少室六門 1.113

1.113

問曰。若不立文字。以何為心。答曰。汝問吾。即是汝心。吾答汝。即是吾心。吾若無心。因何解答汝。汝若無心。因何解問吾。問吾即是汝心。從無始曠大劫以來。乃至施為運動。一切時中一切處所。皆是汝本心。皆是汝本佛。即心是佛亦復如是。除此心外。終無別佛可得。離此心外。覓菩提涅槃。無有是處。自性真實。非因非果。法即是心義。自心是菩提。自心是涅槃。若言心外有佛及菩提可得。無有是處。佛及菩提皆在何處。譬如有人以手捉虛空。得否。虛空但有名。亦無相貌。取不得捨不得。是捉空不得。除此心外覓佛。終不得也。佛是自心作得。因何離此心外覓佛。前佛後佛只言其心。心即是佛。佛即是心。心外無佛。佛外無心。若言心外有佛。佛在何處。心外既無佛。何起佛見。遞相誑惑。不能了本心。被他無情物攝。無自由分。若又不信。自誑無益。佛無過患。眾生顛倒。不覺不知自心是佛。若知自心是佛。不應心外覓佛。佛不度佛。將心覓佛。而不識佛。但是外覓佛者。盡是不識自心是佛。亦不得將佛禮佛。不得將心念佛。佛不誦經。佛不持戒。佛不犯戒。佛無持犯。亦不造善惡。若欲覓佛。須是見性。性即是佛。若不見性。念佛誦經持齋持戒亦無益處。念佛得因果。誦經得聰明。持戒得生天。布施得福報。覓佛終不得也。若自己不明了。須參善知識了却生死根本。若不見性。即不名善知識。若不如此。縱說得十二部經。亦不免生死輪迴。三界受苦。無有出期。昔有善星比丘。誦得十二部經。猶自不免輪迴。為不見性。善星既如此。今時人講得三五本經論。以為佛法者。愚人也。若不識得自心。誦得閑文書。都無用處。若要覓佛。直須見性。性即是佛。佛即是自在人。無事無作人。若不見性。終日茫茫。向外馳求覓佛。元來不得。雖無一物可得。若求會。亦須參善知識。切須苦求。令心會解。生死事大。不得空過。自誑無益。縱有珍寶如山。眷屬如恒河沙。開眼即見。合眼還見麼。故知有為之法如夢幻等。若不急尋師。空過一生。然則佛性自有。若不因師。終不明了。不因師悟者。萬中希有。若自己以緣會合得聖人意。即不用參善知識。此即是生而知之勝學也。若未悟解。須勤苦參學。因教方得悟。若自明了。不學亦得。不同迷人不能分別皂白。妄言宣佛勅。謗佛妄法。如斯等類。說法如雨。盡是魔說。即非佛說。師是魔王。弟子是魔民。迷人任他指揮。不覺墮生死海。但是不見性人。妄稱是佛。此等眾生是大罪人。誑他一切眾生。令入魔界。若不見性。說得十二部經教。盡是魔說。魔家眷屬。不是佛家弟子。既不辨皂白。憑何免生死。若見性即是佛。不見性即是眾生。若離眾生性別有佛性可得者。佛今在何處。眾生性即是佛性也。性外無佛。佛即是性。除此性外。無佛可得。佛外無性可得。

