---
title: "五燈會元 · 終南山圭峯宗密禪師"
description: "五燈會元由宋代高僧普濟編撰，成書於南宋淳祐年間，是中國禪宗重要典籍之一。該書彙編了禪宗五家七宗的傳法譜系與公案語錄，包括法眼、雲門、曹洞、臨濟、溈仰五宗祖師的機鋒對話與悟道因緣，系統整理了禪宗從初祖達摩至唐宋時期的發展脈絡。全書共二十卷，以燈燈相傳為喻，展現了禪宗心法傳承的歷史軌跡。作為研究唐宋禪宗思想的核心文獻，五燈會元不僅是佛教史學的重要資料，更是禪門修行者參究心性的權威指南，在中國佛教史上具有不可替代的地位。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cma8xe4jt0je8l404hnzy5q33"
---

### 終南山圭峯宗密禪師者

> Master Guifeng Zongmi of Zhongnan Mountain

果州西充人也。姓何氏。家本豪盛。髫齓通儒書。冠歲探釋典。唐元和二年將赴貢舉。偶造圓和尚法席。欣然契會。遂求披剃。當年進具。一日。隨眾僧齋于府吏任灌家。居下位以次受經。得圓覺十二章。覧未終軸。感悟流涕。歸以所悟之旨告于圓。圓撫之曰。汝當大弘圓頓之教。此諸佛授汝耳。行矣。無自滯於一隅也。師涕泣奉命。禮辭而去。因謁荊南忠禪師南印。忠曰。傳教人也。當宣導於帝都。復見洛陽照禪師奉國神照。照曰。菩薩人也。誰能識之。尋抵襄漢。因病。僧付華嚴疏。即上都澄觀大師之所撰也。師未甞聽習。一覧而講。自欣所遇。曰。向者諸師述作。罕窮厥旨。未若此疏。辭源流暢。幽賾煥然。吾禪遇南宗。教逢圓覺。一言之下。心地開通。一軸之中。義天朗耀。今復偶茲絕筆。罄竭于懷。暨講終。思見疏主。時屬門人泰恭斷臂醻恩。師先齎書上疏主。遙敘師資。往復慶慰。尋泰恭痊損。方隨侍至上都。執弟子之禮。觀曰。毗盧華藏。能隨我遊者。其汝乎。師預觀之室。惟日新其德。而認筌執象之患永亡矣。北遊清涼山。回住鄠縣草堂寺。未幾。復入終南圭峯蘭若。大和中徵入內。賜紫衣。帝累問法要。朝士歸慕。唯相國裴公休。深入堂奧。受教為外護。師以禪教學者互相非毀。遂著禪源諸詮。寫錄諸家所述。詮表禪門根源道理。文字句偈。集為一藏或云一百卷。以貽後代。其都序略云。禪是天竺之語。具云禪那。此云思惟修。亦云靜慮。皆定慧之通稱也。源者。是一切眾生本覺真性。亦名佛性。亦名心地。悟之名慧。修之名定。定慧通名為禪。此性是禪之本源。故云禪源。亦名禪那。理行者。此之本源是禪理。忘情契之是禪行。故云理行。然今所集諸家述作。多譚禪理。少說禪行。故且以禪源題之。今時有人但目真性為禪者。是不達理行之旨。又不辨華竺之音也。然非離真性。別有禪體。但眾生迷真合塵。即名散亂。背塵合真。方名禪定。若直論本性。即非真非妄。無背無合。無定無亂。誰言禪乎。況此真性。非唯是禪門之源。亦是萬法之源。故名法性。亦是眾生迷悟之源。故名如來藏藏識出楞伽經。亦是諸佛萬德之源。故名佛性涅槃等經。亦是菩薩萬行之源。故名心地梵網經云。是諸佛之本源。行菩薩道之根本。是大眾諸佛子之根本也。萬行不出六波羅蜜。禪者。但是六中之一。當其第五。豈可都目真性為一禪行哉。然禪定一行最為神妙。能發起性上無漏智慧。一切妙用。萬行萬德。乃至神通光明。皆從定發。故三乘人欲求聖道。必須修禪。離此無門。離此無路。至於念佛求生淨土。亦修十六觀禪。及念佛三昧．般舟三昧等也。又真性即不垢不淨。凡聖無差。禪門則有淺有深。階級殊等。謂帶異計．欣上厭下而修者。是外道禪。正信因果。亦以欣厭而修者。是凡夫禪。悟我空偏真之理而修者。是小乘禪。悟我法二空所顯真理而修者。是大乘禪上四類。皆有四色四空之異也。若頓悟自心本來清淨。元無煩惱。無漏智性本自具足。此心即佛。畢竟無異。依此而修者。是最上乘禪。亦名如來清淨禪。亦名一行三昧。亦名真如三昧。此是一切三昧根本。若能念念修習。自然漸得百千三昧。達磨門下展轉相傳者。是此禪也。達磨未到。古來諸家所解。皆是前四禪八定。諸高僧修之。皆得功用。南嶽天台令依三諦之理修三止三觀。教義雖最圓妙。然其趣入門戶次第。亦只是前之諸禪行相。唯達磨所傳者。頓同佛體。迥異諸門。故宗習者難得其旨。得即成聖。疾證菩提。失即成邪。速入塗炭。先祖革昧防失。故且人傳一人。後代已有所憑。故任千燈千照。洎乎法久成弊。錯謬者多。故經論學人疑謗亦眾。原夫佛說頓教漸教。禪開頓門漸門。二教二門。各相符契。今講者偏彰漸義。禪者偏播頓宗。禪講相逢。胡越之隔。宗密不知。宿生何作。熏得此心。自未解脫。欲解他縛。為法亡於軀命。愍人切於神情亦如淨名經云。若自有縛。能解他縛。無有是處。然欲罷不能。驗是宿習難改故。每歎人與法差。法為人病。故別撰經律論疏。大開戒定慧門。顯頓悟資於漸修。證師說符於佛意。意既本末而委示。文乃浩博而難尋。汎學雖多。秉志者少。況迹涉名相。誰辨金鍮。徒自疲勞。未見機感。雖佛說悲增是行。而自慮愛見難防。遂捨眾入山。習定均慧。前後息慮。相繼十年。微細習情。起滅彰於靜慮。差別法義。羅列現於空心。虗隙日光。纖埃擾擾。清潭水底。影像昭昭。豈比夫空守默之癡禪。但尋文之狂慧者也。然本因了自心而辨諸教。故懇情於心宗。又因辨諸教而解修心。故虔誠於教義。教也者。諸佛菩薩所留經論也。禪也者。諸善知識所述句偈也。但佛經開張。羅大千八部之眾。禪偈撮略。就此方一類之機。羅眾則莾蕩難依。就機則指的易用。今之纂集。意在斯焉。裴休為之序曰。諸宗門下。皆有達人。然各安所習。通少局多。故數十年來。師法益壞。以承稟為戶牖。各自開張。以經論為干戈。互相攻擊。情隨函矢而遷變周禮曰。函人為甲。孟子曰。矢人豈不仁於函人哉。函人唯恐傷人。矢人唯恐不傷人。葢所習之術使然也。今學者但隨宗徒。彼此相非耳。法逐人我以高低。是非紛拏。莫能辨析。則向者世尊菩薩諸方教宗。適足以起諍後人。增煩惱病。何利益之有。我圭峯大師久而歎曰。吾丁此時。不可以默矣。於是以如來三種教義。印禪宗三種法門。鎔缾盤釵釧為一金。攪酥酪醍醐為一味。振綱領而舉者皆順荀子云。如振裘領。屈五指而頓之。順者不可勝數。據會要而來者同趣周易略例云。據會要以觀方來。則六合輻湊。未足多也。都序據圓教以印諸宗。雖百家亦無所不統也。尚恐學者之難明也。又復直示宗源之本末。真妄之和合。空性之隱顯。法義之差殊。頓漸之異同。遮表之回互。權實之深淺。通局之是非。若吾師者。捧佛日而委曲回照。疑曀盡除。順佛心而橫亘大悲。窮劫蒙益。則世尊為闡教之主。吾師為會教之人。本末相符。遠近相照。可謂畢一代時教之能事矣。或曰。自如來未甞大都而通之。今一旦違宗趣而不守。廢關防而不據。無乃乖秘藏密契之道乎。答曰。如來初雖別說三乘。後乃通為一道。三十年前。或說小乘。或說空教。或說相教。或說性教。聞者各隨機證悟。不相通知也。四十年後。坐靈鷲而會三乘。詣拘尸而顯一性。前後之軌則也。故涅槃經迦葉菩薩曰。諸佛有密語。無密藏。世尊讚之曰。如來之言開發顯露。清淨無翳。愚人不解。謂之秘藏。智者了達。則不名藏。此其證也。故王道興則外戶不閉。而守在戎夷。佛道備則諸法總持。而防在魔外涅槃圓教和會諸法。唯揀別魔說及外道邪宗。不當復執情攘臂於其間也師又著圓覺大小二疏鈔。法界觀門．原人等論。皆裴休為之序引。盛行于世。蕭俛相公呈己見解。請禪師注釋。荷澤云。見清淨體於諸三昧。八萬四千諸波羅蜜門。皆於見上一時起用。名為慧眼。若當真知相應之時萬化寂滅善惡不思。空有不念。萬法俱從思想緣念而生。皆是虗空。故云化也。既一念不生。則萬法不起。故不待泯之。自然寂滅也。此時更無所見照體獨立。夢智亡階。三昧諸波羅蜜門。亦一時空寂。更無所得散亂與三昧。此岸與彼岸。是相待對治之說。若知心無念。見性無生。則定亂真妄。一時空寂。故無所得也。不審此是見上一時起用否然見性圓明。理絕相累。即絕相為妙用。住相為執情。於八萬法門。一一皆爾。一法有為一塵。一法空為一用。故云。見清淨體。則一時起用矣。望於此後示及俛狀。答史山人十問。一問。如何是道。何以修之。為復必須修成。為復不假功用。答。無礙是道。覺妄是修。道雖本圓。妄起為累。妄念都盡。即是修成。二問。道若因修而成。即是造作。便同世間法。虗偽不實。成而復壞。何名出世。答。造作是結業。名虗偽世間。無作是修行。即真實出世。三問。其所修者。為頓為漸。漸則忘前失後。何以集合而成。頓則萬行多方。豈得一時圓滿。答。真理即悟而頓圓。妄情息之而漸盡。頓圓如初生孩子。一日而肢體已全。漸修如長養成人。多年而志氣方立。四問。凡修心地之法。為當悟心即了。為當別有行門。若別有行門。何名南宗頓旨。若悟即同諸佛。何不發神通光明。答。識冰池而全水。藉陽氣而鎔消。悟凡夫而即真。資法力而修習。冰消則水流潤。方呈溉滌之功。妄盡則心靈通。始發通光之應。修心之外。無別行門。五問。若但修心而得佛者。何故諸經復說必須莊嚴佛土。教化眾生。方名成道。答。鏡明而影像千差。心淨而神通萬應。影像類莊嚴佛國。神通則教化眾生。莊嚴而即非莊嚴。影像而亦色非色。六問。諸經皆說度脫眾生。且眾生即非眾生。何故更勞度脫。答。眾生若是實。度之則為勞。既自云即非眾生。何不例度而無度。七問。諸經說佛常住。或即說佛滅度。常即不滅。滅即非常。豈不相違。答。離一切相。即名諸佛。何有出世入滅之實乎。見出沒者在乎機緣。機緣應則菩提樹下而出現。機緣盡則娑羅林間而涅槃。其猶淨水無心。無像不現。像非我有。葢外質之去來。相非佛身。豈如來之出沒。八問。云何佛化所生。吾如彼生。佛既無生。生是何義。若言心生法生。心滅法滅。何以得無生法忍邪。答。既云如化。化即是空。空即無生。何詰生義。生滅滅已。寂滅為真。忍可此法無生。名曰無生法忍。九問。諸佛成道說法。秖為度脫眾生。眾生既有六道。佛何但住在人中現化。又。佛滅後付法於迦葉。以心傳心。乃至此方六祖。每代秖傳一人。既云。於一切眾生皆得一子之地。何以傳授不普。答。日月麗天。六合俱照。而盲者不見。盆下不知。非日月不普。是障隔之咎也。度與不度。義類如斯。非局人天。揀於鬼畜。但人道能結集。傳授不絕。故秖知佛現人中也。滅度後委付迦葉。展轉相承。一人者。此亦槩論。當代為宗教主。如土無二王。非得度者唯爾數也。十問。和尚因何發心。慕何法而出家。今如何修行。得何法味。所行得至何處地位。今住心邪。修心邪。若住心妨修心。若修心則動念不安。云何名為學道。若安心一定。則何異定性之徒。伏願大德。運大慈悲。如理如如。次第為說。答。覺四大如坏幻。達六塵如空華。悟自心為佛心。見本性為法性。是發心也。知心無住。即是修行。無住而知。即為法味。住著於法。斯為動念。故如人入闇。則無所見。今無所住。不染不著。故如人有目。及日光明。見種種法。豈為定性之徒。既無所住著。何論處所。又山南溫造尚書問。悟理息妄之人。不結業一期壽終之後。靈性何依。師曰。一切眾生。無不具有覺性。靈明空寂。與佛無殊。但以無始劫來。未曾了悟。妄執身為我相。故生愛惡等情。隨情造業。隨業受報。生老病死。長劫輪回。然身中覺性。未曾生死。如夢被驅役。而身本安閑。如水作冰。而濕性不易。若能悟此性。即是法身。本自無生。何有依託。靈靈不昧。了了常知。無所從來。亦無所去。然多生妄執。習以性成。喜怒哀樂。微細流注。真理雖然頓達。此情難以卒除。須長覺察。損之又損。如風頓止。波浪漸停。豈可一生所修。便同諸佛力用。但可以空寂為自體。勿認色身。以靈知為自心。勿認妄念。妄念若起。都不隨之。即臨命終時。自然業不能繫。雖有中陰。所向自由。天上人間。隨意寄託。若愛惡之念已泯。即不受分段之身。自能易短為長。易麤為妙。若微細流注。一切寂滅。唯圓覺大智朗然獨存。即隨機應現千百億化身。度有緣眾生。名之為佛。謹對。釋曰。馬鳴菩薩撮略百本大乘經宗旨。以造大乘起信論。論中立宗。說一切眾生心。有覺義不覺義。覺中復有本覺義．始覺義。上所述者。雖但約照理觀心處言之。而法義亦同。彼論謂從初至與佛無殊。是本覺也。從但以無始下。是不覺也。從若能悟此下。是始覺也。始覺中復有頓悟漸修。從若能至亦無所去。是頓悟也。從然多生妄執下。是漸修也。漸修中從初發心乃至成佛。有三位自在。從初至隨意寄託者。是受生自在也。從若愛惡之念下。是變易自在也。從若微細流注下至末。是究竟自在也。又從但可以空寂為自體至自然業不能繫。正是悟理之人朝暮行心修習止觀之要節也。宗密先有八句之偈。顯示此意。曾於尚書處誦之。奉命解釋。偈曰。作有義事。是惺悟心。作無義事。是狂亂心。狂亂隨情念。臨終被業牽。惺悟不由情。臨終能轉業。師會昌元年正月六日。於興福院誡門人。令舁屍施鳥獸。焚其骨而散之。勿得悲慕以亂禪觀。每清明上山講道七日。其餘住持儀則當合律科。違者非吾弟子。言訖坐滅。道俗等奉全身于圭峯。茶毗得舍利。明白潤大。後門人泣而求之。皆得於煨燼。乃藏之石室。暨宣宗再闢真教。追諡定慧禪師。塔曰青蓮。

