續傳燈錄 31.22

31.22

慶元府東山齊已禪師。卭州謝氏子。上堂。舉脩山主偈曰。是柱不見柱。非柱不見柱。是非已去了。是非裏薦取。召大眾曰。薦得是移華兼蝶至。薦得非擔泉帶月歸。是也好。鄭州梨勝青州棗。非也好。象山路入蓬萊島。是亦沒交涉。踏著秤錘硬似鐵。非亦沒交涉。金剛寶劍當頭截。阿呵呵會也麼。知事少時煩惱少。識人多處是非多。蓮社會道友請上堂。漸漸雞皮鶴髮。父少而子老。看看行步躘蹱。疑殺木上座。直饒金玉滿堂。照顧白拈賊。豈免衰殘老病。正好著精彩。任汝千般快樂。渠儂合自由。無常終是到來。歸堂喫茶去。唯有徑路修行依舊打之遶。但念阿彌陀佛。念得不濟事。復曰。啞這條活路。已被善導和尚直截指出了也。是爾諸人朝夕在徑路中往來。因甚麼當面蹉過阿彌陀佛。這裏薦得便可除迷倒障。拔猶預箭。截疑惑網。斷癡愛河。伐心稠林。浣心垢濁。正心諂曲。絕心生死。然後轉入那邊。擡起脚向佛祖履踐不到處進一步。開却口向佛祖言詮不到處說一句。喚回善導和尚別求徑路修行。其或準前捨父逃走。流落他鄉撞東磕西。苦哉阿彌陀佛。

Chan Master Qiji of Dongshan in Qingyuan Prefecture was a son of the Xie family of Qiongzhou. Ascending the hall, he cited Master Shan Xiu's verse: "It is a pillar, yet do not see a pillar; / It is not a pillar, yet do not see a pillar. / Right and wrong have already departed; / Comprehend within right and wrong." Calling to the assembly, he said: "If you comprehend 'it is', you move the flowers and the butterflies come along; if you comprehend 'it is not', you shoulder the spring and bring the moon back. 'It is' is good: pears from Zhengzhou surpass dates from Qingzhou. 'It is not' is good: the road from Xiangshan enters the island of Penglai. 'It is' also has no bearing: stepping on a steelyard weight, it is hard as iron. 'It is not' also has no bearing: the diamond jeweled sword cuts straight at the head. A-ha-ha! Do you understand? When you know few matters, you have few afflictions; where you know many people, there is much right and wrong." At the request of fellow practitioners of the Lotus Society, he ascended the hall: "Gradually comes chicken-skin and crane-white hair—the father is young while the son is old. Look, see: steps falter and stumble—doubt to death the Wooden Elder. Even if gold and jade fill the hall—watch out for the barefaced thief! How can one escape decrepitude, old age, and sickness? Right now is the time to gather one's spirits! Indulge in your thousand kinds of pleasures—that fellow must be free and easy. Impermanence will come in the end—return to the hall and drink tea! There is only cultivating the shortcut path—still going round in circles! Just recite Amitābha Buddha—reciting accomplishes nothing!" He continued: "Ah! This living road was pointed out straightforwardly by Upādhyāya Shandao. You people walk back and forth along this shortcut morning and night; why do you miss Amitābha Buddha right to his face? If you comprehend here, you can remove the obstacles of delusion and inversion, pluck out the arrow of hesitation, cut through the net of doubt, sever the river of infatuation, fell the dense thicket of the mind, wash away the impurities of the mind, straighten the crooked flattery of the mind, and put an end to the mind's birth and death. Then turn around and enter that other side: lift your foot and take a step forward into the place the Buddhas and Patriarchs never reached; open your mouth and utter a phrase in the realm that Buddhist teachings cannot express. Call back Upādhyāya Shandao and seek another shortcut path for cultivation! If, as before, you abandon your father and run away, wandering into strange lands and bumping around in confusion—alas, Amitābha Buddha!"