"When Master Xiangyan had passed a number of years in the circle of Guishan, Guishan said, 'Other than what you remember from commentaries or have heard from the sermons of this old monk, bring me a single utterance.'
"Xiangyan looked within the commentaries, but could not find even a single utterance. He said to Guishan, 'I am unable to speak, but I ask you to say it, master.'
"Guishan said, 'I do not refuse to speak for you, except that later you would scold me.'
"Xiangyan said, 'In this present lifetime, I no longer expect to understand Zen. For its duration, I will become a monk who just serves food.' Then he held up his written commentaries and said, 'A painting of a rice cake does not satisfy hunger.' Then he burnt them all.
"Later he traveled to the site of the former hermitage of National Teacher Nanyang Huizhong and built a hut where he stayed. One day while taking a break to sweep the path, at the moment a pebble shot up and knocked against a bamboo, the great matter suddenly became clear. Then he composed a verse saying,
With one blow, subject and object vanish.
I no longer practice to solve things on my own.
In all my activities I celebrate the ancient path,
And do not fall into passivity.
"Then he bathed and dressed in formal manner, faced toward Guishan
in the distance, offered incense, made prostrations, and said, 'Great Master Guishan is my excellent teacher. My gratitude to him surpasses that to my father and mother. If he had spoken for me at that time, how could I have had today’s experience?'”
-- Eihei Koroku