臘八，上堂。問：「百丈問溈山：『併卻咽喉唇吻作麼生道？』山云：『卻請和尚道。』意旨如何？」師云：「就身打劫。」進云：「百丈道：『不辭向汝道，恐後喪我兒孫。』是何宗旨？」師云：「老婆心切。」進云：「百丈復問五峰，峰云：『和尚也須併卻。』又作麼生？」師云：「截舌了也。」進云：「百丈道：『待無人時，斫額望汝。』且道是肯他？不肯他？」師云：「兩彩一賽。」進云：「百丈復問雲巖，巖云：『和尚有也未？』此理如何？」師打云：「與汝見解相同。」進云：「學人今日請問和尚：併卻咽喉唇吻作麼生道？」師云：「只得忘前失後。」進云：「恁麼則學人不疑天下老和尚舌頭去也。」師喝云：「更參三十年。」進云：「這老漢頂門有眼，瞞他一點不得。」師云：「退身有分。」乃云：「釋迦臘八夜，睹明星悟道。即今夜夜有星，人人皆見，因甚麼不悟？縱然悟得去，也是刺腦入膠盆。東山恁麼舉揚，亦是狐狸戀舊窟。畢竟作麼生？速道！速道！」

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the master ascended the hall. A monk asked, "When Baizhang asked Weishan, 'If you cut off your throat, lips, and mouth, how would you speak?' Weishan replied, 'Please, Master, you tell me.' What is the meaning of this?"

The master said, "It's like robbing someone in broad daylight."

The monk pressed further, "Baizhang then said, 'I wouldn't mind telling you, but I fear it would ruin my descendants.' What is the essence of this?"

The master replied, "A grandmother's excessive affection."

The monk continued, "Baizhang then asked Wufeng, who said, 'Master, you too must cut them off.' What about this?"

The master said, "His tongue is already severed."

The monk asked, "Baizhang said, 'When no one is around, I'll look to you with a furrowed brow.' Tell me, did he approve or disapprove?"

The master replied, "Two sides of the same coin."

The monk pressed on, "Baizhang then asked Yunyan, who said, 'Master, do you have it or not?' What is the meaning here?"

The master struck him and said, "Your understanding is the same as his."

The monk asked, "Today, I ask the master: if you cut off your throat, lips, and mouth, how would you speak?"

The master said, "You'd only end up forgetting the front and losing the back."

The monk said, "If so, then I no longer doubt the tongues of all the old masters in the world."

The master shouted, "Go practice for another thirty years!"

The monk said, "This old man has eyes on his forehead—you can't deceive him in the slightest."

The master said, "You'd better step back."

Then he said, "On the eighth night of the twelfth lunar month, Shakyamuni saw the morning star and attained enlightenment. Tonight, the stars are out, and everyone sees them—why don't they awaken? Even if they were to awaken, it would be like piercing the brain into a basin of glue. Dongshan speaks like this, but it's still a fox clinging to its old den. After all, what is it? Speak quickly! Speak quickly!"

小參。「諸佛說不著處，借口傳言；祖師提不起時，全身擔荷。果能如是，猶是建法幢、立宗旨、施設邊事。且道向上更有事否？若知有去，釋迦、彌勒只可吞聲，文殊、普賢不敢吐氣，德山一棒猶未是恰，臨濟一喝命根不絕，雲門、顧鑒墮坑落塹，仰山、圓相自弄泥團，曹洞五位失錢遭罪，法眼六義翳眼添翳。若具向上事，老僧結舌亡鋒，不堪共語。因為情不獲已，為汝諸人通個消息。」驀拈拄杖，云：「見麼？向這裏見得徹去，有佛處敲枷打鎖，無佛處見兔放鷹，如龍得水、任西任東，似鳥騰空、隨高隨下。若然者，衲僧門下更有事在。且道如何是衲僧門下事？」以拄杖一時趕散。

A small inquiry. "When the Buddhas speak of that which cannot be grasped, they borrow words to convey the meaning; when the Patriarchs lift what cannot be lifted, they shoulder it with their whole being. If one can truly be like this, it is still just setting up the banner of Dharma, establishing the school's tenets—mere expedient means. Tell me, beyond this, is there anything further? If one truly knows, then Śākyamuni and Maitreya can only swallow their words; Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra dare not utter a breath. Děshān's single blow is still not quite right; Línjì's shout does not sever the root of life. Yúnmén's 'checking glance' falls into the pit and stumbles into the trench; Yǎngshān's 'perfect circle' plays with mud by itself. Cáodòng's 'five ranks' loses the coin and incurs blame; Fǎyǎn's 'six meanings' adds a cataract to a blurred eye. If one truly possesses the matter beyond, this old monk would be tongue-tied, his edge lost, unfit to converse. Yet, compelled by circumstance, I shall convey a message for you all."

