答鄭崐巖中丞
Reply to Grand Coordinator Zheng Kunyan
若論此段大事因緣。雖是人人本具。各各現成。不欠毫髮。爭柰無始劫來。愛根種子。妄想情慮。習染深厚。障蔽妙明。不得真實受用。一向只在身心世界妄想影子裏作活計。所以流浪生死。佛祖出世。千言萬語。種種方便。說禪說教。無非隨順機宜。破執之具。元無實法與人。所言修者。只是隨順自心。淨除妄想習氣影子。於此用力。故謂之修。若一念妄想頓歇。徹見自心。本來圓滿光明廣大。清淨本然。了無一物。名之曰悟。非除此心之外。別有可修可悟者。以心體如鏡。妄想攀緣影子。乃真心之塵垢耳。故曰想相為塵。識情為垢。若妄念消融。本體自現。譬如磨鏡。垢淨明現。法爾如此。但吾人積劫習染堅固。我愛根深難拔。今生幸托本具般若。內熏為因。外藉善知識引發為緣。自知本有。發心趣向志願。了脫生死。要把無量劫來。生死根株。一時頓拔。豈是細事。若非大力量人。赤身擔荷。單刀直入者。誠難之難。古人道。如一人與萬人敵。非虗語也。大約末法修行人多。得真實受用者少。費力者多。得力者少。此何以故。蓋因不得直捷下手處。只在從前聞見知解言語上。以識情摶量。遏捺妄想。光影門頭做工夫。先將古人𢆯言妙語蘊在胸中。當作實法。把作自己知見。殊不知此中一點用不著。此正謂依他作解。塞自悟門。如今做工夫。先要剗去知解。的的只在一念上做。諦信自心。本來乾乾淨淨。寸絲不掛。圓圓明明。充滿法界。本無身心世界。亦無妄想情慮。即此一念。本自無生。現前種種境界。都是幻妄不實。唯是真心中所現影子。如此勘破。就於妄念起滅處。一覷覷定。看他起向何處起。滅向何處滅。如此著力一拶。任他何等妄念。一拶粉碎。當下冰消瓦解。切不可隨他流轉。亦不可相續。永嘉謂要斷相續心者此也。蓋虗妄浮心。本無根緒。切不可當作實事。橫在胸中。起時便咄。一咄便消。切不可遏捺。則隨他使作。如水上葫蘆。只要把身心世界撇向一邊。單單的的提此一念。如橫空寶劍。任他是佛是魔。一齊斬絕。如斬亂絲。赤力力挨拶將去。所謂直心正念真如。正念者。無念也。能觀無念。可謂向佛智矣。修行最初發心。要諦信唯心法門。佛說三界唯心。萬法唯識。多少佛法。只是解說得此八個字。分明使人人信得及大段聖凡二途。只是唯自心中迷悟兩路。一切善惡因果。除此心外。無片事可得。蓋吾人妙性天然。本不屬悟。又何可迷。如今說迷。只是不了自心本無一物。不達身心世界本空。被他障礙。故說為迷。一向專以妄想生滅心。當以為真。故於六塵境緣。種種幻化。認以為實。如今發心趣向。乃返流向上一著。全要將從前知解。盡情脫去。一點知見巧法用不著。只是將自己現前身心世界。一眼看透。全是自心中所現浮光幻影。如鏡中像。如水中月。觀一切音聲。如風過樹。觀一切境界。似雲浮空。都是變幻不實的事。不獨從外如此。即自心妄想情慮。一切愛根種子。習氣煩惱。都是虗浮幻化不實的。如此深觀。凡一念起。決定就要勘他箇下落。切不可輕易放過。亦不可被他瞞昧。如此做工夫。稍近真切。除此之外。別扯𢆯妙知見巧法來逗凑。全沒交涉。就是說做工夫。也是不得已。譬如用兵。兵者不祥之器。不得已而用之。古人說參禪提話頭。都是不得已。公案雖多。唯獨念佛審實的話頭。塵勞中極易得力。雖是易得力。不過如敲門瓦子一般。終是要拋却。只是少不得用一番。如今用此做工夫。須要信得及。靠得定。咬得住。決不可猶豫。不得今日如此。明日又如彼。又恐不得悟。又嫌不𢆯妙。者些思算。都是障礙。先要說破。臨時不生疑慮。至若工夫做得力處。外境不入。唯有心內煩惱。無狀橫起。或慾念橫發。或心生煩悶。或起種種障礙。以致心疲力倦。無可柰何。此乃八識中。含藏無量劫來。習氣種子。今日被工夫逼急。都現出來。此處最要分曉。先要識得破。透得過。決不可被他籠罩。決不可隨他調弄。決不可當作實事。但只抖擻精神。奮發勇猛。提起本參話頭。就在此等念頭起處。一直捱追將去。我者裏元無此事。問渠向何處來。畢竟是甚麼。決定要見箇下落。如此一拶將去。只教神鬼皆泣。滅跡潛踪。務要赶盡殺絕。不留寸絲。如此著力。自然得見好消息。若一念拶得破。則一切妄念。一時脫謝。如空華影落。陽𦦨波澄。過此一番。便得無量輕安。無量自在。此乃初心得力處。不為𢆯妙。及乎輕安自在。又不可生歡喜心。若生歡喜心。則歡喜魔附心。又多一種障矣。至若藏識中習氣愛根種子。堅固深潛。話頭用力不得處。觀心照不及處。自己下手不得。須禮佛誦經懺悔。又要密持呪心。仗佛密印以消除之。以諸密呪。皆佛之金剛心印。吾人用之。如執金剛寶杵。摧碎一切物。物遇如微塵。從上佛祖心印祕訣。皆不出此。故曰。十方如來。持此呪心。得成無上正等正覺。然佛則明言。祖師門下恐落常情。故祕而不言。非不用也。此須日有定課。久久純熟。得力甚多。但不可希求神應耳。
If we discuss this matter of great importance, although it is originally possessed by everyone and complete in every person—lacking not even a single hair—we have, since beginningless time, been deeply habituated to the seeds of craving and the delusions of our own thoughts. These deep-seated habits obscure our wondrous, bright nature, preventing us from experiencing the truth. We have lived our entire lives acting only within the shadows of our thoughts regarding our body, mind, and the world, and thus we drift through birth and death.
