大慧普覺禪師語錄 21.11

21.11

是人知得世間有為虛妄不實底道理，及至對境遇緣，驀地撞在面前，不隨他去，則被伊穿却鼻孔定也。蓋無始時來，熟處太熟、生處太生，雖暫識得破，終是道力不能勝他業力。且那箇是業力熟處是？那箇是道力生處是？然道力業力本無定度，但看日用現行處，只有一箇昧與不昧耳。昧却道力，則被業力勝却，業力勝則觸途成滯，觸途成滯則處處染著，處處染著則以苦為樂，故釋迦老子謂滿慈子曰：「汝以色空相傾相奪於如來藏，而如來藏隨為色空周遍法界。」是故於中風動空澄日明雲暗，眾生迷悶背覺合塵，故發塵勞有世間相，這箇是昧道力，而被業力勝者。釋迦老子又曰：「我以妙明不滅不生合如來藏，而如來藏唯妙覺明圓照法界。」是故於中一為無量、無量為一，小中現大、大中現小，不動道場遍十方界，身含十方無盡虛空，於一毛端現寶王剎，坐微塵裏轉大法輪，這箇是現行處，不昧道力而勝業力者。然兩處皆歸虛妄，若捨業力而執著道力，則我說是人不會諸佛方便隨宜說法。何以故？不見釋迦老子曰：「若取法相，即著我人眾生壽者；若取非法相，即著我人眾生壽者。」是故不應取法，不應取非法，前所云道力業力本無定度是也。若是有智慧丈夫兒，借道力為器仗攘除業力，業力既除道亦虛妄，所以道：「但以假名字，引導於眾生，未識得破時千難萬難，識得破後有甚難易？」龐居士曰：「凡夫智量狹，妄說有難易，離相如虛空，盡契諸佛智，戒相亦如空，迷人自作持，病根不肯拔，只是弄花枝。」要識病根麼？不是別物，只是箇執難執易妄生取捨者。這箇病根拔不盡，生死海裏浮沈，直是無出頭時。昔張拙秀才纔被尊宿點著病源，便解道：「斷除煩惱重增病，趣向真如亦是邪，隨順世緣無罣礙，涅槃生死是空花。」要得直截不疑佛祖、不疑死生，但常放教方寸虛豁豁地，事來則隨時撥置，如水之定、如鑑之明，好惡妍醜到來，逃一毫不得，信知無心自然境界不可思議。近世叢林有一種邪禪，執病為藥，自不曾有證悟處，而以悟為建立，以悟為接引之詞，以悟為落第二頭，以悟為枝葉邊事。自己既不曾有證悟之處，亦不信他人有證悟者，一味以空寂頑然無知，喚作威音那畔空劫已前事，逐日噇却兩頓飯，事事不理會，一向嘴盧都地打坐，謂之休去歇去，纔涉語言便喚作落今時，亦謂之兒孫邊事，將這黑山下鬼窟裏底為極則，亦謂之祖父從來不出門，以己之愚返愚他人，釋迦老子所謂：「譬如有人自塞其耳，高聲大叫求人不聞，此輩名為可憐愍者。」有一種士大夫，末上被這般雜毒入在心識中，縱遇真正善知識，與說本分話，返以為非。此輩正如世之所謂虎鬼者，不獨被伊害却性命，又返為之用，殊不知覺。除非夙有願力，常以生不知來處，死不知去處二事，貼在鼻孔尖上，茶裏飯裏靜處鬧處，念念孜孜常似欠却人，萬百貫錢債無所從出，心胸煩悶回避無門，求生不得求死不得，當恁麼時，善惡路頭相次絕也。覺得如此時，正好著力，只就這裏看箇話頭，僧問趙州：「狗子還有佛性也無？」州云：「無。」看時不用博量，不用註解，不用要得分曉，不用向開口處承當，不用向舉起處作道理，不用墮在空寂處，不用將心等悟，不用向宗師說處領略，不用掉在無事甲裏，但行住坐臥時時提撕，狗子還有佛性也無？無提撕得熟，口議心思不及，方寸裏七上八下，如咬生鐵橛沒滋味時，切莫退志，得如此時，却是箇好底消息。不見古德有言：「佛說一切法，為度一切心，我無一切心，何用一切法？」非但祖師門下如是，佛說一大藏教，盡是這般道理。眾生惡業障重，逐日下得床來，便心識紛飛思量名利，擔却人我，妄想顛倒，從旦至暮，如鉤鎖連環相續不斷，都不厭惡。乍起一念，向此箇門中著意思量，便要我會；心意識安排不到，便生煩惱，早要罷休，有著甚來由之說。如此者不可勝數。舜元道友即不然，既知缺減界中種種虛妄，一心一意向自己脚跟下理會，生從何處來？死向何處去？既不知來處，又不知去處，現今歷歷孤明，與人分是非別好醜底，決定是有是無？是真實是虛妄？直待到如人飲水冷煖自知，不向他人口頭受處分，忽然噴地一發，到究竟安樂大休大歇處，方始自肯。以此軸來求指示，掇筆信手一揮，遂成一段葛藤。然則事不孤起，起必有由，若一向作葛藤會又爭得？不見昔日子胡和尚有言：「祖師西來也只箇冬寒夏熱，夜暗日明。只為爾徒無意立意，無事生事，無內外彊作內外，無東西謾說東西，所以奢摩不能明了，以至根境不能自由。」以是評量，舜元不曾來妙喜處求法語，妙喜元不曾寫一字，冬寒夏熱、夜暗日明，內外中間東西南北，元不曾移易增減一絲毫許。何以故？我宗無語句，亦無一法與人。既無一法與人，即今寫底是箇甚麼？說冬寒夏熱內外中間者，又是箇甚麼？東西南北不曾移易一絲毫者，又是箇甚麼？（咄！）有也不可得，無也不可得，冬寒夏熱也不可得，內外中間也不可得，作如是說者亦不可得，受如是說者亦不可得，一絲毫亦不可得，舜元亦不可得，妙喜亦不可得，不可得亦不可得，不可得中只麼得。舜元到這裏合作麼生參？只這作麼生參亦無著處，然後此語亦不受。此語既不受，妙喜決定無說，舜元決定無聞，無說處是真說，無聞處是真聞，如是則妙喜即是舜元，舜元即是妙喜，妙喜舜元無二無二分、無別無斷故。嘉州大像喫黃連，陝府鐵牛滿口苦。苦不苦？分明覷見沒可覩。（咄！）

Even if this person understands the principle that worldly conditioned things are false and untrue, when they confront objects and encounter conditions, suddenly coming upon them face to face, if they do not follow along with them, their nostrils are definitely pierced by them. This is because from time without beginning, the familiar has become too familiar, and the unfamiliar has become too unfamiliar. Although one may temporarily see through them, in the end the power of the Way cannot overcome the power of karma. And which is the familiar place of karma's power? Which is the unfamiliar place of the Way's power? Yet the power of the Way and the power of karma inherently have no fixed measure; one need only observe where they are actively manifested in daily application: there is only whether one is deluded or not deluded. If one is deluded regarding the power of the Way, one is overcome by the power of karma; when the power of karma overcomes, wherever one turns becomes an obstruction; when wherever one turns becomes an obstruction, one is tainted and attached at every turn; when one is tainted and attached at every turn, one takes suffering as joy. Thus old Śākya said to Pūrṇamaitrāyaṇīputra: "You let form and emptiness vie with and dispossess each other in the tathāgatagarbha, and the tathāgatagarbha accordingly manifests as form and emptiness, pervading the dharmadhātu." Therefore, within it, the wind stirs, space clears, the sun shines, and clouds darken; sentient beings are confused and stifled, turning their backs on enlightenment to unite with worldly dust, so that