師云：「諸人若欲究本窮源，只須識取自心，不可受一切諸境所惑，一動一靜處、尋常作用處，截斷人我，脫去是非。凡遇順逆境緣，此心寂然靈然，不變不動，猶若虛空，一切時中心不間斷。若能如是，即塵勞而得解脫，即煩惱以證菩提。不見石頭和尚一日問龐居士曰：『子自見老僧以來，日用事作麼生？』士以偈荅曰：『日用事無別，唯吾自偶諧。頭頭非取捨，處處沒張乖。朱紫誰為號？丘山絕點埃。神通并妙用，運水及搬柴。』頭乃然之。敢問諸人：浦峰者裏日日搬柴運水，動轉施為，且道是神通妙用？不是神通妙用？若道是神通妙用，正是頭上安頭；若道不是神通妙用，又是斬頭覓活。試定當看。若定當得，可以彈指收功，剎那證聖；其或未然，萬古碧潭空界月，再三撈摝始應知。」

The Master said: "If you wish to trace the source and explore the root of things, you only need to recognize your own mind. Do not be misled by any external conditions. In every moment of movement or stillness, in every ordinary action, cut off the duality of self and others, and let go of right and wrong. When encountering favorable or adverse circumstances, let this mind be still and aware, unchanging and unmoving, like open space. At all times, let the mind remain uninterrupted. If you can do this, you will find liberation right within worldly toil, and realize enlightenment right within affliction.

"Have you not heard how Master Shitou once asked Layman Pang: 'Since you came to see me, what have you been doing in your daily life?' The Layman replied with a verse:

'Daily life is nothing special— Just I myself, in harmony. In all things, no picking or choosing; Everywhere, no cunning or scheming. Who gave the names 'purple' and 'red'? The hills and peaks are spotless. Spiritual powers and wondrous functions— Carrying water and hauling firewood.'

Shitou nodded in agreement. Now I ask you all: here at Pufeng, day after day we haul firewood and carry water, moving and acting. Tell me—is this spiritual power and wondrous function, or is it not? If you say it is spiritual power and wondrous function, that's putting a head on top of a head. If you say it's not spiritual power and wondrous function, that's cutting off the head to look for life. Try to determine this. If you can determine it, you can achieve the goal in a snap of the fingers and realize sainthood in an instant. If not—well, the moon reflected in the vast green pool has been there for ten thousand ages; only after repeated scooping and fishing will you finally know it."

示眾。云：「春生夏長，秋收冬藏，四時遷改，萬彙無常。」驀呈拄杖，云：「惟有我木上座卻甚奇特，迥出無遷無改之外，不墮萬彙無常之中，終日淨裸裸、沒可把，赤條條、無回互，顯大妙用、發大神通，或縱、或奪，或抬、或搦，有時教伊揚眉瞬目、有時不教伊揚眉瞬目，有時教伊揚眉瞬目是、有時教伊揚眉瞬目不是。汝等諸人還識得麼？若識得，超生死於剎那、轉玄機於當下，妙體無私、圓光匪外，山河大地獨露真常、埜水雲林宣明妙法，塵塵剎剎齊歸顧盻之中、物物頭頭盡入智鑑之內，佛佛祖祖安有不從此契證者哉？大眾！拄杖子恁麼竭力告報，汝等還委悉麼？」驀豎拄杖，云：「能為萬象主，不逐四時凋。」喝一喝，拽拄杖歸方丈。

The master addressed the assembly, saying:

"In spring, life sprouts and grows; in summer, it flourishes; in autumn, it is harvested; in winter, it is stored away. The four seasons shift and change, and all things are impermanent."

Suddenly holding up his staff, he continued: "Only this wooden staff of mine is truly extraordinary. It stands apart from what shifts and changes, untouched by the impermanence of all things. Throughout the day, it is pure and bare, with nothing to grasp—naked, without obstruction. It reveals great wondrous function and displays great spiritual power. Sometimes it lets things be, sometimes it takes them away; sometimes it lifts up, sometimes it presses down. Sometimes it makes people raise their eyebrows and blink their eyes, sometimes it does not. Sometimes raising eyebrows and blinking is correct; sometimes it is not.

All of you—do you recognize this? If you recognize it, you surpass birth and death in an instant and awaken to the subtle mechanism right here and now. The wondrous essence is impartial; the perfect light is not external. Mountains, rivers, and the great earth all reveal the true and eternal nature. Wild waters, clouds, and forests proclaim the profound Dharma. Every realm, every grain of dust, returns to this very gaze. Everything, every object, is fully contained within wisdom's mirror. How could any buddha or patriarch fail to realize enlightenment through this?"

Addressing the assembly, the master said: "My staff has tried so earnestly to tell you this—do you understand?"

He then thrust the staff upright and declared: "It can serve as the master of all phenomena, yet never fades with the four seasons."

With a sharp shout, he tucked his staff under his arm and returned to his quarters.

