大慧普覺禪師語錄 27.3

27.3

即日烝溽，不審燕處悠然，放曠自如，無諸魔撓否？日用四威儀內，與狗子無佛性話一如否？於動靜二邊能不分別否？夢與覺合否？理與事會否？心與境皆如否？老龐云：「心如境亦如，無實亦無虛。有亦不管，無亦不拘，不是聖賢，了事凡夫。」若真箇作得箇了事凡夫，釋迦達磨是甚麼泥團土塊？三乘十二分教是甚麼熱盌鳴聲？公既於此箇門中自信不疑，不是小事，要須生處放教熟，熟處放教生，始與此事少分相應耳。往往士大夫，多於不意中得箇瞥地處，却於如意中打失了，不可不使公知。在如意中，須時時以不如意中時節在念，切不可暫忘也。但得本，莫愁末，但知作佛，莫愁佛不解語。這一著子，得易守難，切不可忽。須教頭正尾正，擴而充之，然後推己之餘以及物。左右所得，既不滯在一隅，想於日用中，不著起心管帶，枯心忘懷也。近年已來禪道佛法衰弊之甚，有般杜撰長老，根本自無所悟，業識茫茫無本可據，無實頭伎倆，收攝學者，教一切人如渠相似，黑漆漆地緊閉却眼，喚作默而常照。彥沖被此輩教壞了，苦哉苦哉！這箇話，若不是左右悟得狗子無佛性，徑山亦無說處。千萬捋下面皮，痛與手段救取這箇人。至禱至禱。然有一事，亦不可不知，此公清淨自居，世味澹薄，積有年矣，定執此為奇特。若欲救之，當與之同事，令其歡喜心不生疑，庶幾信得及，肯轉頭來。淨名所謂「先以欲鉤牽，後令入佛智」是也。黃面老子云：「觀法先後以智分別，是非審定不違法印，次第建立無邊行門，令諸眾生斷一切疑。」此乃為物作則，萬世楷模也。況此公根性與左右逈不同，生天定在靈運前，成佛定在靈運後者也。此公決定不可以智慧攝，當隨所好攝，以日月磨之，恐自知非，忽然肯捨，亦不可定，若肯轉頭來，却是箇有力量底漢。左右亦須退步，讓渠出一頭始得。比暐禪歸，錄得渠答紫巖老子一書，山僧隨喜讀一遍，讚歎歡喜累日，直是好一段文章，又似一篇大義，末後與之下箇謹對，不識左右以謂如何？昔達磨謂二祖曰：「汝但外息諸緣，內心無喘，心如牆壁，可以入道。」二祖種種說心說性俱不契，一日忽然省得達磨所示要門，遽白達磨曰：「弟子此回始息諸緣也。」達磨知其已悟，更不窮詰，只曰：「莫成斷滅去否？」曰：「無。」達磨曰：「子作麼生？」曰：「了了常知故，言之不可及。」達磨曰：「此乃從上諸佛諸祖所傳心體，汝今既得，更勿疑也。」彥冲云：「夜夢晝思十年之間，未能全克，或端坐靜默一空其心，使慮無所緣，事無所託，頗覺輕安。」讀至此不覺失笑。何故？既慮無所緣，豈非達磨所謂內心無喘乎？事無所託，豈非達磨所謂外息諸緣乎？二祖初不識達磨所示方便，將謂外息諸緣，內心無喘，可以說心說性、說道說理，引文字證據，欲求印可，所以達磨一一列下。無處用心，方始退步思量，心如牆壁之語，非達磨實法，忽然於牆壁上，頓息諸緣，即時見月亡指，便道：「了了常知故，言之不可及。」此語亦是臨時被達磨拶出底消息，亦非二祖實法也。杜撰長老輩，既自無所證，便逐旋揑合，雖教他人歇，渠自心火熠熠，晝夜不停，如缺二稅百姓相似。彥冲却無許多勞攘，只是中得毒深，只管外邊亂走，說動說靜，說語說默，說得說失，更引《周易》內典，硬差排和會，真是為他閑事長無明。殊不思量一段生死公案未曾結絕，臘月三十日，作麼生折合去？不可眼光欲落未落時，且向閻家老子道：「待我澄神定慮少時，却去相見得麼？」當此之時，縱橫無礙之說亦使不著，心如木石亦使不著，須是當人生死心破始得。若得生死心破，更說甚麼澄神定慮，更說甚麼縱橫放蕩，更說甚麼內典外典，一了一切了，一悟一切悟，一證一切證，如斬一結絲，一斬一時斷，證無邊法門亦然，更無次第。左右既悟狗子無佛性話，還得如此也未？若未得如此，直須到恁麼田地始得。若已到恁麼田地，當以此法門興起大悲心，於逆順境中和泥合水，不惜身命不怕口業，拯拔一切以報佛恩，方是大丈夫所為。若不如是，無有是處。彥冲引孔子稱易之為道也屢遷，和會佛書中應無所住而生其心為一貫，又引寂然不動，與土木無殊，此尤可笑也。向渠道：「欲得不招無間業，莫謗如來正法輪。」故經云：「不應住色生心，不應住聲香味觸法生心。」謂此廣大寂滅妙心，不可以色見聲求，應無所住，謂此心無實體也；而生其心，謂此心非離真而立處，立處即真也。孔子稱易之為道也，屢遷，非謂此也。屢者荐也，遷者革也，吉凶悔吝生乎動，屢遷之旨，返常合道也。如何與應無所住而生其心，合得成一塊？彥冲非但不識佛意，亦不識孔子意。左右於孔子之教出沒如遊園觀，又於吾教深入閫域，山野如此杜撰，還是也無？故圭峯云：「元亨利貞乾之德也，始於一氣；常樂我淨佛之德也，本乎一心。專一氣而致柔，修一心而成道。」此老如此和會，始於儒釋二教，無偏枯無遺恨。彥冲以應無所住而生其心，與易之屢遷大旨同貫，未敢相許。若依彥冲差排，則孔夫子與釋迦老子，殺著買草鞋始得。何故？一人屢遷，一人無所住，想讀至此，必絕倒也。

Presently the weather is steamy and humid. I wonder whether you are residing at ease and undisturbed, unfettered and free, without harassment from any demons? In your daily activities within the four postures, are you at one with the phrase "a dog has no buddha-nature"? In the two aspects of motion and stillness, are you able not to discriminate? Do dream and waking state merge? Do principle and phenomena unite? Are mind and objects both thus? Old Pang said, "Mind is thus, objects are also thus; there is neither reality nor unreality. Being is disregarded, non-being is unconfined; not a sage or worthy, just an ordinary person who has finished the business." If you can truly be an ordinary person who has finished the business, what lumps of clay and dirt are Śākya and Bodhidharma? What clinking noises of hot bowls are the teachings of the three vehicles and twelve divisions? Since you already have unwavering self-confidence in this gate, it is no small matter. You must make the unfamiliar familiar and let the familiar become unfamiliar; only then will you begin to accord slightly with this matter. Often literati mostly catch a glimpse unexpectedly, yet lose it amidst favorable circumstances; I cannot fail to make you aware of this. Amidst favorable circumstances, you must constantly keep in mind the seasons of adversity; under no circumstances should you forget it even for a moment. Just attain the root, do not worry about the branches; just know how to be a