precisely not function.' Since host is not guest and illumination is not function, why then does the one shout contain them all? One does not become, two do not achieve—capable of gathering, capable of releasing. Speaking of distinction is acceptable; speaking of union is acceptable. They also said: 'Guest is guest from start to finish; host is host from start to finish.' Since host remains host and guest remains guest, why then is exchange permitted? The preceptor and this old monk can also confuse the people of the world, and can also enlighten the people of the world. In these places, you must be clear in every detail—do not swallow a date whole. Guest looking at host, host looking at guest—this is Linji's teaching for a time. Guest within host, host within guest—this is Linji's Dharma gate of the day. They must not be lumped together as one example. It is like Miaode's five phrases on honoring the universe—these were Caoshan's questions and answers for a time, unlike the five verses on 'A commoner must bow to the minister,' which correspond to the five ranks and their merits. The time of the sages is far removed. Inheriting emptiness, catching echoes—it's all just a single flavor of muddle. Those who study must be exceedingly careful."

示眾。「古人道：『只愁不作佛，不愁佛不解語。真要在此道中覓個去就，把生死二字貼在額頭，莫虛度了日子。』古人一言半句不為虛設，你只把他古人言句仔細挨求，挨來挨去，挨到沒把捉處、沒尋求處，切切不可放鬆了。正當十分去不得的時候，理絕情枯，冷灰裏爆出一粒荳來，不覺通身慶快，那時憑你有語也得、無語也得，尋常吐露一絲毫，自爾蓋天蓋地。如今人口裏轉轆轆，只管向本子上記來、意根上卜取，且喜沒交涉。還有一般孟八郎漢，不管三七廿一，硬差排、強作主，說道我能轉物，越發沒交涉。尋常見你諸人念詩章、求解會，咬文嚼字、胡說三千，若到雲溪門下，一些也用不著。不是教你空心高腹，不看教、不讀書，大踏步向前，逢人稱善知識。看他古人周金剛、言法華、青華嚴何等樣人，未免研窮教典；又曹山、夾山鏡清、風穴、雪竇、皎然，文彩詩歌班班可見。古人道：『既得本，莫愁末。』雲居老祖道：『入此門中，不是等閒。』當時二祖博通三藏、歷覽詩書，終不自家取則，端向達磨老臊胡覓取心安，是個什麼道理？又云：『縱然講得天花落、石點頭，尚不關自己事，擬將有限身心向無限中用，有什麼相干？』又云：『學處不玄，盡是流俗，閨閣中物捨不得，皆為滲漏，差之毫釐，過犯山嶽，一毫髮去不盡，即被塵累，豈況更多？直是琉璃殿上行，撲倒也須粉碎。』恁般說話，真切為人，可是你之乎者也，胡說三千，讀等韻，念詩章，了得生死的麼？三藏十二分教諸子百家，若會得時，都來是個祖師註腳，七縱八橫，拈起即得；若不會時，只這秦時𨍏轢鑽，咬嚼不破。你試將平日讀的、看的、記的、誦的，湊泊湊泊看，管取一些也用不著，生時用不著，死時也用不著，聰明一世，懵懂一時。臘月三十日到來，這些讀的、看的、記的、誦的，可將得去麼？趁色力強健，豎起脊梁，畢竟討個下落，果然到得不疑之地，打開自己寶藏，傾出一栲栳來，粗言及細語，莫非真實義。且道如何是真實義聻？啊󳑩！啊󳑩！忘記了也。」

