[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [緇門警訓](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2023) › 7.4 # 緇門警訓 7.4 緇門警訓 7.4 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [7.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2023.7.4) 預前若打不徹。臘月三十夜到來。管取爾熱亂。有般外道。纔見人說做工夫他便冷笑。猶有遮箇在。我且問爾。忽然臨命終時。爾將何抵敵生死。爾且思量看。却有箇道理。那得天生彌勒自然釋迦。有一般閑神野鬼。纔見人有些少病。便與他人說。爾只放下著。及至到。他有病。又却理會不下。手忙脚亂。爭奈爾肉如利刀碎割做主宰不得。萬般事須是閑時辦得下。忙時得用。多少省力。休待臨渴掘井做手脚不辦。遮場狼藉如何迴避。前路黑暗信采胡鑽亂撞。苦哉苦哉。平日只學口頭三昧。說禪說道呵佛罵祖。到遮裏都用不著。平日只管瞞人。爭知道今日自瞞了也。阿鼻地獄中決定放爾不得。而今末法將沈。全仗有力量兄弟家。負荷續佛慧命。莫令斷絕。今時纔有一箇半箇行脚。只去觀山觀景。不知光陰能有幾何。一息不回便是來生。未知甚麼頭面。嗚呼勸爾兄弟家。趁色力康健時。討取箇分曉處。不被人瞞底一段大事。遮些關捩子。甚是容易。自是爾不肯去下。死志做工夫。只管道難了又難。好教爾知。那得樹上自生底木杓。爾也須自去做箇轉變始得。若是箇丈夫漢。看箇公案。僧問趙州。狗子還有佛性也無。州云無。但去二六時中看箇無字。晝參夜參行住坐臥。著衣喫飯處。阿屎放尿處。心心相顧猛著精彩。守箇無字。日久月深打成一片。忽然心花頓發。悟佛祖之機。便不被天下老和尚舌頭瞞。便會開大口。達磨西來無風起浪。世尊拈花一場敗闕。到遮裡說甚麼閻羅老子。千聖尚不奈爾何。不信道。直有遮般奇特。為甚如此。事怕有心人。頌曰。 > If you do not break through beforehand, when the night of the thirtieth day of the twelfth month arrives, you will surely be thrown into hot confusion. There are heretics who, the moment they see someone doing the work, sneer: 'There is still this thing!' Let me ask you: when death suddenly approaches, with what will you fend off birth and death? Just think about it! There must be a principle to it. How could there be an innate Maitreya or a naturally occurring Śākyamuni? There are stray spirits and wild ghosts who, the moment they see someone with a minor illness, say to them: 'Just let it go.' But when illness comes upon them, they themselves cannot handle it and are flustered hand and foot. When your flesh is being sliced like by sharp knives, and you cannot be your own master, what can you do? All matters must be settled in leisure, so that they may be of use in times of haste; how much effort that saves! Do not wait until you are thirsty to dig a well, unable to get your hands and feet ready; how will you evade such a wretched mess? The road ahead is dark, and blindly following your impulses you will burrow and crash wildly about—how bitter! How bitter! Ordinarily you only learned lip-service samādhi, speaking of Chan and discussing the Way, scolding buddhas and reviling patriarchs; when you arrive here, none of it is of any use. Ordinarily you only deceived others; who would have known that today you have deceived yourself? Avīci Hell will definitely not let you go. Now that the latter-day Dharma is about to sink, we rely entirely on brothers with strength to shoulder and continue the Buddha's wisdom-life, not letting it be cut off. Nowadays, when there is barely one or a half embarking on itinerant pilgrimage, they only go to look at mountains and scenery, unaware of how much time they have left. Once a breath does not return, that is the next life; who knows what kind of face you will have! Alas! I urge you brothers, while your bodily strength is healthy, to seek out a clear and certain place, a great matter where you will not be deceived by others. These key mechanisms are very easy; it is only that you are unwilling to apply a death-defying will to do the work, constantly saying it is difficult and difficult again. Let me tell you clearly: how could wooden ladles grow by themselves upon trees? You must also bring about a transformation on your own before you attain it. If you are a real man, look at a gongan: A monk asked Zhaozhou, 'Does a dog have buddha-nature or not?' Zhou said, 'No.' Just go and look at this word 'No' through all the twenty-four hours of the day: investigate it by day, investigate it by night, walking, standing, sitting, and reclining, in places where you wear clothes and eat food, where you defecate and urinate. Mind attending to mind, muster fierce vitality and hold fast to this word 'No.' When days grow long and months deepen, it will be beaten into one piece. Suddenly the flower of the mind will burst open, and you will awaken to the dynamic working of buddhas and patriarchs. Then you will not be deceived by the tongues of old masters throughout the world; you will be able to open your big mouth: Bodhidharma's coming from the West was raising waves when there was no wind; the Bhagavat's holding up the flower was a complete fiasco! When you reach here, what old King Yama can be spoken of? Even the thousand sages cannot do anything to you! If you do not believe this, can there really be such an extraordinary matter? Why is it so? 'Things only fear a person with resolve.' A verse says: > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 7.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2023.7.3) - [Next: 7.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2023.7.5) - [Up: 7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2023.7) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2023~en-mt.7.4) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2023.7.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2023.7.4) · Pramāṇa