五祖忽於一日喚門人盡來，門人集訖。五祖曰：「吾向汝說，世人生死事大。汝等門人，終日供養，只求福田，不求出離生死苦海。汝等自性迷，福門何可救汝？汝等且歸房自看，有知惠者，自取本性般若知之，各作一偈呈吾。吾看汝偈，若悟大意者，付汝衣法，稟為六代。火急作！」
One day, the Fifth Patriarch suddenly called all his disciples to gather. Once they were assembled, he said to them: "Let me tell you something. For people in this world, the matter of life and death is of utmost importance. Yet all of you disciples, day after day making offerings, only seek blessings and merit, without seeking liberation from the bitter sea of birth and death. If your own nature is deluded, how can blessings save you? Go back to your rooms and examine yourselves. Those with wisdom should use the prajna of their fundamental nature to recognize it, and each compose a verse to present to me. I will read your verses. If someone grasps the essential meaning, I will transmit the robe and Dharma to him, making him the Sixth Patriarch. Do this quickly!"