傳法正宗記 6.28

6.28

He said further, "The Dharma is not two, and the mind is also like this. Its Way is pure and also without any marks. You must be careful not to contemplate purity or empty your mind. This mind is originally pure, with nothing to grasp or abandon. Exert yourselves, each of you, and go well in accord with conditions." The Venerable had preached the Dharma and delivered people, by this time, for forty years. Prior to this, he had once commanded that a pagoda be built at Guo'en Monastery in Xinzhou; and on the sixth day of the sixth month of that year, he again urged them to double the labour and hasten its completion. Guo'en Monastery was indeed the former site of his family home; the intention behind building the pagoda was merely to repay the virtue of his parents. On the first day of the seventh month of the second year of Xiantian, he said to his disciples, "I am about to return to Xinzhou. You should ready the boats and oars." At that time, the great assembly all mourned and begged him to remain. The Venerable said, "Even when the Buddhas appear, they still manifest nirvāṇa. Where there is coming, there must be going—this is the constant principle. For this bodily frame of mine, there must be a place of return." The assembly then asked, "Master, once you leave here, when will you return?" He said, "Fallen leaves return to their roots; when I came, I had no mouth." They also asked, "To whom is the Master's Dharma-eye entrusted?" He said, "One who has the Way attains it; one who is without mind comprehends it." They also asked, "Will there be any trouble for the Master's bequeathed teaching?" He said, "Only five or six years after my decease, there will surely be someone who comes to take my head. Listen to my gāthā:"