大慧普覺禪師語錄 25.12

25.12

I received your instruction: 'To cease all conditions externally and have no panting within the mind enables one to enter the Way—this is an expedient gate. Borrowing the expedient gate to enter the Way is acceptable, but clinging to the expedient without letting go is a sickness.' Indeed, it is just as your letter says; reading it, this mountain monk rejoiced beyond measure, leaping with joy. The lacquer buckets everywhere today simply cling to expedients and will not let go, showing people real dharmas, and because of this they blind no small number of people's eyes; therefore, this mountain monk composed the discourse distinguishing the heterodox from the orthodox to rescue them. In recent times, māras are strong and the Dharma is weak; those who take merging into serenity as the ultimate are beyond count, and those who cling to expedients without letting go and act as lineage teachers are like hemp and millet. Recently, this mountain monk brought up these two points with patch-robed monks, exactly as stated in your letter without differing by a single word; unless you keep your mind attentive to prajñā, thought after thought without interruption, you could not thoroughly understand the various different expedients of all the sages from of old. You have already grasped the handle; having obtained the handle in your hand, why worry about not letting go of the expedient gate and entering the Way? Just apply effort in this manner: when reading the scriptures and teachings as well as the recorded sayings of the ancients with their various differentiated words and phrases, apply effort just like this; with 'like Mount Sumeru, put it down,' the 'a dog has no buddha-nature' topic, the bamboo comb topic, the 'swallow all the water of the West River in a single gulp' topic, and the 'cypress tree in the courtyard' topic, also apply effort just like this, and on no account give rise to separate, divergent interpretations, seek other principles, or employ other contrivances. If you can constantly hold this up and examine it by yourself in the rushing torrent, then if your practice of the Way is not accomplished, the Buddha Dharma has no efficacy! Remember this, remember this. You mention that in a night dream you burned incense and entered this mountain monk's room very leisurely; on no account take it as a dream—you must know that it was truly entering the room. Have you not seen Śāriputra asking Subhūti: 'Is expounding the six pāramitās in a dream the same as or different from when awake?' Subhūti said: 'This meaning is profound; I cannot speak of it. In this assembly is the Great Being Maitreya; go ask him.' Bah! No small leak! Xuedou said: 'If at that time he had not let him pass, but followed right behind with a jab: "Who is named Maitreya? Who is Maitreya?"—then you would see ice melting and tiles shattering.' Bah! Xuedou also had no small leak! Someone might ask: 'Leaving that aside, as for Drafter Zeng entering Yunmen's room in a night dream, tell me: is it the same as or different from when awake?' Yunmen would say to him: 'Who is the one entering the room? Who is the one for whom the room is entered? Who is the one having the dream? Who is the one speaking of the dream? Who is the one who does not take it as a dream? Who is the one truly entering the room?' Bah! Also no small leak!