緇門警訓 7.22

7.22

"Generally speaking, for brothers who study and inquire: your eye of the Way is not yet bright, and your mind-ground is not yet at peace. Entering one monastery and leaving another, you must draw close to excellent companions and good friends, making the Buddha's Dharma your sole concern throughout the twelve periods of the day. You must examine and choose decisively to make your mind's eye clear and sharp. This is no small matter. Time is easily lost, and time waits for no man; once you lose the human body, you will not easily find a way out.
"Do not fool around and waste your time like this, 'three today and four tomorrow,' spending the winter here and the summer over there, memorizing a belly full of verbal tangles and spreading creeping vines, picking up intellectual understanding everywhere to deceive people with emptiness, rubbing your lips and stroking your mouth, babbling wild words and nonsensical talk, saying, 'I understand Chan, I understand the Way!' Slighting good people, you create karma for the Avīci hell. You should know that this matter is not easy at all; even immeasurable great men, coming here, can find no head or nose to grasp! Do not casually open your big mouths!
"Old man Fachang has no human sentiments. Do not crave others rubbing you, patting you, and praising you—none of that comes from good intentions. One day when the elements of wind and fire disintegrate and the light of your eyes falls to the ground, your good and bad karmic conditions, receiving good or ugly retribution, and the realms of birth and death will all appear before you at once. At that time you will be like a crab dropped into boiling water, flailing about in panic. The livelihood, supernormal powers, and Buddha-Dharma you learned before will be of no use at all. With your karmic consciousness boundless and without any basis to rely on, regret will be too late; you will receive retribution according to conditions, and what form you will change into cannot be determined.
"Have you not seen? The ancients said: 'Bodhisattvas studying prajñā must not deceive themselves; they must be extremely meticulous! If the finest speck is not exhausted, saṃsāra cannot be avoided; if a single thread of thought is not forgotten, one will entirely sink and fall.' Do you want to recognize those who wear fur and horns? They are precisely those who ordinarily act as masters in confusion! Do you want to recognize the tongue-pulling hell? It is precisely for those who deceive and confuse people on the wrong paths! Do you want to recognize the cold ice and boiling cauldrons? They are precisely for those of you who recklessly accept the offerings of the faithful! The three miserable destinies and the eight difficulties are all created by your own mind; it is only because the eye of the Way is not bright that things come to this. If one were a truly grounded person, how could there be such news?
"When Fachang speaks such words, they are entirely in accord with all the sages, not just for the sake of you three brothers or four comrades. Any bodhisattva who has not yet attained tolerance possesses these faults; how much more so the eight classes of devas and nāgas! Since you have come here to spend the winter and pass the summer, do not take it lightly. This old monk gathers food at the edge of the hoe to provide for you and speak a few words of one who has left home; do not let the notions of self and other ruin your whole life in vain. Once the four elements break apart, it will be too late to practice tricks!
"There is a kind of fellow who, hearing others bring up what is in his belly, flies into a rage of anger, saying, 'How could the Buddha's Dharma have such matters? Great awakening is not bound by petty rules—whom else should I ask?' I ask you: what have you awakened to and seen? Have you escaped the consciousness and thoughts of the skull yet? During the twelve periods of the day, do your actions correspond to the five precepts and ten virtuous deeds? In the assembly on Vulture Peak, did you ever see a Buddha who had no practice and action? Has there ever been an ancestral master who told lies? This is very much like comparing cow dung to sandalwood—what connection is there? It can truly be said: 'Sarpirmaṇḍa is the supreme flavor, treasured by the world; but when it meets such people, it turns into poison.'
"If you wish to attain accord in the future, from this day forth, let everything be dry and bland in all places. Throughout the twelve periods of the day, face the five desires and the eight winds like a blind man looking at things, neither clinging to phenomena nor letting phenomena cling to you. Examine yourself at the gates of the six sense faculties so that there is not the slightest trace of fault; only then will you have a slight share of progress.
"When Fachang speaks this way, it is like taking medicine that induces dizziness: it is bitter in the mouth for a time, but in the future you will gain great strength from it. Therefore it is said: 'Even after hundreds of thousands of kalpas, / the deeds one has performed are not forgotten; / when causes and conditions meet, / one still receives the retribution oneself.' No one can take your place. Each of you must strive diligently. Take care!" (Recorded Sayings)