大慧普覺禪師語錄 29.33

29.33

Although Zonggao's years are advancing, I dare not fail to exert my strength to rouse and encourage the patch-robed monks with this matter. One day after morning gruel, I turned the signboards and took a rotation of one hundred people into the abbot's room; among them occasionally were those willing to stake their lives who took the hook, and also lions that bite people. Taking this dharma-joy and Chan delight as happiness, I feel no fatigue at all—perhaps the Creator takes pity on me. You, my lord, are complete in both blessings and wisdom; daily you are at the side of the Sovereign, yet you keep your mind on this matter of the great cause—it is truly an inconceivable thing. Old Man Śākya said: 'Possessing power without leaning on it is difficult; for the noble and wealthy to study the Way is difficult.' If you had not, across hundreds of kalpas and thousands of lifetimes, attended upon spiritual friends and planted the prajñā seed deeply, how could you have such complete faith? Just this place of complete faith is the foundation for becoming a buddha and acting as a patriarch. I hope you will only watch and seek toward this place of complete faith; after a long time you will naturally break through and be released. However, above all, you must not intentionally arrange and seek a place to break through; if you apply your mind, you will miss it. Old Man Śākya also said: 'The Buddha's path is inconceivable; who can conceive of the Buddha?' Again, the Buddha asked Mañjuśrī: 'Do you enter the inconceivable samādhi?' Mañjuśrī said: 'No, World-Honoured One! I myself am the inconceivable, and I do not see that there is any mind able to conceive; how can one speak of entering the inconceivable samādhi? When I first aroused the aspiration, I wished to enter this concentration; reflecting upon it now, there is truly no mental thought, yet one enters samādhi. Like a person learning archery: with long practice one becomes skillful; later, though without intention, because of long practice, every arrow loosed hits the mark. I am also like this: initially learning the inconceivable samādhi, I tied my mind to one condition; with long practice accomplished, there are no longer any mental thoughts, and I am constantly united with concentration.' What the Buddhas and patriarchs experienced and used is without duality and without distinction. In recent years in the monasteries there is a kind of heterodox Chan that closes the eyes, conceals the pupils, and with pouting lips engages in delusive thoughts, calling it 'the inconceivable matter', and also calling it 'the matter before the empty kalpa on that side of King of Awesome Sound'. The moment one opens one's mouth, they call it 'falling into the present'. They also call it 'the fundamental matter', and call it 'when purity reaches its extreme, light penetrates throughout', regarding enlightenment as falling into the secondary, and regarding enlightenment as a matter of branches and leaves. Because they were mistaken from their very first step, yet do not know it is a mistake, they regard enlightenment as an artificial contrivance; since they themselves have no gateway to enlightenment, they also do not believe that anyone is enlightened. Such people are called slanderers of great prajñā and destroyers of the Buddha's wisdom-life; even if a thousand buddhas appear in the world, they cannot be granted repentance. You have long possessed the eye that examines people; as for such people, who wear a lion's skin while howling like jackals, you cannot fail to know them. Although I have not had the honor of meeting you face to face to discuss matters, this mind has silently tallied with yours for many years. My previous letter in reply was extremely lacking in etiquette; now I specially dispatch the Chan man Fakong to pay my respects on my behalf. Thus having no leisure to enter the samādhi of right contemplation, I have simply let my hand and mind flow, unknowingly producing such entanglements, merely to apologize for my lack of ability.