圓悟佛果禪師語錄 13.9

13.9

師云：「人人具足，各各圓成，但向己求，莫從他覓。何故？從他覓，是他家底，捨己從人，去道遠矣。須知自己分上有一段事，輝騰今古，如十日並照，但以從無始劫來，妄想濃厚翳障自心，才回顧著則黑漫漫地，却到世間知見，種種聲色纔現在前一切明得，此等豈不是背覺合塵，從他求覓，不能返照耶？且如從上來乃佛乃祖，以無量百千言句方便，且道：明箇什麼邊事？只被爾起見、起念、起思量、作聰明、作計校，惑却本來自己，了却立能、立所、立現、立智、立是、立非，擾擾紛紛不能得脫，所以祖佛出世，只要教爾歇却知見，打併教絲毫盡淨。且道：作麼生歇？直下如懸崖撒手，放身捨命，捨却見聞覺知，捨却菩提涅槃、真如解脫，若淨若穢一時捨却，令教淨裸裸赤灑灑，自然一聞千悟，從此直下承當，却來返觀佛祖用處，與自己無二無別，乃至鬧市之中，四民浩浩經商貿易，以至於風鳴鳥噪，皆與自己無別，然後佛與眾生為一，煩惱與菩提為一，心與境為一，明與暗為一，是與非為一，乃至千差萬別悉皆為一，方可攪長河為酥酪，變大地作黃金，都盧混成一片，而一亦不立，然後行是行，坐是坐，著衣是著衣，喫飯是喫飯，如明鏡當臺，胡來胡現、漢來漢現，初不作計校，而隨處見成，所以萬機頓赴而不撓其神，千難殊對而不干其慮，此豈世間麁淺知見所能測度？此乃至妙因緣，學道之士，或十年或二十年，專心一意，尚透不能得，或有纔聞便解，或有無師自悟，既自不能便悟，亦障他人不得。就中土大夫尤難，以其從事世務勤勞家國，所以悟入稍難。然得底人，於己分上本無殊別；若是未能了底人，須要根性頴利，向自己脚跟下覷著，一聞便了。如李附馬留意祖道，與楊文公為友，日夕切磋，後見石門慈照禪師，因為舉：『唐房孺相公問徑山國一禪師云：「祖師大道畢竟意旨如何？」徑山云：「此大丈夫事，非將相之所能為。」』李聞之大悟，遂作頌云：『學道須是鐵漢，著手心頭便判，直趣無上菩提，一切是非莫管。』道得不妨奇特。且如出將入相、安邦定業、剪除暴亂，豈非丈夫耶？而徑山何故却道：『此大丈夫事，非將相之所能為。』須知向上一路，毫髮不容，所以洞山道：『見佛見祖如生冤家，始有參學分。』只如佛祖，為一切人師，作一切人依止，為甚却道『如生冤家』？爾且道：如何是大丈夫事？直須是不取人處分，不受人羅籠，不聽人繫綴，脫略窠臼，獨一無侶，巍巍堂堂，獨步三界，通明透脫，無欲無依，得大自在，都無絲毫佛法情解，如愚如癡、如木如石，不分南北、不辨寒溫，昏昏默默，似箇百不能、百不解底相似。然而肚裏直是峭措，動著則眼目卓朔，無有不明底事，乃至千差萬別古人言句，一時透徹。如或不是到此田地底人，須得向骨董袋裏平高就下為他去也。如昔日于頔相公出鎮襄陽，酷刑慘毒，忤者皆殺之。因讀觀音經有疑處，一日訪紫玉山道通禪師，乃問曰：『如何是黑風吹其船舫飄墮羅剎鬼國？』玉乃抗聲云：『于頔客作漢，問恁麼事作麼？』于聞之大怒，玉乃云：『只這便是黑風吹其船舫飄墮羅剎鬼國。』于頔有省。爾且道：他恁麼問紫玉，何故恁麼答他？此乃發他根本無明現前，隨手為伊指出，不妨好手。然不若當時不消著後語，從他斫作兩段，却有些衲僧氣息。及乎為他點破，也是順手摩挲。大凡接人有三種機：若是第一機為人，只消向他道：『于頔客作漢，爾問與麼事作麼？』更無方便，只是沒義理難話會，若於此直下承當去，更不擬議，則與柏樹子、麻三斤、一口吸盡西江水，更無差別，所以道：『舉不顧，即差互，擬思量，何劫悟。』只要教爾當頭領解去。若是第二機為人，即易也，只是發起問端，如道：『于頔客作漢，爾問與麼事作麼？』此乃發他根本無明，令他無明現前，隨手點破。若是第三機為人，不免入泥入水，重下箇注脚，如云：于頔客作漢，便是放却黑風吹其船舫。于頔或作怒，便是羅剎現前。玉云：正是黑風吹其船舫。豈不是觀音出現。此是落草注解，瞎人眼目，破滅胡種。若是真正衲僧，直須撥却。豈不見道：『他參活句，不參死句。活句上薦得，與祖佛為師。』如李萬卷問歸宗和尚：『須彌納芥子則不問，如何是芥子納須彌？』宗云：『爾身如椰子大，萬卷書著在甚處？』歸宗老漢尋常一條白棒打佛打祖，及乎李萬卷問著，不免曲順人情放開一線。然他用處，也只教爾當頭截去。後來眾中無識者，便道：『芥子是心，須彌是萬卷，納之於心，何所不可？』佛法若只如此，爭到今日也？又如龐居士問馬大師：『不與萬法為侶者是什麼人？』馬大師云：『待汝一口吸盡西江水，即向汝道。』居士乃大悟，作頌云：『十方同聚會，箇箇學無為，此是選佛場，心空及第歸。』此頌與一口吸盡西江水題目，豈曾相副？既不說口，又不說水，只道心空及第歸，且道：作麼生是心空？只教爾是非得失，明暗色空，森羅萬象一時融會歸于一理，和理一時空却，然後有些趣向。山僧今夜不惜眉毛，為爾一時吐却了也。更為諸人說箇小偈：『祖佛單傳向上機，電光石火搆不徹，獨許諸根頴脫人，金剛寶劍當頭截。』」

The Master said: "Everyone is fully endowed; each and every one is complete and perfected. Only seek within yourself; do not search outside. Why? What is sought outside belongs to another's house; casting aside oneself to follow others takes one far from the Way. You must know that within your own lot there is an affair that radiates brilliantly through past and present, like ten suns shining together. Yet, because from beginningless kalpas your delusive thoughts have been thick and dense, screening and obscuring your own mind, the moment you look back, all is utter darkness; but when it comes to worldly knowledge and views, all kinds of sounds and forms, the moment they appear before you, you understand everything clearly. Is this not turning your back on awakening and uniting with dust, seeking from others, and being unable to reflect back the light? Moreover, what affair is made clear by the Buddhas and patriarchs from antiquity who used countless hundreds of thousands of verbal expressions and expedient means? It is simply because you give rise to views, give rise to thoughts, give rise to conceptual deliberations, display cleverness, and calculate, thereby confusing your original self, and bringing about the establishment of subject and object, manifestation and wisdom, right and wrong, in tangled confusion unable to attain liberation. Therefore, when the Buddhas and patriarchs appear in the world, they merely wish to have you