圓悟佛果禪師語錄 9.9

9.9

He instructed the assembly, saying: "Generally, in studying the Way, one must apply oneself to the work before one can attain it; do not merely take it lightly. In the twelve periods of the day, be as if you owe someone a debt of two or three million strings of cash, fearing that you will not be able to pay it back. Maintaining sincerity like this, do not worry that you will not arrive. Therefore the ancients said: 'When the great matter is not yet settled, it is like mourning one's parents.' There is another metaphor: a student of the Way is like a hen brooding on an egg; the warmth must be continuous before it can generate life. If there is an interruption in between and the warmth is not continuous, even if she broods for ten years, in the end life will not be produced. Longya also said: 'Studying the Way is like drilling for fire; when you meet smoke, you must not stop. Only when the golden sparks appear and it blazes up have you reached the end.' How much more so with this great matter, for which the Buddhas of the three periods of time appeared in the world, and by which one penetrates and sheds birth and death oneself—how could one procrastinate, as if it were present and yet not? Please exert your efforts and advance, taking awakening as the criterion, and may each of you have faith. Take care."