No. 1293-B
No. 1293-B
西祖單傳直指之道。初無秋毫許與人領覽。唯在當人自證自悟到無證無悟之地。故我真覺大師徧歷教觀從緣悟入。徑往曹谿印可。到日值祖坐次。師繞牀三帀振錫一下卓然而立。祖曰。夫沙門者具三千威儀八萬細行。行行無虧。大德從何方而來。生大我慢。師曰生死事大無常迅速。祖曰。何不體取無生。了取無速乎。師曰。體即無生。了本無速。祖曰如是如是。須臾禮辭。祖曰返太速乎。師曰本非動靜豈有速耶。祖曰誰知非動。師曰仁者自生分別。祖曰汝甚得無生意也。師曰無生豈有意。祖曰。若無意。誰生分別。師曰分別亦非意。祖嘆曰善哉善哉。既蒙印可。方得名為證也。豈可與小根劣器未得謂得未證謂證者同日而語哉。證徹此心曰道。吟詠此道曰歌。流傳沙界發明後學。真如來使行如來行也。永盛昔居學地。獲益甚多。所謂雪山肥膩更無雜。純出醍醐我常納。諸佛法身入我性。我性同共如來合。與師同一契券也。至元二年秋棄饒之玅果寺事。復歸南巢舊隱。越明年春來六安齊頭山水晶蘭若。禮先祖直翁圓禪師塔。孤峯頂上諸緣不到。可堂然菴主將證道歌俾著語註述復為之頌以施來學。倘於言前領旨。格外明宗。則真覺大師肉猶暖在。其或未然。請看註脚。時至元三年歲次丁丑佛生日前住饒州西湖玅果禪寺嗣祖比丘(永盛)述。
The direct path of the single transmission from the Western Patriarchs originally had not the slightest bit for people to grasp or comprehend. It lies solely in each person's own realization and awakening, reaching the place of no-realization and no-awakening. Thus, my Master Zhenjue extensively studied the teachings and contemplations, awakening through conditions, and went directly to Caoxi to seek confirmation.
Upon arrival, he found the Patriarch seated. The Master circled the seat three times, shook his staff once, and stood upright. The Patriarch said, "A monk should possess the three thousand dignified manners and eighty thousand subtle practices, each without flaw. From where do you come, Venerable One, with such great arrogance?" The Master replied, "The matter of birth and death is great; impermanence is swift." The Patriarch asked, "Why not realize the unborn and understand the absence of speed?" The Master said, "To realize is unborn; to understand is fundamentally without speed." The Patriarch said, "So it is, so it is."
After a moment, the Master bowed to take leave. The Patriarch said, "Are you returning too quickly?" The Master replied, "Fundamentally, there is no movement or stillness—how could there be speed?" The Patriarch asked, "Who knows there is no movement?" The Master said, "You yourself give rise to distinctions." The Patriarch said, "You have truly attained the meaning of the unborn." The Master said, "How could the unborn have meaning?" The Patriarch asked, "If there is no meaning, who gives rise to distinctions?" The Master said, "Distinctions are also not meaning." The Patriarch sighed and said, "Excellent, excellent."
Having received this confirmation, one can truly be called realized. How can this be spoken of in the same breath as those of small capacity and inferior vessels who claim attainment without having attained, or claim realization without having realized? To fully penetrate this mind is called the Way. To chant and sing of this Way is called a song. Spreading it throughout the world to enlighten later learners—this is truly acting as an envoy of the Tathagata, walking the Tathagata's path.
In the past, while still a student, I benefited greatly. As it is said: "The snow mountain's rich nourishment, pure and unadulterated, Yields only the finest ghee, which I constantly receive. The Dharma bodies of all Buddhas enter my nature, My nature merges as one with the Tathagata." This aligns perfectly with the Master's seal.
In the autumn of the second year of the Zhiyuan era, I left my duties at Miaoguo Temple in Rao and returned to my old retreat in Nanchao. The following spring, I came to the Crystal Hermitage at Qitou Mountain in Liu'an to pay respects at the stupa of my ancestral teacher, the Venerable Zhiweng Yuan. Here, atop the solitary peak, all conditions fall away.
The host of the hall, Ke Tang Ran, presented me with the "Song of Enlightenment" and requested commentary and verses to benefit future learners. If one grasps the meaning before words and understands the essence beyond forms, then Master Zhenjue's flesh is still warm. If not, please read the annotations.
Written by the ancestral successor Bhikkhu (Yongsheng), former abbot of West Lake Miaoguo Chan Temple in Raozhou, on the eve of the Buddha's birthday in the third year of the Zhiyuan era, Dingchou cycle.