In addition to The Agreement of Difference and Unity, another famous poem is attributed to Shitou Xiqian in Jingde Chuan Deng Lu. The poem describes the meditation hut which Shitou built for himself on a large rock next to the South Peak Temple.
Song of the Grass Shack
I've built a grass shack with nothing of value inside.
After a good meal, I like to take a nice nap.
The grass thatching still looks new;
When it wears out, I'll add fresh thatch to the roof.
The person inside the shack is always present,
But you won't find him inside or out.
He doesn't hang out with worldly people,
And he doesn't like the things they like.
This little shack contains the entire universe,
And my physical body is integrated with it.
Great Bodhisattvas don't doubt my ideas,
Although humans may think them strange.
If you say that my hut looks shabby, I'll answer
That the One Mind abides right where it is.
East or west, north or south,
A solid foundation is what counts.With green pines hanging over the roof
And bright windows in the walls, not even
a royal palace can compare with my shack.
With a monk's robe over my shoulders
And a hood over my head, I've got no worries at all.
It's not that I praise myself for living here,
Like some merchant pushing his product.
It's just that when the twilight comes,
My mind is limitless from front to back.When I met my teacher and heard his words,
I decided to build myself a hut and live in it.
Disregarding social constraints,
I'll do just as I please.
Still, whatever people will tell you,
My real goal is to wake folks up.
If you want to meet the "person" in the shack,
You've got to look after the physical side first.The symbolic quality of the poem is really remarkable. Shitou says that his grass shack contains the entire universe, and he identifies it with his own body. If you want to "wake up," if you want to discover the "person" (Buddha-mind) in the material universe, you must first attend to the body or physical self; i.e.,study the true nature of phenomena (emptiness).