眾乞開示。師云：「釋迦老子唯以一大事因緣故出現於世，欲令一切眾生開佛知見、示佛知見、悟佛知見、入佛知見，且作麼生是佛之知見？作麼生開示？作麼生悟入？」驀拈拄杖云：「唯此一事實，餘二則非真。大眾！若向者裏見得真、知得的，步步腳踏實地，心心契證真常，頭頭顯至真之妙諦，物物明般若之玄機，可謂明通正法眼，遍界轉光輝。只為無始劫來習氣深厚，故有迷悟差殊、聖凡不等，迷者一向逐外馳求，認假迷真，妄分他境，隨境生情，發邪亂知見，翳於覺心，立幻化色身，謬為他法，所以智隔體殊，汩沒塵寰流浪，種種之苦無有了期，遂爾做個忘家失業之子，甘受伶俜辛苦。若具大根器、秉大信力，纔聞舉著便達本源，觀三世平等、一道清虛，不涉階級即證真常，不厭塵勞、不取寂滅，無凡可捨、無聖可求，此則各為頓悟之門。近來負缽擔囊、登山涉水，或見一個半個善知識，不肯勵志，久受鉗鎚，做來做去，多生疲懈，退失初心，返說禪道，無有靈驗。所以先德云：『佛法無多子，久長難得人。』山僧向來每每與汝等盤桓，必要諸人發明此段大事，秉般若慧劍，斬斷妄識之絲纏，具頂門正眼，入解脫無礙之知見，人人鼻孔遼天，個個腳跟點地，隨方如龍得水，在處似虎靠山，任運縱橫，無拘無繫，始是得大安樂，得大自在也。若是機思遲鈍，正好將本參話頭貼在眉尖上，疑之又疑。此疑不是別尋修習，即在日用中穿衣喫飯處、屙屎放尿處、動靜忙閒處、坐臥經行處、掉頭舉足處、聞聲見色處，回光自照，時刻不放，日益日新，打成一片，通身遍身是個疑情，志泯心灰，前後際斷，人法雙忘，忽地漆桶掀翻，豁開正眼，始知日是金烏，月是玉兔，秤鎚原是鐵鑄，磚瓦本是泥成，原來與佛祖同一知見，共一鼻孔出氣，同一真實受用，無二無別。到者裏說個如來，欲令眾生入佛知見，祖師西來直指單傳，早是曲了也。山僧今日傾心吐膽，據實論量，汝等諸人當思韶光易邁，歲月如流，大事未明，寸陰可惜，急發大志，高出人一頭地可也。惟望辦取，各宜珍重。」

The assembly begged for instruction. The Master said: "The Elder Śākya appeared in this world for One Great Matter alone—to cause all beings to open, reveal, realize, and enter the Buddha’s knowledge and vision. So what *is* the Buddha’s knowledge and vision? How do you open and reveal it? How do you realize and enter it?" Suddenly raising his staff, he said: "This one thing alone is real; the other two are not true. Everyone! If you see truly and know truly right here, then every step you take lands on solid ground, every thought you have connects with genuine constancy, every moment shows the sublime truth of ultimate reality, and every thing reveals the profound mystery of prajñā. It can be said: the Right Dharma Eye shines clearly, turning the entire world radiant with light. It’s just that, due to the deep karmic habits accumulated over countless eons, there’s a difference between confusion and awakening, between ordinary and sacred. The confused person constantly chases outward, mistaking the false for the real, wrongly discriminating other realms as separate. Following conditions, they give rise to emotions, spawning distorted and chaotic views that cloud the awakened mind. They fixate on a fabricated physical body, mistakenly take it as themselves and their world—thus, wisdom and substance become separate, and they flounder in the dust of the world, wandering endlessly in all kinds of suffering. So they become a child who has lost their home and livelihood, willingly suffering poverty and hardship. But if one possesses great roots and strong faith, the moment they hear it mentioned, they immediately reach the original source. They see the three times as equal, a single path of empty clarity, without passing through stages directly realizing true constancy. They neither detest worldly toil nor grasp at nirvāṇa. There is no ordinary state to abandon, no sacred state to seek. This is called the gate of sudden awakening.

In recent times, some carry their bowl and bag, crossing mountains and rivers, meeting a few teachers here and there, but they don’t make a strong resolve or undergo long-lasting tempering. Through their practice they often become weary and slack, backsliding from their initial determination, even saying the Chan path has no real effect. So the ancient worthy said: "The Buddha-dharma isn’t much—it’s hard to find someone persistent." I, the mountain monk, have always spent time with you all, and I insist that each of you discover this great matter. Wield the sword of wisdom to cut through the tangled webs of deluded consciousness, open the true eye of the crown, and enter the unimpeded liberation of knowledge and vision. Each of you should let your nostrils point to the sky and your heels strike the earth. Move freely like a dragon in water, remain steady like a tiger leaning against a mountain. Act and follow as you will, unfettered and unbound—then you attain great peace and joy, great freedom. If your faculties are slower, it’s fine to paste your original huatou (keyword) right between your brows, doubting it again and again. This doubt is not some separate practice. It is present in daily life: while dressing and eating, moving your bowels and passing water, in stillness and activity, in busyness and leisure, sitting and lying down, walking about, during every turn of the head and lift of the foot, hearing sounds, seeing forms—turn the light inward and shine it on yourself, never letting up for a moment. Day by day it renews; you become a single solid mass, your whole body, inside and out, nothing but this one great doubt. The mind stops, the heart dies, the gap between past and future breaks, the dualism of person and dharma is forgotten. Suddenly, like the bottom falling out of a lacquer bucket, the True Eye opens wide. Then you realize: the sun is the Golden Crow, the moon is the Jade Rabbit, the scale-weight is made of iron, the bricks and tiles are made of clay—you see that the Buddha and you share the same knowledge and vision, you breathe through the same nostril, you enjoy the same true experience, with nothing different or separate. At that point, to speak of the Tathāgata making beings enter the Buddha’s knowledge and vision, or of the patriarch coming from the West, pointing directly and transmitting individually—that was already bending the truth! Today I, this mountain monk, pour my heart out, speaking the bare facts. You all should think: time passes easily, years flow like water; this great matter is not yet clear, every minute is precious. Quickly arouse great resolve, lift yourself above others in attainment! I only ask you to see to it. Each one should take good care."