buddha, do not worry that the buddha cannot speak. This move is easy to obtain but difficult to maintain; you must never neglect it. You must ensure that both head and tail are upright, expand and fulfill it, and then extend your surplus to other things. Since what you have attained is not stuck in a single corner, I imagine that in your daily activities you do not deliberately make an effort to maintain it or dry up your mind and forget all thoughts. In recent years the Chan Path and the Buddha Dharma have declined and decayed severely. There are a sort of fabricated elders who originally had no awakening themselves; their karmic consciousness is vast and unfathomable with no foundation to rely on, lacking any genuine skill, yet they take in students and teach everyone to be just like them—shutting their eyes tightly in pitch darkness, calling it "silent yet constantly illuminating." Yanchong has been ruined by these people—what misery! What misery! If you had not awakened to "a dog has no buddha-nature," Jingshan would have no way to speak of this topic. By all means, pull down your face, apply stern methods, and rescue this man. This is my earnest prayer and wish. However, there is one matter that you must also know: this gentleman has dwelt in purity and detachment from worldly flavors for many years, and he certainly clings to this as something extraordinary. If you wish to rescue him, you should engage in the same activities with him, causing him to feel joyful and not produce doubt, so that he may come to have faith in it and be willing to turn his head. This is what Vimalakīrti meant by "first lead them with desire, then cause them to enter the Buddha's wisdom." The Yellow-Faced Old Man said: "Observe phenomena, prior and subsequent, discriminating them with wisdom; critically ascertain right and wrong without violating the dharma seal; establish boundless gates of practice in due sequence, and cause all sentient beings to sever all doubts." This is setting a standard for living beings and serving as a model for ten thousand generations. Furthermore, this gentleman's capacity is completely different from yours: he is one who will certainly be reborn in heaven before Lingyun, but will certainly achieve buddhahood after Lingyun. This gentleman definitely cannot be gathered in through wisdom; he should be gathered in according to his inclinations, wearing him down over days and months. Perhaps he will realize his mistake on his own and suddenly be willing to let go—this cannot be predetermined. If he is willing to turn his head, he will indeed be a fellow of strength. You must also take a step back and let him stick his head out first before you can succeed. Recently, when Chan monk Wei returned, he transcribed the letter that Yanchong wrote in reply to Old Man Ziyan. I rejoiced and read it through, praising and delighting in it for several days. It is truly a fine piece of writing, resembling a great philosophical treatise; at the very end he appended a respectful reply to it. I wonder what you think of it? In the past, Bodhidharma said to the Second Patriarch: "If you just externally put an end to all conditions, have no panting within the mind, and let your mind be like a wall, you can enter the Path." The Second Patriarch spoke of mind and nature in various ways, but none accorded. One day he suddenly realized the essential gate shown by Bodhidharma, and immediately told Bodhidharma: "This