撫州曹山元證禪師語錄 1.69

1.69

云眾曰：「僧家在此等衣線下，理須會通向上事，莫作等閒。若也承當處分明，即轉他諸聖向自己背後方得自由；若也轉不得，直饒學得十成，却須向他背後叉手，說甚麼大話。若轉得自己，則一切麁重境來，皆作得主宰，假如泥裏倒地，亦作得主宰。如有僧問藥山曰：『三乘教中還有祖意也無？』答曰：『有。』僧云：『既有，達磨又來作麼？』藥山曰：『只為有，所以來。』豈非作得主宰轉得歸自己乎？如經云：『大通智勝佛，十劫坐道場，佛法不現前，不得成佛道。』言劫者滯也，謂之十成亦云斷滲漏也，只是十道頭絕矣，不忘大果。故云：『守住耽著，名為取次，承當不分貴賤。』我常見叢林好論一般兩般，還能成立得事麼？此等但是說向去事露布，汝不見，南泉曰：『饒汝十成，猶較王老師一線道。』也大難，事到此直須仔細，始得明白自在，不論天堂地獄餓鬼畜生，但是一切處不移易，元是舊時人，只是不行舊時路，若有忻心，還成滯著。若脫得，揀甚麼？古德云：『只恐不得輪迴。』汝道作麼生？只如今人，說箇淨潔處，愛說向去事，此病最難治。若是世間麁重事却是輕，淨潔病為重，只如佛味祖味，盡為滯著。先師曰：『擬心是犯戒，若也得味是破齋。』且喚什麼作味？只是佛味祖味，纔有忻心便是犯戒，若也如今說破齋破戒，即今三羯磨時早破了也。若是麁重貪瞋癡雖難斷，却是輕。若也無為無事淨潔，此乃重無以加也。祖師出世亦只為這箇，亦不獨為汝，今時莫作等閑，黧奴白牯修行却快，不是有禪有道，如汝種種馳求覓佛覓祖乃至菩提涅槃，幾時休歇成辦乎？皆是生滅心，所以不如黧奴白牯兀兀無知，不知佛不知祖乃至菩提涅槃及以善惡因果，但饑來喫草、渴來飲水，若能恁麼不愁不成辦。不見道：計較不成，是以知有。乃能披毛戴角牽犁拽來，得此便宜始較些子。不見彌勒、阿閦及諸妙喜等世界，被他向上人喚作無慚愧懈怠，菩薩亦曰變易生死，尚恐是小懈怠。在本分事合作麼生，大須仔細始得。人人有一坐具地，佛出世侵他不得，恁麼體會修行，莫趁快利。欲知此事，饒令成佛成祖去也，只這是便墮三塗地獄六道去也。只這是雖然沒用處，要且離他不得，須與他作主宰始得，若作得主宰，即是不變易，若作主宰不得，便是變易也。不見永嘉云：『莽莽蕩蕩招殃禍。』」問：「如何是莽莽蕩蕩招殃禍？」曰：「只這箇總是。」云：「如何免得？」曰：「知有即得，用免作麼？但是菩提涅槃煩惱無明等總是，不要免；乃至世間麁重之事，但知有便得，不要免，免即同變易去也，乃至成佛成祖菩提涅槃，此等殃禍為不小。因甚麼如此？只為變易。若不變易，直須觸處自由始得。」

