警世
Warning to the World
夫不體道本。沒溺生死。處胎卵濕化橫豎飛沈之類。於中失人身者。如大地之土。得人身者。如爪上之塵。於人身中多生邊夷下賤。及處中國。或受女身。若為男子。癃殘百疾。設得丈夫十相具足者。處恐畏世生五濁時。以肉為身以氣為命。一報之內如石火風燈。逝波殘照瞬息而已。於中少天非橫殂者。不計其數。或有得天年壽極耳順。萬中無一。脫得知命之歲。除童稚無知。至三十豪四十富。且約其間三十年。於中有疾病灾禍愁憂苦惱。居強半矣。所以昔人有言。浮生一月之中。可開口而咲。只四五日矣。故知憂長喜促樂少苦多。如在萬仞之危峯。似處千尋之滄海。縱得少樂畢慮漂沈。且夫有生勞我處胎。有老奪我壯色。有病損我形貌。有死壞我神靈。有榮縱我驕奢。有辱敗我意氣。有貴使我憍倨。有賤挫我行藏。有富恣我貪婪。有貧乏我依報。有樂動我情地。有苦痛我精神。有讚起我高心。有毀滅我聲價。乃至寒則逼切我體。熱則煩悶我襟。渴則乾我喉。饑則羸我腹。驚則懾我魄。懼則喪我魂。憂則撓我神。惱則敗我志。順則長我愛。逆則起我憎。親則牽我情。疎則生我恨。害則殞我體。愁則結我腸。乃至遇境生心。隨情動念。或美或惡俱不稱懷。皆長業輪盡喪道本。其或更詭於君悖於父。傲其物趨其時。獸其心狐其意。苟其利徇其名。誑其人諂其行。附其勢欺其孤。淵其殃崇其業。扇其火吹其風。驟其塵背其覺。邪其種睽其真。但顧前非慮後。口謀去靡思回。唯求生焉知滅。則念念燒煑。步步溝隍矣。如今或得剎那在世。須蘊仁悲。行善修心除非去惡。書云。作善降之百祥。作不善降之百殃。是以世間逆順種種因緣。空受身心妄苦皆為。不知三界唯是一心。以前五識眼耳鼻舌身及第八識。皆是現量所得。無心外法。以第六明了意識。比量計度而成外境。全是想生隨念而至。若無想念萬法無形。故經云。想滅間靜識停無為。又云。諸法不牢固。唯立在於念。善解見空者。一切無想念。若了一心之旨。心外自然無法可陳。豈有欣戚關懷是非干念。佛頌云。未達境唯心。起種種分別。達境唯心已。分別即不生。既了境唯心。便捨外塵相。從此息分別。悟平等真空。故起信論云。一切境界唯心妄動。心若不起。一切境界相滅。唯一真心徧一切處。是故三界虗偽。唯心所作。離心即無六塵境界。乃至一切分別。即分別自心。心不見心。無相可得。先德云。心外有法。生死輪迴。心外無法。生死永弃。經云。諸法所生唯心所現。論云。三界無別法。但是一心作。既信一心。須以禪定冥合。如經云。若能教三千大千世界眾生令行十善。不如一食頃一心靜處入一相法門。若能諦了自心。以此定慧相應。則能不動塵勞。便成正覺。平生所遇。莫越於斯。普勸後賢。可書紳耳。
Those who do not embody the fundamental nature of the Way remain lost in the cycle of birth and death, manifesting in wombs, eggs, moisture, or spontaneous generation—creatures that fly, crawl, swim, or burrow. Among them, those who lose their human form are as numerous as the dust of the earth, while those who attain a human body are as scarce as a speck of dirt under a fingernail. Even among human beings, many are born in remote, barbaric lands or into lowly stations; or they receive a female body. If born male, they may suffer from deformities or a hundred ailments. Even if a man achieves all ten marks of perfection, he lives in a fearful age amid the five corruptions, with a body of flesh and a life sustained by breath. His lifespan is like a spark in flint, a lamp before the wind, a wave in a river, or the last rays of sunset—fleeting in an instant. Within this brief life, those who die prematurely from accident or illness are beyond count. Those who live to old age, reaching sixty, are one in ten thousand. Even if one attains the age of destiny—fifty years—setting aside the ignorance of childhood, and considering the thirty years from the prime of life at thirty to the wealth of forty, more than half are consumed by sickness, disaster, worry, and suffering. Thus the ancients said: "In a fleeting month of life, one can open their mouth to laugh for only four or five days." Therefore, we know that sorrow is long and joy short, pleasure rare and pain abundant. Life is like standing on a perilous peak ten thousand feet high, or being adrift in an endless ocean a thousand fathoms deep. Even if we seize a moment of happiness, we are always afraid of sinking.
