示無生祿禪人(乙未夏日在圜中說)
Showing the Path of Non-Arising to Zen Practitioner Lu(Spoken during the summer of 1655 while in the garden)
古人最初發心。真正為生死大事。決志出離。故割愛辭親。參師訪友。歷盡艱辛。心心念念。只為己躬下事未明。憂悲痛切。如喪考妣。若一見知識。如嬰兒得母。儻得一言半句。開導心地。如病得藥。若一念相當。胸中了悟。如貧得寶。拌身捨命。陸沈賤役。未嘗憚勞若二祖之安心斷臂。六祖之墜腰負石。百丈之執勞。楊岐之供眾。凡名載傳燈光照千古者。無不從刻苦中來。乃至過去諸佛。求無上菩提。捨身命如微塵數。無一類而不受身。無一身而不苦行。百劫修因。故感天上人閒。無量供養。乃至末法兒孫。猶受用白毫光中一分功德不盡。豈有天生彌勒。自然釋迦者哉。痛念末法。去聖時遙。法門典刑。已至掃地。吾輩出家兒。不知竟為何事。生來祇知懼饑寒圖飽煖。一入空門。因循俗習。遊談終日。捧腹縱情。徒騁六根。備造眾惡。不耕而美食。不蠶而好友。虗消信施。唐喪光陰。竟不知生從何來。死從何去。豈復知因果難逃。罪福無爽。一朝大限臨頭。如石投水。三途劇苦。一報五千。再得出頭。知更何日。興言及此。痛可悲酸。目擊時流。滔滔皆是。望吾人之修者。如披沙揀金。非曰絕無。蓋亦鮮矣。嗟乎。三界牢獄。四生桎梏。大火所燒。生死險宅。何由能溼猛𦦨離眾苦。至無畏處耶。非丈夫兒具靈根含夙骨者。不能奮發猛勇。一超直入。汝等幸爾生逢佛法。形寓袈裟。早值明師。六根完具。若不痛念無常。深思大事。思地獄苦。發菩提心。改往修來。晝夜精勤。早求出離。因循度日。縱放身心。大限到頭。悔之何及。嗟乎行矣。其無忘我臨岐叮嚀之言。以負吾自負也。
In the beginning, those who set their minds on the path did so with genuine sincerity, treating the great matter of life and death as their foremost concern. They were determined to transcend the cycle of rebirth, so they let go of attachments, left their families, and sought out wise teachers, traveling far and wide and enduring countless hardships. Their every thought and aspiration centered on one thing: the unresolved truth of their own existence. They grieved and worried with profound urgency, as if mourning the death of their own parents. When they finally met a true teacher, it was like a lost infant finding its mother. If they received even a single phrase or teaching that opened their hearts and clarified their path, it was like a sick person obtaining the perfect medicine. If a moment of realization arose within them, bringing clear understanding, it was like a poor person discovering a treasure.
They were willing to give up their very lives and dignity, taking on humble tasks without complaint. Consider the Second Patriarch, who cut off his arm in his search for peace of mind. The Sixth Patriarch, who labored with a stone tied to his waist. Baizhang, who worked tirelessly. Yangqi, who served the monastic community wholeheartedly. Everyone whose name appears in the Lamp Records—those whose light shines through the ages—all attained their awakening through hardship and discipline. Even the Buddhas of the past, in their quest for supreme enlightenment, sacrificed their bodies and lives countless times, like particles of dust. There was no form of existence they did not assume, no body they did not use to practice austerities. For a hundred eons they cultivated the causes, and as a result, even now—in the heavens and among humans—they receive boundless offerings. Even we, their descendants in the Dharma-Ending Age, continue to benefit from the merit of the Buddha's white hair-tuft, which has yet to be exhausted. So, was Maitreya born enlightened? Was Shakyamuni spontaneously awakened? No, they were not.
Now, in this Dharma-Ending Age, we are far removed from the time of the Buddha. The model of the Dharma is nearly lost. We who have renounced the householder's life—what are we truly living for? From birth, we only know how to avoid hunger and cold, seeking comfort and fullness. Once we enter the empty gate of the monastery, we fall back into worldly habits. We spend our days in idle talk, indulging in pleasure and following every impulse. Our six senses run unchecked, and we commit all kinds of wrongdoing. We eat fine food without farming, wear fine clothes without weaving. We waste the offerings of the faithful and squander our precious time. We do not even know where we came from at birth or where we will go at death. How can we understand that cause and effect are inescapable, that good and evil bring their own rewards without error? When the day of our final reckoning arrives, it will be like a stone sinking into water—irreversible. The intense suffering of the three lower realms lasts five hundred lifetimes for a single misdeed. Once we are reborn there, how long will it take to re-emerge as humans? Just mentioning this brings deep pain and sorrow.
Look at the people of our time: the tide of negligence sweeps all along. Each person is just like the next. When I look for a true practitioner among the masses, it is like panning for gold in sand. It’s not that there are none at all, but they are extremely rare. Alas! The three realms of existence are a prison. The four kinds of birth are shackles. We are trapped in a burning house of suffering, a dangerous dwelling of birth and death. How can we extinguish these raging flames and free ourselves from suffering to reach a place of fearlessness? Unless one is truly extraordinary, endowed with spiritual roots and a karmic foundation from past lives, one cannot rouse the fierce determination needed to leap beyond and break through directly. You are fortunate to have been born at a time when the Buddha’s teachings still exist. You wear the saffron robe. You have met a worthy teacher at the right time. Your six senses are intact. If you do not urgently contemplate impermanence, deeply reflect on the great matter of life and death, think of the suffering in the hell realms, arouse bodhicitta, reform your past conduct and cultivate virtue in the present, practice diligently day and night, and seek liberation as soon as possible—if instead you waste time in carelessness and indulgence—when the end arrives, regret will be of no use.
Alas! Go now. Do not forget these parting words of earnest advice. Do not betray me. Do not betray yourself.