景德傳燈錄 30.9

30.9

法界有如意寶。人焉久緘其身。銘其膺曰。古之攝心人也。戒之哉戒之哉。無多慮無多知。多知多事不如息意。多慮多失不如守一。慮多志散知多心亂。心亂生惱志散妨道。勿謂何傷其苦悠長。勿言何畏其禍鼎沸。滴水不停四海將盈。纖塵不拂五嶽將成。防末在本雖小不輕。關爾七竅閉爾六情。莫視於色莫聽於聲。聞聲者聾見色者盲。一文一藝空中小蚋。一伎一能日下孤燈。英賢才藝是為愚蔽。捨棄淳朴耽溺淫麗。識馬易奔心猿難制。神既勞役形必損斃。邪行終迷修途永泥。莫貴才能日益惛瞢。誇拙羨巧其德不弘。名厚行薄其高速崩。內懷憍伐外致怨憎。或談於口或書於手。邀人令譽亦孔之醜。凡謂之吉聖謂之咎。賞翫暫時悲哀長久。畏影畏迹逾遠逾極。端坐樹陰跡滅影沈。厭生患老隨思隨造。心想若滅生死長絕。不死不生無相無名。一道虛寂萬物齊平。何貴何賤何辱何榮。何勝何劣何重何輕。澄天愧淨皎日慚明。安夫岱嶺同彼金城。敬貽賢哲斯道利貞。

In the realm of phenomena there is a wish-fulfilling jewel; / a person kept his mouth long sealed, / and on his chest inscribed these words: / "The one of old who gathered in the mind! / Take heed, take heed! / Do not ponder much, do not know much. / Much knowing brings much trouble; it is better to rest the mind. / Much pondering brings much loss; it is better to guard the one. / Pondering much, the resolve is scattered; knowing much, the mind is disordered. / When the mind is disordered, affliction arises; when the resolve is scattered, it hinders the Path. / Do not say, 'What harm is there?' Its suffering is long and drawn out. / Do not say, 'What is there to fear?' Its disaster boils like a cauldron. / If drops of water do not cease, the four seas will soon brim full. / If fine dust is not swept away, the five peaks will soon be formed. / Guard against the branches by staying at the root; though small, it must not be taken lightly. / Close your seven apertures, shut your six sense-emotions. / Do not look at sights; do not listen to sounds. / Those who hear sounds become deaf; those who see sights become blind. / A single text, a single craft is a tiny gnat in the sky; / a single art, a single ability is a lone lamp beneath the sun. / Heroic virtue, talent, and craft: these are folly and delusion. / Casting aside plain simplicity, one is drowned in luxuriant glamour. / The horse of consciousness is easily galloped; the ape of the mind is hard to subdue. / Once the spirit is overtaxed, the physical form is bound to be damaged and perish. / Heterodox conduct leads in the end to delusion; the path of cultivation is forever bogged down. / Do not prize talent and ability; day by day you grow more dim and benighted. / Boasting of clumsy ways and envying cleverness, one's virtue will not be broad. / With a weighty reputation and thin practice, one's high standing quickly collapses. / Harbouring pride and arrogance within invites resentment and hatred without. / Whether spoken by the mouth or written by the hand, / courting the praise of others is exceedingly vile. / The ordinary call it auspicious; the sage calls it a fault. / Delighting in it is fleeting; sorrow over it is enduring. / Fearing your shadow, fearing your footprints: the further you run, the more exhausted you become; / sit upright in the shade of a tree: footprints vanish and the shadow disappears. / Loathing birth and dreading old age: following your thoughts, you bring them to pass; / if conceptual thought in the mind is extinguished, birth and death are cut off forever. / Neither dying nor being born, without characteristic and without name, / the one Path is empty and serene, and the ten thousand things are equal and level. / What is noble? What is base? What is disgraceful? What is glorious? / What is superior? What is inferior? What is heavy? What is light? / The clear sky is ashamed of its purity; the bright sun is humbled by its radiance. / Secure like Mount Tai, firm like that city wall of metal, / with reverence this is bequeathed to worthy sages: for this Path, perseverance brings benefit."