大慧普覺禪師語錄 20.7

20.7

火宅塵勞，何時是了？安樂得一日，便是千萬日樣子也。於一日中，心不馳求、不妄想、不緣諸境，便與三世諸佛諸大菩薩相契，不著和會，自然成一片矣。世尊說火宅喻，正為此也。經云：「是舍唯有一門，而復狹小，諸子幼稚，未有所識，戀著戲處，或當墮落，為火所燒，我當為說怖畏之事。」具在經中。是舍唯有一門而復狹小，謂信根狹劣，在火宅中，無智慧而戀著塵勞之事為樂，不信有出火宅露地而坐清淨妙樂故也。若在其中，信得及識得破，不戀著幼稚戲處，心不馳求、不妄想、不緣諸境，即此火宅塵勞便是解脫出三界之處。何以故？佛不云乎：「於一切境，無依無住，無有分別，明見法界廣大安立，了諸世間及一切法平等無二。」故遠行地菩薩，以自所行智慧力故，出過一切二乘之上，雖得佛境界藏，而示住魔境界；雖超魔道，而現行魔法；雖示同外道行，而不捨佛法；雖示隨順一切世間，而常行一切出世間法。此乃火宅塵勞中真方便也。學般若人，捨此方便而隨順塵勞，定為魔所攝持。又於隨順境中，彊說道理，謂煩惱即菩提，無明即大智，步步行有，口口談空，自不責業力所牽，更教人撥無因果，便言：「飲酒食肉，不礙菩提，行盜行婬，無妨般若。」如此之流，邪魔惡毒入其心腑，都不覺知，欲出塵勞，如潑油救火，可不悲哉。塵勞之儔，為如來種，教有明文，「譬如高原陸地不生蓮華，卑濕淤泥乃生此華。」在火宅塵勞中，頭出頭沒，受無量苦，忽於苦中而生厭離，始發無上菩提之心，塵勞之儔為如來種，正謂此也。俗人學道，與出家兒逈然不同，出家兒自小遠離塵勞，父母不供甘旨，六親固以棄離，身居清淨伽藍，目覩紺容聖相，念念在道，心心無間，所觀底書，無非佛書，所行底事，無非佛事，不見可欲，受佛禁戒，佛所讚者，方敢依而行之，佛所訶者，不敢違犯。有明眼宗師，可以尋訪，有良朋善友，可以咨決。縱有習漏未除者，暫時破佛律儀，已為眾所擯斥。以俗人較之，萬不及一。俗人在火宅中，四威儀內與貪欲瞋恚癡為伴侶，所作所為、所聞所見無非惡業。然若能於此中打得徹，其力却勝我出家兒百千萬億倍。打得徹了，方可說煩惱即菩提，無明即大智，本來廣大寂滅妙心中清淨圓明，蕩然無一物可作障礙，如太虛空一般，佛之一字亦是外物，況更有塵勞煩惱恩愛作對待耶？在火宅中打得徹了，不須求出家，造妖揑怪，毀形壞服，滅天性、絕祭祀，作名教中罪人。佛不教人如此，只說：「應以佛身得度者，即現佛身而為說法，應以宰官身得度者，即現宰官身而為說法，乃至應以比丘比丘尼優婆塞優婆夷身得度者，即皆現之而為說法。」又云：「治生產業，皆順正理，與實相不相違背。」但只依本分，隨其所證，化其同類，同入此門，便是報佛深恩也。但念念不要間斷，莫管得不得，便是夙與般若無緣，今生未打得徹，臨命終時亦不被惡業所牽，於日用二六時中亦不被塵勞所困，後世出頭來亦得現成受用。學道無他術，以悟為則，今生若不悟，儘崖到盡未來際常存此心，今生雖未悟，亦種得般若種子，在性地上，世世不落惡趣，生生不失人身，不生邪見家，不入魔軍類，況忽然心華發明耶！當此之時，三世諸佛證明有分，諸大祖師無處安著，非是彊為，法如是故。真如道人欲學此道，但只依此做工夫，久久自然撞著矣。如上所說，乃一期應病與藥耳，若作實法會，又却不是也。古人云：「見月休觀指，歸家罷問程。」寫至此，興雖未已，而紙已盡，且截斷葛藤。更數日，真如道人又連黏此軸來致謝曰：「聞前日老師興尚未已，更望鋪華錦上，不識可否？」予應之曰：「已展不縮。」復為續此葛藤云：「歸到家了，自然不問程途，見真月了，自然不看指頭矣。」佛說一大藏教，大喻三千，小喻八百，頓漸偏圓，權實半滿，無不是這箇道理。《淨名》云：「依於義不依語，依了義經不依不了義經。」佛只說因語入義，不說因義入語，禪家千差萬別，種種言句亦如是。今時學道人，不問僧俗，皆有二種大病，一種多學言句，於言句中作奇特想；一種不能見月亡指於言句悟入，而聞說佛法禪道，不在言句上，便盡撥棄，一向閉眉合眼，做死模樣，謂之靜坐觀心默照，更以此邪見，誘引無識庸流曰：「靜得一日，便是一日工夫。」苦哉，殊不知，盡是鬼家活計。去得此二種大病，始有參學分。經云：「不著眾生所言說，一切有為虛妄事，雖復不依言語道，亦復不著無言說。」又云：「觀語與義，非異非不異，觀義與語，亦復如是。若語異義者，則不因語辨義，而以語入義，如燈照色。」所以云：「依義不依語，依了義經不依不了義經。」語默二病不能除，決定障道，不可不知，知得了始有進修趣向分。第一莫把知得底為事業，更不求妙悟，謂我知他不知，我會他不會，墮我見網中，為我相所使，於未足中生滿足想，此病尤重。於語默二病，良醫拱手，此病不除，謂之增上慢邪見人。除夙有靈骨，方能到這裏得轉身一路，既能轉身即能轉物，既能轉物方謂之了義人。既了其義即了此心，既了此心，試於了處微細揣摩，元無可了。於無可了處，剔起便行，有時拈一莖草作丈六金身，有時將丈六金身却作一莖草，種種變化，成就一切法，毀壞一切法，七顛八倒，皆不出此無所了心。正當恁麼時，不是如來禪，不是祖師禪，不是心性禪，不是默照禪，不是棒喝禪，不是寂滅禪，不是過頭禪，不是教外別傳底禪，不是五家宗派禪，不是妙喜老漢杜撰底禪。既非如上所說底禪，畢竟是箇甚麼？到這裏，莫道別人理會不得，妙喜老漢亦自理會不得，真如道人請自看取。

When will worldly toil in the burning house ever end? If you can attain peace and joy for a single day, that is the model for thousands of myriad days. In a single day, if the mind does not race about seeking, does not indulge in false thoughts, and does not attach to sensory objects, you will tally with all the buddhas and great bodhisattvas of the three times. Without striving to harmonize, you naturally become one piece. The World-Honoured One spoke the parable of the burning house precisely for this reason. The sūtra says: 'This house has only one gate, and it is narrow and small. The children are young and ignorant, clinging fondly to their play places; they may fall and be burned by fire. I must speak to them of fearful matters.' All of this is in the sūtra. That this house has only one gate and is narrow and small means that their faculty of faith is narrow and inferior; being in the burning house, without wisdom they cling to the affairs of worldly toil as joy, not believing that there is the pure, wondrous joy of leaving the burning house to sit in the open ground. If, while inside it, one has full faith and sees through it, not clinging fondly to the childish play places, the mind not racing about seeking, not indulging in false thoughts, and not attaching to sensory objects, then this very burning house and worldly toil is the place of liberation and transcendence of the three realms. Why is this? Has not the Buddha said: 'Toward all objects, have no reliance and no abiding, have no discrimination, clearly seeing the vast establishment of the dharmadhātu, comprehending that all mundane worlds and all dharmas are equal and