Another time P'ang is reminiscent of Chao-chou in demonstrating that it is possible to hold one's own without the use of words. _The Layman was once lying on his couch reading a sutra. A monk saw him and said: "Layman! You must maintain dignity when reading a sutra." The Layman raised up one leg. The monk had nothing to say.12 _ Layman P'ang studied under Ma-tsu for two years, but he finally decided to resume his life as a wandering student of Ch'an. He left Ma-tsu declaring the family his source of strength, or so it would seem from his parting verse presented to the master. _I've a boy who has no bride, I've a girl who has no groom; Forming a happy family circle, We speak about Birthless.13 _ And off he went to travel, a completely enlightened man after his stay in Kiangsi. He turned increasingly to poetry during these years of wandering across the central part of China, composing some of his most sensitive verse. One poem in particular seems to capture the carefree spirit of these years of wanderings: _The wise man, perceiving wealth and lust, Knows them to be empty illusion; Food and clothes sustain body and life-- I advise you to learn being as is. When it's time, I move my hermitage and go, And there's nothing to be left behind.14 _ One of Layman P'ang's most enduring companions was the monk Tan-hsia T'ien-jan, known for his irreverence. The following is typical of the exchanges recorded between the two: _When the Layman was walking with Tan-hsia one day he saw a deep pool of clear water. Pointing to it with his hand, he said: "Being as it is we can't differentiate it." "Of course we can't," replied Tan-hsia. The Layman scooped up and threw two handfuls of water on Tan-hsia. "Don't do that, don't do that!" cried Tan-hsia. "I have to, I have to!" exclaimed the Layman. Whereupon Tan-hsia scooped up and threw three handfuls of water on the Layman, saying: "What can you do now?" "Nothing else," replied the Layman. "One seldom wins by a fluke," said Tan-hsia. "Who lost by a fluke?" returned the Layman.15 _ To attempt to explicate this exchange would be to ride the wind. They are in a completely different reality from that in which mere books are written and read. What occupied Madam P'ang during the Layman's wanderings is not known. However, she seems well on the way to enlightenment herself. A story says that one day she went to a Buddhist temple to make an offering of food. The priest asked her the purpose of the offering so that he could post the customary notice identifying the name of a donor and the date and purpose of the gift. This was called "transferring merit," since the knowledge of her good deed would be "transferred" from herself to others. It is reported that Mrs. P'ang took her comb, stuck it in the back of her hair, and announced to the stunned priest, "Transference of merit is accomplished."16 She seemed a part of P'ang's enlightenment, even if not a companion in his travels.