Master Ming Shou of the Huazang Monastery(Resided at Tianning Temple in Jiangning Prefecture)

The true master points directly. How could there be so many winding paths? What matters is the person who aspires upward—just hearing it raised, they pick it up and go. To a clear eye, this already seems clumsy.

The ancients said: "If I show one corner and they cannot infer the other three, I do not teach them." Each must be able to grasp one and illuminate three, with vision sharp enough to weigh the smallest details, turning freely and smoothly, penetrating swiftly—only then can they be called capable of carrying the teaching.

Have you not heard of Liang Sui meeting Magu? The first time he saw him, Magu entered his room and closed the door. Liang Sui was puzzled. When he went a second time, Magu hurried off to the vegetable garden. In that instant, Liang Sui saw through. He then said to Magu, "Venerable, do not deceive Liang Sui. If I had not come to see you, I would have been misled my whole life by the twelve classic texts."

Look at how he managed it—truly effortless. After returning, he told his disciples, "Where all of you know, Liang Sui also knows. But where Liang Sui knows, all of you do not." Indeed, his understanding was airtight; the others had not yet realized it. He can be called a true lion's cub. To become a seed in his lineage, one must surpass even him by a head.

Bodhidharma traveled from Liang to Wei, seeking a true vessel in the wilderness. He sat in cold silence for nine years at Shaolin, and from the deep snow, he found one. Yet, when asked in the end what was gained, he simply bowed three times and stood in his place. From this came the saying of "obtaining the marrow." To this day, those who cling to forms and wait idly compete in taking silent bows and standing in place as the profound essence of obtaining the marrow. They fail to realize the sword has long been gone, yet they still carve marks on the boat. Have they ever truly dreamed of meeting the Patriarch? If you are a genuine practitioner of the true path, you must transcend emotions and views, and find a life beyond conventions. Never settle for making a living in stagnant water. Only then can you inherit the family legacy and carry forward the ancestral task. Here, you must truly understand the matter that has come down through the ages. As it is said: "Learn well from Liuxia Hui, but never merely imitate his actions." Therefore, the ancients said: "A single phrase that fits the mold becomes a tether for ten thousand eons—a stake to tie a donkey." How true this is.

The Dharma King who shatters all attachments appears in this world. He teaches various Dharma methods according to the desires of sentient beings. Yet one should know that all his teachings are skillful means— meant only to break attachments, dispel doubts, and cut through the view of self.

If there were no such deluded thoughts and wrong views, the Buddha would not need to appear in this world— much less teach all these different methods.

Once the ancients grasped the essence, they retreated to remote mountains, thatched huts, or stone chambers, cooking their meals in broken-legged pots. For ten or twenty years, they forgot the human world entirely, leaving behind the dust of ordinary life forever. Today, we dare not aspire to such heights. Yet we can still withdraw from fame, obscure our traces, abide by our true nature, and live as simple, disciplined monks.

With the understanding and realization we have attained, we should use our own strength to sustain ourselves, dissolve old karmic ties, and harmonize ingrained habits. If we have any energy to spare, we may extend it to others, forming connections through wisdom, tempering ourselves through practice. When our foundation is thoroughly matured, it becomes effortless—like plucking one or two kindred spirits from the wilderness of ignorance, sharing the awareness of truth, and together transcending the cycle of life and death, benefiting the future to repay the profound kindness of the Buddhas and ancestors.

If, by the ripening of conditions like frost upon fruit, one is compelled to step into the world, then respond to circumstances appropriately, opening the way for both humans and celestial beings. Never let the mind be troubled by desires or demands—how much less should one rely on power and influence, acting like a worldly teacher, deceiving the ordinary and misleading the sacred, chasing profit and fame, creating karma leading to the uninterrupted hells.

Even if no opportunity arises, simply living out one’s life in this way leaves no negative karma. This is the true way of the transcendent arhat.

A monk asked Emperor Tianhuang, "What are precepts, meditation, and wisdom?" The Emperor replied, "I have no such idle furniture here."

Again, a monk asked Deshan, "What is a Buddha?" Deshan said, "A Buddha is an old monk from the Western Heavens."

Another monk asked Shitou, "What is the Way?" He answered, "A piece of wood." "And what is Chan?" "A brick."

A monk asked Yunmen, "What is the talk that surpasses Buddhas and transcends patriarchs?" He replied, "A sesame cake."

Again, a monk asked Zhaozhou, "What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?" He said, "The cypress tree in the courtyard."

Another asked Qingping, "What is the conditioned?" He answered, "A bamboo strainer." "And what is the unconditioned?" "A wooden ladle."

Someone asked Sanjiao, "What are the Three Jewels?" He replied, "Rice, millet, and beans."

These are all the grounded, compassionate words of past genuine masters, spoken from their own true nature. If you follow their words, you betray them. If you do not follow their words, how then can you grasp their meaning? Unless you possess the diamond eye of true insight, you will never know where they point.

