大慧普覺禪師語錄 19.7

19.7

昔道林禪師，居秦望山長松之上，時人謂之鳥窠和尚。白居易侍郎鎮錢塘，特入山謁之，乃問：「禪師坐處甚危險。」師曰：「老僧有甚危險？侍郎險尤甚。」曰：「弟子位鎮江山，何險之有？」師曰：「薪火相交，識性不停，得非險乎？」又問：「如何是佛法大意？」師曰：「諸惡莫作，眾善奉行。」曰：「三歲孩兒也解恁麼道。」師曰：「三歲孩兒雖道得，八十老人行不得。」白遂作禮而去。今欲省心力，莫管他三歲孩兒道得道不得，八十老人行得行不得，但諸惡莫作，便了此語。信也著，不信也著，請思之。

Formerly, Chan Master Daolin lived up in a tall pine tree on Mount Qinwang; the people of the time called him the Bird's Nest Monk. When Vice Minister Bai Juyi governed Qiantang, he specially entered the mountain to pay him a visit and said: "The Chan Master's seat is very dangerous!" The Master said: "What danger is there for this old monk? The Vice Minister's danger is far worse." Bai said: "My disciple's post governs the rivers and mountains; what danger could there be?" The Master said: "Firewood and flame interacting, your conscious nature never resting—how could that not be dangerous?" He then asked: "What is the great meaning of the Buddhadharma?" The Master said: "Do no evil, practice all good." Bai said: "Even a three-year-old child knows how to say that." The Master said: "Although a three-year-old child can say it, an eighty-year-old elder cannot practice it." Bai then made obeisance and departed. Now, if you wish to conserve mental effort, do not concern yourself with whether a three-year-old child can say it or not, or whether an eighty-year-old elder can practice it or not; simply do no evil, and this saying is understood. Whether you believe it or not, please reflect on it.