---
title: "憨山老人夢遊集 · 示劉存赤(乙卯)"
description: "憨山老人夢遊集是明代高僧憨山德清的著作集，由侍者福善日錄、门人通炯编辑整理。憨山德清是明末四大高僧之一，主张禅净双修，对佛教中国化有深远影响。该书收录了他的诗文、法语、书信等，内容涵盖禅宗思想、净土修行和佛教义理，展现了其圆融各宗的智慧。作为明代佛教重要文献，夢遊集不仅反映了当时佛教的发展状况，也为后世研究明代佛教思想提供了珍贵资料，在佛教史上具有重要地位。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cmclqlisk006ml7044rmo3ewt"
---

### 示劉存赤乙卯

頃予投老南嶽。甲寅冬暮。茶陵劉季子。遠來參叩。雪夜圍爐。寒燈相照。因問子一向如何用心。對曰。昔蒙和尚開示偈云。蓮華火裏生。世人謂希有。不是火生蓮。惟在心離垢。每看此話。於末句頗得受用。老人深喜。因示之曰。子於心離垢一句得力。此語不虗。亦不易到。經云。凡夫賢聖人。平等無高下。唯在心垢滅。取證如反掌。繇是觀之。眾生與佛本來無二。所謂心佛與眾生。是三無差別。但心淨即佛。心垢即眾生。生佛之辦不遠。只在心垢滅與不滅耳。以此心本來清淨。但以貪瞋。癡。慢。五欲。煩惱。種種業幻。垢濁障蔽。故名眾生。此垢若淨。即名為佛。豈假他力哉。無柰一切眾生。無始業障深厚。煩惱堅固。難得清淨。必假磨煉之功。故有參禪念佛看話頭種種方便。皆治心之藥耳。譬如鏡光本明。以垢故昏。必假磨煉之藥。然藥亦垢也。以取能去其垢。故鏡明而藥不存矣。又如真金在礦。沙石垢穢。必須烹煉之法。金精而無用其煉矣。眾生心垢難離。必須工夫精勤調治。垢去心明。故說眾生本來是佛。非一向在煩惱垢濁之中。妄自稱為佛也。參禪看話頭一路。最為明心切要。但近世下手者稀。一以根鈍。又無古人死心。一以無真善知識決擇。多落邪見。是故念佛參禪兼脩之行。極為穩當法門。若以念佛一聲。蘊在胸中。念念追求審實起處落處。定要見箇的當下落。久久忽然垢淨明現。心地開通。此與看公案話頭無異。是須著力挨排始得。若以妄想浮沈悠悠度日。把作不喫緊勾當。此到窮年亦不得受用。若以悠悠任妄想為受用。此則自誤。不但一生。即從今已去。乃至窮劫。無有不誤之時也。子向於念佛法門有緣。試著實究審。果在煩惱垢濁之中。一聲佛號。如水清珠。以此受用但非徹底窮源耳。經云。如澄濁水。沙土自沈。清水現前。名為初伏客塵煩惱。去泥純水。名為永斷根本無明。子只將此佛語默默自驗。萬無一失。若得到真離垢處。如經云。明相精純。不為客塵煩惱留礙。如此不惟彌陀接引。即十方諸佛。亦皆同聲稱讚矣。幸與子窮年雪夜。此段泠淡家風。世所希有。苟不負此嘉會。但從此去念念不離泠。淡中。便是離垢一條徑路。步步著力。必有到家真解脫時也。

