大慧普覺禪師語錄 22.7

22.7

Once you know that impermanence is swift and the matter of birth and death is great, you must definitely resolve to draw near to good spiritual friends, toiling diligently and tirelessly day and night, always pasting the two words 'birth and death' onto your forehead: while taking tea, while eating rice, when sitting, when lying down, when directing servants, when handling household affairs, when joyful, when angry, when walking, when staying still, when entertaining guests—never letting go of them. Always feel as though there is an urgent, unresolved matter blocking your chest, and you must definitively resolve to clear it away and cleanse it entirely; only then will there be some small degree of accord. If you only begin to exert yourself anxiously when you see an ancestral master speaking, and then slack off again when he is not speaking, this means you lack a determined resolve, and to wish for the root of birth and death to be severed will be impossible. This matter does not depend on male or female, monk or layperson; if beneath a single word of an ancestral master there is a snap and a break, that is the place of thorough breakthrough.

The Buddha's preaching of the parable of the burning house was solely to open an expedient gateway for sentient beings and display the true mark, speaking with utter, piercing earnestness. Within it he said: 'This house has only one gate, which is moreover narrow and small; the children are young and infantile, having as yet no knowledge.' This means that the faculties of sentient beings are narrow and inferior, lacking determined resolve, clinging affectionately to the dust and toil of birth and death, sinking and surfacing amid the worldly toil, unable to abandon and leave the burning house of the triple realm. Therefore, he set up various expedients, to make sentient beings abandon the expedients and directly exit the burning house to sit in the open ground. This is Old Śākya's utterly grandmotherly heart.

Whenever you read the scriptures and teachings or the ancient worthies' causes and conditions for entering the Way, you must look at the moon and forget the finger; on no account must you become muddled and stuck in words and phrases. If you search for the abstruse and wondrous upon words and seek what is extraordinary within speech, practicing in such a place, you will lose the expedient. Miaoxi has never had any real dharma to give people; he simply closes the case based on the confession, baring his heart and speaking clearly and directly to others about what he has awakened to in his life. If there are those who have full faith in it and practice accordingly, though upon first hearing it said it may seem difficult to undertake, yet if that person has planted the seeds of prajñā from beginningless time, the moment it is brought up, their eyebrows will stand erect and their eyes will be fixed and motionless.

In years past, when this old monk first resided on this mountain, in the Xu household of Changzhou there was a Daoist named Wuzhuo, whose dharma name was Miaozong. At thirty years of age she already practiced austerities with determination, visiting venerables and seniors in every quarter, receiving certification from them all. However, because she genuinely feared the suffering of birth and death and wished to truly understand where her original destiny and primary constellation ended up, she specifically came to the mountain to spend the summer. At that time, one thousand seven hundred patch-robed monks were spending the summer together, and Vice Director Feng Jichuan was also following the assembly at the Budong Pavilion on this mountain. One day, on the occasion of this old monk ascending the high seat, I cited Venerable Yaoshan's first visit to Shitou, when he asked Shitou, 'As for the three vehicles and twelve divisions of the teachings, I have roughly investigated them. I have heard that in the south there is the direct pointing to the human mind and seeing nature to become a buddha, but I truly do not understand it; I beg the master to give instruction.' Shitou said: 'Thus will not do; not thus will not do; thus and not thus will entirely not do.' Yaoshan did not accord with it. Shitou said: 'Go to Jiangxi to ask Great Master Ma.' Yaoshan followed the instruction and went to Great Master Ma's place, asking as before. Great Master Ma said: 'Sometimes I have him raise his eyebrows and blink his eyes; sometimes I do not have him raise his eyebrows and blink his eyes. Sometimes having him raise his eyebrows and blink his eyes is right; sometimes having him raise his eyebrows and blink his eyes is not right.' Yaoshan had a great awakening under these words, having no further tricks to present; he only bowed his head in prostration. Great Master Ma said: 'What principle did you see that you bow?' Yaoshan said: 'When I was at Venerable Shitou's place, it was just like a mosquito on an iron ox.' Great Master Ma affirmed it. At that time, as soon as I brought this up again on the high seat, Wuzhuo suddenly awakened under the words, yet after descending from the seat she did not come to convey the news.

