--- title: "憨山老人夢遊全集 · 示周子寅" 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/cmgmzoaru0772l404xk55fv4r" --- ### 示周子寅已下海印遺稿附 > Showing Zhou ZiyinAppended below from Haiyin's Posthumous Draft 山居，今日大眾結制，海印據座說《法華經》，爾時足下手書至，且有佳果，足占足下亦法會中人，乃先得道果者，此非瓦卜也。前書云云，殆非敢僭妄，第婆心太切深念，白日如流耳！日業正此不爽，亦可漸入不二法門，但其中日用頭頭念念皆生滅心行，安能寂滅為樂？若求心地一段受用，更須向讀書作文已了時、至於種種應緣處，當下著實猛地返觀內照，觀此種種作為生滅之心畢竟向何處起？即今滅向甚麼處去？如此深觀，久久漸入細密。若更此中一切習氣潛流處、煩惱無故生起處，著實一覷覷定，看他畢竟是何物？向何處起滅？追到掃蹤絕跡處，如沸湯鍋裏點片雪相似。如此日用念念不得放捨，纔有絲毫一念懶墮懈怠、偷安圖快活受用之心生時，此正是病根發作，便向這裏猛然剔起眉毛，不可被他纏縛住，纔見纏縛切不可和身放倒與之打交袞也。切忌切忌！大段一聲菩薩或一聲佛，死急靠定與之廝挨。若遇種種惡習起時，即將此話頭奮力提起望空一揮，不管是魔是佛、是煩惱習氣、是善惡思量，一切情塵一齊頓斷如斬亂絲，如此做工夫，不妨讀書、不妨作文，讀書處看此書讀向何處寄著？作文就看此文從何處流出？也不妨迎賓待客、喫茶喫飯、痾屎放尿，一切處無用纖毫縫罅。如此安心，再與永嘉所說：「恰恰用心時，恰恰無心用，無心恰恰用，常用恰恰無。」是一般不是一般？足下不知能信海印老人不虛誑否？請自試看。足下倘見信不謬，始知顏子心齋三月大為可笑。先示來文二首，媿老眼非知文者，大段如玉葉金花，豈不藹然蔚然可觀？第非造化生成者，不免落刀斧痕耳！此足下之通病也。然文章自有天然之妙，如風行水上自爾成文，波波匝匝，一派寒光中含明月，此則可謂入聖超玄，足下何不勉力於此？而此處實不易到，則秘密法門全在自性中流出。《圓覺經》一部足下讀熟，每日早晚以當功課，俟來春面時相與決擇。尋常與足下書不免稍帶情識，自媿為足下未徹；非不徹，恐足下信心未徹耳！今見足下信心漸增日近清淨，此時若不將此赤心剜與足下，何時得徹？若足下因循不徹，則海印自徹去也，何如何如？人世可悲，斯道可悲，望足下心更可悲耳！ > Living in the mountains, today the community has begun its meditation retreat. Haiyin took his seat to expound the \*Lotus Sutra\* when your letter arrived, along with excellent fruit—surely a sign that you too are part of this Dharma assembly, one who has already tasted the fruit of the path. This is no mere fortune-telling. Your previous letter spoke of lofty aspirations. I dare not call them presumptuous, but your compassionate heart runs so deep, mindful that days pass like flowing water! Your daily practice is indeed on the right track, and you may gradually enter the non-dual Dharma gate. Yet in your daily life, every thought and activity still arises from the conditioned mind—how can this bring the stillness of nirvana? If you seek true ease of mind, you must, after finishing your reading and writing, and amidst all kinds of encounters, fiercely turn your awareness inward. Observe: where do these arising and passing mental activities ultimately come from? Where do they go when they cease? Contemplate deeply like this, and over time you will penetrate subtle layers. If within this you notice habitual tendencies flowing beneath the surface, or afflictions arising without apparent cause, look directly and steadily at them. What exactly are they? Where do they arise and cease? Chase them until their traces vanish completely—like a flake of snow dropped into a pot of boiling water. In daily life, do not let go of this contemplation for even a moment. The moment any trace of laziness, complacency, or a mind seeking comfort and ease arises—that is the root of illness manifesting. At that very point, raise your eyebrows sharply. Do not let it bind you. If you feel entangled, never simply lie down and wrestle with it. This is crucial, absolutely crucial! Simply recite "Guanyin" or "Buddha" with desperate urgency, leaning firmly upon it, and face the entanglement head-on. When various bad habits arise, vigorously raise this \*huatou\* and swing it into the air—whether it be demon or Buddha, affliction or habit, good or evil thoughts, cut through all mental dust at once like slicing through tangled threads. Practicing this way, you need not abandon reading or writing. When reading, see where the words rest. When writing, see where they flow from. Nor need you avoid receiving guests, drinking tea, eating meals, or even attending to bodily needs—no gap need remain in any activity. Now let me ask: Is this way of settling the mind the same as or different from Yongjia's saying: "Just when using mind, there is no mind being used; no mind is precisely the use; constant use is constant non-use"? I wonder whether you can trust that this old man Haiyin does not deceive. Please test it yourself. If you find it true, you will see how laughable it was for Yan Hui to spend three months in "mind fasting." Our exchange of writings—forgive these old eyes, no true judge of literature—but in general, your pieces are like jade leaves and golden blossoms: how could they not be lustrous and grand? Yet they are not things born of nature itself; inevitably they bear the marks of the chisel. This is your recurring flaw. Literature, however, has its own natural wonder—like wind moving across water, forming patterns of its own accord: wave upon wave, a single sweep of cold light carrying the bright moon within. This can be called entering sagehood and transcending mystery. Why not strive for this? But this level is truly hard to reach. The secret Dharma gate flows entirely from your own nature. Read the \*Perfect Enlightenment Sutra\* thoroughly, and make it your daily practice morning and evening. When we meet next spring, we will discuss it together. In my previous letters to you, I may have carried some emotional coloring—ashamed that you had not yet reached full clarity. Not that you lacked understanding, but I feared your faith was not yet complete. Now that I see your faith growing day by day and drawing closer to purity, if I do not open my heart fully to you now, when will you ever become clear? If you let this pass without penetrating through, then I, Haiyin, will simply go on my own way. What think you of that? This human life is pitiable. This path is pitiable. But the thought of your heart—that is most pitiable of all. 又 > Furthermore, 來書請益甚是真切，但足下於「空幻」二字未得諦當，故於心境不無其礙耳！以足下將空作「絕無」會；將幻作「變幻」會，故此不能融通不得自在。且又於「取」字未看透徹，所以工夫難做。今為足下說破，則了然無復疑慮矣！然所謂空，非「絕無」之空，正若俗語謂「傍若無人」，豈傍真無人耶？第高舉者眼中不有其人耳！所謂幻者，非「變怪」之幻，乃有而不實之謂也。譬若市如弄筒子，撮出許多人物一般，然此筒中本無所有，而忽然有之，雖有而非真實也。既非真實即是本無，由本無故說空耳！故曰：「譬如幻化人，非無幻化人，幻化人非真人也。」人既非真，豈不是空耶？此豈絕無之謂耶？是則佛說空字乃破世人執著以為實有之謂，非絕無斷滅之謂也。誠恐世人淪於斷滅，復說幻字以遣其斷滅之見。是則一切身心諸法因幻故空，由空故說如幻耳！此二字相須而觀則頓見其妙。所言空即幻有以觀空，名曰真空；所謂有乃本無之幻有，名曰妙有。由其空故心非斷滅，由妙有故境是無生。境既無生則心何取著？心既非斷則妄念何存？妄念不存，將何心而取境？境本是幻，將何境而牽心？斯但心不取境而心非斷滅，境不牽心而境自如如。心境如如，于何不樂？此所謂：「心本無生因境有，前境若無心亦無」者，但只看破如幻不實，名曰若無，而靈心獨照妄心頓歇，名曰亦無耳！是所無者妄心耳！豈絕無真心哉？且此真心本自靈明，常然寂照，元非是物，更名何物耶？何以為妄心？取境執著不化者是；何以為真心？不取身心境界之相，而了了常知靈然寂照者是。如此用心有何挂礙？所謂自心取自心，所以非幻成幻法。意欲不取無非幻，非幻尚不生，幻法云何立耶？正所謂：「境緣無好醜，好醜起於心，心若不強名，愛憎何由起？」斯則但情不附物，物豈礙人耶？物既不礙人，而人又何礙於物耶？良由世人所以不得自在者無他，但堅執人我是非，錙銖較計，毫髮不遺，種種執著堅執不化，一切自身功名富貴、自心聰明知見種種惡習以為勝妙，故取之以為己有，所驕矜恃氣與物作對，而且又目前虛文飾貌，幻化莊嚴，以為得失人情取捨等相。如此境界交攻，與接為搆，日以心鬥，日夜相代乎前，未嘗一念暫息者，又何由而得自在耶？摠之無他，唯其不達心、境無生如幻不實耳！若了達一念無生如幻，則一切苦樂憂患、得失愛憎取捨情狀，當下瓦解冰消矣！故曰：「知幻即離，不作方便，離幻即覺，亦無漸次。」此所謂「一念頓到佛家」，非虛語也。以足下用心功夫苦切於此，且云過此即極樂田地矣！足下但觀一切妄念起滅處、一切境界起滅處，無非是幻化不實，則心自然不奔境、境自然不牽心矣！往來應緣則一念虛明，靈然獨照，照見現前身心如幻如化、如水中月、如鏡中像、如空中雲、如野馬陽燄，如此把定金剛眼睛再莫動轉，任他一切境界觸之即消，憑他甚麼妄心一覷便滅，如此用心又有何妄心可以自擾？又有何妄境而可攖心者哉？此番說話，乃海印極力為足下通身吐露徹底掀翻，足下更莫懷疑，切不得思前筭後，種種思量皆惡覺惡習，俱是障道因緣也。至若大比功名之心，切不可將此橫在胸中，若橫之則為大法障。此事前緣大命安排已就，又何必預慮其得失耶？但自盡心盡力舉業文字，不可生懶墮想，所謂盡人謀而聽天命耳！必若老人此語，目前即是極樂人矣！信手呵筆不覺郎當，如許婆心，漏逗如此。珍重！ > Your letter shows genuine sincerity in seeking guidance, but I must point out that you have not yet grasped the true meaning of the two words "empty" and "illusory." This is why you feel obstructed in your mind and in your experiences. You are interpreting "empty" as "nothingness" and "illusory" as "magical deception," which is why you cannot see how they connect or find ease. Furthermore, you have not fully penetrated the word "grasping," which is why your practice feels difficult. Let me explain this clearly for you now, so that all doubt will dissolve. What is meant by "empty" is not "absolute nothingness." It is like the saying "as if no one is around"—does that mean there really is no person there? No, it simply means that in the eyes of someone who is truly elevated, others do not occupy their attention. Similarly, what is meant by "illusory" is not bizarre magic, but rather something that exists yet is not real. Imagine a street performer with a box who conjures up many figures and scenes—within that box there is originally nothing, yet suddenly