圓悟佛果禪師語錄 14.9

14.9

探究此事，要透死生，豈是小緣？應當猛利誠志，信重如救頭然，始有少分相應。多見參問之士，世智聰明，只圖資談柄廣聲譽，以為高上趣向，務以勝人，但增益我見，如以油投火其炎益熾，直到臘月三十日，茫然繆亂，殊不得纖毫力，良由最初已無正因，所以末後勞而無功。是故古德勸人參涅槃堂裏禪，誠有旨也。生死之際，處之良不易，唯大達超證之士，奮利根勇猛一徑截斷則無難。然此段雖由自己根力，亦假方便，於常時些小境界中，轉得行、打得徹，不存解、不立見，凜然全體現成，踐履將云、養得純熟，到緣謝之時，自然無怖畏，只有清虛瑩徹，無一法當情。如懸崖撒手，棄捨得無留戀，一念萬年、萬年一念，覓生了不可得，豈有死也。是故古德坐脫立亡、行化倒蛻，能得勇健，皆是平昔淘汰得淨潔。香林四十年得成一片，涌泉四十年尚有走作，石霜勸人休去歇去，如古廟裏香爐去，永嘉云：「體即無生，了本無速。」蓋業業兢兢念茲在茲，方得無礙自在。既捨生之後，得意生身，隨自意趣，後報悉以理遣，不由業牽，所謂透脫生死耶；報緣未謝，於人間世上有如許參涉交互，應須處之使綽綽然有餘裕始得。人生各隨緣分，不必厭喧求靜，但令中虛外順，雖在鬧市沸湯中，亦恬然安穩；才有纖毫見刺，則打不過也。

Investigating this matter requires penetrating birth and death; how could it be a minor matter? One must be sharp, fierce, and earnest in resolve, regarding faith with gravity as if saving one's head from burning, before there can be even a slight degree of accord. One often sees students of Chan who rely on worldly intellect and cleverness, merely seeking to supply material for conversation and spread their renown, considering it an exalted pursuit and striving to outdo others; this only increases self-views, like throwing oil onto a fire so that its flames flare up even more fiercely. When the thirtieth day of the twelfth month arrives, they are bewildered and in disarray, deriving not the slightest strength at all. This is truly because from the very beginning they lacked the proper cause, so that in the end their labors yield no result. Therefore, when the virtuous ones of old urged people to practice the Chan of the nirvāṇa hall, they truly had a profound intention. When it comes to the border between birth and death, handling it is truly not easy; only someone of great attainment and transcendent realization, rousing sharp faculties and courage to cut it off directly, will find no difficulty. However, although this relies on one's own root power, it also requires skillful means. In ordinary, minor circumstances, if one can turn freely and penetrate through, not preserving understanding and not establishing views, so that the whole being is chilled and ready-made, and if one practices and nurtures it until it is thoroughly mature, then when conditions cease, one will naturally be free from fear. There will only be pure emptiness and crystalline clarity, with not a single dharma affecting one's feelings. It is like letting go of one's hands over a sheer precipice, abandoning everything without the slightest lingering attachment; one thought is ten thousand years, and ten thousand years are one thought. Searching for birth, it cannot be found at all; how could there be death? Therefore, that the virtuous ones of old could pass away while sitting or standing, or shed their mortal remains while walking or upside down, all acting with such vigor, was because in ordinary times they had purified and purged themselves clean. Xianglin took forty years to become of one piece; Yongquan after forty years still had missteps. Shishuang urged people to rest and cease, to be like an incense burner in an ancient temple. Yongjia said: 'The essence is itself unarisen; realization originally has no speed.' It is precisely by being cautious and reverent, constantly mindful of this and nothing else, that one attains unobstructed freedom. After discarding this life, one attains a mind-made body, following one's own inclinations, and subsequent retributions are all dispelled through principle and not drawn by karma; is this not what is meant by penetrating and being freed from birth and death? As long as karmic conditions have not yet ceased, amidst the human world there are so many intersecting and reciprocal involvements; one must handle them with ample ease and plenty of room to spare. Each person follows their own conditioned lot in life; one need not loathe the noisy and seek the quiet. Merely keep the inside empty and the outside compliant, and even amidst a bustling marketplace or boiling water, one will remain tranquil and secure. The moment the slightest thorn of view arises, one will fail to pass through.