圓悟佛果禪師語錄 14.4

14.4

Ever since Keqin left the gorges and resided at Notang, I have kept only this in mind at all times. Those who followed me mostly did not speak of weariness; what is called benefiting others is precisely benefiting oneself. One must have the root clearly penetrated, the ground of principle refined to the utmost, and be pure and unmixed. As soon as right and wrong arise, the mind is chaotically lost. If you tread the royal path, the gods find no way to offer flowers, and māras and non-Buddhists cannot secretly peer at you; you must walk the deepest ocean bottom and stand on the highest peak before it counts, without alarming the crowds or stirring the multitude—this is called the ordinary mind, the original source, the natural true self-nature. Though dwelling among tens of thousands of people, it is as if there were not a single person like you. How could this be measured by crude, floating thoughts of consciousness or sharp-witted cleverness? Your letter says: continuous and uninterrupted, stillness and illumination at the same time; as months and years pass, it fuses into a seamless whole and the root becomes ever firmer. For intimate functioning, truly nothing surpasses this. You should realize complete reality right where you are, and other and self, far and near, will vanish; wherever you touch is him, and every land and every dust mote is within your own great round mirror: the more continuous and intimate it is, the more you are able to transform. Therefore Yunmen said: ‘Even if you reach the state where the great earth and universe are without the slightest defect, it is still a transitional phrase; not seeing a single form is only half the presentation. Even if you reach this, you still must know there is a time for the full presentation.’ Therefore the staff of Deshan and the shout of Linji both thoroughly realize no-birth, penetrating from crown to base, flowing freely with sovereign ease; only upon reaching the point where the great function appears before them can they appear and disappear. Apart from wanting people to shoulder it with their whole body, they withdraw to abide in the realm of great persons like Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra. Yantou said: ‘Those who have attained it simply keep to leisure; during the twelve periods of the day, without desire and without dependence, they naturally transcend all samādhis.’ Deshan also said: ‘You need only have no concerns in your mind, and your mind without concerns, and it will be empty yet numinous, still yet illuminating. If you speak of roots and branches to the breadth of a hairsbreadth, you are entirely deceiving yourself.’ Having already understood this, you must put it into practice. Just step back: the more you step back, the clearer it becomes; the less you understand, the more strength you have. The moment a divergent thought arises or a deliberating mind is born, vigorously cut it off yourself so that it does not continue. Then the illumination of wisdom will be brilliantly clear, and you will tread on solid ground at every step. How could there be high or low, hate or love, smooth or contrary, or selection in between? The habit-energies of ignorance arise and perish in an instant; over a long time, they naturally have no power to disturb you.