北山錄 6.4.3

6.4.3

即性淨圓明之理也）傳法與可（第一祖慧可也）可遇賊斷其臂。 以法御心。 初無痛惱。 每歎楞伽經曰。 此經四世之後變成名相。 深可悲矣（僧璨．道信．弘忍．慧能為四世也。 此後多以名相傳心也）自可至六祖。 分為南北。 各引強推弱。 競其功德。 然欲辯其污隆者。 正可審其言行（自忍有神秀為北宗。 慧能為南宗也）凡石匪玉不潤。 淵匪龍不威。 彼有道者。 心虛弘遠。 故鍾鼓之音。 怒擊則武。 憂擊則悲。 喜擊則樂。 其志變者聲亦隨之。 未有得道之賢志智而言愚者也。 余昔觀淨眾禪門。 崇而不僣。 博而不佞。 而未甞率異驚俗真曰大智閑閑之士也（蜀淨眾寺金和尚。 號無相禪師。 本新羅王第三太子。 於本國月生郡南寺出家。 開元十六年至京。 後入蜀至資中。 謁詵公學禪定。 入蜀止淨眾。 付法門人神會。 又有南印慧廣。 又有安僧梁僧等。 皆宗禪法也）遂禮足為師請事斯旨而學者安以未見班倕任楹甍之撓（班倕巧匠也。 楹柱也。 甍棟也）不遭和緩。 恣肺腸之患（和緩並古之名醫秦人也）苟在自我精搜而已。 若但以外事為自累之津。 類北轅而適諸楚也（轅車之縛軛者。 楚在南地。 今學者不能精搜洞照。 但求言句飜成自累。 如往北而入南也。 終不能至矣）異說曰。 禪者莫極乎吾師。 其禪曰首楞嚴（三昧也）自佛傳大迦葉。 至菩提達磨。 逮吾師。 心與心相付。 餘宗則不吾若也（鉢羅蜜諦三藏齎到佛頂經十卷。 於廣州與房融共譯。 上進天后。 此乃稱為圓頓之旨。 皆禪之宗匠也）譏者曰。 吉人寡辭。 功伐不賞。 況匪功妄伐人其吉乎。 付法傳止有二十四人。 其師子後舍那婆斯等四人。 並餘家之曲說也（載於寶林傳）又第二十九名達麼多羅。 非菩提達磨也。 其傳法賢聖。 間以聲聞。 如迦葉等。 雖則迴心。 尚為小智（迦葉阿難等靈山雖獲授記。 尚為小聖爾）豈能傳佛心印乎。 昔商那和脩告優波毱多曰。 佛之三昧辟支不知。 辟支三昧聲聞不知。 諸大聲聞三昧餘聲聞眾不知。 阿難三昧我今不知。 我今三昧汝亦不知。 如是三昧。 皆隨吾滅。 又有七萬七千本生經。 一萬阿毘曇。 八萬清淨毘尼。 亦隨我滅。 故傳法者但傳其言。 承法者體言見心。 即是得法（雖曰觀智而但傳言句也）其猶斵輪之藝。 傳藝而不傳其妙（齊桓公。 讀書堂上。 輪扁斲輪堂下釋推鑿而上。 問桓公曰。 敢問公之所讀者何言耶。 公曰。 聖人之言也。 曰聖人在乎。 公曰已死矣。 曰然則君之所讀者。 古人之糟粕矣。 桓公曰。 寡人讀書。 輪人安得議乎。 有說則已。 無說則死。 輪扁曰臣也。 以臣之事觀之斲輪。 徐則甘而不固。 疾則苦而不入。 不徐不疾得之於手。 而應於心口不能言。 有數子存焉。 其間臣不能喻臣之子。 臣之子亦不能受之於臣。 是以行年七十而老斲輪。 古之人與其傳者死矣。 然則君之所讀者。 古人之糟粕也）師襄之琴。 得琴而不得其數（仲尼在衛。 學琴於師襄子。 十日不進。 師襄子曰。 可以益矣。 孔子曰。 習其由矣。 未得其數也。 有間曰。 習其數可以益矣。 孔子曰。 丘未得志也。 有間曰。 習其志可以益矣。 孔子曰。 丘未得其為人也。 有間曰。 所修穆然思焉。 忽有所怡然高望而遠志焉。 曰丘得其為人也。 黯然而默。 頎然而長。 眼如望羊如王四國即文王誰為此也。 師襄子避席拜曰。 師蓋云文王操也）故有久習無成。 又有發心便證。 或有微流獨得。 英才不悟所貴在乎冥會。 不必在於相授。 然今諸門皆禪。 而惡乎知佛。 禪獨乃一家耶（如先德長者所傳。 各有宗師者也）異說曰。 達磨既當傳法使二弟子至漢地。 被秦人擯於廬山（即跋陀也）因與遠公出禪要經。 達磨聞之慷慨。

This is the principle of inherent purity, perfect and luminous.) He transmitted the Dharma to Ke (the first patriarch, Huike). Ke encountered bandits who severed his arm, yet using the Dharma to govern his mind, he felt no pain or distress from the start. He often sighed over the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, saying: 'After four generations this sūtra will turn into names and characteristics; how deeply lamentable!' (Sengcan, Daoxin, Hongren, and Huineng are the four generations. After this, they mostly transmitted the mind through names and characteristics.) From Ke down to the Sixth Patriarch, it divided into North and South, each extolling its own strengths and discrediting the other's weaknesses, vying for spiritual merits. Yet if one wishes to discern their decline and flourishing, one should precisely examine their words and deeds. (From Hongren, Shenxiu became the Northern School and Huineng became the Southern School.) Common stones without jade have no luster; a deep abyss without a dragon lacks majesty. Those who possess the Way have minds that are open, broad, and far-reaching. Thus with the sounds of bells and drums: striking them in anger produces a martial sound; striking them in sorrow produces a sad sound; striking them in joy produces a joyful sound. As the mind's intent changes, the sound follows along. There has never been a worthy person who has attained the Way whose intent was wise yet whose speech was foolish. Formerly, I observed the Chan tradition of Jingzhong: lofty without arrogance, broad without sycophancy, never acting eccentrically to startle the common folk—truly one could call them gentlemen of vast and composed wisdom. (Preceptor Jin of Jingzhong Monastery in Shu was titled Chan Master Wuxiang. He