He addressed the assembly, saying: "A monk beneath these monastic robes must in principle comprehend and penetrate the higher matter; do not treat it lightly. If your undertaking is lucid and distinct, you can turn all the sages behind your own back, and only then will you attain freedom. If you cannot turn them, even if your learning reaches a full ten tenths, you will still have to clasp your hands behind their backs—what big talk are you making? If you can turn yourself around, then whenever any crude and heavy condition comes, you can master it in all cases; even if you fall down in the mud, you can still master it. For instance, a monk asked Yaoshan, 'Is the ancestral intention also present within the teachings of the Three Vehicles, or not?' Yaoshan answered, 'It is.' The monk said, 'Since it is present, why did Bodhidharma come?' Yaoshan said, 'Precisely because it is present, he came.' Is this not mastering it and turning it back to oneself? As the sūtra says: 'Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū Buddha sat at the site of enlightenment for ten kalpas, yet the Buddha-Dharma did not appear before him, and he could not achieve the Buddha Way.' The word 'kalpa' means stagnation; calling it 'ten tenths' also refers to cutting off leaks, yet it is merely cutting off the ten crossroad heads without forgetting the great fruit. Therefore it is said: 'Remaining stuck and indulging in attachment is called arbitrary; in undertaking it, make no distinction between noble and base.' I often see the monasteries delighting in discussing this and that—can they really establish anything? These are merely talks spreading out about matters of going forward. Have you not seen that Nanquan said, 'Even if you attain ten tenths, you are still a thread behind Teacher Wang'? It is greatly difficult. When the matter comes to this point, you must be meticulous; only then will you attain clarity and freedom. Regardless of heavenly realms, hells, hungry ghosts, or animals, if you are simply unmoving and unchanging in all places, you are fundamentally the person of old, only you do not walk the path of old. If you have an aspiring mind, you will still become stuck in attachment. If you can get free, what is there to choose? An ancient worthy said: 'I only fear not attaining transmigration.' What do you say to this? People today merely speak of a pure and clean place and love to speak of matters of going forward; this ailment is the hardest to cure. Crude and heavy worldly affairs are actually light, while the sickness of purity and cleanliness is severe; it is just like the flavor of the Buddhas and the flavor of the patriarchs—all become stuck attachments. My late teacher said: 'Conceiving an intention in mind is violating the precepts; if one also savors the flavor, it is breaking the fast.' Now, what is called 'flavor'? It is merely the flavor of the Buddhas and the flavor of the patriarchs. As soon as there is an aspiring mind, it is violating the precepts. If one speaks nowadays of breaking the fast and violating the precepts, at the very moment of the three karmans, they were already broken long ago. Although crude and heavy greed, anger, and delusion are hard to cut off, they are actually light; but if one is non-active, without concerns, pure and clean, this heaviness cannot be surpassed. The ancestral masters appeared in the world only for this; it was not solely for you. At present do not treat it lightly: the black cat and white ox cultivate rapidly, not having Chan or the Way; unlike you with your various pursuits seeking Buddhas, seeking patriarchs, down to bodhi and nirvāṇa—when will you ever rest and accomplish it? These are all minds of arising and ceasing. Therefore, they are not as good as the black cat and white ox, towering and insentient, not knowing Buddhas, not knowing patriarchs, down to bodhi, nirvāṇa, and wholesome or unwholesome cause and effect, merely eating grass when hungry and drinking water when thirsty. If you can be like this, do not worry that it will not be accomplished. Have you not heard it said: 'Calculation fails, therefore one knows the existence of It.' Then one can wear fur and sport horns, pulling the plow and dragging the harrow; only when one obtains this advantage does it amount to a little bit. Have you not seen that the realms of Maitreya, Akṣobhya, and various Abhiratis are called by those above them 'shameless and indolent'? Bodhisattvas are also said to undergo inconceivable transformation death, and it is still feared to be a minor indolence. What should be done in one's fundamental matter? You must be greatly meticulous to attain it. Everyone has a place of a sitting mat; even when a Buddha appears in the world, he cannot encroach upon it. Realize and cultivate in this way; do not chase after quick advantage. If you want to know this matter, even if it causes you to become a Buddha or become a patriarch, it is just this; even if you fall into the three bad paths, the hells, and the six destinies, it is just this. Although it is of no use, after all you cannot leave it; you must master it to attain it. If you can master it, that is unchanging; if you cannot master it, that is changing. Have you not seen Yongjia say: 'Reckless and unrestrained, one invites disaster'?