大慧普覺禪師宗門武庫 1.96

1.96

湛堂準和尚，因讀孔明出師表，悟得做文章，有羅漢供疏云：「梵語阿羅漢，此云無生，出三界二十五有塵勞，超分段生死，受如來付囑，應供天人，福利一切群情，檀越宜興供養。」又作水磨記云：「泐潭山，即馬祖大寂禪師昔與禪者輩選佛大道場，雖年代深遠，而佛法未甞遠也。但其間善知識，所見不同互有高下，故有遠矣。如僧問馬祖：『如何是佛？』曰：『即心是佛。』故觀其所以，即知眾生本來成佛無有高下，其高下在人不在法也。而況末代有我說法者，是故選佛求師，不得不審也。大宋元符戊寅歲，有漢中沙門意忠上座，尋師訪道，選佛參禪，干木隨身逢場作戲。然其場也戲乎一時，以其功也利益千古，於是革其舊制。郢人猶迷，徇器投機，變通在我，豈以繩墨拘其大猷，而為古人規矩之所限哉，是謂有子不可教，其可教者語言糟粕也。非心之至妙，其至妙之心在我，不在文字語言也。縱有明師密授，不如心之自得，故曰得之於心，應之於手，皆靈然心法之妙用也。故有以破麥也即為其磑，欲變米也即為其碾，欲取麵也即為其羅，欲去糠也即為其扇，而規模法則，總有關棙。消息既通，皆不撥而自轉。以其水也。一波纔動，前波後波，波波應而無盡。以其磑也，一輪纔舉，大輪小輪，輪輪運而無窮。由是上下相應，高低共作，其妙用也，出乎自然，故不假人力之所能為，而奇絕可觀，玄之又玄，然後左旋右轉，竪去橫來，更相擊觸，出大法音，皆演苦空無常無我諸波羅蜜。而聞者聞其心，見者見其性，以至嗅甞知覺，盡獲法喜禪悅之樂，又何即以米麵諸所須物，供香積厨而為二膳，飽禪者輩往來選佛者歟。」

Master Zhantang Zhun, through reading Zhuge Liang's Chu Shi Biao (Memorial on Dispatching the Army), attained insight into composing literature. In his dedication text for an Arhat offering, he wrote: "The Sanskrit word arhat means 'unborn' here. Having departed from the dust and toil of the twenty-five states of existence in the triple world and transcended the birth and death of fragmented lifespans, they receive the Tathāgata's entrustment to receive offerings from gods and humans, bringing welfare and blessings to all sentient beings. The almsgivers should properly raise offerings to them." He also composed the Record of the Water Mill, which states: "Mount Letan is the great site for selecting buddhas where Chan Master Mazu Daji formerly stayed with assemblies of Chan practitioners. Although the years and eras are distant, the Buddha Dharma has never been distant. It is only because the spiritual friends among them have had differing views, each having their heights and depths, that distances have arisen. For example, a monk asked Mazu: 'What is Buddha?' Mazu replied: 'This mind itself is buddha.' Therefore, examining its fundamental principle, one knows that sentient beings originally have achieved buddhahood without higher or lower; the higher and lower lie in persons, not in the Dharma. How much more so in the degenerate age are there those who teach Dharma as I do! Therefore, in selecting buddhas and seeking teachers, one cannot fail to examine carefully. In the wuyin year of the Yuanfu reign of the Great Song dynasty (1098), there was Senior Monk Yizhong, a śramaṇa from Hanzhong, who sought teachers and inquired into the Way, selecting buddhas and investigating Chan. Carrying a wooden puppet with him, he played his role wherever he encountered the stage. Yet the performance is a play for a moment, while its efficacy brings benefit for a thousand ages. Thereupon he reformed the old system. The people of Ying are still confused; adapting implements to suit the occasion, the transformations rest with me—how could the grand standard be constrained by plumb lines and limited by the rules of the ancients? This is what is meant by having a son who cannot be taught; that which can be taught is only the dross of language. It is not the ultimate wondrousness of the mind. The ultimate wondrous mind rests in oneself, not in written words and spoken language. Even if there is secret transmission from an enlightened teacher, it does not compare to what the mind attains for itself. Thus it is said: 'Attained in the mind, it responds to the hand'—these are all the wondrous applications of the numinous Dharma of mind. Thus, when there is wheat to be crushed, a millstone is made for it; when rice is to be polished, a roller is made for it; when flour is to be sifted, a sieve is made for it; when chaff is to be winnowed, a fan is made for it. Yet all the scales and standards depend entirely on the central pivot. Once the function is open and connected, they turn on their own without being pushed. Because of its water: as soon as one wave stirs, the preceding waves and succeeding waves respond wave upon wave endlessly. Because of its millstones: as soon as one wheel turns, large wheels and small wheels operate wheel upon wheel without end. From this, above and below respond to one another, high and low work together; their wondrous application emerges naturally, without depending on what human effort can achieve. It is exquisite and marvelous to behold, mysterious and yet more mysterious! Then, whirling left and turning right, moving vertically and sweeping horizontally, striking and touching one another, they produce the great sound of Dharma, expounding the perfections of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self. Those who hear it hear their own mind; those who see it see their own nature; even to the point that through smelling, tasting, sensing, and knowing, all attain the joy of the Dharma and the delight of Chan. Why then merely use the flour, rice, and all necessary provisions to supply the Fragrant Accumulation kitchen for two meals, satisfying the Chan practitioners coming and going to select buddhas?"