Instructions for Chan Practitioner Hengfan
Meditation practitioners should raise the banner of diligence and put on the armor of patience. Whether holy or ordinary, wise or foolish, diligent or idle, living or dying, what truly matters is to uphold this mind and this resolve—to illuminate those moments of confusion, to seek complete understanding, to fulfill a lifelong aspiration. How could one simply drift through the vast world between heaven and earth, betraying others and oneself, living aimlessly and dying without purpose? If one does this, then the copper cangue, iron locks, sharp blades, and swords are ever-present and always looming—there is no place to escape, no door to flee. Truly, "a single lingering thought becomes the cause of suffering in the three evil paths; a flash of emotional attachment becomes the shackle binding one for ten thousand kalpas." If you are truly a person of resolve, see through this before a single thought even arises—then you may come to East Pagoda's gate at leisure to pay for straw sandals.