> A native of Guozhou, Xichong County. His family name was He. His household was originally prosperous and wealthy. In his youth, he was well-versed in Confucian classics. At twenty, he delved into Buddhist texts. In the second year of the Yuanhe era of the Tang Dynasty, he was about to sit for the imperial examinations when he happened to attend a Dharma assembly led by Master Yuan. He felt an immediate and joyful connection, and so requested to be ordained. That very year, he received the full precepts. One day, he joined the monks in receiving alms at the home of a government official named Ren Guan. Seated in a lower position, he received a scripture in turn. It was the \*Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment\* in twelve chapters. Before he had even finished reading through the scroll, he was moved to tears by sudden insight. He returned and shared the essence of his realization with Master Yuan. Yuan, patting him, said, "You are destined to greatly propagate the sudden and perfect teachings. This is the Buddha's own gift to you. Go forth, and do not confine yourself to one corner." Weeping, the master accepted this command, paid his respects, and departed. He then went to visit Chan Master Zhong of Jingnan (Nanin). Zhong said, "This is one who transmits the teachings. He should proclaim them in the capital." He then saw Chan Master Zhao of Luoyang (Fengguo Shenzhao). Zhao said, "This is a bodhisattva. Who can truly recognize him?" Soon after, he arrived at Xiang-Han region. Due to illness, a monk entrusted him with the \*Commentary on the Avatamsaka Sutra\*, the work of Master Chengguan of the Capital. The master had never heard it lectured, yet upon a single reading, he was able to teach it. He rejoiced at this encounter, saying, "The writings of past masters rarely exhausted the depths of meaning. None compare to this commentary. Its source of expression flows smoothly, and its hidden profundities shine clearly. In Chan, I encountered the Southern School; in doctrine, I encountered the \*Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment\*. With a single phrase, the ground of mind opened. Within one scroll, the sky of meaning blazed bright. Now I have also happened upon this crowning work, which pours forth what fills my heart." After finishing his lectures, he desired to meet the commentary's author. At that time, one of Chengguan's disciples, Taigong, had cut off his arm in gratitude. The master first sent a letter to the commentator, establishing their teacher-student relationship from afar, with messages of mutual congratulations and consolation. When Taigong recovered, the master accompanied him to the Capital, assuming the rites of a disciple. Chengguan said, "The lotus treasury of Vairocana—the one who can roam with me—is it you?" The master entered Chengguan's inner circle, daily renewing his virtue, and the trap of clinging to words and grasping at forms was forever gone for him. He traveled north to Mount Qingliang. On his return, he resided at Caotang Temple in Hu County. Before long, he entered the hermitage of Guifeng in the Zhongnan Mountains. During the Dahe era, he was summoned to the palace and bestowed a purple robe. The emperor repeatedly asked him about the essentials of the Dharma, and court officials revered him. Only Chancellor Pei Xiu truly entered the profound depths, receiving instruction and acting as a lay protector. Seeing that practitioners of Chan and scholars of doctrine were attacking each other, the master wrote the \*Chan Source\* (Chanyuan Zhuquanji), collecting the writings of various schools to illuminate the fundamental principles of the Chan school. He gathered words, phrases, and verses into a single treasury (some say one hundred scrolls) to leave for later generations. His general introduction reads, roughly: "Chan is a Sanskrit term, fully rendered as \*dhyāna\*. In this language, it is called 'thought cultivation' or 'serene contemplation.' These are general terms for concentration and wisdom. 