圓悟佛果禪師語錄 12.8

12.8

師云：「現成公案，不隔一絲毫，普天匝地，是一箇大解脫門，與日月同明，與虛空等量，若祖若佛無別元由，乃古乃今同一正見。若是利根上智，不用如之若何，直下壁立萬仞，向自己根脚下承當，可以籠罩古今，坐斷報化佛頭，更無纖毫滲漏。威音王已前無師自悟，是大解脫人；威音已後，因師打發，不免立師立資，有迷有悟。雖然如是，要且只是方便垂手接人。所以達磨西來不立文字，直指人心見性成佛，後來六祖大鑑禪師尚自道：『只這不立兩字，早是立了也。何況語言機境種種知解，須是一筆句斷始得。』此一件事，直饒三世諸佛出興，以無量知見方便接引，亦只有限；歷代祖師天下老和尚，設百千問答提持，亦只有限。不如向自己脚跟下究取，威音王已前空劫那畔，自己家珍隨處受用。也須是大丈夫漢意氣方有如是作略，亦不依他言語指示，不受他欺謾，從朝至夜，入息不居陰界，出息不涉萬緣，極是省要。只為各各當人自違背此事，向六根門頭，認光認影，不得快活，却云：『爭奈某甲疑何？』且道：『疑從什麼處來？』又道：『某甲為什麼道不得？』只爾這道不得底是什麼？為爾不能回光直下承當。祖師道：『自己分上，有如是靈光，有如是自在，一切眾生流浪情塵不能解脫。』假使將此一大事因緣，種種垂示，猶是有機有境，落在情塵。要會麼？直是一念不生，方有少分相應。所以先師道：『直須是命根斷始得。』且道：如何是命根斷？須是打疊從前知見種種解會，一似大死底人，活得起來，自然無諍，所以道：『我得無諍三昧，人中最為第一。』不見南泉和尚道：『黃梅七百高僧，盡是會佛法底，只有盧行者一人不會佛法，所以得他衣盂。須是恁麼人，始契恁麼事。』又云：『如聖果大可畏處，蓋為無如許聖量等事，若是沒量大人，終不肯亂承當，終不道：「我能我解我是禪師。」若如此則墮在解脫深坑。』不見雲門大師道：『平地上死人無數，過得荊棘林者是好手。』而今平地上死人無數，雲門一句道著，山僧這裏則不然，直饒透得荊棘林，亦未是好手。更須知有銀山鐵壁，直須透得銀山鐵壁，然後是千了百當底人，方知有向上事，可以分付鉢袋子，更不與他情塵作對，浩浩作佛法見解，作禪道商量，直須心境一如，湛湛寂寂地無為無事，又不墮在無為無事處，到此須是向上人始得。所以龍牙和尚道：『無端遣向墨池邊，惹得身心黑似煙，却向上流清處洗，身心用盡亦如然。』德山和尚道：『但有文字語言，皆是依草附木竹木精靈。須是獨脫一路，猶較些子。』只如今衲僧家，也須著精神參取始得。千里萬里行脚，一等是踏破草鞋，也須是踏得破始得，方且不孤負平生，彼此來南閻浮提打一遭，也不虛過亦不折本，然後向四威儀中，隨時受用，亦自安樂。忽然一旦霜露果熟，被人推向曲彔木床上，作人天師，與人解粘去縛，不妨奇特。若未諦當，切不可為人禍事也。不見德山道：『一似婬婦相似，一向立問立答，立賓立主，有甚麼交涉？』大凡參學人，當須灑灑落落直下徹去，豈不慶快。」

