禪林寶訓 4.19

4.19

Xinwen said: "The ancients said: 'The talent of a thousand men is called elite; the hero among ten thousand men is called preeminent.' When a patch-robed monk has wisdom and conduct renowned in the monastic groves, is he not close to an elite and preeminent gentleman? If one can only investigate diligently, discard the empty and take up the real, and each attain their function, then regardless of whether the monastery is large or small, or the assembly numerous or few, all will follow their transformation. In the past, there was Fengxue as a commoner, Yaoshan in the ox pen, Master Chang at Damei, and Ciming in Jingchu. At that time, if drifting people had sought them by status or appearance, they would certainly have mocked them upon seeing them. Yet once they occupied the master's seat, ascended the flower throne, surrounded by ten thousand fingers, radiating the brilliant light of the buddhas and patriarchs in this decadent age, who in the monastic groves would not be swept along by their breeze? Moreover, the predecessors all possessed magnificent talent and the spirit of preeminent heroes, yet they were still able, in their days of obscurity, to endure shame, bear disgrace, and mingle with the world and float along with its waves like this; how much more so for those inferior to them! Alas, the past is just like the present; this is just like that. If one must wait for a Yaoshan or a Fengxue to take as a teacher, that is an encounter of a thousand years. If one must wait for a Damei or a Ciming to take as a friend, that is one who emerges once in a hundred generations. For affairs proceed from the subtle to the prominent, and achievements accumulate from the small to become great. I have never seen anyone achieve without studying, or advance first without cultivating. If one realizes this principle, a teacher can be sought, a friend can be chosen, the Way can be studied, and virtue can be cultivated; then what affair under heaven cannot be undertaken? The ancients said: 'Knowing others is truly difficult, a problem even for the sages.' How much more so for the rest!" (Letter to Zhu'an)