'Source' refers to the true nature of original enlightenment inherent in all beings. It is also called Buddha-nature, or the ground of mind. Awakening to it is called wisdom; cultivating it is called concentration. Concentration and wisdom together are called Chan. This nature is the source of Chan—hence 'Chan Source.' It is also called \*dhyāna.\* "As for principle and practice: the source of this is the principle of Chan; forgetting emotions and merging with it is the practice of Chan. Hence the terms 'principle' and 'practice.' What I have gathered from various authors mostly discusses Chan principle and rarely speaks of Chan practice. Therefore, I have tentatively titled it \*Chan Source.\* Some people today regard only true nature as Chan—this is failing to grasp the meaning of principle and practice, and failing to distinguish the sounds of Sanskrit and Chinese. "However, it is not that there is a separate entity of Chan apart from true nature. It is just that beings, deluded, merge with defilement—this is called scatteredness. Turning from defilement and uniting with true nature—this is called Chan concentration. If we speak directly of original nature, it is neither true nor false, neither turning away nor uniting, neither concentrated nor scattered. Who then speaks of Chan? "Moreover, this true nature is not only the source of the Chan school; it is also the source of all phenomena. Hence it is called Dharmatā (the nature of reality). It is also the source of beings' delusion and awakening, hence called the Tathāgatagarbha and \*ālaya-vijñāna\* (store consciousness) (from the \*Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra\*). It is also the source of all the myriad virtues of the Buddhas, hence called Buddha-nature (from the \*Nirvāṇa Sūtra\* and others). It is also the source of all the myriad practices of bodhisattvas, hence called the ground of mind (as the \*Brahmā's Net Sūtra\* says: 'It is the source of all Buddhas, the root of the bodhisattva path, the root of all the Buddha's children'). "The myriad practices do not go beyond the six pāramitās. Chan is merely one of the six—the fifth. How can one equate the entirety of true nature with a single Chan practice? "Yet the single practice of Chan concentration is the most sublime and miraculous. It can arouse the unconditioned wisdom inherent in one's nature. All wondrous functions, all practices, all virtues, even psychic powers and light, all arise from concentration. Therefore, practitioners of the three vehicles, seeking the sacred path, must cultivate Chan. Apart from this, there is no gate, no road. "Even the practice of reciting the Buddha's name and seeking rebirth in the Pure Land entails cultivating the sixteen contemplations of Chan, as well as the Buddha-recitation samādhi, the \*pratyutpanna\* samādhi, and so forth. "Furthermore, true nature is neither defiled nor pure, and ordinary beings and sages are undifferentiated. But the Chan school has both shallow and deep levels, with distinct stages. To cultivate with attached views, yearning for the higher and rejecting the lower—this is the Chan of outsiders. To believe in cause and effect yet still cultivate with such yearning and rejection—this is the Chan of ordinary people. To awaken to the truth of self-emptiness and cultivate—this is the Chan of the lesser vehicle. To awaken to the truth revealed by the emptiness of both self and phenomena and cultivate—this is the Chan of the greater vehicle (the above four types each have distinctions of the four form and four formless realms). "But to suddenly awaken to the mind's original purity, fundamentally free of affliction, with the unconditioned wisdom-nature inherently complete—this mind is itself Buddha, ultimately without distinction. To cultivate based on this is the Chan of the supreme vehicle. It is also called the Tathāgata's pure Chan, the single-practice samādhi, or the thusness samādhi. This is the root of all samādhis. If one can cultivate it moment after moment, one will naturally, gradually attain hundreds and thousands of samādhis. What has been passed down from teacher to teacher in the lineage of Bodhidharma is precisely this Chan. "Before Bodhidharma arrived, the various ancient schools' interpretations were all within the earlier four types of Chan and the eight concentrations. Eminent monks who cultivated them all achieved efficacy. The Tiantai school of Nanyue directs practitioners to cultivate the three contemplations