Shoyoroku - Case 44: Koyo's "Suparnin"

A monk asked Master Ho of Koyo, 
  "The great dragon has emerged from the ocean, calming heaven and earth. How
   will you treat him when he suddenly appears before you?"
Master Ho said,
  "Suparnin [1], the king of birds, absorbs the entire universe. Who can
   stick his head within him?"
The monk said,
  "But how about when he does appear?"
Ho said,
  "It is like a falcon catching a pigeon. If you don't realize it, you will
   learn the truth through the 'inspection before the balcony.' [2]"
The monk said,
  "If so, then I'll fold my hands on my chest and retreat three steps."
Ho said, 
  "You black tortoise under the Sumeru altar. [3] Don't wait to be struck on
   the forehead again and get hurt."


[1]: A giant bird that eats even dragons.
[2]: A reference to a story in which Heigenkun Chosho, the brother of the king
     of Cho and a wealthy landlord with 3,000 dependents, built a grand palace
     with a balcony that overlooked the main road. One day a crippled person
     was passing by and one of the concubines saw him and laughed. The crippled
     person was angered and demanded Heigenkun her head. Heigenkun presented
     the head of an executed convict as the head of the concubine. His
     dependents knew of his deception, lost faith in their master and gradually
     all left him. His fortunes declined, so at last he cut off the head of
     the concubine and presented it for the crippled person to inspect. After
     that the dependents returned and his fortunes were restored. The story is
     an allusion to the fact that you can never hide away the real truth.
[3]: A reference to one of the four carved figures, representing black
     tortoises, underneath the Sumeru altar (with the Buddha statue). It is
     used here as a symbol of someone who has lost the freedom of movement.