bring knowledge and views to rest, sweeping them away until not a single speck of thread remains. And tell me: how are they to be brought to rest? Directly like letting go your hands over a sheer cliff, casting down your body and surrendering your life—cast aside seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing; cast aside bodhi, nirvāṇa, tathatā, and liberation; whether pure or defiled, cast them aside all at once, letting yourself be stark naked and unburdened. Naturally, upon hearing one thing you will awaken to a thousand, directly taking charge of it from this point onward. Then turning back to look at the functioning of the Buddhas and patriarchs, it is not two and not different from your own; even in the bustling marketplace, where the four classes of people are clamorously trading and doing business, right down to the wind whistling and the birds calling—all are not different from yourself. Only then are Buddha and sentient beings one, afflictions and bodhi one, mind and objects one, light and darkness one, right and wrong one, and even the thousands of differences and myriads of distinctions are all one. Only then can you churn the great river into ghee and transform the great earth into yellow gold, blending everything entirely into a single whole, and even 'one' is not established. Then, walking is walking, sitting is sitting, putting on robes is putting on robes, and eating food is eating food. Like a bright mirror set upon its stand, when a barbarian comes a barbarian appears, and when a Chinese comes a Chinese appears: originally making no calculations, yet ready-made everywhere. Therefore, though ten thousand dynamic opportunities suddenly arrive, they do not perturb one's spirit; though a thousand varied difficulties confront one, they do not disturb one's concerns. How could this be measured by the crude and shallow views of the worldly? This is the most wondrous cause and condition: students of the Way, who for ten or twenty years concentrate their minds with single-minded focus, still fail to penetrate it; yet some understand upon barely hearing it, while others awaken on their own without a master. Since you cannot awaken immediately on your own, you cannot hinder others either. Among them, it is especially difficult for literati officials, because they are engaged in worldly affairs and toil for family and state, so their awakening and entry are somewhat difficult. Yet those who attain it are originally no different in their own lot; if one has not yet resolved it, one must have sharp natural faculties, looking down at the base of one's own heels to resolve it upon hearing a single word. For example, Prince Consort Li paid attention to the ancestral Way, befriended Yang Wengong, and polished his understanding day and night. Later, he met Chan Master Shimen Cizhao, who brought up for him: 'Tang Prime Minister Fang Ru asked Chan Master Guoyi of Jingshan: "Ultimately, what is the intended meaning of the ancestral master's Great Way?" Jingshan said: "This is the affair of a great hero, not something generals and prime ministers can accomplish."' Li had a great awakening upon hearing this and then composed a verse: 'To study the Way one must be an iron fellow; / Taking action, the mind instantly decides. / Heading directly toward unsurpassed bodhi, / Pay no heed to all rights and wrongs.' What he said is indeed quite extraordinary. Moreover, going out as a