華嚴經金師子章註 1.5

1.5

爰《金師子章》者，依則天皇后請，藏大師之所說也。文約而義深，言少而意廣，是則破小塵兮出大經卷，約大虛兮置一毛中，大悟指掌，現益扶手，碩學大悟之菩薩阿不勤行者乎？若欲繼佛祖之跡，欲傳事事無礙之功者，先須結跏趺坐，或用半跏趺坐。謂正大座之時，一卜坐處於閑寂，上用蒲團，略明方軌，雖不事一順，向面於初地方，當後於十向處。以左足在右䏶上，舉右足安左䏶上，以右手安右䏶上，舉左手在右掌中，教二之大拇指面與面相柱（矣）。凡正坐之時，不得右側左傾，前低後仰，須耳與肩對，鼻與臍相向，以舌拄上腭，唇與唇，上齒與下齒相近，眼似開不開、似閉不閉，是學大聖之人方軌也焉。次半跏趺坐者，舉左足壓右䏶。若也須以止觀之行，可依無念一門，念發則隨發，不發念者是有念也，生死何休？發念隨念則無念也，是名大涅槃。無念之無念，無相之無相，有念之有念，有相之有相，皆悉外道之所執也，更非佛家之說法也。請願諸有心倫蹄釋迦佛之海印三昧、藏大師之事事觀門，莫依小乘家之滅盡三昧、外道宗之惡邪執（矣耳）。

Now, as for this Golden Lion Essay, it was expounded by Great Master Fazang upon the request of Empress Zetian. Its text is concise while its meaning is profound; its words are few while its sense is vast. This is precisely crushing a minute dust mote to bring forth a great sutra scroll, condensing the great void and placing it within a single hair. Great awakening is as easy as pointing to the palm; present benefits support the hand. Could any bodhisattva of profound learning and great awakening fail to practice it diligently? If one wishes to succeed to the traces of the Buddhas and patriarchs and transmit the work of the unobstructed interpenetration of phenomena and phenomena, one must first sit in the full lotus posture, or use the half lotus posture. That is to say, at the time of proper formal sitting, first select a seat in quiet solitude, use a rush mat on top, and briefly clarify the guidelines: although not bound to a single direction, face toward the initial ground, which should correspond to the tenth stage of dedication. Place the left foot on the right thigh, raise the right foot and place it on the left thigh; place the right hand on the right thigh, raise the left hand and place it in the right palm, causing the pads of the two thumbs to press against each other. Generally, when sitting upright, one must not lean to the right or tilt to the left, stoop forward or lean backward; the ears must align with the shoulders, the nose must face the navel, the tongue should press against the upper palate, the lips against each other, the upper teeth close to the lower teeth, and the eyes should appear neither open nor closed, neither shut nor open. These are the guidelines for those who study the Great Sage. Next, as for the half lotus posture, raise the left foot and press it upon the right thigh. If one must practice the cultivation of śamatha and vipaśyanā, one may rely on the single gate of non-thought: when a thought arises, let it arise; one who does not give rise to thoughts still has thoughts—how could birth and death cease? Giving rise to thoughts and following thoughts is non-thought; this is called great nirvāṇa. The non-thought of non-thought, the animitta of animitta, the thought of thought, and the characteristics of characteristics are all attachments of non-Buddhists, and are by no means the Dharma spoken by the Buddhist house. I pray that all discerning people will follow the sāgaramudrā-samādhi of Śākyamuni Buddha and the contemplation gate of phenomena and phenomena of Great Master Fazang, and not rely on the nirodha-samāpatti of the Hīnayāna schools or the evil, perverse attachments of the non-Buddhist sects.