From the Sayings of Layman P’ang:
The Layman was sitting in his thatched cottage one day studying the sūtras. "Difficult, difficult," he said; "like trying to scatter ten measures of sesame seed all over a tree." "Easy, easy," Mrs. P’ang said; "like touching your feet to the ground when you get out of bed." "Neither difficult nor easy," Ling Zhao (their daughter) said; "on the hundred grass tips, the great Masters’ meaning."
Note: Layman P’ang (740-808) was a celebrated lay Buddhist in the Chinese Chan (Zen) tradition. He was a successful merchant with a wife, son, and daughter. The family's wealth allowed them to devote their time to study of the Buddhist sutras, in which they all became well-versed. P’ang's daughter Ling Zhao was particularly adept, and sometimes, as in this case, seems more advanced and wise than her parents. After P’ang retired from his profession, he worried about the spiritual dangers of his wealth, so he placed all of his possessions in a boat which he then sunk in a river. The family then led an itinerant lifestyle, wandering about and visiting Buddhist masters and supporting themselves by making and selling bamboo utensils. P’ang studied under, among other masters, Shitou, the author of Harmony of Difference and Equality.