non-dual.' Therefore, a bodhisattva of the Far-Reaching Ground (Dūraṅgamā-bhūmi), through the power of his own practiced wisdom, surpasses all two vehicles. Though having attained the treasury of the Buddha's realm, he manifests abiding in Māra's realm; though transcending Māra's path, he appears to practice Māra's methods; though manifesting the practices of non-Buddhists, he does not abandon the Buddha-Dharma; though manifesting compliance with all worldly things, he constantly practices all world-transcending dharmas. This is the true expedient means within the burning house and worldly toil. If a student of prajñā abandons this expedient means and complies with worldly toil, he is sure to be seized and held by Māra. Moreover, amid compliant conditions, he forcibly rationalizes, claiming that afflictions are themselves bodhi and ignorance is itself great wisdom; with every step he practices existence, while with every breath he talks of emptiness. Failing to reprove himself for being dragged along by karmic force, he further teaches others to negate cause and effect, saying: 'Drinking wine and eating meat do not hinder bodhi; committing theft and engaging in sexual misconduct do not obstruct prajñā.' With people of this sort, heterodox demons and evil poison have entered their hearts and entrails without them being aware of it at all. Wishing to escape worldly toil, it is like throwing oil to extinguish a fire—is it not lamentable? That the lot of worldly toil is the seed of the Tathāgata is explicitly stated in the teachings: 'Just as lotus flowers do not grow on high plateaus or dry ground, but grow only in low, damp mud.' In the burning house and worldly toil, head bobbing up and down, suffering immeasurable pain, if one suddenly gives rise to disgust and renunciation amid suffering and for the first time generates the mind of unsurpassed bodhi, that the lot of worldly toil is the seed of the Tathāgata refers precisely to this. For laypeople to study the Way is vastly different from home-leavers. Home-leavers stay far away from worldly toil from their youth; their parents are not served sweet delicacies, and their six relations have firmly been abandoned. Their bodies reside in pure monasteries, their eyes behold the purplish-gold sacred images, thought after thought they abide in the Way, mind after mind without interruption. The books they look at are none other than Buddhist books; the affairs they conduct are none other than Buddhist affairs. Seeing nothing desirable, they receive the Buddha's prohibitive precepts; what the Buddha praised, only then do they dare rely upon and practice; what the Buddha rebuked, they dare not transgress. There are clear-eyed ancestral masters they can visit and inquire of, and good friends and companions with whom they can consult and resolve doubts. Even if one has uneliminated habitual defilements and temporarily breaks the Buddha's Vinaya, he is immediately expelled by the assembly. Comparing laypeople to them, they do not match one in ten thousand. Laypeople are in the burning house; within the four deportments, greed, anger, and delusion are their companions; what they do, hear, and see is nothing but evil karma. Yet if they can break through thoroughly in the midst of this, their strength will surpass that of us home-leavers by hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of times. Once you have broken through thoroughly, only then can you speak of afflictions being bodhi and ignorance being great wisdom. Within the originally vast, quiescent, wondrous mind, it is pure, round, and bright, utterly empty without a single thing that can serve as an obstruction, just like vast space. The single character 'Buddha' is also an external thing, not to mention having worldly toil, afflictions, and affectionate attachments set