六祖大師法寶壇經 1.34

1.34

「惠能辭違祖已，發足南行。兩月中間，至大庾嶺（五祖歸，數日不上堂。眾疑，詣問曰：『和尚少病少惱否？』曰：『病即無。衣法已南矣。』問：『誰人傳授？』曰：『能者得之。』眾乃知焉）。逐後數百人來，欲奪衣鉢。一僧俗姓陳，名惠明，先是四品將軍，性行麁慥，極意參尋。為眾人先，趁及惠能。惠能擲下衣鉢於石上，云：『此衣表信，可力爭耶？』能隱草莽中。惠明至，提掇不動，乃喚云：『行者！行者！我為法來，不為衣來。』惠能遂出，坐盤石上。惠明作禮云：『望行者為我說法。』惠能云：『汝既為法而來，可屏息諸緣，勿生一念。吾為汝說。』明良久。惠能云：『不思善，不思惡，正與麼時，那箇是明上座本來面目？』惠明言下大悟。復問云：『上來密語密意外，還更有密意否？』惠能云：『與汝說者，即非密也。汝若返照，密在汝邊。』明曰：『惠明雖在黃梅，實未省自己面目。今蒙指示，如人飲水，冷暖自知。今行者即惠明師也。』惠能曰：『汝若如是，吾與汝同師黃梅，善自護持。』明又問：『惠明今後向甚處去？』惠能曰：『逢袁則止，遇蒙則居。』明禮辭（明回至嶺下，謂趁眾曰：『向陟崔嵬，竟無蹤跡，當別道尋之。』趁眾咸以為然。惠明後改道明，避師上字）。

transmission of the mind with the mind. [The mind] must always enlighten

itself, emancipate itself. From ancient times, the buddhas have only trans-

mitted the fundamental essence; the masters have secretly handed on the

fundamental mind.

“‘The robe [however] has become the focus of conflict, and beginning

with you it should not be transmitted. If you transmit this robe, your life

expectancy will be like a hanging thread. You should go quickly! I fear peo-

ple will harm you!’ I addressed him, ‘Where should I go?’ The patriarch

said, ‘When you encounter destruction (huai), you should stop. When you

come upon a group (hui), you should secret yourself.’

“In the third watch I took the robe and bowl and said, ‘I am from south

China and do not know the mountainous roads around here. How do I get to

the mouth of the [Yangzi] River?’ The Fifth Patriarch said, ‘Do not be dis-

heartened, I will see you off.’ The patriarch accompanied me as far as Jiu-

jiang station, where he had us get on a boat. The Fifth Patriarch took the oar

and rowed [the boat] himself. I said, ‘Your Reverence, please sit. Your dis-

ciple should row!’ Hongren said, ‘I should take you over [to the other shore].’

I said, ‘When one is deluded, one thinks teachers take [sentient beings over

to the other shore], but when one is enlightened, one realizes one crosses

over by oneself. Although “cross over” is only a single term, its uses are var-

ied. Since I was born in a border region, my pronunciation is not correct. I

have received transmission of the Dharma from you, Master, and I have now

become enlightened. Can it be anything other than that the self-natures have

crossed themselves over?’

“The patriarch said, ‘So it is, so it is. In the future, Buddhism will flour-

ish greatly because of you. Three years after you go, I will depart this world.

You should go now. Make an effort to go south, and don’t be in a hurry to

preach [the Dharma]. It is difficult to propagate Buddhism!’

“After I left the patriarch, I started out walking toward the south. In the

second month [of traveling] I reached the Dayu Mountains. (Hongren

returned [to the monastery] and for several days did not go into the hall.

The assembly [of followers] was in doubt about this and proceeded to him to ask, “Is Your Reverence ill or discomforted in some small way?” He said, “I am not ill. The robe and Dharma are in the south.” They asked, “To whom have you transmitted them?” He said, “One who is able has received them.” Thus did the assembly learn of it.)

“Coming after me were several hundred people, who wanted to take away the robe and bowl. One monk, of the lay surname Chen and named Huiming, had previously been a general of the fourth rank. He was coarse and excitable by nature, and he really wanted to find me. He reached me before the rest of the group chasing me. I threw the robe and bowl down on a rock and said, ‘This robe emblematizes reliance [upon the patriarchs]. How can you struggle for it?’ I hid in the underbrush, and Huiming tried to lift it without success. Then he called to me, saying, ‘O practitioner, O practitioner! I have come for the Dharma, not for the robe.’ I then came out and sat on the rock.

“Huiming bowed to me and said, ‘I wish that you would preach the Dharma for me.’ I said, ‘You say you’ve come for the Dharma. [If so], you must eliminate the various conditions and not generate a single thought. [If you do], I will preach the Dharma for you.’ Huiming was quiet for a time. I said, ‘Do not think of good, and do not think of evil. At just such a time, what is Elder Huiming’s original face?’ At these words, Huiming [experienced] a great enlightenment. He then questioned me again, saying, ‘Other than the secret words and secret intention [you expressed] just now, is there any other secret intention?’ I said, ‘What I have preached to you is not secret. If you counter-illuminate [your own original face you will realize that] the secret was on your side.’

“Huiming said, ‘Although I was at [Hongren’s monastery in] Huangmei, I actually never thought about my own [original] face. To receive your instructions now is like a man who drinks water knowing [immediately] whether it