緇門警訓 1.67

1.67

Now, understanding must be perfect understanding, which must be entrusted to clear-eyed ancestral masters; practice must be perfect practice, which is committed to fellow companions of the Way in the monastic groves. Those of initial aspiration and meager merit do not draw close skillfully; their views are one-sided and dry, and their cultivation is indolent. Some highly extol the holy realm while betraying their own numinous nature; how could they know the virtuous marks and spiritual penetrations, not believing that ordinary beings can awaken to the Way? Or they rely upon innate nature to negate cause and effect, merely flowing forth from their own chests without establishing practice based on the ground. Therefore, Dharma masters of crude understanding do not penetrate the eye of the teaching; phony Chan practitioners do not value the gate of practice. Such is the offense of one-sided dryness. Or their whole bodies are tattered and their whole faces covered in dust and wind; the three thousand subtle behaviors are entirely absent, and the eighty thousand deportments are completely lacking. Or they attend to mundane affairs and manage disciples, their bodies roaming among markets and their minds stained with the ways of the neighborhoods. Therefore, ordinary monks in the mountain wilds cannot avoid the ridicule of farmers, and sons of the Śākya in the cities and towns conversely invite the shame of Confucian scholars. Such is the offense of indolence. Why not leave behind once again the home of afflictions, and cut off anew the net of worldly toils? Drink the pure breeze and visit practitioners of the Way; probe the subtle words and seek bosom friends. Clarify the spirit in the ancestral domain, and quiet the thoughts in the school's teaching. In a quiet room or an empty hall, draw up your Chan robes and sit in tranquility; amid green mountains and clear waters, carry your pewter staff and engage in walking meditation. If suddenly the light of the mind breaks through, doubt and obstruction melt away like ice; right before you it is completely distinct. How could one be blind to the ultimate fruition of the three great kalpas? Originally complete and sufficient, what hindrance is there to the causal flowers of the myriad practices? Thereupon, both the lineage and the teaching are penetrated, like the bright sun shining in the realm of empty space; both mind and body are quiescent, like lapis lazuli containing the light of the precious moon. It may be said that when the mugwort grows among hemp, it stands straight without support; when the many streams flow into the sea, they are all called the Heavenly Pond. Reflecting on past errors, one only then realizes the great mistake. Faithful words grate on the ear; I venture to hope you will engrave them on your heart. In this life and other lives, may we together be Dharma companions.