Nan Huaijin 1:
Nan Huai-chin says, “In Beijing’s White Cloud Temple there is this couplet that has been there since the Ming dynasty: ‘Nothing in the world is better than practicing / nothing in the world is harder than eating.’”
Nan Huaijin 22:
In his commentary, Nan Huai-chin likens “So it is, Subhuti. So it is” to an enigma that doesn’t make sense until we solve it ourselves. And he cites the story about Chinhua Chu-ti. Master Chinhua Chu-ti learned One-Finger Zen from Hangchou T’ien-lung, and this is all he taught. Whenever anyone asked for instruction, he held up one finger and nothing more. One day when he was absent, a young novice tried this on a layman who had come for instruction. When the worshipper was enlightened, the novice couldn’t wait to tell the Master. But when Chu-ti heard what happened, he went into the kitchen and came out and asked the novice to show him again. When the novice stuck out his finger, Chu-ti whipped out a knife and cut it off. As the novice ran screaming out the door, Chu-ti yelled his name. When the novice stopped, Chu-ti asked him the meaning of enlightenment. Without thinking, the novice stuck out his fist. But when he saw his hand without its finger, he suddenly understood the meaning of One-finger Zen. (Chuantenglu: 11)