At that time, Feng Jichuan followed behind this old monk up to the abbot's quarters and said: 'I have understood.' This old monk asked him: 'Layman, how is it?' Jichuan said: ''Thus will not do'—suru svāhā; 'not thus will not do'—sili svāhā; 'thus and not thus will entirely not do'—suru sili svāhā.' This old monk neither said he was right nor said he was wrong, but brought up Jichuan's words to Wuzhuo. Wuzhuo said: 'I once saw Guo Xiang's commentary on the Zhuangzi; one who knew remarked, 'Rather, it is the Zhuangzi commenting on Guo Xiang.'' Seeing the singularity of her words, this old monk did not question her further, but brought up the case of Yantou and the old woman to question her. Wuzhuo then composed a verse, saying:
'A single leaf of a flat boat floats upon the vast expanse, / Displaying the oars and dancing with the paddles, apart from gong and shang; / Cloud-clad mountains and the sea moon are both cast aside, / Winning Zhuang Zhou's butterfly dream at its longest.'
This old monk then also let it rest.

A year later, Jichuan suspected she was not authentic, and specially invited Wuzhuo from Pingjiang to come into his boat, asking: 'The old woman gave birth to seven sons; six met no intimate knower, and since even this one was of no use, she threw him into the river. The Teacher says: 'The Daoist understood.' Now, how do you understand it?' Wuzhuo said: 'All the confessions above are entirely the truth.' Jichuan was greatly astonished.

Furthermore, she once came into the room, and this old monk asked her: 'The ancients did not step out of the abbot's quarters; why did you go to the estate to eat fried oil cakes?' Wuzhuo said: 'If the Venerable lets Miaozong pass, only then will Miaozong dare to convey news.' This old monk said to her: 'I let you pass; try to speak.' Wuzhuo said: 'Miaozong also lets the Venerable pass.' This old monk said: 'What can you do about the fried oil cakes?' Wuzhuo gave a shout and walked right out. At that time the entire assembly heard her reply like this. See how, having barely obtained a drop of water, she knew how to stir up waves! This was because she had broken free from worldly ties, having long had faith in this one move, and although she had once had her face stamped broken by heterodox masters, she was able to step back, know what was wrong, and resolve to take awakening as the norm; therefore, the moment she saw a good spiritual friend bring it up, she settled everything beneath the words.

Lady Cao, Shanyin, of the Yongning Commandery, is bright, quick-witted, and possesses wise discernment. Knowing that there is this matter of the great cause, which can definitively transcend birth and death without being entangled by the matters of worldly toil, although she is in wealth and nobility, she is not ensnared by wealth and nobility. She also wished to step back and draw near to a good spiritual friend to resolve the great matter of birth and death, but had simply not met a true spiritual friend to arouse and inspire her. Recently in the city, because Commissioner Zheng invited me to his garden hermitage to preach the Dharma, Shanyin heard this old monk bring up and sustain this matter of the great cause, whereupon her fundamental nature was perfumed and aroused; immediately her body and mind became settled and tranquil. Although she has not yet been able to break through completely, she has already recognized the many false and untrue matters within the burning house and worldly toil: when the thirtieth day of the twelfth month arrives, affection and love cannot be used, power cannot be used, wealth and treasure cannot be used, temperament cannot be used, official rank cannot be used, and wealth and nobility cannot be used. When the light of the eyes falls to the ground, only the two paths of conditions—the good and the evil created throughout one's past life—will appear one by one before you. If you have done much evil and little good, you will drift away following your bad karma; if you have done little evil and much good, you will follow your good karma to be born in human or heavenly realms or into households of the ten virtues. Having realized that these two paths are both illusory, one then gives rise to a mind of courageous vigor, firm and non-regressing, definitively wishing to transcend sentiment, leave views behind, and break through birth and death, so that on the thirtieth day of the twelfth month, neither the path of good nor the path of evil can detain me.

Knowing that there is such an extraordinary matter, yet fearing that within the burning house she would not be able to draw near to a good spiritual friend at all times, she specially ascended Jingshan to stay for ten days, following the assembly to hear the Dharma, steeping herself in good conditions, and making a great vow never to regress. Upon her departure, she requested instruction with this scroll, wishing to use it within the burning house to constantly alert and awaken herself. This old monk praises her courageous aspiration as different from ordinary people, and therefore I cite this case of Daoist Wuzhuo's entry into the Way, to make her see the worthy and strive to equal her. In the future, if two Wuzhuos emerge from Miaoxi's assembly, will that not be of great benefit as seeds of radiance for the final age? Strive on! Strive on!