time, your disciple has finally put an end to all conditions." Bodhidharma knew he had already awakened and did not press him further, merely saying: "Does it not end up as annihilation?" The Patriarch replied: "No." Bodhidharma said: "How do you see it?" He replied: "Because it is clearly and constantly known, words cannot reach it." Bodhidharma said: "This is the mind-substance transmitted by the buddhas and patriarchs from of old; now that you have attained it, doubt it no more." Yanchong said: "Dreaming by night and thinking by day for ten years, I was unable to completely master it; occasionally I sat upright in silence and emptied my mind completely, so that thoughts had nothing to condition upon and affairs had nothing to rest on, feeling quite light and at ease." Reading up to this point, I could not help bursting into laughter. Why? Since thoughts have nothing to condition upon, is this not what Bodhidharma called "having no panting within the mind"? If affairs have nothing to rest on, is this not what Bodhidharma called "externally putting an end to all conditions"? At first, the Second Patriarch did not recognize the skillful means shown by Bodhidharma, thinking that externally putting an end to all conditions and having no panting within the mind meant that one could speak of mind, speak of nature, speak of the Path, and speak of principle, citing textual evidence to seek confirmation; thus Bodhidharma rejected them one by one. Having nowhere to apply his mind, only then did he take a step back and contemplate: the words "mind like a wall" were not Bodhidharma's ultimate dharma. Suddenly, upon the wall, he abruptly put an end to all conditions; at that moment he saw the moon and forgot the pointing finger, and thus said, "Because it is clearly and constantly known, words cannot reach it." This phrase was also information pressed out of him by Bodhidharma at the moment; it was not the Second Patriarch's ultimate dharma either. As for the fabricated elders, since they have attained no realization themselves, they simply fabricate and patch things together on the fly. Although they teach others to rest, their own mental fire blazes day and night without ceasing, just like commoners who are short on their two taxes. Yanchong does not have that much fuss and turmoil, but the poison has penetrated deeply into him; he simply runs around wildly on the outside, speaking of motion, speaking of stillness, speaking of speech, speaking of silence, speaking of gain, and speaking of loss, further citing the Book of Changes and inner canonical scriptures, forcibly arranging and harmonizing them—truly producing ignorance on account of other people's trivial matters. He does not consider at all that this great gong'an of birth and death has not yet been resolved. On the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, how will he settle accounts? When the light in your eyes is about to fall, you cannot say to Old Man Yama: "Wait for me to clarify my spirit and settle my thoughts for a little while, then may we meet?" At that moment, talk of being unhindered horizontally and vertically is of no use; letting the mind be like wood and stone is also of no use. One must break through one's own mind of birth and death; only then will it do. If you break through the mind of birth and death, what further need is there to speak of clarifying the spirit and settling thoughts? What further need to speak of freedom