佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 2.17

2.17

禪家流。欲知佛性義。當觀時節因緣。謂之教外別傳。單傳心印。直指人心。見性成佛。釋迦老子。四十九年住世。三百六十會。開談頓漸權實。謂之一代時教。這僧拈來問云。如何是一代時教。雲門何不與他紛紛解說。却向他道箇對一說。雲門尋常一句中。須具三句。謂之函蓋乾坤句。隨波逐浪句。截斷眾流句。放去收來。自然奇特。如斬釘截鐵。教人義解卜度他底不得。一大藏教。只消三箇字。四方八面。無爾穿鑿處。人多錯會。却道對一時機宜之事。故說。又道森羅及萬象。皆是一法之所印。謂之對一說。更有道。只是說那箇一法。有什麼交涉。非唯不會。更入地獄如箭。殊不知。古人意不如此。所以道。粉骨碎身未足酬。一句了然超百億。不妨奇特。如何是一代時教。只消道箇對一說。若當頭薦得。便可歸家穩坐。若薦不得。且伏聽處分。

Followers of Chan, if you wish to know the meaning of Buddha-nature, you should observe the causes and conditions of the seasons. This is called a special transmission outside the teachings, transmitting solely the mind-seal, pointing directly to the human mind, seeing one's nature and becoming a Buddha. Old Śākyamuni dwelt in the world for forty-nine years, in three hundred and sixty assemblies, expounding the sudden and gradual, provisional and real; this is called the teaching of a whole lifetime. This monk picked it up and asked, "What is the teaching of a whole lifetime?" Why did Yunmen not give him a discursive explanation, but instead said to him, "An exposition facing one"? In his ordinary phrases, Yunmen always included three phrases: the phrase that covers heaven and earth, the phrase that follows the waves and pursues the currents, and the phrase that cuts off the myriad streams. Letting go and gathering in, he was naturally extraordinary, like severing nails and cleaving iron, leaving people with no way to interpret or conjecture about it. The great Tripiṭaka teaching requires only three characters; on all sides, there is nowhere for you to bore into. Many people misunderstand it, instead saying, "It was spoken facing the circumstances of a single time; hence the statement." Others say, "The dense array of myriad phenomena are all sealed by the One Dharma; this is called 'an exposition facing one.'" There are still others who say, "It simply speaks of that One Dharma; what connection does it have?" Not only do they fail to understand, they enter hell as swiftly as an arrow. Little do they know that the ancients' intention was not like this. Therefore it is said: "Grinding one's bones and shattering one's body is not enough to repay; / one phrase clearly understood surpasses hundreds of millions." Truly extraordinary! "What is the teaching of a whole lifetime?" It only requires saying, "An exposition facing one." If you directly grasp it here, you can return home and sit securely. If you cannot grasp it, then wait humbly for disposition.