大慧普覺禪師語錄 18.2

18.2

Zheng Chengzhong requested a general address. The Master said: "The faithful layman Zheng Si of Pingjiang, knowing of this great matter of causal conditions, has specially come to see Miaoxi, wanting to hear prajñā. The merit of offering a precious stūpa with genuine relics of the body, hosting a vegetarian meal for the pure Chan assembly in the Cloud Hall, and requesting a general address, is for no other purpose than specifically dedicating it toward unsurpassed buddhahood, awakening. Observing the arising of his intention, it is already immense. Just this single thought of an immense mind can transform the great earth into yellow gold and churn the long rivers into ghee. There are those who do not believe this sort of talk, mostly clinging to phenomena and questioning principle, just like Pūrṇa who clung to phenomenal characteristics and questioned the nature, asking the World-Honoured One: 'If the nature of earth is all-pervading, how can it accommodate water? If the nature of water is completely pervasive, fire would not arise. Furthermore, how can it be explained that the two natures of water and fire both pervade empty space without encroaching upon and extinguishing one another? World-Honoured One! The nature of earth is obstructive, and the nature of space is void and open. How can both completely pervade the dharmadhātu?' Here, clinging to phenomenal characteristics gave rise to doubt. Therefore, old Śākya first explained to Ānanda that the nature of water is true emptiness, and the nature of emptiness is true water, and so forth, up to earth, water, fire, and wind, each and every one completely pervading the dharmadhātu, manifesting in accordance with the minds of sentient beings and following their karma. I recall that in former years when this mountain monk was on pilgrimage, about to enter the capital, I arrived at Tianning in Dengzhou. There was a Daoist from Caizhou, whose name I have forgotten, who had come to Nanyang practicing medicine. One day I saw him send someone to the canon repository to borrow the two sūtras, the *Ratnakūṭa* and the *Avataṃsaka*. This mountain monk privately knew he was a fine gentleman. The next day we met and talked, and we were indeed in accord. I therefore asked: 'What was your intention in borrowing the sūtras?' He said: 'I have casually listened to the talk of good people; if one wants to understand the whereabouts of one's fundamental destiny and primal stars, one must turn to old Śākya before one can succeed.' In the course of our conversation, he suddenly asked this mountain monk: 'The Buddha possesses correct and universal knowledge; he expounded every single matter in the world. Why have I never seen him speak of the causal arising of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth? If you, Reverend, have heard or seen anything of this, please do not withhold your instruction.' At that time, my own lacquer bucket had not yet been broken open; I had no leisure to attend to such things, and merely said to him: 'Could it not be spoken of in the Canon? I am still dwelling in the stage of study, and am just setting out to see teachers.' Both of us dropped it in embarrassment. When I reached Yimen and settled this matter, I read the *Śūraṅgama Sūtra* and found that it was explained extremely clearly therein. The Buddha said to Pūrṇa: 'Sameness and difference disturb each other; their mutual dependence gives rise to toil. Prolonged toil produces dust, bringing about mutual turbidity; from this, dust-toil defilements are stirred up. Arising, they become the world; settling into stillness, they become empty space. Empty space is sameness; the world is difference. That which has neither sameness nor difference is the true conditioned dharma. The luminosity of awareness and the darkness of emptiness depend on each other and produce oscillation; hence there is the wind mandala, which holds and maintains the world. From this one knows that the formation of the world is maintained by relying on the wind mandala. Because the nature of wind is dynamic oscillation, oscillating without cease, it suddenly gives rise to solid obstruction; hence it is said: "Due to emptiness, oscillation arises; solidification and illumination establish obstruction." In the case of metals and jewels, illuminated awareness establishes solidity; hence there is the metal mandala, which sustains the lands. Because wind and metal, these two things, come into contact, fire is generated in their midst; hence it is said: "Solid awareness completes jewels; oscillating illumination causes wind to issue forth; wind and metal rub against each other, so there is the light of fire, which has a transformative nature." The clarity of jewels gives rise to moisture; the light of fire steams upward; hence there is the water mandala, which contains the realms of the ten directions. Fire ascends and water descends; their mutual emergence establishes solidity: the wet becomes the great oceans, and the dry becomes continents and shoals. For this reason, within those great oceans, the light of fire constantly arises; in