horizontally and vertically? What further need to speak of inner and outer scriptures? When one is resolved, all are resolved; when one is awakened, all are awakened; when one realizes, all are realized—just like cutting a bundle of silk: in one stroke it is severed all at once. Realizing the boundless dharma gates is also like this; there is no sequence. Since you have awakened to the phrase "a dog has no buddha-nature," have you attained this yet? If you have not attained this, you must definitely reach such a stage. If you have already reached such a stage, you should use this dharma gate to give rise to great compassion, mixing in the mud and water amidst both adverse and favorable circumstances, sparing neither body nor life, fearing no oral karma, and rescuing all beings to repay the Buddha's kindness—only then is it the conduct of a great man. If it is not like this, there is no truth in it. Yanchong cited Confucius saying that the Way of the Changes shifts repeatedly, harmonizing this into a single thread with the Buddhist scripture's "one should give rise to that mind which abides nowhere," and further cited "quiescent and unmoving" as being no different from earth and wood; this is especially laughable. Tell him: "If you wish not to incur the karma of the Avīci hell, do not slander the Tathāgata's wheel of the true dharma." Therefore the sūtra says: "One should not give rise to a mind that abides in form; one should not give rise to a mind that abides in sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharmas." This means that this vast, quiescent, wondrous mind cannot be seen through form or sought through sound. "Should abide nowhere" means this mind has no real substance; "and give rise to that mind" means this mind is not established apart from the true—the place where it is established is itself the true. When Confucius praised the Way of the Changes as shifting repeatedly, he did not mean this. "Repeatedly" means successively; "shifts" means transforms; auspiciousness, inauspiciousness, regret, and humiliation arise from movement. The purport of shifting repeatedly is returning to the constant to accord with the Dao. How can it be merged into one lump with "one should give rise to that mind which abides nowhere"? Yanchong not only fails to understand the Buddha's meaning, but also fails to understand Confucius's meaning. You move in and out of Confucius's teaching as if strolling in a garden, and have also deeply entered the inner sanctum of our teaching; is this rustic monk fabricating like this correct or not? Therefore Guifeng said: "Originating, penetrating, advantageous, and correct are the virtues of Qian, beginning from the one qi; permanence, bliss, self, and purity are the virtues of the Buddha, rooted in the one mind. Focus the one qi to attain softness; cultivate the one mind to accomplish the Path." Only when this elder harmonized them in this way was there no partiality or regret between the two teachings of Confucianism and Buddhism. Yanchong takes "one should give rise to that mind which abides nowhere" to run through the same great purport as the Changes shifting repeatedly; I dare not agree with him. If we follow Yanchong's arrangement, then Confucius and Old Man Śākya would have to kill each other to buy straw sandals. Why? One repeatedly shifts, while the other abides nowhere. I imagine that when you read up to this point, you will surely collapse with laughter.