It is said that Master Taiqin, also known as Chan Master Fadeng, of the Qingliang Temple in Jinling, was always bold and unrestrained by nature, disliking mundane tasks, so the other monks looked down on him—except for Master Fayan, who held him in high regard.
One day, Master Fayan asked the assembly, "Who can untie the golden bell tied around a fierce tiger's neck?"
The monks scratched their heads and thought for a long time, but still couldn't answer. Just then, Fadeng arrived, and Fayan Chan Master asked him the same question. Without hesitation, Chan Master Fadeng immediately replied:
"The one who tied the golden bell can untie it!"
The crowd suddenly realized: "Of course! If someone was skilled enough to tie the bell around the tiger's neck, they must be skilled enough to untie it. Why didn't we think of that?"
At this, Master Fayen said to everyone, "You must not look down on Fadeng." "Whoever ties the bell must untie it" is a Chan Buddhist saying, meaning whoever ties the bell must be the one to untie it, a metaphor for whoever creates a problem must solve it.
Source: *Records of Pointing at the Moon*, Volume 23 by Qu Ruji (Ming Dynasty)
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "解铃还须系铃人" came to describe whoever creates a problem must solve it.