things appear. They exist, but they are not actual. Since they are not actual, they are fundamentally absent; because they are fundamentally absent, we call them "empty." As the saying goes: "Like a magical creation—it is not that there is no magical creation, but the magical creation is not a real person." Since it is not real, is it not empty? Does this mean absolute nothingness? Clearly not. The Buddha's teaching of "emptiness" is meant to break through people's attachment to things as solidly real—it is not a teaching of annihilation. Fearing that people might fall into nihilism, the Buddha then taught the concept of "illusion" to dispel that mistaken view. Thus, all phenomena of body and mind are empty because they are illusory; and because they are empty, they are said to be like illusions. These two words must be understood together—then their profound meaning will reveal itself instantly. What is called "emptiness" is the emptiness seen through illusory existence—this is called "true emptiness." What is called "existence" is the illusory existence that is fundamentally absent—this is called "wondrous existence." Because of true emptiness, the mind is not annihilated. Because of wondrous existence, the world is unborn. Since the world is unborn, how could the mind grasp anything? Since the mind is not annihilated, how could deluded thoughts remain? If deluded thoughts do not remain, what mind is there to grasp at objects? And since objects are inherently illusory, what object could pull the mind around? When the mind does not grasp at objects yet is not extinguished, and when objects do not drag the mind yet remain as they are, the mind and the world are in perfect harmony. How could there be anything but joy in this? This is what is meant by: "The mind is originally unborn but arises due to objects; if the objects vanish, the mind also vanishes." It is simply a matter of seeing through the illusory, unreal nature of things—this is called "as if absent." The spirit-mind alone shines, while the deluded mind suddenly comes to rest—this is called "also absent." What is absent is only the deluded mind! How could the true mind ever be absent? The true mind is originally clear and luminous, always serene and illuminating. It is not any particular thing—so what could it be named? What is the deluded mind? It is that which grasps at objects and clings stubbornly without letting go. What is the true mind? It is that which does not cling to the appearances of body, mind, or the world, and which knows clearly, always aware, serene and illuminating. If you practice this way, what could ever obstruct you? As the saying goes: "The mind takes hold of itself, and so what is not illusory becomes illusion." If you simply do not grasp, there is nothing that is not illusory. If even the non-illusory does not arise, how could illusion possibly stand? This is exactly what is meant by: "Circumstances have no good or bad—good and bad arise from the mind. If the mind does not impose names, how could love and hate arise?" When feelings do not cling to things, how could things obstruct people? And if things do not obstruct people, how could people obstruct things? The reason people cannot find ease is nothing else—it is their stubborn clinging to distinctions of self and other, right and wrong. They measure everything to the finest detail, holding on to every preference, never letting go. They grasp at their own achievements, fame, wealth, intelligence, opinions, and various habits as something precious and superior. They take all of this as their own identity, pridefully pitting themselves against the world. They adorn themselves with hollow displays, maintaining a false front of sophistication, and calculate every gain and loss, favor and slight, acceptance and rejection. With such mental clashes and