> Addressing the assembly. "The ancients said: 'Worry only about not becoming a Buddha, not about the Buddha not understanding words. If you truly seek to find your way in this path, stick the two words "life and death" to your forehead, and do not waste your days in vain.' The ancients' words, even half a sentence, were not spoken idly. You must carefully examine the words of the ancients, turning them over and over, until you reach a point where there is nothing to grasp, nothing to seek. At that moment, do not let go. Just when it feels utterly impossible, when reasoning is exhausted and emotions are withered, a single bean bursts forth from cold ashes, and suddenly your whole being rejoices. At that time, whether you have words or not, whether you express the slightest bit, it naturally covers heaven and earth. Nowadays, people chatter endlessly, merely copying from books and speculating with their intellect—this has nothing to do with it. There are also reckless types who, regardless of the situation, forcefully assert themselves, claiming, 'I can transform things.' This is even further from the truth. I often see you all reciting verses, seeking understanding, chewing on words, and spouting nonsense. If you come to Yunxi's gate, none of that is of any use. I am not telling you to empty your minds, ignore teachings, and not read books, then stride forward and call yourselves wise teachers. Look at the ancients like Zhou Jingang, Yan Fahua, and Qing Huayan—what kind of people were they? They still studied the scriptures thoroughly. And then there were Caoshan, Jiashan, Jingqing, Fengxue, Xue Dou, and Jiao Ran—their literary brilliance and poetry are evident for all to see. The ancients said: 'Once you attain the root, do not worry about the branches.' Yunju the Elder said: 'Entering this gate is no ordinary matter.' At the time, the Second Patriarch was well-versed in the Tripitaka and had studied poetry and books extensively, yet he did not rely on his own understanding. Instead, he sought peace of mind from Bodhidharma, the old bearded barbarian. What is the principle here? It is also said: 'Even if you speak until flowers fall from the sky and stones nod in agreement, it still has nothing to do with yourself. Trying to use your limited body and mind for limitless purposes—what does that accomplish?' It is further said: 'If your learning is not profound, it is merely worldly. If you cannot let go of the things of the inner chamber, it is all leakage. A hair's breadth of error becomes a mountain of fault. If even a single hair remains, you are burdened by dust—how much more so if there are many? It is like walking on a glass hall—if you fall, you will shatter to pieces.' Such words are spoken sincerely for your sake. Can your idle chatter, your nonsense, your recitation of rhymes and verses, truly resolve life and death? The Tripitaka, the twelve divisions of scriptures, and the teachings of the hundred schools—if you understand them, they all become footnotes to the Patriarchs' teachings, free and unrestrained, ready to be taken up at will. But if you do not understand, they are like the wheel of the Qin dynasty—hard to chew and impossible to break through. Try to piece together what you usually read, see, remember, and recite. I assure you, none of it will be of any use. It is useless in life and useless in death. You may be clever all your life, but confused in a single moment. When the thirtieth day of the twelfth month arrives, can you take what you have read, seen, remembered, and recited with you? While your strength and vitality are still strong, straighten your spine and seek a true resolution. If you truly reach the land of no doubt, open your own treasure trove and pour out a basketful. Whether coarse words or fine speech, all are the true meaning. Now, tell me, what is the true meaning? Ah! Ah! I've forgotten."