defiling afflictions arise and worldly appearances exist. This is being deluded about the power of the Way and overcome by the power of karma. Old Śākya also said: "Through the wondrous clarity of non-extinction and non-arising, I unite with the tathāgatagarbha, and the tathāgatagarbha solely with wondrous enlightened clarity completely illuminates the dharmadhātu." Therefore, within it, the one becomes the immeasurable, the immeasurable becomes the one; the great appears within the small, the small appears within the great; without moving from the place of enlightenment, one pervades the realms of the ten directions; the body encompasses the infinite space of the ten directions; on the tip of a single hair, one manifests the lands of the precious kings; sitting within a speck of dust, one turns the great wheel of the Dharma. This is where it actively manifests: not being deluded about the power of the Way and overcoming the power of karma. Yet both of these return to falsehood. If one renounces the power of karma and clings to the power of the Way, then I say this person does not understand the expedients of the buddhas in teaching according to suitability. Why so? Have you not seen old Śākya say: "If one grasps the characteristic of Dharma, one clings to a self, a person, a sentient being, and a life span; if one grasps the characteristic of non-Dharma, one clings to a self, a person, a sentient being, and a life span"? Therefore, one should neither grasp Dharma nor grasp non-Dharma; this is what was said earlier about the power of the Way and the power of karma inherently having no fixed measure. If one is a resolute man of wisdom, one borrows the power of the Way as an instrument and weapon to clear away the power of karma. Once the power of karma is cleared away, the Way is also false. Thus it is said: "Merely with provisional names does one guide sentient beings; before one sees through it, it is a thousandfold difficult, ten-thousandfold difficult; once one has seen through it, what difficulty or ease can there be?" Layman Pang said: / "Ordinary beings' wisdom is narrow, / Falsely speaking of difficult and easy. / Leaving behind marks is like empty space, / Wholly tallying with the wisdom of all buddhas. / The marks of the precepts are also like space; / Deluded people keep them by their own contrivance. / If the root of the disease is not plucked out, / One is merely playing with flowering branches." / Do you wish to know the root of the disease? It is not another thing: it is merely the one who clings to difficulty and clings to ease, falsely giving rise to taking and discarding. If this root of the disease is not thoroughly uprooted, in floating and sinking in the sea of birth and death, there will simply never be a time of emergence. Long ago, when the Scholar Zhang Zhuo had the source of the disease pointed out by an elder venerable, he was able to say: / "Cutting off afflictions only adds to the illness; / Tending toward True Suchness is also an error. / Following worldly conditions without hindrance, / Nirvāṇa and birth-and-death are flowers in the sky." / If you wish to be direct and without doubt regarding the buddhas and patriarchs, and without doubt regarding life and death, simply keep your mind constantly open and vast; when matters come, dispose of them according to the occasion, like the stillness of water, like the clarity of a mirror. When good and bad, beautiful and ugly arrive, not the slightest bit can escape; know with certainty that the natural realm of no-mind is inconceivable. In recent times within the monastic groves there is a type of heterodox Chan that clings to the disease as medicine. Having never personally