and three cessations according to the principle of the three truths. Though its doctrine is the most perfect and sublime, its approach and sequential stages are still within the practices of the earlier types of Chan. Only what Bodhidharma transmitted suddenly equals the Buddha-body itself, far surpassing all other approaches. Hence, those who study this tradition find it difficult to grasp its essence. If they attain it, they become sages, swiftly realizing bodhi. If they err, they fall into evil, swiftly plunging into misery. "The early patriarchs, guarding against error in those unsettled times, transmitted it from one person to another. Later generations already had a foundation to rely on, so they allowed a thousand lamps to illuminate a thousand lights. But as time passed, corruption set in, and errors multiplied. Hence, scholars of the scriptures and treatises also grew numerous in their doubts and criticisms. "Now, the Buddha taught both sudden and gradual teachings, and Chan has both sudden and gradual gates. The two teachings and two gates each correspond. Today, lecturers emphasize the gradual meaning while Chan practitioners spread the sudden school. When the two meet, they are as distant as Hu and Yue. I, Guifeng, do not know what past deeds planted this mind of mine. Not yet free myself, I wish to untie others' bonds, sacrificing body and life for the Dharma, with compassion for others deeper than feeling itself. (As the \*Vimalakīrti Sūtra\* says, 'If one is bound oneself, to untie others—there is no such possibility.' Yet I wish to stop and cannot—this confirms it is a habit from past lives, hard to change.) "I often lament that people and the Dharma have parted ways, and that the Dharma has become a sickness for people. Therefore, I have written separate commentaries on the sūtras, vinaya, and śāstras, broadly opening the gates of precepts, concentration, and wisdom. I reveal that sudden awakening relies on gradual cultivation, proving that the teachers' words accord with the Buddha's intent. Since the meaning is fully shown in both root and branches, the text becomes vast and hard to navigate. Though many dabble in study, few hold to purpose. Moreover, as the traces involve names and forms, who can distinguish gold from brass? They merely tire themselves without seeing any effect. "Though the Buddha said that increasing compassion is the practice, I worried that clinging views were hard to guard against. So I left the assembly and entered the mountains, practicing concentration and balancing wisdom. For ten consecutive years, I stilled my thoughts. Subtle habitual emotions arose and ceased, revealed in quiet contemplation. The distinctions of dharmas and meanings arrayed themselves before the empty mind. Like sunlight streaming through a crack, revealing countless dust motes, or the clear reflection at the bottom of a still pond—how does this compare to the foolish Chan of empty silent sitting, or the wild wisdom of merely chasing words? "Yet because I had understood my own mind first, I could discern the teachings. Therefore, I am earnest toward the mind school. And because I discerned the teachings, I understood how to cultivate the mind. Therefore, I am devoted to the doctrinal meaning. "Doctrine" refers to the sūtras and śāstras left by Buddhas and bodhisattvas. "Chan" refers to the verses and sayings of the good teachers. The Buddha's scriptures open broadly, gathering the multitudes of the eight classes throughout the great trichiliocosm. The Chan verses distill the essentials, addressing the capacities of this single region. Gathering the multitudes leads to vastness that is hard to rely upon; addressing capacities leads to directness that is easy to apply. The purpose of this compilation is precisely this." Pei Xiu wrote a preface for it, saying: "Within each school, there have been accomplished people. Yet each clings to their own practice; understanding is rare and narrow-mindedness common. Thus, over the past decades, the teacher–Dharma has increasingly decayed. They make their inherited lineages into doorways, each opening their own. They turn sūtras and śāstras into weapons, attacking one another. Emotions shift with bows and armor (As the \*Rites of Zhou\* says, 'the armorer makes armor.' Mencius said, 'Is the arrow-maker less benevolent than the armorer? The armorer fears only harming others; the arrow-maker fears only not harming them.' This is what their craft does to them. Likewise, today's students, following their sect's adherents, simply condemn each other). The Dharma