示眾。「古人為一大事因緣出見于世，抑不得已立個話頭，千七百則公案一了都了。達磨西來，直指人心，開口見喉嚨，本無秘藏、本無蓋覆。青原、南嶽雖則別露爪牙，自唐以前規模整肅，宋人務為詭異，奇言妙句簇錦簇花，或耑用方語流行、或并作詩詞傳布，鬥湊更番換人耳目，波羅揭諦究竟不離他元字法門，周、吳、鄭、王未免又添些後來註腳。若也豁開正眼、驀地掀翻，都來是個甚麼道理？庭前柏樹子、青州布衫、鎮州蘿蔔、麻三斤、乾矢橛，你諸人終日商量、終日擬議，盡四天下走將一遍來，如今曾得個透脫也未？如已透脫，且莫草草承當，須將他千七百則差別法門一一透將過來，不得一味依通解會；如未透脫，直教豎起背脊、咬定話頭，畢竟要尋他古人落處，不得道這是無意味語、沒可尋思，一向丟在無事甲裏。他古人一句話頭斷人命根，你如今草草放過，自瞞瞞人，辜負他祖師不少。且要問你：抱本修行，三藏十二部教理宛然，豈不現成？為甚麼要參一句話頭來作祖師門下客？如今人稱禪客，擬問擬荅、論古論今，祗辦個架格遮攔，說明得祖師門下事，卻不知祖師門下為明何事？毫釐有差，天地懸隔，正當不思議時，一句話頭蓋覆將來，不受他瞞，惺惺歷歷，這便是當人親切受用處。稱此以往，眼不被色瞞，耳不被聲瞞，鼻不被香瞞，舌不被味瞞，身不被觸瞞，意不被法瞞，八萬四千毛孔不被八萬四千塵勞煩惱所瞞，灑灑落落，豈不是個了事漢子？古人于一言半句下了卻生平，一了則千了百了一齊都了，有如許奇特，有如許證據，實實于腳跟下得個了當，不是說了便休的。若是說在一邊，行在一邊，又成得個什麼？有一般伶俐學人，拈也拈得，頌也頌得，問他話他也荅得，只是未在。我如今要覓個不會佛法的，你只百不知百不會，尋常日用中剎那剎那念念與本分相應，莫教走作現前，無法可得，無佛可成。古人道：『他本分事尚不取，何況其他？』那時莫管他有佛法沒佛法，千七百則公案舉起便會，也不用奇言妙句，也不用簇錦簇花，只老實頭一句語言顛撲不破。似這般樣的人，便許他擔當佛法也，放行把住著著歸宗，棒喝語言頭頭見的。古人以悟為則，語言棒喝是悟後的三昧，不是將語言棒喝當得悟的。但目前都莫擬議，都莫尋思，一切處一切時動你不得，轉身吐氣，不假安排，始是現前親切句子。一句語下要透生死，不是等閒，祖師西來不是兒戲。」

> Addressing the assembly. "The ancient masters appeared in this world for the sake of one great matter, and out of necessity, they established these koans. The seventeen hundred public cases are all resolved when one is resolved. When Bodhidharma came from the West, he directly pointed to the mind—opening the mouth reveals the throat. There was originally no secret treasury, originally nothing concealed. Although Qingyuan and Nanyue revealed their claws and fangs in different ways, before the Tang dynasty, the style was orderly and solemn. The Song dynasty masters pursued the strange and wondrous, piling up clever phrases and beautiful words like brocade and flowers. Some deliberately used local dialects to spread their teachings, others composed poems and verses to disseminate them, competing to catch people's attention with ever-changing methods. Yet the \*prajñāpāramitā\*—the perfection of wisdom—never strayed from the original Dharma gate. Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang—these later commentators inevitably added their own footnotes. But if you open your true eye and suddenly overturn it all, what principle remains? The cypress tree in the courtyard, the Qingzhou robe, the Zhenzhou radish, three pounds of flax, a dried dung stick—you people discuss and deliberate on these all day long. Even if you travel across the four directions of the world, have you truly broken through yet? If you have broken through, don't accept it carelessly. You must penetrate each of the seventeen hundred distinct Dharma gates one by one, not just rely on intellectual understanding. If you haven't broken through, then straighten your backbone, bite firmly on the koan, and ultimately seek the place where the ancients landed. Don't say these are meaningless phrases with nothing to ponder, casually tossing them into the bag of 'nothing to do.' A single phrase from the ancients can cut off the root of life. If you let it slip by carelessly now, deceiving yourself and others, you betray the ancestral masters greatly. I ask you: If you cling to the scriptures and practice accordingly, the teachings of the Three Baskets and twelve divisions of scriptures are perfectly clear—isn't that readily available? Then why must you investigate a single koan to become a guest in the ancestral masters' gate? People nowadays call themselves 'Chan practitioners,' posing questions and answers, discussing the ancient and the modern, merely putting up a facade to block others. They can talk about matters within the ancestral gate, but do they know what the ancestral gate aims to clarify? A hair's breadth of deviation creates a gap as vast as heaven and earth. Right at the inconceivable moment, a single koan covers everything. Not being deceived by it, clear and awake—this is the practitioner's intimate place of benefit. Proceeding from this, the eye is not deceived by form, the ear not deceived by sound, the nose not deceived by scent, the tongue not deceived by taste, the body not deceived by touch, the mind not deceived by phenomena. The eighty-four thousand pores are not deceived by the eighty-four thousand dusts and afflictions. Free and unhindered—isn't this someone who has finished the great matter? The ancients settled their entire life's work with half a phrase. When one is resolved, a thousand are resolved, a hundred are resolved—all resolved together. So extraordinary, so much evidence! Truly attaining resolution right under their feet—not just talking about it and then stopping. If speaking is one thing and acting another, what does that accomplish? There are some clever students who can pick up koans, compose verses on them, and answer questions about them—but it's not yet genuine. What I seek now is someone who doesn't understand Buddhism. Just be completely unknowing, completely incapable. In everyday activity, moment by moment, thought after thought, correspond with your fundamental nature without letting it slip away. Right before you, no Dharma can be attained, no Buddha can be realized. The ancients said: 'They don't even grasp their own fundamental matter, let alone anything else.' At that point, never mind whether there's Buddhism or not. When any of the seventeen hundred public cases is raised, you'll understand. No need for clever phrases, no need for brocade and flowers—just an honest, solid phrase that cannot be toppled. Someone like this can indeed shoulder the Dharma. Whether giving freedom or applying restraint, every move returns to the source; every blow and shout, every word, is seen clearly. The ancients took awakening as the standard. Words, blows, and shouts are the samadhi after awakening—not something to be mistaken for awakening itself. But for now, don't deliberate, don't speculate. In all places, at all times, nothing can move you. Turning the body, exhaling breath—without any contrivance—only then is it the intimate phrase right before you. A single phrase must penetrate life and death—this is no trivial matter. The ancestral master's coming from the West was no child's play."