confrontations, the mind battles itself daily, exchanging roles endlessly—never resting for a single thought. How could such a person ever find freedom? In the end, there is only one root cause: they have not realized that the mind and its objects are unborn, illusory, and unreal. If one truly understands that a single thought is unborn and illusory, then all suffering and joy, all worries and losses, all love and hate, all clinging and rejecting—all of it dissolves in an instant, like ice melting. Thus it is said: "To know illusion is to be free from it—no further method is needed. To be free from illusion is to awaken—no gradual stages are required." This is what is meant by "arriving at the Buddha's home in a single thought." This is not empty words. Since you have applied yourself so earnestly and painfully to practice, and have said that beyond this lies the blissful land, let me tell you: simply observe where all deluded thoughts arise and cease, and where all conditions arise and cease—all of it is nothing but illusion, unreal. Then the mind will naturally stop chasing after objects, and objects will naturally stop pulling at the mind. When you move through the world and respond to circumstances, maintain a single thought of luminous emptiness. Let it shine clearly and alone. See clearly that the body and mind before you are like illusions, like magical creations, like the moon reflected in water, like images in a mirror, like clouds in the sky, like a mirage in the desert. Hold this "diamond eye" steady and do not waver. Whatever conditions arise, they will dissolve the moment they touch you. Whatever deluded thoughts appear, one glance will extinguish them. If you practice in this way, what deluded thought could possibly disturb you? What illusory world could possibly invade your mind? These words I have spoken are my utmost effort to lay everything bare for you, turning everything inside out. Do not entertain further doubts. Be careful not to deliberate back and forth—all such thinking is merely deluded habit, and every obstruction to the path arises from it. As for the matter of worldly examinations and fame, do not keep it lodged in your heart. If you do, it will become a great obstacle to the Dharma. That matter has already been arranged by your past circumstances and destiny—why worry about gain or loss in advance? Simply devote your full effort to your studies and writing practice, without laziness. This is what it means to exhaust human effort while entrusting the outcome to heaven. If you follow the words I have spoken here, then right now, at this very moment, you are already a person of the blissful land. I have written these words spontaneously without restraint—such is the eager concern of an old heart, pouring out so openly. Take care. 又 > Furthermore, 一別恍惚數月，流光迅疾，日月欺人，如此豈不痛念浮世危脆、百年如隙駒耶？每聞足下精進倍常，歡喜沃灌心田也。初意擬尊人行後必得入山一晤，相與印證既往工夫，而決擇之。此想實真，不覺形諸夢事，可笑道人亦墮情見乃尒！且時方休。夏日來，飽鼾白雲，眉未伸，而忽報足下使者持手書至，開函如見顏色，細讀三復，字字皆瀝肝膽也。每愛足下渾金璞玉之質，故其心光流溢皆燁然奪目，固喜不自勝，及詠請益數語，深見足下念道篤切，懇到之至而又悲喜交集。所悲者，人莫不具此靈知廣大光明之性德，而皆自昧自棄恍若夜行，所謂醉生夢死者；所喜者，喜足下處富貴紛華叢中，以喧囂之習染，一旦轉為向道之資，此難之難。且足下自見其難，非深體力行者何能如此？況此一段大事因緣，乃太上事殊，非目前幻化者比。今足下一旦信之不疑，處之自慊，豈不毅然大丈夫哉？鄙人竊謂東陬文運，開于尊人，而又足下聞道蚤之若此，實兩間勝事千古奇緣，而足下家聲並振獨擅雙美，此之歡喜豈尋常哉？即足下所云：「今日之進，因坐以求靜，因靜以求心。」此乃入道初門最為切當。但坐中未明肯綮，所以坐久而疲，由不達心體之妙，故靜久而欲有聞且又疑，泛然若無所歸，良以能求之心未得秘訣，所以求之一念返覺為勞，是以心覓心正如渴鹿逐陽燄耳！《傳》曰：「知止而後有定。」以足下心未知止故不得定。且心既不定，安得快意當前，而祗懼之念卒以勝夫恣肆之心耶？幸足下知其不能勝而終有以勝之也。承索所以治心條目，如四勿三省者，引此心而入，持此心而定，此足下精心苦切處，乃鄙人所以大有望于足下者。今既肯心自許，返乃秘吝乎？第恐足下始于吾佛法中未得多聞，至於名言之中多分轉為昔日見聞之陳習，致使甘露之藥不能近取還顏之效耳！大段吾門從上佛祖教人之法，門路雖多，總不出戒、定、慧三學，所謂因戒生定，因定發慧，其節目之詳，經不過《楞嚴》，至若祖語，無如《永嘉集》一書，極為詳悉，敬付一冊，足下熟讀玩味。至於其中入定用心之訣，如云：「忘緣之後寂寂，靈知之性歷歷，無記昏昧昭昭，契本真空的的。」此用心之神符也。如四勿三省者正乃戒耳！此中具悉其實修心工夫條目，不出止、觀、等持三門而已。此集中奢摩他，止也；毘婆舍那，觀也；優畢叉，止觀雙運，定慧等持也。姑以此塞請，集中紅圈者留神消息，如不解者不嫌數數寄問，至於止觀捷徑之法，容再書一紙以償今日之欠耳！ > A few months have passed in a flash—time races by, and the days and months seem to play tricks on us. How can we not be struck by the frailty of this fleeting world, where a hundred years pass like a horse glimpsed through a crack? Each time I hear of your diligent practice surpassing the ordinary, joy floods my heart like water poured into a field. I had initially assumed that after your elder's departure, you would certainly come into the mountains for a meeting, so we could together verify the efforts of past practice and settle on a direction. This thought felt so real that it unconsciously appeared in my dreams—how amusing that a monk should also fall into such emotional attachments! And so time passed. When summer arrived, I was enjoying deep sleep amid the white clouds, my brow not yet relaxed, when suddenly your messenger arrived bearing your letter. Opening it, I felt as though I saw your face; I read it carefully three times over, and every word seemed to pour out your very liver and gall. I have always cherished your nature, like unpolished jade or unrefined gold—so the radiant light flowing from your heart is dazzling to behold. Naturally, my joy was beyond measure. As I chanted over and over the few lines where you seek guidance, I saw deeply how sincere and urgent your devotion to the Way is—earnest to the utmost, yet mingled with both sorrow and joy. What brings sorrow: every person possesses this innate spiritual awareness, vast, luminous, and good in nature, yet all delude and abandon themselves, wandering as if in the dark of night—what is called "drunken living and dreamlike dying." What brings joy: I rejoice that you, amidst wealth and honor, in a whirl of distractions and ingrained habits, have suddenly transformed all that into a foundation for seeking the Way. This is the most difficult of difficulties. Moreover, you yourself recognize this difficulty—how could anyone who had not deeply practiced with real effort perceive it so clearly? This great matter of fundamental destiny is a supreme concern, entirely different from the illusions before our eyes. Now that you have believed without doubt and find peace within yourself, are you not indeed a steadfast great man? I privately think that the cultural fortune of the eastern regions was opened by your elder, and now you, too, have encountered the Way so early—truly a splendid event in the world, a rare destiny across the ages. That your family's reputation shines on both fronts, uniquely possessing this double excellence—how could such joy be ordinary? As for what you mentioned: "Today's progress comes from sitting to seek stillness, and from stillness to seek the mind." This is the most fitting first gate to entering the Way. But if you have not yet understood the crucial point in sitting, then prolonged sitting brings fatigue. This arises from not yet comprehending the wonder of the mind's essence, so after long stillness you wish to hear something and also feel doubt, drifting as if without anchor. Truly, the seeking mind has not obtained the secret key, so the very thought of seeking turns back on itself and feels like labor. Thus, seeking the mind with the mind is just like a thirsty deer chasing a shimmering mirage! The \*Commentary\* says: "Know how to rest, and only then can you be settled." Because your mind does not yet know how to rest, it cannot attain stability. And since the mind is not settled, how can it savor the present moment freely? And how could the thought of reverent caution ultimately overcome the heart of reckless indulgence? Fortunately, you recognize that it cannot prevail in you alone, and yet you have found a way to prevail through it. You have asked for the essential items of mind-training, such as the Four Don'ts and the Threefold Reflection—guiding the mind into practice, holding the mind in stillness. This is where your refined effort and earnest striving