When the Buddhas and Ancestors appeared in the world, their thousands of words and various skillful means—teaching Zen or teaching the doctrines—were nothing but tools to suit the capacities of those they taught and to break through their attachments. There was never any actual Dharma to give to anyone. What is called "spiritual practice" is simply the process of following one's own mind to cleanse away the shadows of delusional habits. We exert effort here, which is why we call it practice. If a single thought of delusion suddenly ceases and you thoroughly see your own mind—originally perfect, bright, vast, pure, and lacking nothing—this is called "Enlightenment." Aside from this mind, there is nothing else to practice or to be enlightened about. The nature of the mind is like a mirror; the shadows created by our clinging thoughts are merely the dust and grime on the true mind. Thus, it is said that objects of thought are the dust, and conscious feelings are the grime. If delusions melt away, the original substance appears of itself. It is like polishing a mirror: when the grime is removed, the brightness appears. It is naturally so.
However, our habits are deeply ingrained and our self-love is difficult to uproot. If, in this life, we rely on the wisdom originally inherent in us—with internal practice as the cause and the guidance of a spiritual teacher as the condition—we realize our innate nature and resolve to seek liberation from birth and death. To suddenly uproot the very source of birth and death, which has been growing for countless eons, is no small matter. If one is not a person of great strength, ready to shoulder the burden with one's whole being and plunge straight in, it is difficult indeed. The ancients said, "It is like one person fighting against ten thousand," and this is no exaggeration.
Generally, there are many practitioners in this degenerate age, but few who gain real benefit; many exert themselves, but few succeed. Why is this? It is because they do not have a direct way to begin. They only use their knowledge and intellectual concepts—the words they have heard—to try and suppress their delusions through conscious effort. They do their work within the realm of shadows. They store the clever sayings of the ancients in their chests, treating them as absolute truth and making them their own opinions. Little do they know that these are of no use at all. This is called relying on others for understanding, which only blocks the gate to one's own realization.
When practicing now, you must first clear away all intellectual understanding and focus entirely on a single thought. Firmly believe that your own mind is originally pure, without a single thread attached, round and bright, filling the entire Dharma realm. Originally, there is no body, mind, or world, nor are there delusional thoughts. This very thought is itself unborn. All the phenomena appearing before you are illusory and unreal; they are merely shadows appearing within the true mind.