示眾。「古人道：『只貴子見處，不重子行履。』他承當處十分穩密，見得徹、守得定，大段放心，不怕甕中走卻鱉，非謂置行履于分外也。古人四十年打成一片，立枯木堂長坐不臥，除二時粥飯外無雜用心，終身牧一頭水牯牛放亦不去，是行履不是行履？隨緣放曠，任運逍遙，披毛戴角，是類墮；解向異類中行，不斷聲色，是隨墮；彼師所墮，汝亦隨墮；不受食，是尊貴墮。他知有尚不取，知那邊了卻來這邊行履，且道是甚麼時節？甚麼受用？曹山孝滿，曹山好顛酒，莫行心處路，不掛本來衣，何須正恁麼？切忌未生時。是一串語，無功之功，功就之功，洞山土地三十年不見洞山；雲居歸菴寂坐，天神遂絕，是行履不是行履？祗為他一輩弄精魂漢，終日呆樁樁地守個死屍，不知向上為何等事？又三家村裏末學比丘執著小法，嘗為淨名所訶，故曰：『只貴子見處，不重子行履。』非可流連放逸，縱恣猖狂，藉口老莊，托情嵇阮，忽繩檢為不足拘，置儀律為無可語，天魔外道是處成形，狐狼野干磕頭撞額，奈何奈何！理須頓悟，乘悟併銷，事非頓除，因次第盡。有修有證，古自不誣。佛滅二千年，比丘少慚愧，見解人多，行解人少。如今真實具正知正見的尚不多得，何況他行解人？古人炊折腳鐺，牛糞裏煨芋，使者先行後坐脫，天子詔之尚不起，況肯向十字街頭架大屋養閒漢耶？有因緣沒因緣，有福報沒福報，總不干他佛法事。豎起個硬脊梁，以佛法為己任，傳古人未及傳之心，開當世不敢開之口，一言半句流播將來，使萬古千秋知有今日，也不愧大丈夫漢出世一番。塵中能作主，化外自來賓，百草頭認他祖師，鬧市裏識取帝主，這裏還有行履處也無？不落因果，前百丈也明不得大修行人；不昧因果，後百丈也明不得大修行人。大修行人又且如何？問取拄杖子。」