had an awakening, they take awakening to be a mere contrivance, take awakening to be introductory words, take awakening to be falling into the secondary level, and take awakening to be a matter of branches and leaves. Since they have never personally had a place of awakening, neither do they believe that others have awakened. Invariably taking empty quietude and dull insensibility, they call it the matter beyond the King of Majestic Voice and before the empty kalpa. Daily they gorge on two meals, not attending to a single thing, purely sitting with pouted lips, calling it "letting go and resting." As soon as language is involved, they call it "falling into the present day," and also call it "a matter of descendants"; taking this ghost cave under the black mountain as the ultimate standard, they also say "the grandfather has never left the house." Taking their own foolishness, they in turn fool others. This is what old Śākya called: "Like a man who stops his own ears and shouts loudly, seeking for others not to hear; such people are called pitiable." There is a type of scholar-official who, having once had this kind of miscellaneous poison enter their minds, even if they meet a true good spiritual friend who speaks to them of their original lot, will on the contrary take it to be wrong. Such people are just like what the world calls "ghosts of tiger victims": not only have their own lives been ruined by it, they in turn serve it, entirely without awareness. Unless you have past vows, constantly keep these two matters—not knowing where you came from in birth, and not knowing where you will go in death—pasted onto the tip of your nostrils. In your tea and in your rice, in quiet places and in noisy places, thought after thought, earnestly and constantly as though owing someone a debt of hundreds of thousands of strings of cash with no source from which to pay it back; your heart distressed and vexed with no door of escape, unable to live and unable to die. When it is just so, the road of good and evil will be cut off one after another. When you feel it to be like this, it is just the time to apply effort: right here, investigate this huatou: a monk asked Zhaozhou, "Does a dog have buddha-nature or not?" Zhou said, "No." When investigating, do not figure it out; do not make commentaries; do not demand clear understanding; do not take it up where the mouth opens; do not make reasonings where it is raised; do not fall into empty quietude; do not wait with your mind for awakening; do not comprehend it where the lineage masters speak of it; do not drop it into the armor of nothing-to-do. Merely in walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, constantly bring it to attention: "Does a dog have buddha-nature or not?" "No." When you bring it to attention until it is familiar, when speech and thought cannot reach it, and inside your chest it is tossed up and down, as when gnawing on an unyielding iron spike without any flavor—do not retreat in your resolve. When you reach such a time, it is in fact a good sign. Have you not seen what an ancient worthy said: "The Buddha spoke all dharmas to save all minds; I have no mind at all, of what use are any dharmas?" Not only is it thus in the Patriarch's gate, but the entire treasury of teachings spoken by the Buddha is all this principle. Sentient beings' evil karmic obstructions are heavy: day after day as soon as they get out of bed, their minds fly wildly, thinking of fame and profit, burdened by self and other, deluded and inverted; from morning to night, like links in a chain continuing unbroken, they do not loathe it at all. Yet when a single thought arises and they apply their thoughts to ponder