佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 3.38

3.38

釋迦老子出世。四十九年。未曾說一字。始從光耀土。終至跋提河。於是二中間。未甞說一字。恁麼道。且道是說是不說。如今滿龍宮盈海藏。且作麼生是不說。豈不見修山主道。諸佛不出世。四十九年說。達磨不西來。少林有妙訣。又道諸佛不曾出世。亦無一法與人。但能觀眾生心。隨機應病。與藥施方。遂有三乘十二分教。其實祖佛。自古至今。不曾為人說。只這不為人。正好參詳。山僧常說。若是添一句。甜蜜蜜地。好好觀來。正是毒藥。若是劈脊便棒。驀口便摑。推將出去。方始親切為人。衲僧今古競頭走。到處是也問。不是也問。問佛問祖。問向上問向下。雖然如此。若未到這田地。也少不得。如明鏡當臺列像殊。只消一句。可辨明白。古人道。萬象及森羅。一法之所印。又道。森羅及萬象。總在箇中圓。神秀大師云。身是菩提樹。心如明鏡臺。時時勤拂拭。勿使惹塵埃。大滿云。他只在門外。雪竇恁麼道。且道在門內在門外。爾等諸人。各有一面古鏡。森羅萬象。長短方圓。一一於中顯現。爾若去長短處會。卒摸索不著。所以雪竇道。明鏡當臺列像殊。却須是一一面南看北斗。既是面南。為什麼却看北斗。若恁麼會得。方見百丈南泉相見處。此兩句頌百丈挨拶處。丈云我。又不是大善知識。爭知有說不說。雪竇到此頌得。落在死水裏。恐人錯會。却自提起云。即今目前斗柄垂。爾更去什麼處討。爾纔拈得鼻孔失却口。拈得口失却鼻孔了也。

Old Śākya appeared in the world: for forty-nine years, he never spoke a single word. From the radiant land at the beginning to the river Bhadrikā at the end, between these two he never spoke a single word. Speaking like this—tell me, was he speaking or not speaking? Today the dragon palaces are filled and the ocean treasuries are brimmed: how is this not speaking? Have you not seen Master Xiu of the Mountain say: "The Buddhas did not appear in the world; / For forty-nine years he spoke. / Bodhidharma did not come from the west; / Shaolin has wonderful secrets." And again he said: "The Buddhas never appeared in the world, nor gave a single dharma to humanity; they only observed the minds of sentient beings, responding to conditions and treating illnesses, dispensing medicine and applying prescriptions. Hence there are the three vehicles and the twelve divisions of teaching. In reality, from antiquity down to the present, ancestors and Buddhas have never spoken for people." Just this "not for people" is precisely worth investigating. I often say: if one adds a phrase as sweet as honey, when looked at closely, it is pure poison. But if one applies the staff across the back, strikes directly across the mouth, and shoves [the student] out—only then is there intimate care for people. "Patch-robed monks through past and present run headlong in rivalry": wherever they go, they ask whether it is or isn't, they ask about Buddhas, they ask about ancestors, they ask about the transcendent and about the downward. Although it is like this, if you have not arrived at this realm, it cannot be omitted. "As a bright mirror on its stand distinguishes varied images"—it takes only a single phrase to discern clearly. An ancient said: "The myriad phenomena and dense array / Are imprinted by a single dharma." And again: "The dense array and myriad phenomena / Are altogether completely round within it." Great Master Shenxiu said: "The body is the bodhi tree, / The mind like a bright mirror stand; / Time and again diligently wipe it, / Do not let it gather dust." Daman said: "He is only outside the gate." Since Xuedou speaks like this, tell me, is he inside the gate or outside the gate? Every one of you has an ancient mirror: the dense array and myriad phenomena, long and short, square and round, each and every one manifest within it. If you go toward length and shortness to understand it, in the end you will never touch it. Therefore Xuedou said: "As a bright mirror on its stand distinguishes varied images, / One must face south to look at the Northern Dipper." Since one faces south, why then look at the Northern Dipper? If you can understand in this way, only then will you see the place where Baizhang and Nanquan met each other. These two lines eulogise the place where Baizhang pressed and greeted him. Zhang said: "I am not a great kalyāṇamitra; how would I know whether there is speaking or not speaking?" When Xuedou reached this point in his eulogy, he dropped into dead water; fearing people would misunderstand, he held it up himself, saying: "Right now before your eyes the Dipper handle hangs down; / Where else will you go to search?" You have just caught hold of the nostrils and lost the mouth; you caught hold of the mouth and lost the nostrils.