> The master addressed the assembly: "The ancients said, 'What matters is your insight, not your conduct.' When one's realization is firm and thorough, when one sees clearly and holds steady, the mind is profoundly at ease. It's not that conduct is disregarded—it's that when insight is genuine, conduct naturally aligns. The ancients spent forty years unifying their practice, sitting like withered trees in the hall, never lying down, eating only two meals a day, with no scattered thoughts. They tended a water buffalo all their lives, and even when released, it wouldn't stray. Is this conduct or not? To roam freely according to conditions, to wander at ease following circumstances, to wear fur and horns—this is the 'fall into categories.' To move among different kinds without cutting off sights and sounds—this is the 'fall of following.' Where that teacher falls, you too fall. To refuse food—this is the 'fall of nobility.' Even knowing something exists, they do not grasp it. Having understood that side, they come to practice on this side. Tell me, what season is this? What enjoyment is this? When Caoshan completed his mourning period, Caoshan loved his strong wine. Don't walk the path of the mind, don't hang the robe of original nature—why must it be exactly so? Above all, avoid the time before birth. These are a string of words—the merit of no-merit, the merit of accomplished merit. The local deity of Dongshan didn't see Dongshan for thirty years; Yunju returned to his hut in silent sitting, and the heavenly spirits ceased to appear. Is this conduct or not? It's just that those who play with spirits and souls all day, dully guarding a corpse, don't know what lies beyond. And then there are village monks of superficial learning, clinging to petty methods, often criticized by Vimalakirti. That's why it's said, 'What matters is your insight, not your conduct.' But this doesn't mean one can indulge in laziness and wildness, using Laozi and Zhuangzi as excuses, imitating Ji Kang and Ruan Ji's sentiments, dismissing rules as unnecessary, treating precepts as irrelevant. Demons and heretics take form everywhere; foxes, wolves, and wild dogs bump their heads in confusion. What can be done? Principle must be suddenly realized; with realization, it dissolves. Affairs are not suddenly eliminated; they are gradually exhausted through stages. Practice and verification—the ancients did not deceive. Two thousand years after the Buddha, few monks feel shame. Many have views, few have practice-realization. Nowadays, those with true right knowledge and right view are already rare—how much more those with practice-realization? The ancients cooked on a broken-legged pot, roasted taros in cow dung. The envoy went ahead and later passed away sitting; when the emperor summoned him, he still wouldn't rise—how much less would they build big houses at the crossroads to feed idle people? Having conditions or not, having blessings or not—none of this has anything to do with the Buddha's teaching. Straighten a hard backbone, take the Dharma as your own responsibility, transmit the heart the ancients didn't fully transmit, open the mouth the present age dares not open. Let a phrase or half a phrase spread into the future, so that for ten thousand ages they'll know there was today. Then you won't disgrace having been born a great man. If you can be master in the dust, guests will come from beyond transformation. Recognize your ancestors atop the tips of a hundred grasses; discern the emperor in the bustling market. Is there still a place for conduct here? 'Not falling into cause and effect'—the former Baizhang couldn't clarify it for the great practitioner. 'Not obscuring cause and effect'—the latter Baizhang couldn't clarify it for the great practitioner. What about the great practitioner? Ask the staff."

示眾。「有一種人活了死不得，有一種人死了活不得。雲溪這裏有一丸藥，也能殺人也能活人，只要辦個引子。且道以何為引子？方丈後與汝說明。」

> The master addressed the assembly. "There are those who live but cannot die, and those who die but cannot live. Here at Yunxi, I have a single pill of medicine—it can kill a person, and it can bring a person to life. But it needs a catalyst. Tell me, what should that catalyst be? I will explain it to you later in the abbot's quarters."