in opposition! Once you have broken through thoroughly within the burning house, there is no need to seek to leave home, acting weird and bizarre, altering your appearance and destroying your robes, extinguishing natural disposition, cutting off ancestral offerings, and becoming a transgressor against the orthodox moral teachings. The Buddha did not teach people to do this; he only said: 'To those who can be liberated by the body of a Buddha, he manifests the body of a Buddha and preaches the Dharma for them; to those who can be liberated by the body of an official, he manifests the body of an official and preaches the Dharma for them; down to those who can be liberated by the body of a monk, nun, layman, or laywoman, he manifests all of these and preaches the Dharma for them.' Furthermore, it says: 'Managing livelihood and industries all accords with the correct principle and does not contradict the true mark.' Merely keep to your own duty, transform those of your own kind according to what you have realized, and enter this gate together—this is repaying the Buddha's profound kindness. Just do not let thought after thought be interrupted; never mind whether you attain it or not. Even if in the past you lacked affinity with prajñā and do not break through thoroughly in this life, when facing the end of life you will not be dragged away by evil karma; throughout the twelve periods of the day in daily activities, you will not be trapped by worldly toil; and when you emerge in future lives, you will also attain ready-made enjoyment. Studying the Way has no other technique; taking awakening as the standard. If you do not awaken in this life, even if you exhaust your strength to the end of future time, constantly preserve this mind. Though you have not awakened in this life, you have also planted the seed of prajñā on the nature-ground; life after life you will not fall into evil destinies, birth after birth you will not lose a human body, you will not be born into a family of wrong views, and you will not enter the ranks of Māra's army—how much more so if the mind-flower suddenly blossoms! At that time, you will have a share in the verification of all buddhas of the three times, and all the great ancestral masters will have nowhere to place you. This is not forced; the Dharma is just so. If Daoist Zhenru wishes to study this Way, just apply effort according to this; after a long time you will naturally bump into it. What was said above is merely dispensing medicine according to the illness for a given time; if you take it as real Dharma, you will be wrong again. An ancient said: 'Seeing the moon, stop looking at the finger; returning home, cease asking the route.' Writing to this point, although my inspiration was not yet exhausted, the paper was finished, so I temporarily cut off the entanglements. After several more days, Daoist Zhenru again joined and pasted this scroll, coming to express thanks, saying: 'Hearing that the teacher's inspiration had not yet ended the other day, I hope for flowers to be added onto the brocade; I wonder if it may be permitted?' I replied to him: 'Having unfolded, it does not shrink.' Again I continued these entanglements for him, saying: 'Having returned home, one naturally does not ask the route; having seen the true moon, one naturally does not look at the finger.' The Buddha expounded the entire great canon of teachings—three thousand major parables and eight hundred minor parables, sudden and gradual, biased and round, provisional and real, half and full—none of which is not this principle. The Vimalakīrti says: 'Rely on the meaning, not on the words; rely on the sūtras of definitive meaning, not on the sūtras of non-definitive meaning.' The Buddha only spoke of entering the meaning by relying on words, not entering words by relying