No. 1388-A
Sutra No. 1388-A
夫子曰。予欲無言。又曰。天何言哉故大上無言。其次立言。言所以載道。不以言求道。而□以心會道。抑末矣。夫□非想藥法皆空。釋氏之教也。環溪以其學於夫子者。逸而云墨。盖將晦其光。泯其用。而求其所謂寂滅云者。所至一話一言。其徒記而錄之。既彚而成編。則請余為之序。猶記環溪在黃龍日。每訪余山中率靜坐寡言。其後日邊再會。蕳嘿過於前時。知其非以口耳為學者。又非挾所有以衒於世者。然則環溪之有語錄。贅矣。而余復序之。抑又贅矣。後□欲識環溪者。當以環溪求環溪。毋徒以語錄求環溪云。歲在癸未浴佛日。抗山寓叟章鑑。書于所寓之溪堂。
The Master said, "I wish to speak nothing." He also said, "Does Heaven speak?" Thus, the highest teaching is beyond words. Next comes the establishment of words. Words are the vehicle for the Way; one should not seek the Way through words alone. To truly comprehend it with the heart-mind—that is the ultimate approach.
Those who are not caught by concepts or conditioned states see all dharmas as empty—this is the teaching of the Buddha. Huanxi, having learned from the Master, remains reclusive and aloof, as if to dim his own radiance, silence his activity, and seek what is called "nirvana." Yet wherever he goes, every word he speaks is recorded by his disciples. After these records were compiled into a collection, they asked me to write a preface.
I still remember when Huanxi was at Huanglong: whenever he visited me in the mountains, he would sit quietly and speak little. Later, when we met again by the river, he was even more withdrawn and silent than before. I knew he was not one who studied merely through words and ears, nor one who flaunted his knowledge to impress the world. Therefore, having a recorded sayings for Huanxi is already superfluous. And for me to write a preface for it—that is even more superfluous.
If future generations wish to know Huanxi, they should seek Huanxi through Huanxi himself, not merely through his recorded sayings. Written on the Bathing Buddha Day in the year Guiwei, by Zhang Jian, the Recluse of Hangshan, at his溪堂 dwelling by the stream.