those continents and shoals, rivers and streams constantly pour forth. When the force of water is weaker than fire, it congeals into high mountains; therefore, when mountain stones are struck they produce flames, and when melted they turn into water. When the force of earth is weaker than water, it sprouts into grasses and trees; therefore, when forests encounter burning they turn into earth, and when squeezed they turn into water. Delusion mutually arising, they reciprocally serve as seeds; through these causal conditions, the continuity of the world persists.' Look at old Śākya: explaining metal, wood, water, fire, and earth in such a way is exceedingly clear. What a pity that I never saw that Daoist again to point it out to him! It turns out that when reading the words of the scriptural vehicles, one also needs the Great Dharma to be clear; afterward it naturally takes no effort. Once you have personally investigated Chan, taking a single look, you then see how Pūrṇa clung to phenomenal characteristics and questioned the nature, and you also see how the Tathāgata, addressing the nature for Ānanda, explained that earth, water, fire, and wind are each fundamentally pure and naturally pervade the dharmadhātu, with nothing whatsoever obstructing your breast. Nowadays, those whose mind-ground is not yet clear inevitably wonder: from where does the world arise, and where will it perish in the future? Was there first a world, or was there first a human? If you say there was first a world, the ancient virtuous ones should not have said: 'The three realms are only manifestations of mind; the ten thousand dharmas are only transformations of consciousness.' If you say there was first a human, since there was not yet a world, where could the human be settled? This bit inevitably obstructs them: saying there was first a world is wrong, and saying there was first a human is also wrong. Once the Great Dharma is clear, without having to discard or arrange anything, it is naturally understood. Just now what was referred to as transforming the great earth into yellow gold and churning the long rivers into ghee are not mistaken matters; extending even to a mustard seed containing Mount Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru containing a mustard seed, such things also do not rely on other techniques. It is obvious enough that Mount Sumeru contains a mustard seed, but how can a mustard seed accommodate a Mount Sumeru inside it? When you arrive here, you must personally see it once before you can succeed. This matter is fundamentally possessed by everyone, naturally authentic in each; it is only because from beginningless time it has been covered by ignorance and karmic consciousness that it cannot appear before you, and you instead go outside looking for a home elsewhere. Usually in my room, I ask the brothers: 'It is not mind, it is not buddha, it is not a thing—what is it?' Before being asked, you were fortunately sitting naturally in your own house; as soon as you are asked what it is, you immediately leave your original place and run out the front door. For example, if you ask someone: 'Where are you?' he says: 'At home.' But when you ask him about the affairs and things inside the house, he immediately forgets his home and goes outside seeking words to reply. This is what is meant by 'A fraction of an inch off, and you miss it by a thousand miles.' If you want to truly understand, this matter decidedly does not lie in words. Contemporary students cannot get out of these several paths: when you tell them, 'It does not lie in words,' they immediately make an understanding based on dynamic functioning and objects. When you again tell them, 'It does not lie in dynamic functioning and objects,' they immediately take it up where it is raised: 'It is not mind, it is not buddha, it is not a thing'—once it is raised, they immediately understand it. My late teacher Yuanwu often said: 'Lately, all quarters have completely become lairs. Under Wuzu, I, along with Fojian and Foyan, the three of us, formed a group to investigate Chan.' Now flaws have already shown up. Under Fojian, there is a kind that barks like a dog and coos like a dove to make fun of people; under Foyan, there is a kind that stares at lanterns and exposed pillars, pointing east and gesturing west, as if seeing ghosts with their own eyes. Here with me, for now there are no such sicknesses.' This mountain monk said: 'How fine that there are no sicknesses!' The late teacher said: 'What do you mean?' This mountain monk said: 'Spark of struck flint, flash of lightning—this leads countless people to play with karmic consciousness. Once it is raised, they immediately understand it; is this not a great lair of the Buddha Dharma?' The late teacher unconsciously stuck out his tongue and then said: 'Never mind them. I only take personal verification as the standard; if there is no personal verification, I definitely will not let them pass.' This mountain monk said: 'Speaking of personal verification is fine, but I only fear that later on people will just transmit it like this: once raised, they