on the meaning. The thousands of differences and myriad distinctions of the Chan school, its various phrases, are also like this. Practitioners of the Way nowadays, whether monks or laity, all have two major sicknesses: one is learning many phrases, forming extraordinary notions within phrases; the other is being unable to see the moon and forget the finger so as to awaken and enter through phrases, and upon hearing it said that the Buddha-Dharma and Chan Way do not lie in phrases, they completely reject them, persistently closing their brows and shutting their eyes, putting on a dead appearance, calling it sitting quietly contemplating the mind in silent illumination. They further use this wrong view to entice ignorant, mediocre types, saying: 'If you can attain stillness for one day, that is one day's effort.' How distressing! Little do they know that this is all the livelihood of ghosts. Only when one rids oneself of these two major sicknesses can one begin to have a share in study and inquiry. A sūtra says: 'Do not attach to what sentient beings speak of, all conditioned, false matters; although not relying on the path of speech, neither attach to having no speech.' It also says: 'Contemplate words and meaning as neither different nor not different; contemplate meaning and words in the same way. If words were different from meaning, then one would not distinguish meaning by relying on words; yet entering meaning by relying on words is like a lamp illuminating form.' Therefore it is said: 'Rely on the meaning, not on the words; rely on the sūtras of definitive meaning, not on the sūtras of non-definitive meaning.' If the two sicknesses of speech and silence cannot be eliminated, they will definitely obstruct the Way; one cannot fail to know this. Only after fully knowing this can one have a share in progressing toward the goal. First of all, do not treat what you understand as your career, no longer seeking wondrous awakening, saying 'I know and others do not know, I understand and others do not understand,' falling into the net of self-view, driven by the mark of self, generating a notion of satisfaction in the midst of insufficiency—this illness is especially severe. Toward these two sicknesses of speech and silence, fine physicians fold their hands. If this illness is not eliminated, one is called a person of overweening pride and wrong views. Only someone with spiritual bones from past lives can reach here and attain a path of turning the body around. Once able to turn the body around, one can turn things; only once able to turn things can one be called a person of definitive meaning. Once one comprehends its meaning, one comprehends this mind; once one comprehends this mind, try to examine it subtly at the place of comprehension—originally there is nothing to comprehend. At the place where there is nothing to comprehend, pick it up and walk on. Sometimes hold up a single stalk of grass to make a sixteen-foot golden body; sometimes take the sixteen-foot golden body and turn it into a single stalk of grass. With various transformations, fulfilling all dharmas and destroying all dharmas, topsy-turvy and chaotic, none of it goes outside this mind that has nothing to comprehend. Exactly at such a time, it is not Tathāgata Chan, it is not Patriarchal Chan, it is not mind-nature Chan, it is not silent illumination Chan, it is not stick-and-shout Chan, it is not Chan of cessation, it is not Chan of extremes, it is not the Chan of a special transmission outside the teachings, it is not the Chan of the five lineages, and it is not Chan fabricated by old man Miaoxi. Since it is not Chan as described above, what ultimately is it? Arriving here, do not say others cannot comprehend it; old man Miaoxi himself also cannot comprehend it. Daoist Zhenru, please see for yourself.