Once you see through this, look right at the place where a delusional thought arises and ceases. Observe where it comes from and where it goes. With such a direct strike, no matter what delusional thought arises, it will be shattered and dissolve like ice in the sun. You must not follow it or allow it to continue. This is what Yongjia meant by "cutting off the continuous mind." Since the illusory, floating mind has no root, you must not treat it as something real to be held in your chest. When a thought arises, shout it down, and it will vanish. Do not try to suppress it, for that is just following its lead—like a gourd on water. You only need to cast the body, mind, and world aside and hold firmly to this one thought, like a sword hanging in the sky. Whether it is a Buddha or a demon, cut through it all like cutting tangled silk. Move forward with direct, focused strength. This is called the "straight mind" and "Right Mindfulness of Suchness." Right Mindfulness is precisely "no-thought." To be able to observe "no-thought" is to draw near to the wisdom of the Buddha.
At the beginning of practice, you must firmly believe in the "Mind-Only" gate. The Buddha taught that the three realms are only mind, and the ten thousand dharmas are only consciousness. The vast amount of the Buddha's teaching is simply an explanation of these eight words. It is meant to make everyone truly believe that the path of the sage and the path of the ordinary person are simply the two roads of delusion and enlightenment within one's own mind. All causes and effects of good and evil are not to be found outside of this mind. Since our wondrous nature is natural, it does not belong to "enlightenment," so how could there be "delusion"? When we speak of delusion, it simply means not realizing that one's mind is originally empty of things, not understanding that the body, mind, and world are fundamentally empty, and being obstructed by them. We have always taken the mind of birth-and-death, our delusional thoughts, to be the truth, and we recognize the various illusions of the six senses as real.
Now, as you resolve to practice, this is a "turn against the current." You must cast off all previous intellectual understanding; no clever concepts or theories will be of any use. Simply look clearly at your present body, mind, and world and realize they are all floating shadows appearing in your own mind—like images in a mirror or the moon in water. Observe all sounds as wind passing through trees; observe all phenomena as clouds drifting through the sky. They are all changing, illusory, and unreal. This is not only true for the external world; your own delusional thoughts, your roots of craving, and your habits are all floating, illusory, and unreal.
If you observe deeply in this way, whenever a thought arises, you must determine its whereabouts. Do not let it pass easily, and do not be deceived by it. Only by practicing this way will you come close to the truth. Aside from this, bringing in other clever theories or methods to patch things together has nothing to do with it.
Even to speak of "doing practice" is a matter of necessity. It is like using weapons: weapons are inauspicious, yet one uses them out of necessity. What the ancients said about Zen meditation and holding a "kōan" are all out of necessity. Although there are many kōans, holding the name of the Buddha while investigating its reality is the easiest way to gain strength amidst the toil of the world. Even though it is easy to gain strength, it is like using a tile to knock on a door: eventually, it must be thrown away, but for a time, it is indispensable.
Now, as you use this method, you must believe in it, rely on it, and hold fast to it. You must not be hesitant. Do not act one way today and another way tomorrow, fearing you will not be enlightened or complaining that the method is not clever enough. Such calculations are all obstacles. I say this now so that you will not have doubts later.
As for when your practice becomes powerful: external conditions will not enter, but within your mind, afflictions may arise without cause. Perhaps desires will surge, or you may feel agitated, or various obstacles may arise, making your mind weary and exhausted. This is because the seeds of habit stored in your eighth consciousness since beginningless time have been forced to the surface by the pressure of your practice. At this point, you must be clear. You must recognize them and see through them. You must never be caged by them, never be toyed with by them, and never take them as real. Simply summon your spirit, be courageous and fierce, and raise your kōan. Right at the place where these thoughts arise, pursue them directly. Say, "I have no such business here! Where do you come from? What are you, after all?" You must see the bottom of it. When you strike with such intensity, it will make even ghosts and spirits weep, hiding their traces. You must drive them to exhaustion and leave not a thread of them behind. If you exert yourself this way, you will naturally receive good news. If you can break through with a single thought, all delusional thoughts will drop away at once—like flowers in the sky fading or heat waves settling on the water. After this, you will experience immeasurable peace and immeasurable freedom. This is the stage where the beginner gains strength; it is not something "clever."
Once you reach this state of peace and freedom, you must not give rise to a feeling of joy. If you give rise to joy, the "joy-demon" will attach itself to your mind, adding yet another layer of obstruction.
