No. 1339-A滁州琅邪山覺和尚中後四錄
參學門人 用孫 序
夫宗師之出世居方者。抑而為之。提綱振維者。蓋不得已。雖以應其羣心之所來。而大抵之得人者。其在茲乎。故我琅邪禪師之出化也。四海雲奔。無所不至。大音雷發。無所不聞。其負雄經博論者徑徑勝其數。皆匿影吞聲于其左右。凡是提唱者。各有旨歸。蓋以應動觀機。事無虗發。或滯其語句者。則釋其所黏。或執其意解者。則除其所縛。或坐其向上者。則掇之於未然。或止其中下者。則擊之於已兆。或補其所闕。則正眼具全。或刪其所繁。則大意不紊。皆以離情妄。泯智照。然後真心現前。古今獨耀。隨方施設。一味齊收。猶如曦馭當畫。影現無垠。觀者四來。圓以隨對。其可得而盡之乎。門人元聚。久探師室。親承指誨。日有升舉。即而記之。凡百餘則。嗣以纂之。以閒干前後二錄。目之為中錄。於是乎。舉前後則中攝矣。舉中則前後盡矣。非離前後而趣其中。非離中而止其前後。中則無後前。前後則無中。
When a great master emerges in the world and establishes his teaching, he does so with restraint and necessity. In upholding the Dharma and guiding others, he acts out of unavoidable duty. Though he responds to the hearts of the multitude, his true success in guiding people lies in this very principle.
Thus, when our Chan Master Langya appeared to teach, followers from all directions gathered like clouds, reaching everywhere. His profound voice thundered like lightning, heard by all. Even those who prided themselves on vast learning and eloquent debate quietly withdrew, humbled in his presence. Every teaching he gave had its purpose and direction—each was a response to the moment, tailored to the capacity of the listener, never spoken in vain.
For those attached to words, he loosened their fixation. For those clinging to intellectual understanding, he freed them from bondage. For those settled in lofty attainment, he awakened them before complacency arose. For those lingering in lesser stages, he challenged them at the first sign of stagnation. Where something was lacking, he filled it in, restoring complete clarity. Where something was excessive, he trimmed it away, leaving the essence undisturbed.
In all this, he helped others transcend deluded emotions and dissolve conceptual knowing, until the true mind shone forth—bright and timeless, uniquely radiant. Adapting to circumstances, he gathered all into one flavor, like the sun at midday whose light reaches everywhere without limit. Observers came from all directions, and he responded to each completely. How could such teaching ever be fully captured?
His disciple Yuanju long dwelled in the master’s presence, receiving personal instruction and daily guidance. He recorded what he heard—over a hundred passages in all—and compiled them to stand between the earlier and later collections, calling it the Middle Record. In this way, when you bring forth the earlier and later, the middle is included. When you bring forth the middle, the earlier and later are fully present. The middle is not apart from before and after, nor are before and after separate from the middle. In the middle, there is no before or after; in before and after, there is no middle.
師之大旨。一以貫之。其可得而思之耶。設肆目于其間者。若游滄海玩群龍之闕。俯視珍貝。心目燦然。不暇應接耳。師之生緣受業得法。具載之別錄。不復煩紀。所謂開正法眼藏。直指以示人者。其惟我師。
The great essence of the Master is consistent throughout. How can it be grasped by thought alone? For those who open their eyes and look within, it is like swimming in a vast ocean, playing among the palaces of dragons, gazing down upon precious treasures. The mind and vision are illuminated, unable to fully take it all in. The details of the Master's life, his training, and the attainment of the Dharma are recorded separately, so I will not repeat them here. As for opening the treasury of the true Dharma eye and directly pointing it out to people—this is truly our Master.