within this gate, they immediately want me to understand; and when the mental consciousness cannot arrange it, they immediately give rise to vexation and soon wish to give up, with talk of "what was the point of this?" Those like this cannot be numbered. Fellow practitioner Shunyuan is not like that: having known that all kinds of things in the deficient realm are false, with one heart and one mind he investigates under his own feet: Where did birth come from? Where will death go? Since one does not know where one comes from, nor where one goes, what is this that is presently clearly and uniquely luminous, distinguishing right from wrong and discerning good from ugly with people—is it definitely existent or nonexistent? Is it real or false? Wait directly until, like a person drinking water knowing for oneself whether it is cold or warm, not receiving verdicts from the mouths of others, suddenly with a pop it erupts, and you reach the place of ultimate peace and happiness, of great rest and great cessation; only then do you approve yourself. You came with this scroll to request instruction; picking up the brush and casually brandishing it, it has turned into a tangled vine. However, events do not arise in isolation; when they arise, there must be a cause. Yet if you consistently understand it as a tangled vine, how could that be right? Have you not seen what Master Zihu said long ago: "The Patriarch's coming from the West was only this: winter is cold, summer is hot; night is dark, day is bright. It is only because you disciples set up intentions where there are no intentions, create matters where there are no matters, forcibly make an inner and outer where there is no inner or outer, and randomly speak of east and west where there is no east or west, that śamatha cannot be made clear, so that sense faculties and sense objects cannot be free." Evaluating according to this, Shunyuan has never come to Miaoxi's place to seek dharma words, and Miaoxi originally never wrote a single word: winter is cold, summer is hot; night is dark, day is bright; inner, outer, middle, east, west, south, north have never shifted, increased, or decreased by the slightest bit. Why is this? Our school has no phrases, nor is there a single dharma to give to anyone. Since there is not a single dharma to give to anyone, just what is that which is written right now? What is this that speaks of winter being cold and summer hot, of inner, outer, and middle? What is this where east, west, south, and north have not shifted by the slightest bit? (Heh!) The existent is unattainable, the nonexistent is unattainable, winter's cold and summer's heat are unattainable, the inner, outer, and middle are unattainable, the one who speaks thus is also unattainable, the one who receives such speech is also unattainable, the slightest bit is also unattainable, Shunyuan is also unattainable, Miaoxi is also unattainable, the unattainable is also unattainable, and within the unattainable, it is just attained. Shunyuan, having arrived here, how should you participate? Even this "how should you participate" has no footing, and then even these words are not accepted. Since these words are not accepted, Miaoxi definitely has no speech, and Shunyuan definitely has no hearing; the place of no speech is true speech, and the place of no hearing is true hearing. In this way, Miaoxi is Shunyuan, and Shunyuan is Miaoxi, because Miaoxi and Shunyuan are non-dual, without duality, without distinction, and without break. / The Great Statue of Jiazhou eats Chinese goldthread; / The iron ox of Shan Prefecture has a mouth full of bitterness. / Bitter or not bitter? / Clearly seen, yet nothing to behold! / (Heh!)