禪林寶訓 1.45

1.45

Baiyun said to Yanzu, “The wisdom of Chan practitioners is mostly seen after the fact; they cannot see before the fact. Śamatha, vipaśyanā, concentration, and wisdom guard before the fact. Creation, stopping, letting go, and extinguishing are realized after the fact. Therefore, the function of creation, stopping, letting go, and extinguishing is easy to see, while the workings of śamatha, vipaśyanā, concentration, and wisdom are difficult to discern. Only the ancients had their resolve set on the Way, cutting off thoughts before they sprouted. Although there are śamatha, vipaśyanā, concentration, wisdom, creation, stopping, letting go, and extinguishing, they are all discourses on the fundamental and the derivative. Therefore it is said: ‘If there is even a hair's tip of talk about the fundamental and derivative, it is all self-deception.’ This is where the ancients saw through completely and did not deceive themselves.” (Veritable Records)