As for the seeds of habit and craving rooted in the storehouse consciousness, they are firm and deeply hidden. When the kōan cannot be used effectively, when the observation of the mind cannot reach them, and when you cannot deal with them yourself, you must bow to the Buddhas, recite scriptures, and repent. You must also secretly hold the heart-mantras, relying on the secret seal of the Buddha to eliminate them. All secret mantras are the "Diamond Heart-Seal" of the Buddha; when we use them, it is like holding a diamond scepter to shatter all things—everything it touches turns to dust. All the secret methods and heart-seals of the Buddhas and Ancestors are nothing but this. Therefore, it is said that the Tathāgatas of the ten directions attained Supreme Enlightenment by holding these secret mantras. However, the Buddhas spoke of them clearly, but because the Ancestors feared their students would fall into worldly habits, they kept them secret. It is not that they were not used. You should have a set daily practice of these; over a long time, they will become pure and you will gain much strength. Just do not seek miraculous responses.
凡修行人。有先悟後修者。有先修後悟者。然悟有解證之不同。若依佛祖言教明心者。解悟也。多落知見。於一切境緣。多不得力。以心境角立。不得混融。觸途成滯。多作障礙。此名相似般若。非真參也。若證悟者。從自己心中樸實做將去。逼拶到水窮山盡處。忽然一念頓歇。徹了自心。如十字街頭見親爺一般。更無可疑。如人飲水。冷暖自知。亦不能吐露向人。此乃真參實悟。然後即以悟處融會心境。淨除現業流。識妄想情慮。皆鎔成一味真心。此證悟也。此之證悟。亦有深淺不同。若從根本上做工夫。打破八識窠臼。頓翻無明窟穴。一超直入。更無剩法。此乃上上利根。所證者深。其餘漸修。所證者淺。最怕得少為足。切忌墮在光影門頭。何者以八識根本未破。縱有作為。皆是識神邊事。若以此為真。大似認賊為子。古人云。學道之人不識真。只為從前認識神。無量劫來生死本。癡人認作本來人。於此一關最要透過。所言頓悟漸修者。乃先悟已徹。但有習氣。未能頓淨。就於一切境緣上。以所悟之理。起觀照之力。歷境驗心。融得一分境界。證得一分法身。消得一分妄想。顯得一分本智。是又全在綿密工夫。於境界上做出。更為得力。
Among spiritual practitioners, there are those who awaken first and then practice, and those who practice first and then awaken. Awakening itself differs: there is intellectual understanding and there is direct realization.
To clarify the mind through the Buddha's and patriarchs' teachings is intellectual understanding. Such people mostly fall into conceptual views and opinions. In all circumstances and conditions, they mostly lack power. Because mind and objects stand opposed, they cannot merge or blend. Every situation they encounter becomes stuck, and mostly creates obstacles. This is called "similar prajñā" and is not true practice. As for direct realization, one works plainly and honestly from within one's own mind, pressing on until the point where the waters run dry and the mountains end—suddenly, in a single thought, one comes to a complete stop. One thoroughly understands one's own mind, like recognizing one's own father at a crossroads—there is no further doubt. Like a person drinking water, who knows for themselves whether it is cold or warm, one cannot express it to others. This is true practice and genuine awakening. After that, one uses the place of awakening to merge mind and objects, to purify and remove present karma and its flow, and the deluded conceptualizing and emotional calculating of the consciousness—all are melted into a single flavor of true mind. This is direct realization.
This direct realization also differs in depth. If one works on the fundamental basis, breaks through the framework of the eight consciousnesses, overturns the cave of ignorance all at once, and enters directly in a single leap with nothing remaining—this is the highest and sharpest capacity, and what is realized is deep. Others practice gradually, and what they realize is shallow. The greatest fear is to be satisfied with a little. Absolutely avoid falling into the door of lights and shadows. Why? Because the root of the eight consciousnesses has not yet been broken. Even if there is activity, it is all on the side of the consciousness-spirit. To take this as real is much like mistaking a thief for one's son. The ancients said:
> People who study the Way do not recognize the true; > It is only because from the beginning they recognize the consciousness-spirit. > For immeasurable kalpas it has been the root of birth and death, > Yet the foolish take it as the original person.
This one barrier is the most essential to pass through.