was originally the third prince of the King of Silla. He was ordained at South Monastery in Wolsaeng County of his native country. In the sixteenth year of Kaiyuan, he arrived at the capital. Later he entered Shu, reaching Zizhong, where he called on Master Shen to study dhyāna. Entering Shu, he resided at Jingzhong. He transmitted the Dharma to his disciple Shenhui. There were also Nanyin Huiguang, and Monks An and Liang, all of whom took the Chan method as their school.) Thereupon I bowed at his feet to take him as master and requested to serve these teachings. But how could a learner, having not yet seen Ban or Chui, allow pillars and roof beams to buckle, (Ban and Chui were skilled craftsmen. Ying are pillars; meng are ridgepoles.) or, having not encountered He or Huan, give free rein to afflictions of the lungs and bowels? (He and Huan were both famous ancient physicians of Qin.) One need only engage in precise inner searching. If one merely takes external matters as the ford leading to self-entanglement, it is like turning one's carriage poles north to travel to Chu. (Yuan is the part of the carriage tied to the yoke. Chu is in the south. Learners of today cannot search with precision and illuminate thoroughly; merely seeking words and phrases, it turns out to become self-entanglement, like heading north when wishing to enter the south. In the end, one can never arrive.) The deviant teaching says: 'In Chan, none surpasses our master. His Chan is called Śūraṅgama (samādhi). From the Buddha it was transmitted to Mahākāśyapa, down to Bodhidharma, reaching our master, mind and mind transmitting to one another. Other lineages are no match for us.' (Tripiṭaka Master Pāramiti brought ten fascicles of the Foding jing, translating it together with Fang Rong in Guangzhou and presenting it to the Heavenly Empress. This was praised as the principle of the complete and sudden, all being masters of the Chan lineage.) The critic says: 'An auspicious man is sparing of words; boasting of merit is not rewarded. How much more so if it is not even merit, and one falsely boasts—how could such a person be auspicious? The transmission records only contain twenty-four persons. The four persons after Simha, such as Śāṇavāsa, are all crooked claims of other schools. (Recorded in the Baolin zhuan.) Moreover, the twenty-ninth was named Dharmatrāta, not Bodhidharma. Among those who transmitted the Dharma, sages and worthies were interspersed with śrāvakas. Figures such as Kāśyapa, though they turned their minds, still possessed only lesser wisdom. (Kāśyapa and Ānanda, though receiving predictions of buddhahood at Gṛdhrakūṭa, were still merely lesser sages.) How could they transmit the Buddha's mind-seal? Formerly, Śāṇavāsa told Upagupta: "The samādhis of the Buddha are unknown to pratyekabuddhas; the samādhis of pratyekabuddhas are unknown to śrāvakas; the samādhis of the great śrāvakas are unknown to the rest of the śrāvaka multitude; the samādhis of Ānanda are now unknown to me; and my present samādhis are also unknown to you. Such samādhis will all disappear with my nirvāṇa. Furthermore, there are seventy-seven thousand Jātakas, ten thousand Abhidharmas, and eighty thousand pure Vinayas, which will also disappear with my nirvāṇa." Therefore, transmitters of the