immediately understand it, rigidly asserting the spark of struck flint and the flash of lightning, with their karmic consciousness vast and unending, with no day of completion.' The late teacher deeply agreed with this. There is still another sort who say that stillness is the root and awakening is the branches and leaves, and that if you remain still for long, you will naturally become awakened. This mountain monk dares to say they speak nonsense. They also cite 'When purity reaches its peak, light penetrates through' as proof. Do not misunderstand this! The ancient sages could not help but say: 'When purity reaches its peak, light penetrates through; quiescent illumination contains empty space'—just as a good physician gives medicine according to the illness. Nowadays, those who do not believe there is wondrous awakening instead say: 'Awakening is an established construct.' Is this not taking the medicine to be the illness? Even worldly writing, arts, and crafts still require a gate of awakening before achieving excellence and subtlety, not to mention the supramundane Dharma! If it could be settled just like that, among the one thousand two hundred patch-robed monks here, each possesses a bit of knowledge and a half understanding; whenever they enter the room, those who speak accurately are very numerous. Yet after taking two leaps, when given one more squeeze, they immediately cannot go forward. This is because they ultimately have not been able to abandon their bodies and cast away their lives. Therefore it is said: 'Releasing one's hold on the cliff, one personally assents to shoulder it; reviving after extinction, no one can deceive you.' Do not say there is no such matter. I recall Zhang Wujin once had a saying: 'What the past Buddhas spoke of—manifesting the precious king's realm on the tip of a single hair, turning the great wheel of the Dharma while sitting inside a speck of dust—is the true meaning. At the Lotus Assembly, Prabhūtaratna Tathāgata within the precious stūpa shared half his seat with Śākyamuni Buddha, the past Buddha and the present Buddha sitting together in one place. There truly was such an event; it does not merely signify a teaching.' When Great Master Tiantai Zhiyi read the *Lotus Sūtra* and came to 'This is true vigor; this is called true offering of the Dharma to the Tathāgata,' he awakened to the Lotus Samādhi and saw that the assembly on Vulture Peak was solemnly gathered, not yet dispersed. This mountain monk always loved how the old master Gao, whenever promoting and expounding up to this point, never failed to leap with joy, waving his hand and saying: 'There truly is such an event; it does not merely signify a teaching.' How could you winter melons and bottle gourds know of this? It was because his foundation was bright, but he was clumsy in the samādhi of words to bring forth its essential subtleties. This is what is meant by 'Only through personal verification is it known; it is difficult to fathom.' Today, the intention of Zheng Chengzhong in asking this mountain monk for a general address is to hear the principle of how Chan practitioners apply effort. Do you not see Yunmen saying: 'It is present when it cannot be spoken, and absent when it is not spoken; it is present when deliberated, and absent when not deliberated'? Just as when not deliberated, what is it again? Fearing you would not understand, he then followed up, saying: 'What else could it be?' These venerable elders, out of compassion, were extremely thorough for people's sake. In the days when this mountain monk was in the assembly, under the Guiyang, Caodong, Yunmen, and Fayan lineages, I went to apply effort in all of them, and under Linji it was of course so. Later I finally knew: upon awakening, things are of the same single family; without awakening, there are ten thousand differences and a thousand distinctions. Since it is the same single one, where did Patriarch Bodhidharma get so many kinds of distinctions? What is Buddha? A dry shit-scraper. What distinction is there here? When Deshan saw a monk enter the gate, he immediately struck him; the monk was at a loss, and Deshan added: 'Do not understand it as a blow.' When Linji saw a monk enter the gate, he immediately shouted; this was already delivering it with both hands. If you intend to look and capture it, your eyeballs will already fall to the ground. How much more so when speaking of principle and speaking of phenomena, weaving threads back and forth—this is precisely a lion biting a person, or a mad dog chasing a clod of earth. Impermanence is swift; the matter of birth and death is great. In the snap of a finger, the next life arrives. Just empty your mind and investigate thoroughly in detail; investigating back and forth, once wholesome thoughts continue, unwholesome thoughts naturally do not arise. Merely cultivate according to reality; when the season and causal conditions arrive, you will naturally become awakened. If you are not awakened, even speaking until Maitreya Buddha descends to be born is merely talking. Now, how should one cultivate? Listen to a verse:"