圓悟佛果禪師語錄 14.24

14.24

Others investigate living phrases, not dead phrases. If you comprehend beneath a living phrase, you will never forget it for eternal kalpas; if you comprehend beneath a dead phrase, you cannot even save yourself. If you want to be a teacher of Buddhas and Patriarchs, you must clarify living phrases. When Shaoyang produced a phrase, it cut through like a sharp blade; Linji also said, "After using the hair-blown [sword], polish it quickly." How could this be an affair within the realms of the skandhas? Nor is it reached by worldly wisdom or clever debate. One must directly penetrate deeply to the original source, sweep away former dependence on others to make interpretations, clear and obscure, favorable and unfavorable, seal them firmly with the diamond true seal, wield the Vajra King jewel sword, and use the means of one's fundamental lot. Therefore it is said, "The sword that kills people must be the sword that kills people; the sword that gives life to people must be the sword that gives life to people." Having killed someone, one must be able to give them life; having given them life, one must be able to kill them. If it is only one-sided, then it falls into bias. At the moment of extending one's hands, look rather to expedients; do not let the blade be dulled or the hand harmed. Every step must have a path of release, completely open and luminous on all sides, illuminating other realms. Striking with the blade must also be tight and firm; if it is slightly lax, one falls into disarray. One's own self in ordinary moments does not retain even a hair's breadth; if there is any, it is also cut into three pieces. How much more so for the fangs and claws passed down from the ancestors in this lineage—they are only brought out when encountering a person of capacity. If they accord with the dynamic, they use it together; if they do not accord, they cut it away. Regard this as the essential; there is no matter that cannot be completely resolved. Make sure to practice it with vigor.