is elevated or lowered according to personal biases. Right and wrong become a tangle that none can sort out. In that case, the Buddha, the bodhisattvas, and the various doctrinal traditions of the past only serve to incite disputes among later people and intensify the disease of affliction. What benefit is there in that? "My master, Guifeng, sighed deeply after a long time and said, 'I have arrived at such a time—I cannot remain silent.' Thereupon, he used the Tathāgata's three kinds of teachings to seal the three Dharma-gates of the Chan school. He melted bottles, plates, hairpins, and bracelets into a single gold. He churned milk, curd, and ghee into a single flavor. He lifted the collar of the robe, and all who grasped it followed. (As Xunzi says, 'Like lifting the collar of a fur coat—bend five fingers and pull, and the smooth hairs cannot be counted.') He took hold of the essential points, and all who came found the same direction. (As the \*Commentary on the Book of Changes\* says, 'Holding the essential point and observing all that comes, the six directions converge like spokes to a hub.') Still fearing students could not understand, he directly revealed the root and branches of the source, the intermingling of true and false, the concealment and manifestation of emptiness-nature, the distinctions of dharmas and meanings, the similarities and differences of sudden and gradual, the interplay of negation and affirmation, the depths of provisional and real, and the rights and wrongs of general and specific. "If my teacher held up the sun of the Buddha and turned it to shine everywhere, all obscuring haze was cleared. Following the Buddha-mind, he extended great compassion across all, benefiting countless eons. Then the World-Honored One was the master who opened the teachings, and my teacher is the one who unified them. Root and branch correspond; near and far illuminate one another. It may be said he perfectly fulfilled the entire work of a lifetime of teaching." Someone objected: "Since the Tathāgata never broadly unified the teachings, now to suddenly abandon the schools' respective aims and disregarding their separate defenses—does this not violate the path of secret treasury and secret covenant?" He replied: "Although the Tathāgata initially taught the three vehicles separately, later he universally merged them into a single path. (In the first thirty years, he sometimes spoke of the lesser vehicle, sometimes of emptiness teachings, sometimes of characteristics teachings, sometimes of nature teachings. Hearers each awakened according to their capacities, without mutual communication. After forty years, sitting on Vulture Peak, he united the three vehicles; at Kuśinagara, he revealed the single nature. Such were the earlier and later standards.) Thus, in the \*Nirvāṇa Sūtra\*, the bodhisattva Kāśyapa said, 'The Buddhas have secret words, but no secret treasury.' The World-Honored One praised him, saying, 'The Tathāgata's words are open and revealed, clear and unobscured. Fools, not understanding, call them a secret treasury. The wise, fully comprehending, do not call it a treasury.' This is the proof. "So when the kingly way flourishes, outer doors need not be shut, and the guard lies in the borderlands. When the Buddha-way is complete, all dharmas are upheld, and the defense lies against Māra and outsiders. (The \*Nirvāṇa Sūtra\*'s perfect teaching reconciles all dharmas, only excluding Mara's words and heretical paths.) One should no longer cling stubbornly, rolling up sleeves and fighting among them. (The master also wrote the \*Commentary and Sub-commentary\* on the \*Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment\*, the \*Dharma Realm Contemplation\*, the \*Essay on Original Humanity\*, and other works, all with prefaces by Pei Xiu, widely circulated in the world.)" Chancellor Xiao Mian presented his own understanding and requested the master's commentary. Heze (Shenhui) said: "Seeing the pure body in all samādhis—the eighty-four thousand pāramitā gates all arise and function at once within this seeing. This is called the wisdom eye. When one truly accords with true knowledge, the myriad transformations are quiescent. (Not thinking of good or evil, not dwelling on emptiness or existence—all dharmas arise from thought and conditions and are all empty. Hence 'transformations.' Since a single thought does not arise, the myriad dharmas do not arise. There is no need to suppress them; they are naturally quiescent.) At this time, there is nothing more to see. (The illuminating body stands