No. 1291-A南明泉頌永嘉證道謌序
我聞。如來善護念諸菩薩以心。善付囑諸菩薩以法。心之所示。言所不能該。法之所傳。意所不能盡。即言即意。皆諸妄想。離言意者。亦復如是。不即不離。種種平等。不墮於無。不麗於有。言意兩忘。而心法得矣。夫法本無為。對境而立。心非有相。隨物而現。故前際不來。後際不去。其於今也。如轉輪。如流水。不流不轉。而亦不住。不住則無在也。無在而無不在。是真常住者也。而昧者不知。乃以色見如來。以音聲求如來。豈不謬哉。永嘉禪師證道歌。其深於道矣。然道無所事於證也。而永嘉方且嘵嘵。而與世俗辯者。彼豈累於言意為哉。惟如來不厭世間。而入涅槃。不去文字。而住解脫。不斷煩惱。而流出一切真如菩提。永嘉蓋得諸此而已。南明禪師泉公。昔居千頃。復頌證道歌。成三百二十篇。嗚呼。發如來大智慧海。使人皆得望其涯涘。而泝其流。不絕諸念。不著諸相。不外諸因緣。普以吾覺。悅可眾心。何其盛哉。觀其頌。而吾無能惜其狂言。故為之序云。
I have heard that the Tathagata skillfully guards and nurtures the minds of all bodhisattvas, and skillfully entrusts them with the Dharma. What the mind reveals cannot be fully captured by words; what the Dharma transmits cannot be exhausted by thought. Both words and thoughts are but delusions. To be free from words and thoughts is also like this—neither clinging nor separating, all is equal. It does not fall into nothingness, nor does it attach to existence. When both words and thought are forgotten, the mind and Dharma are realized.
The Dharma is originally non-action, yet it manifests in response to circumstances. The mind has no fixed form, yet it appears according to phenomena. Thus, it does not come from the past, nor does it go to the future. In the present moment, it is like a turning wheel, like flowing water—neither flowing nor turning, yet not abiding either. Not abiding means there is no fixed location. Having no fixed location yet being everywhere—this is true permanence.
Yet those who are confused do not understand this. They seek the Tathagata through form, through sound. Is this not mistaken?
The Song of Enlightenment by Yongjia Chan Master deeply embodies the Way. Yet the Way does not require proof. Still, Yongjia tirelessly debated with the worldly, not because he was entangled in words and thoughts. It is precisely because the Tathagata does not reject the world yet enters Nirvana, does not abandon words yet dwells in liberation, does not cut off afflictions yet gives rise to all suchness and enlightenment. Yongjia understood this.
Chan Master Nanming, Venerable Quan, once resided at Qianqing Temple and composed three hundred and twenty verses in praise of the Song of Enlightenment. How wondrous! He revealed the great ocean of the Tathagata's wisdom, allowing all to glimpse its shores and trace its flow—not cutting off thoughts, not clinging to appearances, not seeking outside causes and conditions, but awakening all with our own enlightenment, bringing joy to every heart. How magnificent!
Reading his verses, I cannot help but admire his profound expression. Thus, I have written this preface.
時熈寧十年丁巳七月 括蒼 吳庸天用 序