lie, and it is precisely why I hold such great hope for you. Now that you have willingly committed yourself, how could I be stingy in return? I am only concerned that you have not yet had extensive hearing in the Buddha's Dharma, so that within these terms and expressions, much may still be colored by your old habits of seeing and hearing, causing the nectar of medicine to fail in producing its immediate restorative effect. In general, the methods by which the ancestral Buddhas of our tradition taught people, though their pathways are many, never depart from the threefold training of precepts, concentration, and wisdom—what is called "from precepts arises concentration, from concentration arises wisdom." As for the detailed steps, no scripture surpasses the \*Śūraṅgama Sūtra\*. As for the words of the ancestors, nothing equals the \*Book of Yongjia\*, which is extremely thorough and detailed. I respectfully entrust you with one copy—read it thoroughly and savor it. Regarding the secret of settling the mind in meditation, it says: "After forgetting conditions, stillness is still; the nature of spiritual knowing is clear; neither dull nor drowsy, it shines distinctly; and accords with the true emptiness, exactly." This is the divine talisman of mind-training. As for the Four Don'ts and the Threefold Reflection, these are precisely the precepts! Within this text, the actual practical steps of mind-cultivation are found in nothing more than the three gates of calming (\*śamatha\*), insight (\*vipaśyanā\*), and equanimity (\*upekṣā\*). In this collection, \*śamatha\* is calming, \*vipaśyanā\* is insight, and \*upekṣā\* is the unified practice of both—concentration and wisdom in balanced union. For now, take this to answer your request. In the collection, the passages circled in red deserve careful attention. If there is anything you do not understand, do not hesitate to send questions as often as needed. As for the shortcut methods of calming and insight, I will write another letter to make up for what I owe you today! 又 > Furthermore, 自入山中數語而別，知信力益增漸得靜勝。大概此段因緣乃至易至難之事，以無量劫來生生世世雜染流轉，習之深且厚矣！即今一念信心始發軔于旦夕之計，而欲遏永劫之長流，其勢誠不易易。即此一念回頭之心亦深難發，若非積劫善根靈苗，遇時而萌芽始抽，而華果敷實，全在時時栽培而保護之，否則頓見枯焦矣！此則法雨潤灌之功不可少耳！承時遇境遇緣，以事處事，此正隨寓而安，久久純熟，更加止觀之功則可漸臻解脫。然以吾人本自解脫，所以煩惱不解脫者非法之咎，乃自心縛著不解脫耳！無怪其然，良以向來世情濃厚，習染純熟，熟處難忘，故觸之便發，故曰：「吾未見好德而好色者也。」若以彼易此，則生處自熟、熟處自生，生則疏，疏則遠，遠則淡，淡則忘，忘則不假求脫而自不縛矣！久之而此心泰定，則目前千態萬狀，視之若空華水月、陽燄冰河耳！本無可縛著又何求脫耶？此乃佛祖心印大人境界，非大丈夫大力量人，斷斷乎難入此境。若果奮力而深入之，則世出世間無一法而不可作者，其功名事業實緒餘耳！故曰：「道之真以治身，其土苴以為天下國家。」此非虛語也。願足下努力自持，所云止觀為解脫，計此止觀一門不獨為足下脫計，即三世諸佛、一切聖人皆從此一門深入而出苦海證真常者，所患不得其要耳！云肇公「物不遷」語得力，此非足下大根器不能入此老門閫，且於以事處事，事事皆然，此則大似有知肇公處，然獨於「日月麗天」句不徹，若此不徹則知肇公不徹，不徹則非真得力也。此語老人疑之數年，畢竟於苦心中獨然自省。自爾以來，應緣得力處多借此老之語。足下出門即見信，誠非小緣，老人不惜為說破，第恐足下後日罵老僧也。足下但將此句橫之在心，於一切動作云為處、一切聲色貨利處、一切逆順境緣處、一切喜怒哀樂處、一切愛憎取捨處，凡係流動之境即便以此印一印印定，看他如何是不遷處？如何是常靜處？如何是不流處？如何是不動處？如何是不周處？如此看來看去，忽然爆地看破此語，則知老人不欺足下，而始信本真不自欺也。子其勉之！ > I retired into the mountains and exchanged a few words before parting. I can see that your faith and resolve are growing, gradually leading you to a state of tranquil stillness. This journey of ours is truly a matter of moving from the easiest to the most difficult. Throughout countless eons, life after life, we have drifted through the taint of worldly entanglements, our habits deeply ingrained and thickened over time. Even the single thought of faith that now stirs in you has only just begun, like a morning endeavor, yet you seek to stem a flood that has flowed for ten thousand ages—indeed, no small feat. That very moment of turning the mind back towards the light is itself profoundly hard to ignite. Without the tender root of virtue planted over many eons, sprouting when the time ripens, the flower and fruit can only come forth if you nurture and protect it constantly—otherwise, it withers in an instant. This is why the nourishing rain of Dharma is indispensable. As you