Ch'an Master Tan-hsia went to visit Ch'an Master Hui-chung. When Tan-hsia arrived, Hui-chung was resting. Tan-hsia asked Tan-yuan, Hui-chung's disciple, "Is the Ch'an Master at home?" Tan-yuan had just started to practice Ch'an and wanted to show off. Hence, he replied, "He is here, but he is not receiving any visitors." Tan-hsia said, "Why not?" Tan-yuan got carried away and remarked, "Even if you had the eyes of the Buddha, you could not see him." Tan-hsia sighed and said, "A dragon gives birth to a dragon, and a phoenix gives birth to a phoenix."
When Hui-chung woke up, Tan-yuan reported to the Master about Tan-hsia's visit nd their conversation. After hearing the story, he gave his disciple twenty lashes and ousted him from the temple. When tan-hsia heard what Hui-chung did, he was greatly impressed and said , "Hui-chung is a true Ch'an master."
(Source: Hsing Yun's Ch'an Talk, Book 2) |