西方合論 1.12

1.12

「況後世宗風日衰，人之根器亦日以劣，發心既多不真，功夫又不純一；偶於佛祖機鋒，知識語言，或悟得本來成佛處，當下即是處，意識行不到，語言說不及處，一切不可得，即不可得亦不可得處，將古人語句和會無不相似。既得此相似之解，即云：『馳求已歇，我是無事道人。』識得煩惱如幻，則恣情以肆煩惱；識得修行本空，輒任意以壞修行；謂檀本空也，反舍檀而取慳；謂忍本空也，反聽隨而寘忍；言戒則曰：『本無持犯，何必重持輕犯？』言禪則曰：『本無定亂，何必舍亂取定？』聽情順意，踏有譚空；既云法尚應捨，何為復取非法？既云真亦不求，胡為舍之求妄？既云修觀習定，皆屬有為之迹，何獨貪名求利，偏合無為之道？愛憎毀譽之火，纔觸之而即高；生老病死之風，微吹之而已動。爭人爭我，說是說非，甚至以火性為氣魄、以我慢為承當、以譎詐為機用、以誑語為方便、以放恣為遊戲、以穢言為解粘，讚歎破律無行之人，侮弄繩趨尺步之士。偏顯理路，故窮玄極妙，莫之踪跡；盡剗行門，故縱意任心，無復規矩。口言往生是小乘法，令人修習，已乃晏然。或至經年不拜一佛、經年不禮一懺、經年不轉一經，反看世間不必有之書，行道人不宜行之事。使後生小子，專逞聰明，惟尋見解，纔有所知，即為一超直入，更復何事？輕狂傲慢，貢高恣睢；口無擇言，身無擇行。父既報讐，子遂行劫；寫烏成馬，展轉差謬。不念世間情欲無涯，隄之尚溢，如何日以圓滑之語，大破因果之門，決其防藩，導以必流。自誤誤人，安免淪墜！若不為魔所攝，定當永隔三途，刀山劍樹，報其前因；披毛戴角，酬還宿債。

"Furthermore, in later generations the style of the school declines day by day, and people's capacities also deteriorate daily. Most do not generate a genuine aspiration, and their practice is not unified. If by chance, through the dynamic exchanges of Buddhas and patriarchs or the words of spiritual friends, they awaken to the place where one is originally a Buddha, where right now is just it, where mental consciousness cannot reach, where words cannot express, where nothing can be grasped, and where even ungraspability itself cannot be grasped, they harmonize and equate the words of the ancients so that everything seems similar. Once they obtain this pseudo-understanding, they immediately say: 'Seeking has ceased; I am an unconcerned person of the Way.' Recognizing that afflictions are like illusions, they indulge their passions and let afflictions run wild; recognizing that practice is originally empty, they arbitrarily ruin practice. Claiming that giving is originally empty, they instead abandon giving and adopt stinginess; claiming that patience is originally empty, they instead follow their impulses and set patience aside. Speaking of precepts, they say: 'Originally there is neither upholding nor violating, why value upholding and despise violating?' Speaking of dhyāna, they say: 'Originally there is neither concentration nor distraction, why abandon distraction to choose concentration?' Indulging passions and following desires, they tread on existence while talking of emptiness. Since it is said that even the Dharma should be relinquished, why then do they grasp what is not Dharma? Since it is said that even the real is not sought, why do they abandon it to seek the false? Since it is said that cultivating contemplation and practicing concentration are traces of the conditioned, why do they greedily seek fame and pursue profit, as if that alone agreed with the unconditioned Way? The fires of love, hate, praise, and blame flare up as soon as they are touched; the winds of birth, old age, sickness, and death stir them at the slightest breeze. Contending over others and self, debating right and wrong, they go so far as to take a fiery temper as spiritual vigor, conceit as realization, deceit as dynamic function, falsehood as skillful means, licentiousness as play, and foul language as untying knots, praising those who break the vinaya and have no conduct, while mocking and abusing those who tread the straight path and adhere to rules. Emphasizing only the path of principle, their profound and ultimate subtleties leave no trace; completely extirpating the gate of practice, they indulge their desires and give free rein to their minds, no longer having any standards. With their mouths they say rebirth is a Hīnayāna teaching, and when letting others practice it, they themselves remain complacent. Some go for years without bowing to a single Buddha, years without performing a single repentance, years without reciting a single sūtra; instead, they read worldly books that are unnecessary and do things that practitioners should not do. They cause young novices to exclusively flaunt their cleverness and only pursue intellectual views; as soon as they know a little, they take it as transcending all at once to enter directly, asking what else there is to do. Frivolous, arrogant, proud, and unrestrained; their mouths choose no words, their bodies choose no deeds. The father having taken revenge, the son proceeds to commit robbery; writing a character wrong, errors multiply endlessly. They do not consider that worldly passions and desires are boundless—even with dikes, they overflow; how then can they daily use slick and glib words to violently tear down the gate of cause and effect, breaching the barriers and directing the flood? Deceiving themselves and deceiving others, how can they avoid sinking and falling! If not seized by māras, they will surely be confined for long kalpas to the three evil destinies, on mountains of swords and trees of knives, to repay their former causes; or bearing fur and wearing horns, to repay their past debts."