encounter times and circumstances, meeting situations as they arise and handling events with practicality, this is precisely the art of settling peacefully wherever you are. Over time, as this matures, with the added practice of insight and tranquility, you can gradually approach liberation. Yet understand this: we are inherently free. The reason affliction does not release us is not the fault of the Dharma, but our own mind clinging to bonds. No wonder it is so—our worldly inclinations run deep, our habits are well-worn, and what is familiar is hard to forget, so it flares up at the slightest touch. Thus it is said: "I have not seen one who loves virtue as much as they love beauty." If you could swap these inclinations, then the unfamiliar would become familiar, and the familiar would grow strange—strange becomes distant, distant becomes faint, faint becomes forgotten, and forgotten no longer needs seeking release, for it has never truly bound you. In time, this mind settles into profound calm, and the thousand changing forms before you appear like flowers in the sky, the moon on water, a shimmering mirage, or ice on a river—nothing inherently to seize, so why seek release? This is the mind-seal of the Buddhas and patriarchs, a state belonging to great beings. Without the strength of a great and mighty person, it is utterly difficult to enter this realm. Yet if you strive with full force and dive deeply into it, then within the world and beyond it, there is not a single thing that cannot be accomplished—mere fame and achievements become but trifling remnants. Therefore it is said: "The essence of the Way is used to cultivate the self, while its leftover dregs are used for the nation and the world." These are not empty words. I urge you, my friend, to hold fast to self-mastery. As for what you mentioned about insight and tranquility as a means of release—this single path is not only your key to liberation; all Buddhas of the three times and every sage have entered through this very gate to cross the sea of suffering and realize the eternal truth. The only worry is that one may not grasp its essential point. As for your finding strength in Master Zhao's "Things Do Not Move" (from the \*Zhao Lun\*), this shows that only someone with your keen faculties could enter his threshold. And in handling matters with practicality, seeing everything in that light, you seem to have found a connection with him. Yet you confess that the line "the sun and moon illuminate the heavens" remains unclear to you. If that line is not clear, then your grasp of Master Zhao is not clear; and without clarity, it cannot be said that you have truly gained strength. This line puzzled this old monk for years, and I wrestled with it alone amidst hardship. Since then, I have drawn much strength in responding to circumstances from that old master's words. That you, upon leaving my door, immediately find faith in this is no small affliction of fate. I, this old monk, am willing to lay it all bare for you, though I fear you may one day curse me for it. Take this phrase and carry it across your mind. At every place of action and gesture, amidst every sight and sound, every gain and loss, every favorable and adverse circumstance, every joy and sorrow, every love and aversion, every clinging and release—wherever there is a realm in flux, use it as a seal and press it firmly. Then look: what is the place of no-movement? What is the state of eternal stillness? What is the point of no-flowing? What is the essence of non-change? What is the meaning of not circling the world? Examine it this way, over and over, until suddenly it bursts open and you see through this phrase. Then you will know that this old monk has not deceived you, and you will begin to trust that your own true nature does not deceive itself. Strive on with effort.