This path of sudden awakening and immediate realization is for those who have never been tainted by worldly ways. They are like the blind who know nothing, yet with a sharp, innate capacity, they break through in one bold leap. They take up the truth directly—using it when needed, acting on it without hesitation. Without any contrived mental habits, they simply let go and find rest wherever they are. At ease all day, content and at peace—this is genuine.

What’s most difficult to deal with are those who are halfway there, stuck between progress and regression. They recognize a glimpse of clarity, cling to stillness, and mistake silent awareness for the ultimate treasure. Holding it in their minds, they remain caught in cleverness and partial understanding, convinced they have attained insight—perhaps even validated by a teacher. Yet this only deepens their self-view. They judge past and present, criticize masters and buddhas, and look down on everything. When questioned, they put on a show, piling up concepts, unaware that from the very start they’ve misidentified the guiding star.

When someone tries to free them from their attachments, they feel manipulated or turned around. With such a mindset, how can they be helped? Unless they suddenly realize their error and learn to let go completely. A true teacher encountering such individuals must apply great skill to refine them. If even one or two can be brought to full awakening, it can turn deviation into right understanding—making them beings of immeasurable capacity. Why? Because having suffered many ailments, they come to truly know the medicine.

Those who have attained the essence have their mental machinations extinguished and their reflective awareness forgotten. They are completely free from grasping or clinging, simply abiding in serene ease. Even the celestial beings find no path to offer them flowers, and demons and outsiders cannot spy upon them. They walk in the deepest ocean, their defilements exhausted and their understanding liberated. Their actions are ordinary, no different from those in a simple village. They let go completely, nurturing themselves to such a state, yet they do not settle there. The slightest trace of attachment feels like a towering mountain obstructing them, and they immediately cast it aside. Even if it is purely a matter of principle, they take nothing. To grasp anything is to be pierced by a thorn. Thus it is said: the Way has no mind to meet people; people have no mind to meet the Way. How could they ever boast, "I am one who has attained"? Deep down, they do not wish to be known. This is called "ceasing learning and acting without effort," walking alongside the ancients—truly people of the Way.

One day at the end of the meal, Deshan was holding his bowl and coming down from the abbot's quarters. Xuefeng said, "The bell hasn't rung, the drum hasn't sounded. Where are you going with your bowl?" Deshan lowered his head and turned back. Yantou heard about this and said, "Old Deshan still hasn't grasped the final phrase." Deshan said, "Are you not satisfied with this old monk?" Yantou then secretly explained his meaning to him. The next day, Deshan ascended the seat to give a talk, and his manner was completely different from usual. Yantou clapped his hands and said to the assembly, "I am glad that the old man has grasped the final phrase. However, even so, he will only have three years left." This case has been interpreted in many ways in the monasteries. However, few have truly penetrated it. Some say there really is such a phrase. Some say that in the exchange between master and disciple, there actually is no such phrase. Some say that this phrase must be transmitted secretly. This inevitably just becomes a matter of words and increases cleverness, far removed from the fundamental matter. Therefore it is said: the finest ghee is treasured by the world, but when it meets such people, it turns into poison.

He investigates living phrases, not dead ones. When you realize through a living phrase, you never forget it for eternity. When you realize through a dead phrase, you cannot even save yourself.

If you wish to be a disciple of the ancestors and buddhas, you must understand living phrases. Shaoyang uttered a phrase like a sharp blade cutting through. Linji also said: "Use the hair-splitting sword, then quickly sharpen it again."

This is not a matter of the conditioned realm, nor is it something worldly intelligence or clever debate can reach. It directly penetrates the deep source, shattering all previous interpretations, whether clear or obscure, favorable or adverse.

It is sealed with the diamond seal of truth, wielded with the diamond king's precious sword, using the means of one’s own nature.

Thus it is said: "To kill, you must have the killing sword; to give life, you must have the life-giving sword."

If you can kill, you must also be able to give life. If you can give life, you must also be able to kill. If you only have one side, you fall into partiality.

When you extend your hand, observe skillful means— do not let the blade injure your own hand. At every turn, there is a way to step out, perfectly clear in all directions, illuminating the other side.

When you strike, it must be precise— if you are the slightest bit loose, you will miss the mark.

Even your own idle thoughts should not be allowed to linger— if any arise, cut them into three pieces.

How much more so for the sharp claws of this ancestral school! When you meet a suitable person, bring it out. If there is mutual understanding, use it together. If there is no accord, cut it away.

This is the essential point— there is nothing that cannot be resolved. What matters is to practice it earnestly.

Master Huazang Ming, having served as the head seat at Jin'guan, Jashan, and Zhongfu, has followed me for over a decade. All his intellectual understanding and emotional attachments have long been stripped away. Since entering this gate, his cleverness, analytical thinking, and worldly strategies have been thoroughly dismantled. Only the ultimate matter—the one thing beyond all—has been tempered a hundred times, refined a thousand times, and now stands revealed. Elder Zuomin remarked that he has departed from the ordinary path, and from morning till night, he sought written teachings. Thus, I have compiled several chapters and entrusted them to him.