六祖大師法寶壇經 1.131

1.131

僧志徹，江西人，本姓張，名行昌，少任俠。自南北分化，二宗主雖亡彼我，而徒侶競起愛憎。時北宗門人，自立秀師為第六祖，而忌祖師傳衣為天下聞，乃囑行昌來刺師。師心通，預知其事，即置金十兩於座間。時夜暮，行昌入祖室，將欲加害。師舒頸就之，行昌揮刃者三，悉無所損。師曰：「正劍不邪，邪劍不正。只負汝金，不負汝命。」行昌驚仆，久而方蘇，求哀悔過，即願出家。師遂與金，言：「汝且去，恐徒眾翻害於汝。汝可他日易形而來，吾當攝受。」行昌稟旨宵遁。後投僧出家，具戒精進。一日，憶師之言，遠來禮覲。師曰：「吾久念汝，汝來何晚？」曰：「昨蒙和尚捨罪，今雖出家苦行，終難報德，其惟傳法度生乎？弟子常覽《涅槃經》，未曉常無常義。乞和尚慈悲，略為解說。」師曰：「無常者，即佛性也。有常者，即一切善惡諸法分別心也。」曰：「和尚所說，大違經文。」師曰：「吾傳佛心印，安敢違於佛經？」曰：「經說佛性是常；和尚却言無常。善惡之法乃至菩提心，皆是無常；和尚却言是常。此即相違，令學人轉加疑惑。」師曰：「《涅槃經》吾昔聽尼無盡藏讀誦一遍，便為講說，無一字一義不合經文。乃至為汝，終無二說。」曰：「學人識量淺昧，願和尚委曲開示。」師曰：「汝知否？佛性若常，更說什麼善惡諸法，乃至窮劫無有一人發菩提心者；故吾說無常，正是佛說真常之道也。又，一切諸法若無常者，即物物皆有自性，容受生死，而真常性有不遍之處。故吾說常者，正是佛說真無常義。佛比為凡夫、外道執於邪常，諸二乘人於常計無常，共成八倒，故於《涅槃》了義教中，破彼偏見，而顯說真常、真樂、真我、真淨。汝今依言背義，以斷滅無常及確定死常，而錯解佛之圓妙最後微言。縱覽千遍，有何所益？」行昌忽然大悟，說偈曰：

Zhicheng bowed [and said], “I wish to attend upon you [and will do so] morning and night, without remiss.” (Zhicheng was from Taihe in Jizhou.)

The monk Zhiche was from Jiangxi and originally of the surname Zhang and name Xingchang.While young he was chivalrous. Ever since the division into North and South, although the leaders of the two schools had eliminated [the distinctions of] self and other, their disciples competed in their favoritism. At one time the followers of the Northern school established Shenxiu as the sixth patriarch and resented the public’s knowledge of the patriarch’s transmission of the robe. Thus they enjoined Xingchang to come assassinate the master.

Through precognition, the master knew what was happening and placed ten liang of gold on the dais. That night Xingchang entered the patriarch’s room and was about to attack him, when the master stretched out his neck [to make it easier] for Xingchang. Xingchang swung at him three times with his blade, but [Huineng] was not injured at all.

The master said, “The correct sword is not false, and the false sword is not correct. Just take your money; do not take the life you [came for].”

Xingchang fell prostrate with shock. After quite a while he came to his senses and sought [Huineng’s] compassion, repenting his error and wishing to leave home [to become a monk]. The master then gave him the money, saying “You should go. I fear my followers would harm you. If you can change your appearance and return some day, I will accept you.”

Xingchang followed these instructions and escaped in the night. Later he left home to become a monk, took the full precepts, and vigorously [trained in Buddhism]. One day, remembering what the master had said, [Xingchang] came from afar to pay his respects.

The master said, “I have been thinking of you for a long time. What night did you come?”

[Xingchang] said, “Previously Your Reverence disposed of my trans-

gression. Now, although I have left home and [am engaged in] ascetic prac-

tices, ultimately it will be impossible to reward you for your virtuous [action].

Is transmitting the Dharma and saving sentient beings all that I can do? Your

disciple has been reading the Nirvana Sutra constantly, but I do not under-

stand its doctrines of permanence and impermanence. I beg Your Reverence,

in your compassion, to explain these for me briefly.”

The master said, “That which is impermanent is the buddha-nature. That

which has permanence is all the good and evil dharmas and the mind of dis-

crimination.”

[Xingchang] said, “What Your Reverence has said is quite different from

the text of the sutra.”

The master said, “I transmit the mind-seal of the Buddha; how could

[what I say] differ from the Buddha’s sutra?”

[Xingchang] said, “The sutra teaches that the buddha-nature is perma-

nent, but Your Reverence says it is impermanent. [The sutra says that] the

good and evil dharmas and the mind of bodhi are all impermanent, but

Your Reverence says they are permanent. This difference has made this stu-

dent even more confused!”

The master said, “Formerly I heard the nun Wujin Zang read through

the Nirvana Sutra once, and I explained it for her without so much as a sin-

gle character or single doctrine being different from the text of the sutra.

And I ultimately have no separate teaching for you.”

[Xingchang] said, “This student’s understanding is shallow, and I ask

Your Reverence to reveal [the teaching] for me in detail.”

The master said, “Do you understand? If the buddha-nature were per-

manent, then no matter what good and evil dharmas one explained, not a

single person throughout the entire eon would generate bodhicitta. There-

fore, I preach that it is impermanent. This is precisely the Way of true per-

manence preached by the Buddha. Furthermore, if all the dharmas were

impermanent, then everything would have its own self-nature that would

experience birth and death, and those true and permanent natures would not

be omnipresent. Therefore, I preach that they are permanent, which is pre-