圓悟佛果禪師語錄 15.10

15.10

When Buddhas and patriarchs appeared in the world, they specifically advocated this little cause and condition, calling it the single transmission of the mind-seal, not establishing words and phrases, receiving the highest capacity, valuing only hearing once and awakening to a thousand, directly undertaking it and completing cultivation, not seeking fame or gain, solely striving to break through life and death. Now that we are their descendants, we must preserve their seeds. Look at those people of the Way from ancient times: at every turn they subdued dragons and tamed tigers, conferred precepts on spirits, embraced hardship and ate bland food, largely forgot the human world, permanently departed from the dusts, cooked food in broken-legged pots for twenty or thirty years, hid their traces and buried their names, often dying while sitting or passing away while standing. Among them, only one or two were pushed forward by all the sages to establish the lineage style. All followed high conduct, striving to repay the Buddha's kindness and circulate the great Dharma; only then did they utter a word or half a phrase, doing so only because they had no alternative, fully aware that it was a gate for guiding people into principle, a tile for knocking on a door. Yet its structure, power, and function may well serve as a model for later descendants, who should take it as their standard. Encourage one another, regain the ancient style, and strictly avoid seeking fame and angling for profit. This is my deep wish.