general and entering as a prime minister, pacifying the state and establishing its dynastic enterprise, cutting down violence and chaos—is that not a great hero? Why then did Jingshan say instead: 'This is the affair of a great hero, not something generals and prime ministers can accomplish'? You must know that the transcendent path does not allow a single hair. Therefore Dongshan said: 'Only when you see the Buddhas and patriarchs as mortal enemies will you have a share in study and inquiry.' But the Buddhas and patriarchs are teachers of all people and the refuge for all people—why then say 'as mortal enemies'? Tell me, what is the affair of a great hero? One must directly refrain from taking instructions from others, avoid being caged by others, refuse to be bound by others, cast off all tracks and ruts, be solitary and companionless, towering and imposing, striding alone through the three realms, luminous and thoroughly penetrated, without desire and without dependence, attaining great autonomy, entirely free of the slightest emotional understanding of the Buddhadharma, like a fool or a dullard, like wood or stone, not distinguishing south from north, not discerning cold from warmth, murky and silent, resembling someone completely incompetent and entirely devoid of understanding. And yet inside, one is truly sharp and upright; the moment one is touched, the eyes gleam brightly, with nothing left unclear, right down to instantly penetrating the myriad distinctions of the ancient masters' verbal expressions. If one has not yet reached this stage, one must reach into the bag of curiosities to lower the high and raise the low for their sake. For instance, in the past Prime Minister Yu Di went out to garrison Xiangyang; his punishments were cruel and vicious, and all who crossed him were executed. Because he had a doubt while reading the Avalokiteśvara Sūtra, one day he visited Chan Master Daotong of Mount Ziyu and asked: 'What does it mean: "If a black wind blows its ship and vessel, causing it to drift and fall into the land of the rākṣasa demons"?' Ziyu raised his voice and said: 'Yu Di, you hired labourer! Why do you ask about such things?' Hearing this, Yu was enraged. Ziyu then said: 'Just this is the black wind blowing its ship and vessel, causing it to drift and fall into the land of the rākṣasa demons.' Yu Di had an awakening. Tell me, when he asked Ziyu like that, why did Ziyu answer him in that way? This was to trigger his fundamental ignorance to appear before him, directly pointing it out on the spot—truly the work of an expert hand! Yet, it would not have been as good as saying nothing afterward at that moment, letting him be hacked in two, which would have had some of the flavor of a patch-robed monk. As for breaking it down and clarifying it for him, that was merely stroking him down following his lead. In general, there are three modes of potential in guiding people: If one guides someone with the first mode of potential, one need only say to him: 'Yu Di, you hired labourer! Why do you ask about such things?' There are no further expedients; it is simply devoid of conceptual meaning and difficult to discuss. If one takes charge of it directly right here without entertaining any deliberations, then it is no different from the cypress tree, the three pounds of flax, or swallowing all the waters of the West River in a single gulp. Therefore it is said: 'When it is brought up, if