示眾。「無事生事，好休不休，看看捱到末梢頭，筆管裏煨鰍。」乃拍掌頓足一下，云：「呸！著甚來由？」

> Addressing the assembly: "Creating trouble where there is none, refusing to rest when rest is due—watch as they drag themselves to the bitter end, like an eel roasting inside a bamboo tube." Then, clapping his hands and stamping his foot once, he said: "Bah! What's the point of all this?"

示眾。「豹不含則不能變，雞不伏則不能鳴，蟬不啞則不能蛻。向三條椽下、七尺單前大死一回，出來與老僧相見。」

> Addressing the assembly: "A leopard must not swallow to transform, a hen must not brood to crow, a cicada must not be silent to shed its shell. Go beneath the three rafters, before the seven-foot mat, die completely once, then come out and meet this old monk."

示眾。「辨驗綱宗，在於今日尤為喫緊。沒頭腦漢，好歹胡喝亂喝，喚作賓主往來。及乎問他從上家風，此中黑漫漫地。我洞宗語忌十成，機貴回互，須知是個甚麼意思？不是叫你記些白雪烏雞，逢人便念的。如今人問他何者是位？何者是功？未免目瞪口呆。似這般辯魔揀異，也太遠在。」

> The master addressed the assembly: "Discerning the essential principles is especially urgent today. Those who lack understanding just shout and yell haphazardly, calling it the interaction between host and guest. But when asked about the ancestral tradition, they are utterly in the dark. Our Caodong school avoids explicit statements and values subtle, indirect responses. Do you understand what this means? It’s not about memorizing phrases like 'white snow' or 'black chicken' and reciting them to everyone. Nowadays, when people are asked what is 'position' and what is 'function,' they are left speechless. To engage in such shallow discrimination and distinction is to stray far from the truth."

巡香示眾。「前世不修，做了一個趕腳兒的夫頭，跟了一隊瞎驢瞎馬，兜得一主生意，往北京去走一遭。緊趕緊走，漫趕漫走，整整的芒了許多日子，想將起來好不干係。就中倘有一兩頭不受羈絆的，一鞭子打去，猛可的掙斷韁繩，一溜風走了，連他老人家厝手不及，倒也無可奈何。如今將次到騾子巷口了，且喜平安無事。」

示眾。「連日來見你諸人，也有自騎馬自喝節洋洋得意的，也有空撈撈坐在死水裏的，也有咬牙切齒恨剝剝的，也有苦苦惱惱趕不上的，還有話頭拿不定的，還有四大調不來的，可憐可憐。參禪學道須要識些愧恥，趁期場趕熱鬧，惶恐殺入，這裏甚麼所在？不是你合頭一句大話、瞌睡當得死的，平日語錄上偷得一句半句、教典上看得一行兩行，和會和會、差排差排，說前日某和尚指點的、某道友商量的，硬了面皮走向人前便要喫放參飯，卻早一顆米糝見裏，你力量果然不佳，怪你不得，恨剝剝地怨著誰來？古人大慈大悲，開方便門施作佛事，一言之下、一日之間頓超直入，不是你懵懂癡呆成辨得的、不是你伶俐聰明做造得的，百不知、百不會，大死一回翻身轉來多少慶快，可容你聰明得麼？可容你懵懂得麼？懵懂的且過一邊，聰明的人來來，我有一句要問你個落處。」

