Slicing Off His Arm,

　　Dharma Master Shen Guang Solves the Problem

　　神光斷臂　考題交卷

　　The problem was stated and Dharma Master Shen Guang solved it. He wrote the essay. How did he solve the problem

　　 He thought, "What a mess I”m in now! The falling snow is white. How could it turn red

　　" Aha! He raised his head and saw a knife hanging from a rock. That knife was a cultivator”s precept blade. It hung there in readiness in case the time ever came when the cultivator faced a situation in which he would be forced to break the precepts.

　　出了這樣一個題目，可是神光法師就把這文章給作成了！文章怎麼作的呢？他一看：“這回糟糕了，雪都是白的，怎麼會有紅的？”一擡頭，哦！看見石壁上挂著一把刀，這把刀是修道人的戒刀，就是預備在逼不得已，一定要犯戒時，甯可把自己的頭割下來也不犯戒，保持戒體，預備這樣用的。

　　In that case, he would rather use the knife to cut off his own head in order to preserve the integrity of his precept substance than to violate the precepts. When Dharma Master Shen Guang saw the knife, he had an idea. "Great! Since you want red snow, I will show you red snow." He took down the knife. Now, what do you suppose he was about to do

　　 Was he going to kill Patriarch Bodhidharma

　　 No. He grabbed the knife and with one swing cut off his own arm. That was how he solved the problem. He completed his essay.

　　神光法師一看，啊！福至心靈了：“好！既然您要紅雪，我就給您紅雪看看！”就將這把戒刀拿下來，你說他幹什麼？是不是想要殺達摩祖師？不是的。他拿了戒刀，就一刀砍斷了一只臂；這是他對這樣的考試題目，所作成的文章。