Moreover, birth wearies me in the womb; aging steals my youthful vigor; sickness depletes my strength; death destroys my spirit. Honor makes me arrogant; disgrace crushes my spirit; wealth indulges my greed; poverty strips me of support. Joy stirs my emotions; pain torments my mind. Praise lifts my pride; blame shatters my reputation. Cold oppresses my body; heat torments my heart; thirst dries my throat; hunger weakens my belly. Shock unnerves me; fear robs me of my soul; worry disturbs my spirit; frustration defeats my resolve. Favor increases my attachment; opposition fuels my hatred. Kinship pulls at my heart; distance breeds resentment. Harm destroys my body; sorrow ties my gut in knots. Encountering circumstances gives rise to thoughts; following emotions stirs intentions. Whether pleasant or unpleasant, none truly satisfy the heart. All of these feed the wheel of karma and wholly destroy the foundation of the Way.
Some even deceive their rulers, defy their parents, act arrogantly toward others, and chase after the trends of the times. Their hearts are beastly, their minds scheming. They seek profit and chase fame, deceive others with flattering behavior, cling to power and bully the lonely, amass disasters and promote their own karma. They fan the flames of their desires, stir up dust, and turn their backs on awakening. Their views are twisted, their true nature lost. Concerned only with the present and ignoring the future, they act with the mouth but never repent, rushing forward without looking back. They seek only life, unaware of death. Thus, every thought burns them, every step leads to the abyss.
Now, if you can seize even a single moment of life in this world, you must nurture compassion and virtue. Do good, cultivate the mind, and eliminate evil. The scriptures say: "Doing good brings a hundred blessings; doing evil brings a hundred calamities." Therefore, all the favorable and unfavorable conditions in this world—these vain sufferings of body and mind arise because we do not realize that the Three Realms are but one mind. The first five consciousnesses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) and the eighth consciousness (storehouse consciousness) all perceive reality directly, without objects external to the mind. Only the sixth consciousness (thinking mind) uses inference to construct an external world. This external world is entirely born of thought and arises with every thought. Without thought, the ten thousand phenomena are formless. Thus a sutra says: "When thought ceases, the mind is still; when consciousness stops, there is non-action." It also says: "All phenomena are unstable; they rest solely upon thought. One who skillfully understands emptiness has no thoughts toward anything." If you understand the principle of the One Mind, there is naturally nothing outside the mind that can be presented. How then could there be joy or sorrow to concern the heart, right or wrong to stir the mind?
The Buddha's verse says: "Not realizing that objects are only mind, one makes all kinds of distinctions. Having realized that objects are only mind, distinctions no longer arise." Once you understand that objects are only mind, you abandon external appearances. From then on, distinctions cease, and you awaken to the equal and true emptiness. Therefore, the Awakening of Faith says: "All objects and states are merely the mind's false activity. If the mind does not arise, all appearances of objects vanish. Only the True Mind pervades everywhere." Thus, the Three Realms are illusion; they are only the workings of the mind. Apart from the mind, there are no sense objects. Moreover, all distinctions are merely distinctions of one's own mind. The mind does not see the mind; no form can be obtained.
An ancient master said: "If there is anything outside the mind, there is birth and death and reincarnation. If there is nothing outside the mind, birth and death are forever abandoned." A sutra says: "All phenomena arise only from the manifestation of the mind." A treatise says: "In the Three Realms, there is no other reality; they are only the creation of the One Mind." Since you have come to believe in the One Mind, you must unite with it through meditation. As a sutra says: "If you could teach all beings in the great trichiliocosm to practice the ten good deeds, this would not compare to sitting in single-minded stillness for the duration of a meal, entering the Dharma-gate of oneness." If you can truly realize your own mind, and unite concentration and wisdom, you can remain unmoved amid worldly troubles and attain enlightenment. Throughout your life, nothing surpasses this practice. I urge all future practitioners to imprint this teaching upon their hearts.