真心直說 1.31

1.31

或曰。真心現前如何知是真心成熟無礙也。曰學道之人已得真心現前時。但習氣未除。若遇熟境有時失念。如牧牛雖調到牽拽隨順處。猶不敢放了鞭繩。直待心調步穩赶趁入苗稼中不傷苗稼。方敢撒手也。到此地步便不用牧童鞭繩。自然無傷苗稼。如道人得真心後。先且用功保養。有大力用方可利生。若驗此真心時。先將平生所愛底境。時時想在面前。如依前起憎愛心。則道心未熟。若不生憎愛心。是道心熟也。雖然如此成熟。猶未是自然不起憎愛。又再驗心。若遇憎愛境時。特然起憎愛心令取憎愛境界。若心不起是心無礙。如露地白牛不傷苗稼也。古有呵佛罵祖者。是與此心相應今見纔入宗門。未知道之遠近。便學呵佛罵祖者。太早計也。

Someone asked: "When the true mind appears before one, how does one know that the true mind has matured and is unobstructed?"
I answered: "When a practitioner of the Way has already attained the presence of the true mind, but his habit energies have not yet been eliminated, when encountering familiar circumstances he sometimes loses mindfulness. It is like herding an ox: although it has been trained to the point of following along when pulled and tugged, one still does not dare to drop the whip and rope; only when its mind is tamed, its steps are steady, and when driven into the standing grain it does not damage the grain, does one dare to let go of one's hands. Arriving at this stage, one no longer needs the cowherd's whip and rope, and naturally there is no damage to the standing grain. Similarly, after a person of the Way attains the true mind, he must first apply effort to maintain and nourish it; only when he has great power and function can he benefit sentient beings. When verifying this true mind, first bring the circumstances one has loved throughout one's life to mind, constantly imagining them before oneself; if hatred and love arise as before, the mind of the Way is not yet mature. If hatred and love do not arise, the mind of the Way is mature. Although it is mature in this way, it is still not yet a state where hatred and love naturally do not arise. One must test the mind again: when encountering circumstances of hatred and love, deliberately give rise to a mind of hatred and love to make it take hold of those circumstances of hatred and love; if the mind does not arise, this mind is unobstructed, like the white ox in the open field that does not damage the standing grain. In ancient times there were those who scolded the Buddhas and reviled the patriarchs; they were in accord with this mind. Today we see those who have just entered the patriarchal gate, unaware of how far or near the Way is, immediately imitating the scolding of Buddhas and reviling of patriarchs; this is calculated far too prematurely."