alone; dreams and cognition have no ladder.) The samādhi and pāramitā gates are likewise empty and quiescent at once, with nothing more to attain. (Scatteredness and samādhi, this shore and that shore, are relative and remedial expressions. If one knows the mind is without thought and sees that nature is unborn, then concentration and confusion, true and false, are all empty and quiescent at once—hence nothing is attained.)" He respectfully asked: "Is this what is meant by 'arising and functioning at once within this seeing'? (Now, seeing-nature is perfectly bright; its principle transcends all characteristics. To transcend characteristics is wondrous function; to dwell on characteristics is clinging. This applies to each of the eighty-four thousand gates: one dharma is active as a single dust; one dharma is empty as a single function. Hence it is said, 'Seeing the pure body, all arise and function at once.') I hope you will respond to my statement." He also answered the ten questions of Mountain Hermit Shi: \*\*First question:\*\* "What is the Way, and how is it cultivated? Must it be achieved through cultivation, or does it not require effort?" \*\*Answer:\*\* "Unobstructed is the Way. Awakening to delusion is cultivation. Though the Way is originally perfect, the arising of delusion creates hindrance. When deluded thoughts are entirely exhausted, that is the completion of cultivation." \*\*Second question:\*\* "If the Way is achieved through cultivation, then it is something made, like worldly dharmas—false and unreal, formed and then destroyed. How is that called transcendence?" \*\*Answer:\*\* "Making is the accumulation of karma, called the false worldly realm. Not-making is cultivation, which is true transcendence." \*\*Third question:\*\* "Is what is cultivated sudden or gradual? If gradual, then one forgets the former and loses the latter—how do they gather into completion? If sudden, the myriad practices have many approaches—how can they be perfected in a single moment?" \*\*Answer:\*\* "True principle is suddenly perfected upon awakening. Deluded emotions, when calmed, gradually cease. Sudden perfection is like a newborn child—in a single day, its limbs are complete. Gradual cultivation is like growing to adulthood—only after many years does one's will and spirit stand firm." \*\*Fourth question:\*\* "In cultivating the mind-ground Dharma, should one, upon awakening the mind, be done with it? Or is there a separate practice gate? If there is a separate gate, how is it the sudden teaching of the Southern School? If awakening makes one equal to all Buddhas, why does one not manifest psychic powers and light?" \*\*Answer:\*\* "Recognizing the icy pond as entirely water, one relies on the sun's warmth to melt it. Awakening that ordinary beings are already true, one relies on the power of Dharma to cultivate. When the ice melts, water flows and moistens—then its function of washing and cleansing appears. When delusion is exhausted, the mind becomes spiritual and penetrating—then the response of powers and light appears. Apart from cultivating the mind, there is no separate practice gate." \*\*Fifth question:\*\* "If merely cultivating the mind attains Buddhahood, why do the scriptures say one must adorn the Buddha-land and teach sentient beings to be called accomplished in the Way?" \*\*Answer:\*\* "The mirror is bright, and images in it differ by the thousand. The mind is pure, and psychic powers respond in myriad ways. Images correspond to adorning the Buddha-land; psychic powers correspond to teaching sentient beings. Adorning is itself non-adornment; images are also form and non-form." \*\*Sixth question:\*\* "All scriptures speak of liberating sentient beings. Since beings are non-beings, why bother liberating them?" \*\*Answer:\*\* "If beings were real, liberating them would be labor. Since you yourself say they are non-beings, why not equivalently say liberation is non-liberation?" \*\*Seventh question:\*\* "Scriptures say the Buddha is eternal, or that the Buddha entered parinirvāṇa. If eternal, he does not cease; if ceased, he is not eternal. Are these not contradictory?" \*\*Answer:\*\* "To depart from all characteristics is called a Buddha. What reality is there of appearing in the world and entering nirvāṇa? Seeing appearance and disappearance depends on circumstances and conditions. When conditions respond, he appears under the bodhi tree. When conditions are exhausted, he enters nirvāṇa between the twin śāla trees. This is like clear water, which has no mind; no image fails to appear. The