修習止觀坐禪法要 1.99

1.99

行者於初坐禪時，隨心所念一切諸法，念念不住，雖用如上體真止，而妄念不息，當反觀所起之心，過去已滅，現在不住，未來未至，三際窮之，了不可得。不可得法，則無有心。若無有心，則一切法皆無。行者雖觀心不住，皆無所有，而非無剎那任運覺知念起。又，觀此心念，以內有六根、外有六塵，根塵相對，故有識生；根塵未對，識本無生。觀生如是，觀滅亦然，生滅名字，但是假立。生滅心滅，寂滅現前，了無所得，是所謂涅槃空寂之理；其心自止。《起信論》云：「若心馳散，即當攝來住於正念。是正念者，當知唯心，無外境界。即復此心亦無自相，念念不可得。」謂初心修學，未便得住；抑之令住，往往發狂。如學射法，久習方中矣。

When the practitioner first sits in meditation, all phenomena thought of by the mind do not abide from thought to thought. Although they apply calming by embodying the real as described above, false thoughts still do not cease. They should turn contemplation back onto the mind that has arisen: the past has already perished, the present does not abide, and the future has not yet arrived; exhausting the three periods of time, it is entirely unobtainable. Phenomena that are unobtainable mean that there is no mind. If there is no mind, then all phenomena do not exist. Although the practitioner contemplates that the mind does not abide and nothing exists, this does not mean that momentary, spontaneous awareness and the arising of thoughts are non-existent. Furthermore, contemplate that this mental thought arises because there are six sense faculties internally and six sense objects externally; when faculties and objects meet, consciousness is produced. When faculties and objects do not meet, consciousness fundamentally is not produced. Contemplating arising is like this, and contemplating perishing is also like this; the names 'arising' and 'perishing' are merely provisionally established. When the mind of arising and perishing ceases, peaceful cessation appears before one, and completely nothing is obtained; this is what is called the principle of Nirvāṇa's empty quiescence; its mind naturally calms. The Treatise on the Awakening of Faith says: "If the mind gallops and scatters, one should immediately draw it back and dwell in right mindfulness. As for this right mindfulness, one should know it is only mind, without external objects. Furthermore, this mind also lacks its own characteristics, being unobtainable from thought to thought." This means that when the beginner is training, they cannot easily attain stability; forcing it to remain stable often induces madness. Just like the method of learning archery, only with long practice will one hit the mark.