you do not look directly, you go astray; if you calculate and deliberate, in what kalpa will you awaken?' It only wants you to grasp and understand it head-on. If one guides someone with the second mode of potential, that is easy: it is merely opening up the question, as in saying: 'Yu Di, you hired labourer! Why do you ask about such things?' This triggers his fundamental ignorance, causing his ignorance to manifest before him, and then points it out on the spot. If one guides someone with the third mode of potential, one cannot avoid entering the mud and water to append further commentary, as in saying: 'Calling Yu Di a hired labourer is letting loose the black wind blowing the ship. Yu Di's becoming angry is the rākṣasas appearing. Ziyu saying: "This is precisely the black wind blowing the ship"—is this not the manifestation of Avalokiteśvara?' This is commentary fallen into the grass, blinding people's eyes and destroying the seed of the Barbarian. If one is a true patch-robed monk, one must sweep it away completely. Have you not heard it said: 'He studies the living phrase, not the dead phrase. If you understand on the living phrase, you become the teacher of Buddhas and patriarchs.' For instance, when Li Wanjuan asked Venerable Guizong: 'Leaving aside Mount Sumeru containing a mustard seed, what is a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru?' Guizong said: 'Your body is the size of a coconut; where are the ten thousand volumes of books placed?' That old fellow Guizong usually struck Buddhas and patriarchs with a plain staff, but when Li Wanjuan asked him, he could not help but accommodate human feelings and open up a crack. Yet his functioning was also merely to make you cut it off head-on. Later, those without understanding among the assembly said: 'The mustard seed is the mind, and Sumeru is the ten thousand volumes; what could be wrong with containing them within the mind?' If the Buddhadharma were merely like this, how could it have survived to this day? Furthermore, when Layman Pang asked Great Master Mazu: 'What kind of person is it who does not take the ten thousand dharmas as companion?' Great Master Mazu said: 'Wait until you swallow all the waters of the West River in a single gulp, then I will tell you.' The layman attained great awakening and composed a verse: 'From the ten directions we gather together, / Each and every one studying non-action. / This is the arena for selecting Buddhas; / The mind emptied, passing the examination, one returns.' Did this verse ever match the topic of swallowing all the waters of the West River in a single gulp? He mentioned neither mouth nor water, only saying 'the mind emptied, passing the examination, one returns.' And tell me: what is an emptied mind? It only wants you to integrate right and wrong, gain and loss, light and darkness, form and emptiness, and the myriad phenomena all at once into a single principle, and then empty out even that principle along with it; only then will there be some true direction. Tonight the mountain monk has not spared his eyebrows to vomit it all out for you at once. I shall speak another small gāthā for everyone: 'The Buddhas and patriarchs individually transmit the transcendent dynamic, / Which cannot be caught in a spark of flint or a flash of lightning. / It is granted only to those whose faculties are sharp and unbound: / With the diamond jewel sword, they cut it off head-on.'"