image does not belong to the water—it is the coming and going of external objects. Likewise, characteristics are not the Buddha-body. How could the Tathāgata appear and disappear?" \*\*Eighth question:\*\* "It is said that what the Buddha transforms is born, and I am born like that. Since the Buddha is unborn, what does 'birth' mean? If it is said that when mind arises, dharmas arise, and when mind ceases, dharmas cease, how does one attain the patience of the non-arising of dharmas?" \*\*Answer:\*\* "Since it is said to be like transformation, transformation is emptiness. Emptiness is non-arising. Why interrogate the meaning of birth? When birth and death cease, quiescence is true. To patiently accept that dharmas are non-arising is called the patience of the non-arising of dharmas." \*\*Ninth question:\*\* "Buddhas accomplish awakening and teach the Dharma solely to liberate sentient beings. Since beings exist in the six paths, why does the Buddha appear only in the human realm? Also, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, he entrusted the Dharma to Kāśyapa, transmitting mind-to-mind, down to the six patriarchs in this land—each generation transmitting to only one person. Since it is said that all beings are regarded as one's only son, why is the transmission not universal?" \*\*Answer:\*\* "The sun and moon rise in the sky, illuminating all six directions. But the blind do not see, and those under an overturned basin do not know. It is not that the sun and moon are not universal; it is the fault of obstruction and covering. Liberating or not liberating is analogous. It is not that the Buddha limited himself to humans and gods, excluding ghosts and animals. But only the human realm can compile the teachings and keep the transmission unbroken, so we only know of the Buddha appearing among humans. After his parinirvāṇa, he entrusted Kāśyapa, and it has passed down successively. The 'one person' is also a general statement—the one who serves as the religious head of the age, like a land having no two kings. It does not mean only that few were liberated." \*\*Tenth question:\*\* "Master, why did you arouse the aspiration? What Dharma did you admire that led you to renounce the home life? How do you now cultivate? What flavor of Dharma have you attained? What stage has your practice reached? Do you now abide in mind, or cultivate mind? If you abide in mind, that hinders cultivating mind. If you cultivate mind, that stirs thoughts and creates unrest. How is this called studying the Way? If you settle the mind in stillness, how is that different from those fixed in mere concentration? I humbly beg the great virtuous one to exercise great compassion, in accord with thusness, and explain this step by step." \*\*Answer:\*\* "Perceiving the four elements as fragile as a clay pot, seeing the six sense-objects as flowers in space, awakening that one's own mind is the Buddha-mind, seeing that one's own nature is Dharma-nature—this is arousing the aspiration. Knowing the mind is without abiding—this is cultivation. Abiding without knowing—this is the flavor of Dharma. Dwelling on the Dharma—that is the arising of thoughts. Thus, like a person entering darkness, one sees nothing. Now, abiding nowhere, unstained and unattached, one is like a person with eyes, with sunlight, seeing all varieties of dharmas. How could such a one be counted among those fixed in mere concentration? Since there is no abiding or attachment, what place is there to discuss?" Additionally, Minister Wen Zao of Shannan asked: "For one who has awakened to principle and calmed delusion, who accumulates no karma—after the end of this lifetime, where does the spiritual nature rest?" The master said: "All sentient beings without exception possess the nature of awakening. It is numinous, clear, empty, and quiescent, no different from the Buddha. But because, through beginningless eons, they have never awakened, they mistakenly cling to the body as self. Hence arise emotions of love and aversion. Following emotions, they create karma. Following karma, they receive retribution. Birth, aging, sickness, and death—they revolve in samsara for vast eons. Yet the awakening nature within the body has never been subject to birth or death. Like one who, in a dream, is driven and enslaved while the body remains safe and at ease. Like water becoming ice while its wet nature never changes. "If one can awaken to this nature, that is the Dharma-body. It is fundamentally unborn—what reliance or support could it have? It is ever-numinous, never dim; it knows