---
title: "憨山老人夢遊全集 · 示劉存赤"
description: "憨山老人梦游全集是明代高僧憨山德清所著的文集由弟子福善等编录憨山德清是明末四大高僧之一身处佛教复兴时期其著作涵盖经论注疏法语书信及诗文等内容涉及禅教性相诸宗融合儒释道三家思想体系博大精深该书不仅是研究憨山大师佛学思想的重要文献也是了解晚明佛教史与思想史的珍贵资料在汉传佛教中具有崇高地位对后世禅宗及佛教义理发展影响深远"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cmgmzo4ax06vjl404bkgdsxse"
---

### 示劉存赤

> Instructions for Liu Cunchi

頃，余投老南嶽，甲寅冬暮，茶陵劉季子遠來參叩，雪夜圍爐，寒燈相照，因問子：「一向如何用心？」對曰：「昔蒙和尚開示，〈偈〉云：『蓮華火裏生，世人謂希有，不是火生蓮，唯在心離垢。』每看此話，於末句頗得受用。」老人深喜，因示之曰：「子於『心離垢』一句得力。此語不虛亦不易到。《經》云：『凡夫賢聖人，平等無高下，唯在心垢滅，取證如反掌。』由是觀之，眾生與佛本來無二，所謂心、佛與眾生是三無差別，但心淨即佛，心垢即眾生。生、佛之辯不遠，只在心垢滅與不滅耳！以此心本來清淨，但以貪、嗔、癡、慢、五欲煩惱種種業幻垢濁障蔽，故名眾生；此垢若淨即名為佛，豈假他力哉？無柰一切眾生無始業障深厚，煩惱堅固難得清淨，必假磨煉之功，故有參禪念佛看話頭種種方便，皆治心之藥耳！譬如鏡光本明，以垢故昏，必假磨煉之藥。然藥亦垢也，以取能去其垢，故鏡明而藥不存矣！又如真金在礦，沙石垢穢必須烹煉之法，金精而無用其煉矣！眾生心垢難離，必須工夫精勤調治，垢去心明，故說眾生本來是佛，非一向在煩惱垢濁之中妄自稱為佛也。參禪看話頭一路最為明心切要，但近世下手者稀，一以根鈍又無古人死心，一以無真善知識決擇，多落邪見，是故獨於念佛參禪兼修之行極為穩當法門。若以念佛話頭蘊在胸中，念念追求審實，起處落處定要見箇的當下落，久久忽然垢淨明現心地開通，此與看公案話頭無異，是須著力挨排始得。若以妄想浮沉悠悠度日，把作不喫緊勾當，此到窮年亦不得受用。若以悠悠任妄想為受用，此則自誤，不但一生，即從今已去乃至窮劫無有不誤之時也。子向於念佛法門有緣，試著實究審，果在煩惱垢濁之中，一聲佛號如水清珠，以此受用，但非徹底窮源耳！《經》云：『如澄濁水，沙土自沉。清水現前，名為初伏客塵煩惱；去泥純水，名為永斷根本無明。』子只將此佛語默默自驗，萬無一失。若得到真離垢處，如《經》云：『明相精純，不為客塵煩惱留礙。』如此不唯彌陀接引，即十方諸佛亦皆同聲稱讚矣！幸與子窮年雪夜此段冷淡家風，世所希有，苟不負此嘉會，但從此去念念不離，冷淡中便是離垢一條徑路，步步著力必有到家真解脫時也。」

> Recently, as I settled into old age here in Southern Yue, in the winter of the Jiayin year, Liu Jizi from Chaling traveled a long way to come and seek guidance. On a snowy night we sat around the stove, a cold lamp lighting us, and I asked him, "How have you been applying your mind all this time?" He replied, "Previously, thanks to Your Reverence's instruction, I received the verse: 'A lotus blooms within the fire—the world calls this rare. It is not that fire produces a lotus; it is only that the mind becomes free of defilement.' Whenever I contemplate these words, I find the last line particularly useful." The old man was deeply pleased and said to him: "You have gained strength from the line 'the mind becomes free of defilement.' These words are true, yet not easy to attain. The Sutra says: 'For ordinary beings and sages alike, there is equality with no high or low; only when the mind's defilement ceases does realization come as easily as turning one's palm.' From this we see that sentient beings and Buddhas are fundamentally non-dual. As it is said, mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three are without difference. When the mind is pure, that is Buddha; when the mind is defiled, that is sentient being. The distinction between sentient beings and Buddhas is not far—it lies only in whether the mind's defilement ceases or not. This mind is originally pure, but because of greed, hatred, delusion, pride, the five desires, and the various illusory karmic defilements that obscure it, it is called a sentient being. If these defilements are purified, it is called Buddha. How could this depend on any outside power? Unfortunately, all sentient beings have deep karmic obstacles from beginningless time, and their afflictions are firm and hard to purify. They must rely on the work of polishing and refining. That is why there are various skillful means such as Zen meditation, Buddha Recitation, and investigating the word-head—all of them are medicines for treating the mind. It is like a mirror whose light is originally bright but is dimmed by dirt; it must rely on the medicine of polishing. Yet the medicine is also dirt—by using it to remove the dirt, once the mirror is bright, the medicine no longer remains. It is also like true gold in ore: sand and stone, dirt and filth, must be removed through smelting. Once the gold is pure, the smelting is no longer needed. Sentient beings' mind-defilements are hard to remove; one must apply effort diligently and carefully regulate them. When the defilement is gone and the mind is bright, it is said that sentient beings are originally Buddhas. It is not that, while mired in affliction and defilement, one should recklessly call oneself a Buddha. The path of Zen meditation and investigating the word-head is the most essential for clarifying the mind. But in recent times, few take it up—partly because their faculties are dull and they lack the ancients' dead-set determination, and partly because they have no true good teacher to help them decide and choose, so many fall into wrong views. Therefore, the practice of combining Buddha Recitation with Zen meditation is an extremely safe method. If you hold the word-head of Buddha Recitation in your chest, mindfully pursuing and carefully verifying it moment by moment, determined to see exactly where it arises and where it lands—after a long time, suddenly the defilement will be purified, brightness will appear, and the mind-ground will open through. This is no different from investigating a koan word-head. It requires forceful, sustained effort to succeed. If instead you drift along with delusive thoughts, passing the days lazily, treating it as something of no importance, then even at the end of the year you will gain no benefit. If you take drifting along and indulging delusive thoughts as your practice, you are deceiving yourself—not only for this life, but from now on through countless kalpas, there will never be a time when you are not deceiving yourself. You have a karmic connection with the practice of Buddha Recitation. Try sincerely to investigate and examine it. If indeed, amid the defilement of afflictions, a single utterance of the Buddha's name is like a pearl that clears muddy water, and you take this as your practice—still, this is not yet a thorough penetration to the source. The Sutra says: 'Like clarifying muddy water: the sand and soil settle of themselves. When clear water appears, this is called initially subduing the wandering-dust afflictions. When the mud is gone and only pure water remains, this is called permanently severing root ignorance.' Just silently test yourself against these Buddha's words—you will never go wrong. If you can reach the place of truly being free of defilement, then as the Sutra says: 'The brightness is pure and undefiled, no longer obstructed by wandering-dust afflictions.' In that case, not only will Amitabha welcome and guide you—all Buddhas of the ten directions will praise you with one voice! How fortunate that you and I can spend this whole year, on this snowy night, sharing this plain, cool family style—so rare in the world. If you do not waste this excellent gathering, then from now on, moment by moment without separation, within this plainness lies the single path of freedom from defilement. Step by step with effort, there will surely come the time of true liberation upon arriving home."