圓悟佛果禪師語錄 14.40

14.40

The Golden Ascetic sat for kalpas; Bodhidharma faced the wall at Shaolin for nine years; Caoxi watched the hunters in Sihui County; Dawei lived in a thatched hut in the deep mountains for ten years; Damei dwelt in a place isolated from human traces; Wuye read the Great Canon; the ancient sage praised Tiṣya with one foot raised for seven days and nights; Sadāprarudita spent months selling his heart and liver; and Changqing sat through seven meditation cushions. These were all for this one great cause and condition; their resolve is worthy of esteem, serving as a standard for later generations throughout eternity. Even if you place your body on the long continuous benches, it is nothing other than quieting the mind to investigate and experience it, merely keeping thoughts clear and calm. Amidst hustle and bustle is precisely where one can apply effort. When applying effort, penetrate from top to bottom without the slightest omission; the entire body is present before you, not arising from anywhere else. Only this one great potential revolves freely—why speak of worldly truth or Buddhadharma? Holding both equally for a long time, year after year, your footing will naturally become firm and solid, simply being this Senior Monk Liang. Directly accord and realize it, like water pouring into water, like gold traded for gold, equal and unified, clear, true, and pure—this is knowing how to make a livelihood. Just do not give rise to a single thought, letting it be unobstructed and transparent. As soon as right and wrong, self and other, gain and loss arise, do not follow them. This is day and night personally meeting your own true kalyāṇamitra; why worry that this matter will not be accomplished? You must look at this yourself!