过黄河遇白雪
初二日过黄河泊岸。天即黑矣。无处投宿。只可在岸边。摆小生意之茅草棚中趺坐待旦。夜静冷凛及天明。白雪漫漫一望无际。化为银装世界。深盈尺不辨方向。无路可通枯坐念佛。
宣化偈曰:
黄河白雪草茅棚。趺坐观心寒冷侵。
瑞雪飘飘银世界。虽然有我却无人。
Crossing the Yellow River and encountering snow
On the second day of the month, the Master crossed the Yellow River and upon arriving at the other shore, he realized night was falling fast. Having no place to sleep, he was compelled to pull up into full-lotus posture in a small thatched lean-to he found near the river bank. There he waited for morning, trembling and shivering through the still, cold night. As it grew light, everywhere he looked he saw vast drifts of sparkling snow, which transformed the countryside into a silvery world. Realizing that its depth would prevent him from keeping his bearings, he knew there was no way to get through it. So the Master sat quite still and recited the Buddha's name.
The verse says:
At the Yellow River he met a blizzard and stayed in an open straw hut.
Assuming full-lotus, he regarded the mind; the bitter cold attacked him.
Silvery snow was whirling and swirling, enveloping the world.
Although he was a person, he had no self at all.