大慧普覺禪師語錄 25.8

25.8

老龐云：「但願空諸所有，切勿實諸所無。」只了得這兩句，一生參學事畢。今時有一種剃頭外道，自眼不明，只管教人死獦狚地休去歇去。若如此休歇，到千佛出世，也休歇不得，轉使心頭迷悶耳。又教人隨緣管帶，忘情默照，照來照去、帶來帶去，轉加迷悶無有了期，殊失祖師方便，錯指示人，教人一向虛生浪死。更教人是事莫管，但只恁麼歇去，歇得來，情念不生，到恁麼時，不是冥然無知，直是惺惺歷歷。這般底更是毒害，瞎却人眼，不是小事。雲門尋常見此輩，不把做人看待，彼既自眼不明，只管將冊子上語依樣教人，這箇作麼生教得？若信著這般底，永劫參不得。雲門尋常不是不教人坐禪向靜處做工夫，此是應病與藥，實無恁麼指示人處。不見黃檗和尚云：「我此禪宗，從上相承以來，不曾教人求知求解，只云學道。」早是接引之辭。然道亦不可學，情存學道，却成迷道。道無方所，名大乘心，此心不在內外中間，實無方所，第一不得作知解，只是說汝而今情量處為道，情量若盡心無方所，此道天真本無名字。只為世人不識迷在情中，所以諸佛出來，說破此事，恐爾不了，權立道名，不可守名而生解也。前來所說瞎眼漢，錯指示人，皆是認魚目作明殊，守名而生解者；教人管帶，此是守目前鑑覺而生解者；教人硬休去歇去，此是守忘懷空寂而生解者，歇到無覺無知，如土木瓦石相似，當恁麼時，不是冥然無知，又是錯認方便解縛語而生解者。教人隨緣照顧，莫教惡覺現前，這箇又是認著髑髏情識而生解者，教人但放曠任其自在莫管生心動念，念起念滅本無實體，若執為實，則生死心生矣。這箇又是守自然體為究竟法而生解者。如上諸病，非干學道人事，皆由瞎眼宗師錯指示耳。公既清淨自居，存一片真實堅固向道之心，莫管工夫純一不純一，但莫於古人言句上只管如疊塔子相似，一層了又一層，枉用工夫無有了期。但只存心於一處，無有不得底，時節因緣到來，自然築著礚著，噴地省去耳。不起一念，還有過也無？云：「須彌山。」「一物不將來時如何？」云：「放下著。」這裏疑不破，只在這裏參，更不必自生枝葉也。若信得雲門及，但恁麼參，別無佛法指示人；若信不及，一任江北江南問王老，一狐疑了一狐疑。

Old Pang said: 'I only wish to empty all that is, and never solidify what is not.' If you merely comprehend these two lines, the business of a lifetime of study and practice is finished. Nowadays there is a kind of shaved-headed outsider who, lacking clear eyes themselves, merely teach people to cease and rest like dead barbarians. If one ceases and rests like this, even until the appearance of a thousand buddhas in the world one will not be able to cease and rest, but will only make one's mind more bewildered and stifled. They also teach people to maintain mindful awareness in accord with conditions and to forget feelings in silent illumination; illuminating back and forth, maintaining back and forth, they only become increasingly bewildered and stifled without end—completely losing the Patriarch's skillful means, wrongly instructing people, and causing them to live in vain and die in delusions throughout. Furthermore, they teach people not to concern themselves with any matter, but merely to rest like this; having rested until emotional thoughts do not arise, when they reach such a time, it is not dark unawareness, but directly bright, alert, clear, and distinct. This sort is all the more poisonous, blinding people's eyes—no small matter! Yunmen usually saw these fellows and did not treat them as human beings. Since their own eyes are not clear, they merely take words from books and teach people according to the model; how can this be taught? If one believes in this sort, one will never be able to investigate it through eternal kalpas. Yunmen usually does not forbid people from sitting in meditation and making effort in a quiet place; this is applying medicine according to the illness, without actually having any such instruction for people. Have you not seen Venerable Huangbo say: 'In this Chan lineage of mine, since its transmission from above, we have never taught people to seek knowledge and seek understanding; we only speak of studying the Way'—this is already words of expedient guidance. Yet the Way cannot be studied either; if emotion harbors study of the Way, it turns into delusion regarding the Way. The Way has no location; it is called the Great Vehicle mind. This mind is not within, without, or in between, and truly has no location. First of all, you must not form intellectual understanding; it is merely said that the place of your present emotional calculations is the Way. When emotional calculations are exhausted, the mind has no location; this Way is naturally genuine and originally without a name. Only because worldly people do not recognize it and are deluded amidst emotions, the buddhas emerged to expose this matter; fearing you would not understand, they provisionally established the name 'Way'—you must not cling to the name and generate understanding. The blind fellows spoken of earlier who wrongly instruct people are all those who mistake fish eyes for bright pearls, clinging to names and generating understanding: teaching people to maintain mindful awareness—this is clinging to the perception right before one's eyes and generating understanding; teaching people to stubbornly cease and rest—this is clinging to forgotten concerns and empty stillness and generating understanding; resting until there is no perception and no cognition, resembling earth, wood, tile, and stone, and at such a time saying it is not dark unawareness—this is again mistakenly taking skillful words for untying bonds and generating understanding; teaching people to watch over themselves in accord with conditions and not let evil awareness appear before them—this is again clinging to the emotional consciousness of a dry skull and generating understanding; teaching people to merely be free and unrestrained, letting it be at ease without caring about arising minds or stirring thoughts, [claiming that] the arising and ceasing of thoughts originally have no real entity and that if one grasps them as real, the mind of birth and death arises—this is again clinging to the body of naturalness as the ultimate teaching and generating understanding. The various illnesses above have nothing to do with the person studying the Way; they are all due to blind ancestral teachers giving wrong instructions. Since you dwell in purity yourself and harbor a sincere, firm mind directed toward the Way, regardless of whether your practice is pure and unified or not, simply do not continue piling layer upon layer on the ancients' words and phrases like stacking up a pagoda, vainly applying effort without end. Just keep your mind in one place, and there is nothing you will not attain; when the time and conditions arrive, you will naturally bump into it and knock against it, bursting forth in awakening. 'When not a single thought arises, is there still any fault or not?' The answer was: 'Mount Sumeru.' 'How is it when not bringing a single thing?' The answer was: 'Put it down.' If you cannot break through doubt here, simply investigate right here, and there is no need to sprout extra branches. If you can trust Yunmen, just investigate like this; there is no other Buddha Dharma to show people. If you cannot trust fully, feel free to cross north and south of the river asking Old Wang, resolving one doubt only to breed another.