> I have retired to live out my old age in the Southern Mountain. In the winter of the Jiayin year, Liu Jizi of Chaling came from afar to seek instruction. We sat together on a snowy night, warming ourselves around the hearth, a cold lamp shining on us. I asked him, "How have you been practicing all this while?" He replied, "Before, you gave me a verse: 'A lotus born in fire — the world calls it a wonder. But it’s not the fire that gives birth to the lotus; it’s only the mind freed from defilement.' I often reflect on this, and the last line has brought me much benefit." The old man was deeply pleased, and said to him, "It’s no empty claim that you’ve found strength in the phrase 'mind free from defilement,' but it’s not easy to reach such a state. The sutras say: 'Ordinary people and sages are equal, with no higher or lower. Only when the mind’s defilements are eliminated can enlightenment be achieved as easily as turning over your hand.' From this, see that sentient beings and the Buddha are fundamentally not two. As it is said: 'Mind, Buddha, and sentient beings — these three are without distinction.' When the mind is pure, it is Buddha; when it is defiled, it is a sentient being. The difference between them is not far — it’s simply whether the mind’s defilements are eliminated or not. The mind is originally pure, but due to greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, the five desires, afflictions, and various karmic illusions, it becomes dirty and obscured — that’s why we call it a sentient being. When these defilements are purified, we call it Buddha. Does it rely on any external power? No. But all sentient beings have deep, beginningless karmic obstructions and stubborn afflictions that are hard to purify. That’s why we need the work of polishing and refining, and why there are methods like Chan meditation, reciting the Buddha’s name, and investigating gong’ans — all are medicines for curing the mind. For example, a mirror’s brightness is originally clear, but it becomes clouded by dust and dirt. We must use polishing agents to remove the grime, but those agents themselves are also dust. Once the dirt is gone, the mirror shines, and the agents are discarded. Or consider real gold buried in ore, mixed with sand and gravel. It must be refined by fire. When the pure gold emerges, the refining process is no longer needed. Sentient beings find it hard to separate their minds from defilement; they must diligently and carefully apply effort to cure themselves. When the defilements are gone and the mind is clear, then we say that sentient beings are originally Buddha — not that one who is still deep in affliction and filth can falsely claim to be Buddha. The practice of Chan — investigating a gong’an or a critical phrase — is the most direct and essential path to seeing the mind’s true nature. But in recent times, few people actually engage in it. Some are dull-witted and lack the resolute commitment of the ancients; others lack a true, wise teacher to guide them, so they often fall into wrong views. Therefore, combining the practices of reciting the Buddha’s name and Chan meditation is an extremely stable and safe method. If you take one recitation of the Buddha’s name and hold it steadily in your mind, continuously investigating and scrutinizing where it arises and where it falls, determined to see its real, definite location — then after a long time, suddenly the defilements will clear and the mind’s light will appear, and your mind-ground will open. This is no different from investigating a gong’an or a living word. But you must work hard and apply sustained effort to achieve it. If you drift along in scattered thoughts, passing the days idly, treating this as something not urgent — even if you practice for years, you will never gain any real benefit. If you imagine that casually indulging in wandering thoughts is itself a form of attainment, you are fooling yourself. This mistake will not only affect this lifetime; from now until the end of countless ages, there will never be a time when you are not misled. You have an affinity with the practice of reciting the Buddha’s name. Try earnestly to investigate it: indeed, amidst the filth of afflictions, one recitation of the Buddha’s name is like a clear-water pearl. If you gain benefit from this, it’s still not penetrating to the very source. The sutras say: 'Just as when muddy water is settled, the sand and soil sink down, and clear water appears — this is called the initial subduing of defiling dust and afflictions. Further remove the mud, and you have pure water — this is called the eternal severance of fundamental ignorance.' Take these words of the Buddha and silently test yourself with them — you will never go wrong. If you reach the place of true freedom from defilement, as the sutra says: 'When the quality of light is pure, you are no longer hindered by dust and afflictions.' Then not only will Amitabha come to receive you, but all the Buddhas of the ten directions will praise you with one voice. This snowy night, as we spend the year-end together, is a rare occasion in the world — a plain and simple family tradition. If you don’t waste this fine encounter, but from now on keep your mind focused, moment after moment, right in this plain and simple state, that itself is a direct path to freedom from defilement. With every step you exert yourself, you will surely one day reach home and attain true liberation."