always, clearly. It comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. "Yet through many lives of deluded clinging, habits have become second nature. Joy, anger, sorrow, delight—their subtle currents flow on. Though true principle is suddenly realized, these emotions are hard to eliminate at once. One must constantly observe, diminishing and diminishing. Like wind that suddenly stops, the waves gradually subside. How could what one cultivates in a single lifetime equal the powers and functions of the Buddhas? "But one may take emptiness and quiescence as one's own substance—do not identify with the physical body. Take numinous awareness as one's own mind—do not identify with deluded thoughts. If deluded thoughts arise, do not follow them at all. Then, at the moment of death, karma naturally cannot bind you. Though there is an intermediate state, you will be free to go where you will—among gods or humans, you may take rebirth as you choose. "If thoughts of love and aversion have already ceased, you will no longer receive a body of discrete segments. Naturally, you can exchange the short for the long, the coarse for the subtle. If the subtle currents are all extinguished, and only the great wisdom of perfect enlightenment shines alone, then you will respond to circumstances and manifest hundreds, thousands, billions of transformation bodies to liberate those with affinities. This is called Buddhahood." Respectfully submitted. \*\*Explanation:\*\* Aśvaghoṣa Bodhisattva distilled the essential teachings of a hundred great-vehicle sūtras to compose the \*Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna\*. In that treatise, he established his thesis, saying that all sentient beings' minds possess the meanings of awakening and non-awakening. Within awakening, there are also the meanings of original awakening and acquired awakening. What is described above, though spoken from the perspective of illuminating principle and contemplating mind, has the same doctrinal meaning. In that treatise, from the beginning to "no different from the Buddha" is original awakening. From "but because, through beginningless eons" onward is non-awakening. From "if one can awaken to this nature" onward is acquired awakening. Within acquired awakening, there is also sudden awakening and gradual cultivation: - From "if one can awaken" to "comes from nowhere and goes nowhere" is sudden awakening. - From "yet through many lives of deluded clinging" onward is gradual cultivation. Within gradual cultivation, from the first arousal of aspiration to Buddhahood, there are three stages of freedom: - From the beginning to "take rebirth as you choose" is freedom in taking birth. - From "if thoughts of love and aversion have already ceased" is freedom in transformation. - From "if the subtle currents are all extinguished" to the end is ultimate freedom. Furthermore, from "one may take emptiness and quiescence as one's own substance" to "karma naturally cannot bind you" is precisely the essential practice for one who has awakened to principle—cultivating mind day and night through calming and contemplation. Guifeng first had an eight-line verse displaying this meaning, which he had recited at the Minister's residence. At his request, he explained it: The verse said: "To do what is meaningful— this is the wakeful, clear mind. To do what is meaningless— this is the mad, confused mind. The mad and confused follow emotional thoughts— at death, they are dragged by karma. The wakeful and clear do not follow emotion— at death, they can turn karma around." In the first month of the first year of the Huichang era, on the sixth day, the master gave final instructions to his disciples at Xingfu Temple. He ordered that his corpse be carried out and offered to birds and beasts, that his bones be cremated and scattered, and that they should not grieve or cling, disturbing their Chan contemplation. Every Qingming Festival, they were to go up the mountain and teach the Dharma for seven days. All other protocols of his abbacy were to accord with the vinaya. "Whoever violates these is not my disciple." Having spoken, he sat and entered cessation. Monastics and laypeople alike enshrined his full body at Guifeng. Upon cremation, relics were obtained—clear, bright, lustrous, and large. Later, disciples, weeping, sought more and found them among the ashes. These were placed in a stone chamber. When Emperor Xuanzong revived the true teaching, he posthumously honored the master with the title "Chan Master of Concentration and Wisdom." His stūpa was named "Blue Lotus."