緇門警訓 2.47

2.47

In the dharmadhātu there is a wish-fulfilling jewel of a man. / For a long time he kept his body sealed, and inscribed upon his chest, saying: / 'A person of antiquity who gathered in his mind! / Beware! Beware! / Do not overthink; do not know too much. / Much knowledge brings many affairs: better to calm your thoughts; / Much thinking brings many errors: better to guard the One. / When thinking is excessive, the aspiration is scattered; when knowledge is excessive, the mind is confused. / When the mind is confused, afflictions arise; when the aspiration is scattered, the Way is obstructed. / Do not say, "What harm is there?"—its suffering is long and drawn out; / Do not say, "What is there to fear?"—its calamity boils like a cauldron. / If drops of water do not stop, the four seas will be filled; / If fine specks of dust are not brushed away, the five sacred peaks will be formed. / Guarding against the branch lies in the root; though small, do not take it lightly. / Close your seven apertures; shut your six emotional desires. / Do not peep at sights; do not listen to sounds. / Those who hear sounds become deaf; those who see sights become blind. / A single piece of writing or a single art is but a tiny gnat in the sky; / A single skill or a single ability is but a solitary lamp beneath the sun. / The talents and arts of the brilliant and worthy are themselves foolishness and delusion; / Abandoning pure simplicity, they indulge in extravagant elegance. / The horse of consciousness easily bolts; the monkey of the mind is hard to subdue. / Once the spirit is worn out, the physical form will surely perish. / In the end, one becomes lost on deviant paths; on the long road, one is forever mired. / The talents and abilities of the brilliant and worthy are called darkness and ignorance; / To be stained and clumsy yet envy cleverness—such virtue is not clever. / When reputation is substantial but conduct is flimsy, one's high standing quickly collapses; / If spreading ointment is dirtied when rolled up, its use is not lasting. / Internally harboring pride and boastfulness, externally it incurs resentment and hatred. / Whether spoken by the mouth or written by the hand, / Seeking praise from others is also extremely shameful. / What the worldly call auspicious, the sages call a fault; / Enjoyment is brief, but grief and sorrow are long-lasting. / Fearing one's shadow and fearing one's footprints, the faster one runs, the worse it becomes; / Sit upright in the shade of a tree: the footprints vanish and the shadow sinks away. / Loathing birth and dreading old age, as thoughts arise, karmic actions are created; / If mental conceptions are extinguished, birth and death are forever severed. / Neither dying nor being born, without mark and without name, / The One Way is void and tranquil, and all things are equalized. / What is superior? What is inferior? What is heavy? What is light? / What is noble? What is base? What is disgrace? What is glory? / The clear sky is ashamed of its purity; the bright sun is humbled by its brilliance. / Secure like Mount Tai, firm like an impregnable fortress: / Respectfully presented to the worthy and wise, this Way is advantageous and auspicious.'