Baiyun Duan 22: The One in Which Nanquan Cuts a Cat in Two

When both halls were fighting over a cat, Zen Master Nanquan came upon them, and declared to those assembled, "If you speak, the kitten will be rescued—if you don't speak, then it will be cut in two." The assembly made no response, so the Master immediately cut it in two.

When Zhaozhou returned from outside, the Master brought all this up. At that, Zhou took off his straw sandals, arranged them on his head, and left. The Master said, "Had you been there in time, the cat would have been saved."

[0297a02] 南泉禪師因兩堂爭猫。師遇之。白眾曰。道得。即救取猫兒。道不得。即斬却也。眾無對。師便斬之。趙州自外歸。師舉前話示之。州乃脫草鞋安頭上而出。師曰。適來子若在。即救取猫兒也。

I

To raise and see fully the response of both halls,
Pick up the knife and grab the cat¹ by the middle—
There's no blood under their skin, how pitiful!
And now the road is full of corpses.

[0297a06] 提起兩堂應盡見。拈刀要取活狸奴。可憐皮下皆無血。直得橫屍滿路途。

II

The cat, relaxing and stretching himself at night,
Paws reaching overhead, he shows his long claws—
On patrol in the old King's room,
The wolf hurriedly leaves, fearing daylight.

[0297a08] 狸奴夜靜自舒張。引手過頭露爪長。王老室中巡邏了。狼忙走出恐天光。

¹ ch. línú 狸奴; cats were sometimes given the cute appellation of "racoon-slave" during the Song Dynasty.

Submitted March 12, 2023 at 02:34AM by surupamaerl2 https://ift.tt/gb13GOc