> Addressing the assembly. "Over the past few days, I have observed all of you. Some ride their own horses, beating their own drums, full of self-satisfaction. Others sit idly in stagnant water, empty and adrift. Some gnash their teeth in bitter frustration. Some are tormented, struggling to keep up. There are those whose focus wavers, whose thoughts remain unsettled. And there are those whose four elements are out of harmony. Pitiful, truly pitiful. To engage in meditation and study the Way, one must first know a sense of shame. Rushing to join the crowd, chasing after the commotion, filled with anxiety—what kind of place is this? It is not a stage for you to spout lofty phrases or doze off as if dead. Stealing a line or two from the recorded sayings, glancing at a passage or two from the scriptures, patching things together, arranging them haphazardly—then claiming, 'So-and-so master pointed this out the other day,' or 'Such-and-such fellow practitioner discussed it with me'—with a hardened face, you step before others expecting to partake of the meal offered. Yet you haven't even seen a single grain of rice within. If your strength is truly insufficient, it's not your fault. But who are you to blame with such bitter resentment? The ancients, in their great compassion, opened the gate of skillful means and performed the work of Buddhahood. With a single word, in a single day, one could leap directly into realization. This is not something your muddled confusion can accomplish, nor is it something your clever intelligence can fabricate. Knowing nothing, understanding nothing—only after a great death, turning the body over, can one experience such profound joy and liberation. Can your cleverness allow this? Can your confusion allow this? Let the confused ones step aside for now. You who are clever, come forward. I have one question to ask you—where is your footing?"

示眾。「我當初宗會庵打七，與如如兄在茅棚下兩人對坐，不交一言。及乎入堂去，徹夜不放參，旁僧為我安蒲團、整被褥，我總不知他是短是長、是張是李，至今不辨得是甚麼人。耳畔裏鐘響一聲，偶可的觸著小時節四句說話：『一二三四五，金木水火土，燕子吹笛兒，蝦蟆打杖鼓。』自笑一回而罷。當晚，眾人入室也去隨喜，一班不唧溜漢個個被老人捉倒，我卻為他一十八人每人代一轉語，一眾驚異。次早，老人喚我近前，說：『有一語，這裏人多不便說得，可隨我到招化寺來。』我卻隨入招化寺中，老人云：『道取一句看。』我衝口云：『香爐八隻腳。』老人一場痛罵，罵得我頭也不敢抬，走到家中從新做工夫起，整整被他擔閣了五年，纔承付囑。愚庵老漢恩大難酬，我當時若作罵會，豈有今日？我當時若不作罵會，豈有今日？大眾且道：香爐八隻腳當時過在甚麼處？你諸人試為我代一轉語看。」

> The Master addressed the assembly. "Back when I first joined the meditation retreat at Zonghui Hermitage, I was sitting opposite my dharma brother Ruru in a thatched hut, neither of us uttering a word. Later, when we entered the main hall, the night-long session didn't break for rest. A monk beside me arranged my cushion and straightened my bedding, but I never noticed whether he was tall or short, whether his surname was Zhang or Li—to this day I still don't know who it was. When the bell rang by my ear, it happened to stir up a little verse I'd heard as a child: 'One two three four five, metal wood water fire earth, swallows play the flute, frogs beat the drum.' I chuckled to myself and let it go. That evening, when everyone went into the interview room to observe, a bunch of clumsy fellows each got caught by the old master. But I offered a turning phrase on behalf of all eighteen of them, which astonished the whole assembly. The next morning, the old master called me forward and said, 'There's something I want to say, but it's not convenient with so many people here. Come with me to Zhaohua Temple.' So I followed him into Zhaohua Temple, and the old master said, 'Let's hear you speak a phrase.' Without thinking, I blurted out, 'The incense burner has eight legs.' The old master gave me a thorough scolding—he berated me so fiercely I didn't dare lift my head. I went home and started my practice all over again. For a full five years he held me back before finally entrusting me with the transmission. Old Fool-An's kindness is too great to repay. If I had taken his scolding as just scolding back then, would I be where I am today? If I hadn't taken his scolding as scolding, would I be where I am today? Tell me, assembly: where exactly was the fault in saying 'the incense burner has eight legs'? Now, each of you try offering a turning phrase on my behalf."