As for the phrase "sudden awakening, gradual practice": it means one has already awakened thoroughly, but habitual tendencies remain and cannot be immediately purified. Then, in all circumstances and conditions, using the principle one has realized, one brings forth the power of contemplative illumination, tests the mind through experience, and for each portion of circumstance one can merge, one realizes a portion of Dharma-body; for each portion of delusion one can dissolve, one reveals a portion of inherent wisdom. Here again everything depends on continuous, meticulous effort. Doing the work within circumstances is even more effective.
凡利根信心勇猛的人修行。肯做工夫。事障易除。理障難遣。此中病痛。略舉一二。
People of sharp faculties, with strong faith and courageous determination in spiritual practice, are willing to put in the hard work. Afflictions of a practical kind are easy to remove, but afflictions of an intellectual kind are hard to dispel. Let me briefly point out one or two of the pitfalls here.
第一不得貪求𢆯妙。以此事本來平平貼貼。實實落落。一味平常。更無𢆯妙。所以古人道。悟了還同未悟時。依然只是舊時人。不是舊時行履處。更無𢆯妙。工夫若到。自然平實。蓋由吾人知解習氣未淨。內熏般若。般若為習氣所熏。起諸幻化。多生巧見。綿著其心。將謂𢆯妙。深入不捨。此正識神影明。分別妄見之根。亦名見刺。比前麤浮妄想不同。斯乃微細流注生滅。亦名智障。正是礙正知見者。若人認以為真。則起種種狂見。最在所忌。
First, do not greedily seek the profound and wondrous. This matter is originally plain and straightforward, solid and down-to-earth—simply ordinary, with nothing profound or wondrous about it. That is why the ancients said: after awakening, one is still the same as before awakening—still the same person as before, though no longer walking the same path as before. There is nothing profound or wondrous. When one's practice reaches maturity, it naturally becomes plain and real. This is because our habitual tendencies of knowing and understanding have not yet been purified; inwardly they perfuse prajñā, and prajñā, perfumed by those habitual tendencies, gives rise to all sorts of illusory transformations and many clever views that cling to the mind. One then takes these to be profound and wondrous, penetrating deeply and refusing to let go. This is precisely the shadowy brightness of the consciousness-spirit, the root of deluded discriminating views; it is also called the thorn of views. It differs from the earlier coarse and floating deluded thoughts—this is the subtle, flowing arising and ceasing, also called the hindrance of wisdom. It is precisely what obstructs right knowledge and right view. If people take it to be real, they give rise to all kinds of mad views; this is what is most to be avoided.
其次不得將心待悟。以吾人妙圓真心。本來絕待。向因妄想凝結。心境根塵。對待角立。故起惑造業。今修行人。但只一念放下身心世界。單單提此一念向前。切莫管他悟與不悟。只管念念步步做將去。若工夫到處。自然得見本來面目。何須早計。若將心待悟。即此待心。便是生死根株。待至窮劫。亦不能悟。以不了絕待真心。將謂別有故耳。若待心不除。易生疲厭。多成退墮。譬如尋物不見。便起休歇想耳。
Next, you must not hold a mind that waits for enlightenment. Our wondrous, perfectly complete true mind is originally beyond all duality. It is only because deluded thoughts have congealed, setting mind and objects, faculties and sense data, in opposition to one another, that afflictions arise and karma is created. Now, practitioners need only let go of body, mind, and world in a single thought, and simply take up this one thought and move forward. By no means concern yourself with whether you are enlightened or not—just keep practicing, thought after thought, step by step. When your effort reaches its depth, you will naturally come to see your original face; what need is there to plan for it in advance? If you hold a mind that waits for enlightenment, that very waiting mind is the root and stem of birth and death. Even if you waited to the very end of the kalpas, you still would not attain enlightenment—because you fail to understand the true mind that is beyond all duality, and suppose that there is something else apart from it. If the waiting mind is not removed, it easily gives rise to weariness and boredom, and often leads to backsliding. It is like searching for something and not finding it, whereupon one thinks only of giving up and resting.
