Baiyun Duan 59: Xuefeng Returns to his Hut

Once when Xuefeng was staying in a hut, a pair of monks came to visit. Holding open the door with his hand and revealing himself, he stepped out and said, "What is this?"

A monk replied the same—"What is this?"

Xuefeng bowed his head and returned inside the hut. The monks made to leave, when Xuefeng asked, "Where are you going?

"To Hunan."

"There is someone I travelled with who stayed behind in Yantou—take this letter with you when you leave."

The letter said:

Senior Brother So-and-So presents this letter to to the senior monk:

I, who surely attained the Way before at Aoshan have, up to now, always eaten my fill, and have never been hungry.

I submit this letter to my colleague.

When he arrived at Yantou, was monk asked, "From where have you come?" The monk said, "I came from Xuefeng conveying a letter to the Master."

Yantou accepted the letter and asked, "Why do you have this letter?" The monk told Yantou about his encounter with Xuefeng.

Yantou asked, "What did he say?"

"He said nothing, lowering his head and returning to the hut."

"Alas! I regret not initially directing him towards expression of the Last Word—had I directed him towards this expression, how could all the people in the world cope with old Xuefeng?"

The monk stayed until the end of the summer before asking for further clarification. Yantou said, "Why didn't you ask earlier?"

"I didn't dare to take it easily."

Yantou said, "I grant that Xuefeng was born on the same branch as I, but I do not grant that he dies on the same branch—all you need to know of the Last Word is that it is only 'This.' "

[0300a16] 雪峰住庵時。有兩僧來。師以手托庵門。放身出曰是什麼。僧亦曰。是什麼。師低頭歸庵。僧辭去。師問。甚麼處去。曰湖南。師曰。我有個同行住巖頭。附汝一書去。書曰。某書上師兄某。一自鼇山成道後。迄至於今飽不饑。同參某書上。僧到巖頭。頭問。甚處來。曰雪峯來。有書達和尚。頭接了。乃問。別有何言句。僧舉前話。頭曰。他道甚麼。曰他無語。低頭歸庵。頭曰。噫。我當初悔不向伊道末後句。若向伊道。天下人不奈雪老何。僧至夏末。請益前話。頭曰。何不早問。曰未敢容易。頭曰。雪峯與我同條生。不與我同條死。要識末後句祇這是。

After Old Xue had gone back in the hut,
No one on the road was able to see him—
Fortunate he had a friend a thousand li away,
Sharing a branch of birth and death, but not at the same time.

[0300b03] 雪老却入庵中後。路上無人見得伊。賴有故人千里在。同條生死不同時。

Submitted May 03, 2023 at 02:57AM by surupamaerl2 https://ift.tt/b8w6Hk9