示眾。「一句話頭，超生脫死，多生習氣、歷劫無明，當下一刀兩段。第一要疑情切，疑情若切，則散亂不除而自除、昏沉不遣而自遣，眼巴巴地覷看一句話頭，不要放他轉款。平日悠悠忽忽過了日子，走進堂中，畢竟要討一個下落，得也在此一期、失也在此一期，拚性命與他作對。八十公公入場屋，真誠不是小兒戲，這事不當小可。還有已過關的，自恃一知半解、得少為足，于日用應緣往往把捉不定，趁此期場，正好向腳跟下椎劄椎劄。古人道：『一念萬年去、冷湫湫地去、古廟裏香爐去。』尚不許他，何況今日去之轉遠？你纔向十字街頭打個之遶，便不相應也。畢竟受病在什麼處所？豎起脊梁，急自辨取。」

> The master addressed the assembly: "A single phrase of inquiry can liberate you from birth and death. All the habitual tendencies accumulated over countless lifetimes, and the ignorance amassed through endless kalpas—can be severed in an instant. The most essential thing is to have a genuine, pressing doubt. If your doubt is earnest, then distraction will fade away on its own, and dullness will disperse without effort. Fix your gaze intently on that one phrase of inquiry; do not let it slip away. In ordinary days, you may drift along carelessly, letting time pass by. But once you enter this hall, you must seek a true resolution. Success or failure in this matter rests entirely on this very moment. Risk your life to confront it. An elder of eighty entering the examination hall—this is a matter of utmost sincerity, not child's play. This undertaking is no trivial affair. There are also those who have already passed through the barrier, yet rest content with a shallow understanding, considering it sufficient. In daily life and interactions, they often fail to maintain their grasp. This very assembly is the perfect opportunity to probe deeply into the root of their being. The ancients said: 'A single thought extends for ten thousand years—go cold and desolate, go like an incense burner in an ancient temple.' Even this was not deemed enough—how much further are we today? If you merely wander around the crossroads, you will never attain correspondence. So where, after all, lies the ailment? Straighten your spine and urgently discern it for yourself."

示眾。「問一荅十，問十荅百，正是生死岸頭事。為你將識情擬議言語差排，貼肉汗衫正脫不去。在古人轉轆轆地全向不思議流出，不似你倚墻傍壁從他家模子中脫來的。」

> The master addressed the assembly, saying: "Answering ten questions for every one asked, or a hundred for every ten—this is precisely the business of the shore of life and death. It's because you rely on intellectual reasoning, deliberate with your discriminating mind, and arrange your words and phrases that you cannot shed that skin-tight sweat-soaked shirt. The ancients, with their lively, rolling activity, flowed entirely from the inconceivable. They were not like you, leaning against walls and clinging to fences, merely breaking free from the molds of others."

示眾。「獅子吼，野干鳴，總莫趕他行隊。孤迥迥，峭巍巍，一堂冷淡，千古分明，恰自有一種不可磨滅處。你諸人爭勝負，論是失，到處打團團。且問有多少利益？」

示眾。「參禪要離心意識參，不論你初參、久參，古人言句上定有看不破的、日用應緣中定有打不過的，只將這看不破、打不過的一提提起放在面前，不要許他轉款，如雞抱卵、如貓捕鼠，一不做、二不休，畢竟要與他討個倒斷，眼睛裏、耳朵裏、齋堂裏、佛殿裏，行時、住時、坐時、臥時，只有這一件事死也不要放他，正當打併不開的去處，切莫將現成道理來解說、囫圇句子去搪塞。離心意識、絕去來今，將一具不伶不俐的死尸靈好歹交付在這一點兒上，天可憐間㘞地一聲，日子畢竟有個落處，到那時節方信老僧之言為不欺也，千生百劫只在一剎那間。努力，努力。」

示眾。「銅墻鐵壁打不開時，切切不可放鬆了。這裏急著精彩，拚命一回，翻身轉來，多少慶快。」

## 雲溪俍亭挺禪師語錄卷之三終