The Master said: "The ready-made gong'an is not separated by a single thread. Filling the sky and covering the earth, it is one great gate of liberation; it is as bright as the sun and moon, and of equal measure with empty space. Whether patriarchs or buddhas, there is no other source; from antiquity to the present, it is the same single right view. If one is of sharp faculties and superior wisdom, there is no need to ask 'what and how'; directly stand like a wall of ten thousand fathoms, bear it beneath your own feet, and you can overshadow past and present and cut off the heads of the reward and transformation buddhas, without the slightest leak. Before King of the Majestic Voice, those who awakened on their own without a master were people of great liberation; after Majestic Voice, because of being prompted by a master, it was unavoidable to establish masters and disciples, and there came to be delusion and awakening. Even though it is like this, in the end these are merely expedient ways of extending hands to receive people. Therefore Bodhidharma came from the west without establishing written words, directly pointing to the human mind to see one's nature and achieve buddhahood. Later, Chan Master Dajian, the Sixth Patriarch, even said: 'Merely these two words "not establishing" are already established. How much more so with words, dynamic situations, and various kinds of intellectual understanding—they must be swept away with a single stroke of the brush before you will get it!' Regarding this one affair, even if the Buddhas of the three periods were to appear in the world and use boundless views and expedients to receive and guide people, there would still be limits; even if the successive generations of patriarchs and the old venerable monks of the world were to set up hundreds of thousands of questions and answers to uphold it, there would still be limits. It is better to investigate beneath your own heels: beyond the empty kalpa before King of the Majestic Voice, your own family treasure is enjoyed wherever you are. One must also be a great fellow of spirit to possess such conduct, not relying on another's words and pointers, not accepting another's deceptions; from morning until night, an inhalation does not abide in the realm of the skandhas, and an exhalation does not involve itself in the ten thousand conditions—this is extremely concise and essential. It is only because each person turns their back on this affair, recognizing lights and shadows at the gates of the six sense faculties, unable to be joyful, and then says, 'What can I do about my doubts?' Now tell me: where do doubts come from? They also say, 'Why can I not speak?' Just what is this of yours that cannot speak? It is because you cannot turn the light around to directly undertake it. An ancestral master said: 'On one's own part, there is such spiritual brilliance and such sovereignty; all sentient beings drift in the dust of sentiments and cannot be liberated.' Even if one takes this one great causal condition and presents it in various ways, there are still dynamics and realms, falling into the dust of sentiments. Do you want to understand? Only when not a single thought arises will there be a slight bit of accord. Therefore my late master said: 'The life-root must be severed before you will get it.' Now tell me: how is the life-root severed? You must pack away your past views and various understandings, just like a person who has died the great death, and when brought back to life, naturally there is no contention; therefore it is said, 'I have attained the samādhi of non-contention, foremost among humans.' Do you not see what Venerable Nanquan said? 'Among the seven hundred eminent monks of Huangmei, all understood the Buddha-Dharma; only the postulant Lu did not understand the Buddha-Dharma, and that is why he obtained his robe and bowl. One must be such a person before one can tally with such an affair.' He also said, 'Such as the sage's fruit being greatly fearsome, it is because there are no such things as holy measures; if one is a great person of immeasurable capacity, in the end they refuse to acknowledge things recklessly and never say, "I am capable, I understand, I am a Chan master." If one acts like this, one falls into the deep pit of liberation.' Do you not see what Master Yunmen said? 'Dead people on level ground are countless; the one who can pass through the bramble forest is a skilled hand.' Now, dead people on level ground are countless, as Yunmen's single sentence hit upon. Here with this mountain monk, it is not so: even if you can pass through the bramble forest, you are not yet a skilled hand. You must also know there are silver mountains and iron walls; you must thoroughly penetrate the silver mountains and iron walls, and only then are you a person who has accomplished everything in every way, only then do you know there is the transcendent affair and can be entrusted with the bowl-bag, no longer opposing the dust of sentiments, noisily producing Buddha-Dharma views and discussing the Chan Way. You must truly have mind and circumstances as one, completely clear, still, inactive, and without affairs, yet not fall into the place of inactivity and having no affairs; arriving here, one must be a transcendent person to attain it. Therefore Venerable Longya said: 'For no reason sent to the edge of the ink pool, / Causing body and mind to be black as smoke; / Turning to the clear place upstream to wash, / Exhausting body and mind, it is still the same.' Venerable Deshan said: 'Whatever has words and phrases is all spirits clinging to grasses and leaning on trees. There must be a path of solitary transcendence; that would still be somewhat better.' As for patched-robed monks today, they must put their energy into investigating it before they will get it. Traveling thousands and tens of thousands of miles on foot, uniformly wearing out straw sandals, one must truly wear them through before getting it; only then will you not let down your whole life, and having come here to Southern Jambudvīpa for a round, it will neither be spent in vain nor will capital be lost. Thereafter, within the four deportments, enjoying it according to the occasion, you will also be naturally at ease. If suddenly one day the frost and dew ripen the fruit, and you are pushed by others onto the curved wood chair to serve as a teacher of gods and humans, undoing stickiness and untying bonds for others, that would indeed be extraordinary. If you are not yet truly settled, you must absolutely not bring disaster upon others! Do you not see what Deshan said? 'Just like a promiscuous woman, constantly setting up questions and answers, setting up guest and host—what relevance does it have?' In general, people who study and practice must be unrestrained and free, thoroughly penetrating directly; would that not be joyful?"