Suddenly lifting his staff, he said: "Do you see? If you can see clearly here, then where there is Buddha, break the shackles and smash the locks; where there is no Buddha, spot the rabbit and release the hawk. Like a dragon entering water, free to go east or west; like a bird soaring in the sky, rising high or descending low. If so, within the gate of the patch-robed monk, there is still further work. Tell me, what is the work within the gate of the patch-robed monk?"

With his staff, he drove them all away at once.

小參。云：「山僧年方十二，離塵十四，撞著本師，領個話頭，朝夕追尋，向老和尚邊覓求決擇。至三年，忽有消息，非從外得。又年餘，實實體會，更無別有。元來，元來！更不多疑，以為主宰。後為時世遷變，行至黔中，入山住靜三年，胸中無事可疑。偶遇余山老漢，將些甜言密語哄我同住，山僧不受處分，被他點著痛處。同住三年，更參觸背話頭，期會須結二三，只是分疏不下，每每受那老漢許多屈折，發起勇猛，將從前所作所為一齊劈碎，四十日未曾眨眼，忽聞霹靂大震，渾然一刀兩斷、身心一如，方悔從前作為盡是客塵邊事，虛勞心力耳。自此打成一片，方覺無一物之語。雖然，未敢放逸，連年以來住幾叢林，不過隨緣度日而已，未曾將心肝肺腑拋向諸人面前。即今眾兄弟多生有幸，於此大鞴池中、紅爐底裏每受鍵鎚，不得妄生退屈，定要勇猛精進，努力一番，徹底推倒，掉轉面皮，看此利害在甚麼處？若能直下承當得、擔荷得、行履得，堪與先哲同一鼻孔。故臨濟有語云：『沿流不止問如何，真照無邊說似他？離相離名人不稟，吹毛用了急須磨。』大眾！且道如何是吹毛用了急須磨處？」師驀拈拄杖，云：「三世諸佛以此接物利生，歷代祖師以此播揚奧旨，衲僧以此敲骨取髓、痛下鍼錐，佛祖窠窟摟碎，凡聖徑路不通。然雖人水救人，只可提持一半，當知衲僧分上更有向上全提在。」良久，云：「咦！」

A brief personal account: "When I was twelve, I left the mundane world; at fourteen, I encountered my root teacher, who gave me a huatou to pursue day and night. I sought guidance and resolution from the old master. After three years, a breakthrough suddenly came—not from outside. Another year or so, and I truly experienced it firsthand, with nothing else beyond. So it was, so it was! No more doubts remained; it became my foundation. Later, due to changing times, I traveled to Qianzhong, entered the mountains, and lived in solitude for three years, with no lingering uncertainties in my heart. By chance, I met Old Man Yushan, who coaxed me with sweet words to live together. I refused to be directed, but he touched my sore spot. Living together for three years, I further contemplated the huatou of contact and separation, expecting to resolve two or three points, yet unable to disentangle them. Time and again, I endured much hardship from that old man, until fierce determination arose, shattering all I had previously done and known. For forty days, I did not blink. Suddenly, I heard a thunderous roar—a clean cut, body and mind as one. Only then did I regret that all my past efforts were mere distractions, a futile waste of energy. From then on, everything fused into a seamless whole, and I realized the truth of 'not a single thing.' Even so, I dared not become complacent. In the years since, dwelling in several monasteries, I've simply lived according to conditions, never laying my heart and innermost being bare before others. Now, you brothers are most fortunate—here in this great forge, within the red-hot furnace, you are tempered under the hammer. Do not retreat or yield in vain. You must be fiercely diligent, exert yourselves fully, overturn everything completely, turn your faces around, and see: where does the crucial point lie? If you can directly accept it, shoulder it, and walk it, then you share the same breath as the sages of old. Thus, Linji said: 'The stream flows on without cease—how to ask of it? True illumination, boundless—how to speak of it? Beyond form, beyond name, none can grasp it. The sharp blade, once used, must quickly be honed.' Assembly! Tell me, what is 'the sharp blade, once used, must quickly be honed'?" The master suddenly raised his staff and said: "The buddhas of the three times use this to connect with beings and benefit them. The ancestral teachers through the ages use this to spread the profound meaning. Monks use this to strike the bone and extract the marrow, applying the needle and awl of pain. The nests and dens of buddhas and patriarchs are smashed; the paths of ordinary and sage are blocked. Yet, though one enters the water to save others, only half can be upheld. Know that on the monk's part, there is still the full, upward lift." After a long pause, he said: "Hah!"