Question: "If written words are not established, what is taken to be the mind?"
Answer: "Your questioning me is precisely your mind. My answering you is precisely my mind. If I had no mind, how could I answer you? If you had no mind, how could you question me? Questioning me is precisely your mind. From beginningless, vast kalpas past down to all operations and activities, at all times and in all places, it is all your original mind, all your original Buddha. 'Mind itself is Buddha' is also like this. Apart from this mind, there is ultimately no other Buddha to be found. Outside of this mind, seeking bodhi and nirvāṇa is impossible. Svabhāva is true and real, neither cause nor effect. 'Dharma' signifies precisely the mind. One's own mind is bodhi; one's own mind is nirvāṇa. If it is said that outside the mind there is a Buddha and bodhi to be found, it is impossible. Where would the Buddha and bodhi be? For example, if someone were to grasp empty space with their hand, could they get hold of it? Empty space has only a name, but no appearance; it can neither be taken nor discarded, so space cannot be grasped. Seeking Buddha apart from this mind can never succeed. Buddha is produced from one's own mind; why seek a Buddha apart from this mind? Past Buddhas and future Buddhas only spoke of this mind. Mind is Buddha; Buddha is mind. Outside the mind there is no Buddha; outside the Buddha there is no mind. If it is said that outside the mind there is a Buddha, where is that Buddha? Since outside the mind there is no Buddha, why give rise to a view of Buddha? Mutually deceiving one another, people cannot comprehend their original mind; they are controlled by inanimate objects and have no share of freedom. If you do not believe this, you deceive yourself to no benefit. The Buddha has no faults; sentient beings are inverted, neither aware nor conscious that their own mind is the Buddha. If one knows that one's own mind is the Buddha, one should not seek a Buddha outside the mind. A Buddha does not deliver a Buddha. Using the mind to seek a Buddha means one does not recognize the Buddha. All those who seek a Buddha externally fail to recognize that their own mind is the Buddha. Also, one cannot use a Buddha to bow to a Buddha, nor can one use the mind to be mindful of a Buddha. A Buddha does not recite sūtras; a Buddha does not uphold precepts; a Buddha does not break precepts. A Buddha has neither upholding nor breaking, nor does he perform good or evil. If you wish to seek the Buddha, you must see the nature. The nature is precisely the Buddha. If you do not see the nature, being mindful of the Buddha, reciting sūtras, observing fasts, and upholding precepts will also be of no benefit. Being mindful of the Buddha yields cause and effect; reciting sūtras yields cleverness; upholding precepts yields rebirth in heaven; giving yields retributive blessings. But seeking the Buddha will never succeed. If you are not clear yourself, you must consult a good spiritual friend to resolve the root of birth and death. If one has not seen the nature, one is not called a good spiritual friend. If one is not like this, even if one could expound the twelve divisions of the sūtras, one will still not avoid the cycle of birth and death and suffering in the traidhātuka, with no time of release. Long ago, the monk Sunakṣatra could recite the twelve divisions of the sūtras, yet he still could not avoid cyclic existence, because he had not seen the nature. Since it was so with Sunakṣatra, people today who can lecture on three or five treatises and sūtras and consider that the Buddha-Dharma are foolish people. If one does not recognize one's own mind, reciting useless texts is completely pointless. If you want to seek the Buddha, you must directly see the nature. The nature is precisely the Buddha. The Buddha is an autonomous person, a person without affairs and without contrivance. If you do not see the nature, you will be in confusion all day, seeking outside for a Buddha and never finding one. Although there is not a single thing to be found, if you seek to understand, you must also consult a good spiritual friend and earnestly strive to make the mind comprehend. The matter of birth and death is great; you must not let time pass in vain. Deceiving yourself is of no benefit. Even if you possessed mountains of treasures and kin like the sands of the Ganges, you see them when your eyes are open, but do you still see them when your eyes are closed? Therefore, know that conditioned dharmas are like dreams and illusions. If you do not urgently seek a master, you will pass your whole life in vain. However, while the Buddha-nature is inherently present, without a master you will ultimately not be clear about it. Those who awaken without a master are rare among ten thousand. If through favorable circumstances you accord with the intention of the sages on your own, then you do not need to consult a good spiritual friend; this is the superior learning of one born with knowledge. If you have not awakened and comprehended, you must diligently and bitterly study with others; only through teaching will you attain awakening. If you are clear on your own, it is acceptable not to study. It is not like deluded people who cannot distinguish black from white, falsely proclaim the Buddha's decrees, and slander the Buddha and falsely preach the Dharma. For people of this sort, though they preach the Dharma like rain, it is all the preaching of Māra, not the preaching of the Buddha. The master is the Māra king, and the disciples are Māra's subjects. Deluded people follow his direction at will, unknowingly falling into the sea of birth and death. Anyone who has not seen the nature yet falsely claims to be a Buddha is a great sinner among sentient beings; they deceive all other sentient beings, causing them to enter the realm of Māra. If one has not seen the nature, even if one can preach the teaching of the twelve divisions of the sūtras, it is entirely the preaching of Māra. They are the retinue of Māra, not disciples of the Buddha. Since they cannot distinguish black from white, on what basis can they escape birth and death? If one sees the nature, one is a Buddha; if one does not see the nature, one is a sentient being. If apart from the nature of sentient beings there were another Buddha-nature to be found, where would the Buddha be now? The nature of sentient beings is precisely the Buddha-nature. Outside the nature there is no Buddha; the Buddha is precisely the nature. Apart from this nature, no Buddha can be found; outside the Buddha, no nature can be found."