其次不得希求妙果。蓋眾生生死妄心。元是如來果體。今在迷中。將諸佛神通妙用。變作妄想情慮。分別知見。將真淨法身變作生死業質。將清淨妙土。變作六塵境界。如今做工夫。若一念頓悟自心。則如大冶紅罏。陶鎔萬象。即此身心世界。元是如來果體。即此妄想情慮。元是神通妙用。換名不換體也。永嘉云。無明實性即佛性。幻化空身即法身。若能悟此法門。則取捨情忘。欣厭心歇。步步華藏淨土。心心彌勒下生。若安心先求妙果。即希求之心。便是生死根本。礙正知見。轉求轉遠。求之力疲。則生厭倦矣。
Furthermore, you must not seek wonderful fruits. The deluded mind of sentient beings within birth and death is originally the Tathāgata's fruit-body. Now, in the midst of delusion, you turn the buddhas' wondrous functioning and spiritual powers into deluded thoughts and emotional considerations, into discriminatory views and knowledge; you turn the true and pure Dharma-body into the substance of karmic birth and death; you turn the pure and wondrous land into the realm of the six sense objects. When you now practice, if in a single thought you suddenly awaken to your own mind, then it is like a great furnace's red blaze refining all phenomena. This very body, mind, and world are originally the Tathāgata's fruit-body. These very deluded thoughts and emotional considerations are originally the wondrous functioning and spiritual powers. The name changes, but the substance does not. Yongjia said: "The true nature of ignorance is precisely the Buddha-nature; the illusory, empty body is precisely the Dharma-body." If you can awaken to this Dharma-gate, then the feelings of grasping and rejecting are forgotten, and the mind of liking and disliking comes to rest. Every step is the pure land of the Flower Treasury; every thought is Maitreya's descent into the world. But if you set your mind at ease by first seeking wonderful fruits, then that seeking mind is itself the root of birth and death. It obstructs right knowledge and right view. The more you seek, the farther away it goes. When the strength of seeking is exhausted, weariness arises.
其次不可自生疑慮。凡做工夫。一向放下身心。屏絕見聞知覺。脫去故步。望前眇冥。無安身立命處。進無新證。退失故居。若前後籌慮。則生疑心。起無量思算。較計得失。或別生臆見。動發邪思。礙正知見。此須勘破。則決定直入。無復顯慮。大槩工夫做到做不得。正是得力處。更加精采。則不退屈。不然則墮憂愁魔矣。其次不得生恐怖心。謂工夫念力急切。逼拶妄想一念頓歇。忽然身心脫空。便見大地無寸土。深至無極。則生大恐怖。於此若不勘破。則不敢向前。或以此豁達空。當作勝妙。若認此空。則起大邪見撥無因果。此中最險。
Next, you must not give rise to doubt in yourself. In all practice, simply let go of body and mind, shut off seeing, hearing, knowing, and perceiving, cast off your old habitual ways, and look ahead into the vast darkness where there is nowhere to settle body or establish life. Advancing brings no new realization; retreating loses your former ground. If you brood over before and after, doubt arises, and countless calculations spring up as you weigh gain and loss. Or you may give rise to private opinions that stir up erroneous thoughts and obstruct right knowledge and right view. This must be seen through, and then you will decisively enter straight ahead with no further wavering. In general, when practice reaches the point where you cannot go on—that is precisely where it takes effect. Apply more intensity, and you will not retreat. Otherwise, you fall into the demon of sorrow. Next, you must not give rise to fear. When the power of mindfulness in practice becomes urgent, pressing hard on delusive thought until it suddenly stops, suddenly body and mind fall away into emptiness. Then you see the whole great earth contains not an inch of soil, extending boundlessly into the infinite—and great fear arises. If you do not see through this, you will not dare to go forward. Or you may take this open, wide emptiness as something supreme and wonderful. If you identify with this emptiness, you give rise to a great false view that denies cause and effect. This is the most dangerous of all.