小參。云：「參學人只須空拳赤手，直出直入，毫釐揮盡，一貧徹骨，窮得潔淨，方稱行腳。若是擔囊負缽，粘皮帶骨，滿肚骯髒，胸藏一物，纏山繞水，迤邐行腳，有甚了期？曾不聞香嚴在百丈時，一問十答，十問百答。後百丈遷化，方謁溈山，山問云：『久聞師弟在百丈先師處一問十答，十問百答，是否？』嚴云：『不敢。』山云：『吾有一問。』嚴云：『便請。』山云：『父母未生已前一句作麼生道？』嚴不能對，慚惶歸寮，去古人錄中揀取一句來酬，更無一句相應，遂別溈山。後住山數載，深疑此事，拋石擊竹，了然大悟，遂有偈云：『一擊忘所知，更不假修持，處處無蹤跡，聲色外威儀。動容揚古路，不墮悄然機，諸方達道者，咸言上上機。』後溈山聞，云：『此子徹也。』仰云：『此心意識作成，待慧寂勘過始得。』後仰山至香嚴處，便問：『師弟有悟道偈，是否？』嚴云：『是。』仰云：『試舉看。』嚴復舉前話，山云：『此是心意識作成，若是真悟，必不重舉。』嚴復道一偈：『去年貧，未是貧；今年貧，始是貧。去年還有卓錐地，今年錐也無？』山云：『如來禪許師弟會，祖師禪未夢見在。』嚴復道一偈：『吾有一機，瞬目視伊；若人不會，別喚沙彌。』仰云：『且喜師弟會祖師禪也。』諸仁者！你看古人入道機緣徹骨徹髓，非是將錯就錯，妄定是非。古云：『不得一番寒徹骨，怎得梅花噴鼻香？』然上古聖人如是作，歷代祖師如是行，今日山僧亦如是用，未曾殊異，要在諸人徹底窮來窮去，所謂窮則變，變則通。倘窮到變通處，老僧更要與諸人覓通變在。且道如何是通變處？」良久，云：「看取下文。」

A small teaching session. He said: "A person engaged in practice must come with empty fists and bare hands, entering and exiting directly, having exhausted the slightest trace, utterly impoverished to the bone, having purified themselves completely—only then can they be called a true practitioner. If one carries bags and bowls, clings to skin and bones, is full of filth, harbors something in the chest, and wanders around mountains and waters, meandering along—what end is there to that? Have you not heard of Xiangyan? At Baizhang's place, he could answer ten questions with one answer, a hundred questions with ten answers. Later, after Baizhang passed away, he went to see Guishan. Guishan asked: 'I have long heard that you, my fellow disciple, at our late teacher Baizhang's place, could answer ten questions with one answer, a hundred questions with ten answers—is this so?' Xiangyan said: 'I dare not claim so.' Guishan said: 'I have one question.' Xiangyan said: 'Please ask.' Guishan said: 'What was it like before your parents gave birth to you?' Xiangyan could not answer. Ashamed and distressed, he returned to his quarters, searching through the ancient records for a phrase to respond with, but not a single one fit. So he left Guishan. Later, dwelling in the mountains for several years, he deeply doubted this matter. Throwing a stone that struck bamboo, he suddenly experienced great awakening, and composed a verse:

'One strike—forgetting all that is known, No longer relying on cultivation. Nowhere is there any trace, Beyond sound and form, the dignified bearing. Movement and expression reveal the ancient path, Not falling into silent subtlety. All those who have attained the Way everywhere Say this is the supreme teaching.'

Later, Guishan heard of it and said: 'This disciple has penetrated through.' Yangshan said: 'This is made by mind-consciousness; it must be examined by Hui Ji before it can be confirmed.' Later, Yangshan went to Xiangyan's place and asked: 'Fellow disciple, you have a verse of awakening, is that so?' Xiangyan said: 'Yes.' Yangshan said: 'Try reciting it.' Xiangyan again recited the previous words. Yangshan said: 'This is made by mind-consciousness. If it were true awakening, you would not recite it again.' Xiangyan then spoke another verse:

'Last year's poverty was not true poverty; This year's poverty is truly poverty. Last year, there was still a place to stand an awl; This year, not even an awl remains.'

Yangshan said: 'You may understand the Tathagata's Zen, but you have not even dreamed of the Patriarchs' Zen.' Xiangyan then spoke another verse:

'I have one mechanism, a glance to see it. If someone does not understand, call another novice.'

Yangshan said: 'I rejoice that you, fellow disciple, now understand the Patriarchs' Zen.'

All of you! Look at how the ancients' opportunities for entering the Way penetrated to the bone and marrow. It was not a matter of taking the wrong as right, arbitrarily deciding what is and isn't. The ancients said: 'Without experiencing the bone-chilling cold, how can one obtain the plum blossom's fragrant scent?' Thus, the sages of high antiquity acted in this way, the ancestral teachers throughout the generations practiced in this way, and today this mountain monk also applies it in this way—there has never been any difference. The essential point is for each of you to investigate thoroughly, to probe and probe again. As it is said: 'Exhaustion leads to change; change leads to penetration.' If you probe to the point of change and penetration, this old monk will still need to find for you where that penetration and change lie. So tell me, what is the place of penetration and change?"

After a long pause, he said: "Look to what follows."