鵲巢貫頂 The Head The Magpies Nested On
如來情知此意，即閃金光，把那鵲巢貫頂之頭迎風一幌，變做鮮紅的一塊血肉。妖精掄利爪叼他一下。如来情知此意，即闪金光，把那鹊巢贯顶之头迎风一幌，变做鲜红的一块血肉。妖精抡利爪叼他一下。
逐句解 Line by line
The Tathagata knew well enough what was in his mind, and flashed his golden light, and gave that head of his, the one the magpies nested through, a shake in the wind, so that it turned into a lump of fresh red flesh.
鵲巢貫頂, magpies nesting through the crown, alludes to a story of the Buddha sitting so long in meditation that birds built in his hair and he would not move for fear of disturbing them. It is being used here as a byword for his head, and the point of the allusion is stillness — the head that would not move to shake off a nest is the bait.
The monster swung his sharp talons and snatched at it.
爪 is zhǎo again. Nine characters, and the roc does precisely what he was invited to do.
The Buddha uses himself as bait, and the manner of it is what makes the passage good. No weapon, no barrier: he turns his own head into a piece of meat and waits.
The allusion underneath is worth having. The head being offered is the one from the old story about sitting so still that birds nested in his hair — patience carried to the point of absurdity. That patience is now a trap, and the creature it catches is a bird.
And the roc takes it, because he is exactly what the story has said he is all along: fast, clever about his enemy's habits, and completely unable to leave food alone.