大慧普覺禪師語錄 23.18

23.18

In the past, when Master Dazhu first visited Mazu, the Patriarch asked, 'Where have you come from?' He said, 'I have come from Dayun Monastery in Yuezhou.' The Patriarch said, 'What do you intend to do coming here?' He said, 'I have come seeking the Buddha-Dharma.' The Patriarch said, 'Ignoring your own treasure-house, what are you doing running off abandoning your home? I have not a single thing here; what Buddha-Dharma are you seeking?' Dazhu then bowed and asked, 'Which is Huihai's own treasure-house?' The Patriarch said, 'That which is questioning me right now is your treasure-house, completely endowed with everything, lacking nothing at all. You are free to use it at will; why rely on seeking outside?' At these words, Dazhu recognised his original mind, not by means of intellect or perception. Later, when dwelling at Dazhu, whenever anyone inquired, he answered according to the question, opening his own treasure-house and carrying out his own family wealth, like a pearl rolling in a dish, unobstructed and unhindered. A monk once asked, 'Is prajñā large?' Dazhu said, 'Prajñā is large.' He asked, 'How large?' He said, 'Without boundaries.' He asked, 'Is prajñā small?' Dazhu said, 'Prajñā is small.' He asked, 'How small?' He said, 'Invisible.' He asked, 'Where is it?' Dazhu said, 'Where is it not?' Look! Does he who has awakened to his own treasure-house still have a single speck of real Dharma to transmit to others? Miaoxi constantly says to those who study this Way: If one is truly a person who has seen the Way, then like a bell in the void or a valley echoing a sound, when struck heavily it resounds heavily, and when struck lightly it responds lightly. In recent times, the Buddha-Dharma is lamentable: those who serve as teachers first store up the bizarre and mysterious in their chests, passing it down from one to another, transmitting it mouth-to-ear as their fundamental tenet. Those of this sort poison people's minds with heterodoxy, beyond remedy; the ancients called them people who slander prajñā, for whom repentance is barred even if a thousand buddhas appear in the world. This is the second model of the ancestral school's skillful means in guiding students. Layman Miaoming, in determinedly seeking the ultimate, should investigate according to this model.