16Out of Life and Death上堂

上堂云：「看經也在生死裏，不看經也在生死裏。諸人且作麼生出得去？」僧便問：「只如俱不留時如何？」師云：「實即得，若不實，爭能出得生死？」問：「利劒鋒頭快時如何？」師云：「老僧是利劒，快在什麼處？」問：「大難到來，如何𢌞避？」師云：「恰好。」

Zhaozhou took the high seat and said, "Read the sutras and you're still in life and death. Don't read them and you're still in life and death. So how do any of you get out?"

A monk asked, "What about when you cling to neither?"

Zhaozhou said, "If it's real, you've got it. If it isn't, how will you ever get out of life and death?"

Another monk asked, "What about when the sword's edge is razor sharp?"

Zhaozhou said, "I am the sharp sword. Where's the sharpness?"

Another asked, "Great disaster is coming. How do I dodge it?"

Zhaozhou said, "Perfect timing."

Pointer

Zhaozhou opens with a clean bind: study the scriptures and you are still caught in life and death, ignore them and you are still caught, so where is the door. The monk offers the obvious dodge, cling to neither, and Zhaozhou grants it but slams the door on faking: if your "neither" is real you have it, and if it is just a clever posture it gets you nowhere. The next two questions arrive dressed as tough-guy images, a razor sword, a coming catastrophe to escape, and both treat freedom as a weapon you wield from a safe distance. Zhaozhou won't let them stand outside the problem. He himself is the sharp sword, so where is the sharpness, and as for dodging the disaster, his answer is that it has arrived right on schedule. The exit was never elsewhere; it is in turning to face the thing you came to avoid.