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One day, Chan Master Linji followed his teacher, Chan Master Huangbo, down to the fields to work. When Huangbo saw that Linji’s hands were empty, he said, “Did you forget your hoe?” Linji replied, “I don’t know who took it.” Huangbo stood his hoe on the ground and said, “Only ‘this’. No one can move it.” But Linji snatched it from Huangbo and said, “Teacher, you said no one could move ‘this’. Now, why is ‘this’ in my hand?” Huangbo said, “What is in a hand is not really in a hand, and what is not in a hand is not really not in a hand. Tell me, who will cultivate our fields today?” Linji replied, “Those who cultivate the fields, let them cultivate. Those who harvest the fields, let them harvest. What does this have to do with us?” Hearing this, Huangbo turned away and went back to the monastery. Chan Master Guishan discussed this incident with Chan Master Yangshan: “The hoe was in Huangbo’s hand. Why was it snatched away by Linji?” Yangshan replied, “Though the one who seized it by force was a petty person, his wisdom was superior to a gentleman’s.”
“Why would Linji say that cultivating and harvesting had nothing to do with them?” asked Guishan. Yangshan replied, “Is it not possible to transcend duality?” Without comment, Guishan turned away and went back to the monastery.