其次決定信自心是佛。然佛無別佛。唯心即是。以佛真法身。猶若虗空。若達妄元虗。則本有法身自現。光明寂照。圓滿周徧。無欠無餘。更莫將心向外馳求。若捨此心別求。則心中變起種種無量夢想境界。此正識神變現。切不可作奇特想也。然吾清淨心中。本無一物。更無一念。凡起心動念。即乖法體。今之做工夫人。總不知自心妄想。元是虗妄。將此妄想。誤為真實。專只與作對頭。如小兒戲燈影相似。轉戲轉沒交涉。弄久則自生怕怖。又有一等怕妄想的。恨不得一把捉了。拋向一邊。此如捕風捉影。終日與之打交滾。費盡力氣。再無一念休歇時。纏綿日久。信心日疲。只說參禪無靈驗。便生毀謗之心。或生怕怖之心。或生退墮之心。此乃初心之通病也。此無他。蓋由不達常住真心。不生滅性。只將妄想認性實法耳。者裏切須透過。若要透得此關。自有向上一路。只須離心意識參。離妄想境界求。但有一念起處。不管是善是惡。當下撇過。切莫與之作對。諦信自心中。本無此事。但將本參話頭。著力提起。如金剛寶劍。魔佛皆揮。此處最要大勇猛力。大精進力。大忍力。決不得思前算後。決不得怯弱。但得直心正念。挺身向前。自然巍巍堂堂。不被此等妄想纏繞。如脫鞲之鷹。二六時中。於一切境緣。自然不干絆。自然得大輕安。得大自在。此乃初心第一步工夫得力處也。
Next, you must firmly resolve to have faith that your own mind is itself Buddha. But there is no other Buddha apart from this—mind itself is Buddha. The Buddha's true Dharma-body is like empty space: once you realize that delusion is originally empty, your inherently existing Dharma-body reveals itself—luminous, still, and illuminating, complete and all-pervading, lacking nothing and with nothing left over. Do not let your mind race outward in search of anything more. If you abandon this mind and seek elsewhere, then within your mind all kinds of boundless dreamlike realms will arise—these are merely projections of the consciousness-spirit, and you must absolutely not take them as something extraordinary.
Within your pure mind there is originally not a single thing, not a single thought. Whenever thoughts arise and stir, you deviate from the Dharma-body itself. Today's practitioners generally do not understand that the idle thoughts of their own minds are fundamentally empty and false. They mistake these idle thoughts for something real and devote themselves solely to fighting against them—like a child playing with the shadow of a lamp: the more the child plays, the further removed it becomes from anything real, and after playing at this for a long time, the child grows frightened. Then there are those who fear idle thoughts so much that they wish they could grab them in one handful and fling them aside. This is like trying to catch the wind or seize a shadow—all day long they wrestle and tumble with them, exhausting all their strength, never having a single thought of rest. Entangled like this day after day, their faith grows more and more weary, until they say, "Zen meditation brings no results," and give rise to thoughts of slander, or thoughts of fear, or thoughts of retreat and giving up. These are the common ailments of beginners. This is nothing else—it comes from failing to understand the ever-abiding true mind, the deathless nature, and from mistaking idle thoughts for the nature itself, as though they were something real.
Here you must break through completely. To pass through this barrier, there is a path that goes one step higher: you must simply meditate by transcending mind, consciousness, and cognition, and seek by transcending the realm of idle thoughts. Whenever a thought arises—whether good or bad—just brush it aside on the spot and never set yourself against it. Sincerely have faith that within your own mind there is fundamentally no such thing. Simply take up your original meditation topic with all your strength, like a diamond jeweled sword that cuts through both demons and Buddhas. Here what matters most is great courageous vigor, great diligence, and great patience—you must absolutely not calculate back and forth, and must absolutely not be faint-hearted. Just maintain a straightforward mind and right mindfulness, set your body upright, and move forward. Naturally you will become towering and majestic, no longer entangled by such idle thoughts—like a falcon freed from its leather jesses. Throughout the day and night, in all conditions and circumstances, you will naturally be unhindered, naturally attain great ease and lightness, and naturally attain great freedom. This is where the first step of a beginner's practice gains its strength.
已上數則。大似畫蛇添足。乃一期方便語耳。本非究竟。亦非實法。蓋在路途邊。出門一步。恐落差別岐徑。枉費心力。虗喪光陰。必須要真正一門。超出妙莊嚴路。所謂行步平正。其疾如風。其所行履。可以日劫相倍矣。要之佛祖向上一路。不涉程途。其在初心方便。也須從者裏透過始得。
The several points above are much like drawing legs on a snake—they are merely provisional skillful means for a time, not the ultimate truth, nor the actual Dharma. They concern the edge of the path: a single step out the gate, lest one stray onto divergent side roads, waste one's effort, and vainly lose one's time. One must have a truly single doorway by which to pass beyond the wondrous adorned road—what is called walking with level, upright steps, swift as the wind, so that one's practice may be multiplied by a day for every kalpa. In essence, the Buddhas' and patriarchs' upward road does not involve stages of travel; yet in the skillful means for beginners, one must still pass through right here before it can be attained.