佛果圜悟禪師碧巖錄 2.17

2.17

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.