Dharma merely transmit its words; recipients of the Dharma, embodying the words, perceive the mind, and that is to attain the Dharma. (Although called contemplative wisdom, they only transmitted words and phrases.) It is like the craft of wheelwrighting: transmitting the craft, but unable to transmit its marvel. (Duke Huan of Qi was reading a book in the hall. Wheelwright Pian was chiseling a wheel below the hall. Putting aside his mallet and chisel, he went up and asked Duke Huan: "May I ask what words my lord is reading?" The Duke said: "The words of the sages." The wheelwright said: "Are the sages alive?" The Duke said: "They are already dead." The wheelwright said: "Then what my lord is reading is merely the dregs of the ancients!" Duke Huan said: "When I read a book, how can a wheelwright discuss it? If you have an explanation, fine; if you have no explanation, you die." Wheelwright Pian said: "Speaking from my craft, looking at chiseling a wheel: if one is too slow, it slips and is not secure; if one is too swift, it catches and does not enter. Being neither too slow nor too swift, one gets it in the hand and responds to it in the mind, but the mouth cannot express it in words. There is a knack in it. In this matter, I cannot explain it to my son, nor can my son receive it from me. For this reason, walking on to the age of seventy, I am an old man chiseling wheels. The ancients and what they could not transmit are dead! Then what my lord is reading is indeed the dregs of the ancients.") Or like Master Xiang's zither: receiving the zither, but not getting its technique. (When Zhongni was in Wei, he studied the zither with Master Xiangzi. For ten days he did not advance. Master Xiangzi said: "You may advance." Confucius said: "I have mastered its melody, but not yet attained its technique." After a while, Xiangzi said: "You have mastered its technique, you may advance." Confucius said: "I have not yet attained its intent." After a while, Xiangzi said: "You have mastered its intent, you may advance." Confucius said: "I have not yet grasped the kind of person who composed it." After a while, having practiced solemnly and thoughtfully, suddenly he gazed high with delight and far-reaching intent, saying: "I have grasped his person: dark and silent, tall and prominent, his eyes gazing far as if ruling over the four quarters—who else could this be but King Wen?" Master Xiangzi left his mat and bowed, saying: "My master indeed said this is the Air of King Wen.") Therefore, some practice for a long time without success, while others realize upon giving rise to the mind. Some of low status attain it alone, while those of brilliant talent fail to awaken. What is prized lies in unspoken accord, not necessarily in face-to-face transmission. Now, since all the gates are Chan, how do we know that the Buddha's Chan belongs solely to one school?' (Just as what former virtuous elders transmitted each had their own lineage masters.) The deviant teaching says: 'When Bodhidharma was about to transmit the Dharma, he sent two disciples to the Han land. They were driven out by the Qin people to Mount Lu (referring to Bhadra). Consequently, together with Master Yuan, they produced the Chan yao jing. When Bodhidharma heard of this, he sighed with deep indignation.'