大慧普覺禪師語錄 20.23

20.23

Awakening these people with this Way is the affair of Ruist scholars; our Buddha also said: "The nature of awakening is wondrously luminous; original awakening is luminous and wondrous." Furthermore, 'Buddha' means 'awakened one': having already awakened oneself, one uses this awakening to awaken all the confused multitudes, and is therefore called 'the Great Awakened One.' Deshan also said: "Groping in emptiness and chasing after echoes exhausts your mind and spirit; when the dream is awakened from, one realizes it was false, and awakening too is not awakening." Fellow practitioner Yanju has studied both Confucianism and Buddhism without bias; therefore, taking this meaning, he named his dwelling 'Awakening Veranda' (Juexuan), and brought this scroll to request Dharma words, further writing an injunction at the end, saying: "The meaning of Awakening Veranda is the great divine mantra, the great bright mantra, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequalled mantra." Since Yanju already knows this meaning is the great divine, the great bright, the unsurpassed, and the unequalled, why must Miaoxi add footnotes again? Yet Yanju's intention was not merely to clarify this meaning for his own awakening alone; it was also to use this meaning to awaken those who are not yet awakened. The universality of giving the Dharma is also the aspiration of buddhas and bodhisattvas. Commending his aspiration, I have written directly to instruct him. All who mount this veranda should see its meaning and forget the veranda, and that will be fine; if one clings to the veranda as the meaning, not only will one fail to understand its meaning, but one will also not have truly seen its veranda. When both veranda and meaning are forgotten, and the awakened mind shines alone, only then can one discuss awakening with him. The meaning of awakening is deep and far-reaching, beyond the exhaustion of words; I follow it with a verse: / "Awakening is empty, emptiness is awakened, empty, empty awakening; / Awakening, awakening, empty, empty, emptiness is also empty. / If you want to know the infinite good news, / It is entirely within this veranda." / Giving free rein to the brush and intention, I toss this off merely to fulfill the request that came.