---
title: "靈峰蕅益大師宗論 · 代荅劉心城又上博山四問"
description: "靈峰蕅益大師宗論是明末高僧智旭的著作。明末佛教面臨內部僵化與外部挑戰，智旭大師立足天台宗，主張禪教律淨融合，回應時代弊病。該書匯集其書信、註疏與開示，系統闡述性相融通、淨土為歸的佛學思想，強調解行並進與實踐修行。作為中國佛教史上承先啟後的巨著，它深刻影響了後世漢傳佛教的發展，尤其對淨土宗的推廣貢獻卓著，被尊為淨土宗第九祖的智旭，其思想透過此論成為明清佛教的重要指南。"
url: "https://rushiwowen.co/en/r/cmgn46dbc0n51k104tsyhjolu"
---
### 代荅劉心城又上博山四問原問，博山書附
> Reply to Liu Xincheng's Four Questions to Boshan
蒙示，即今若有取捨，同之一字，即是妄言。然《妙宗》云「取捨若極，與不取捨亦非異轍。」正謂取捨愈有愈無，斯為圓妙。若無之始無，不落小乘邪？
> You have taught me that if there is any grasping or rejecting at all, then even the word "same" is a false statement. However, the \*Miaozong\* says, "When grasping and rejecting are taken to the ultimate, they are no different from not grasping and not rejecting." This means that the more you grasp and reject, the more there is and the less there is—this is the perfect and subtle truth. If you begin by being without grasping or rejecting, are you not falling into the Lesser Vehicle?
荅：極者，謂取至無可取處，捨至無可捨處，恰與不取捨合，非僅以取捨作無取捨會也。正欲極之，不欲無之。若未致其極，便欲無之，且墮惡取，便擬欲同，正屬妄言。
> Answer: "Utmost" means reaching the point where there is nothing left to take and nothing left to let go of, perfectly aligning with the state of neither taking nor letting go. It is not merely about understanding taking and letting go as "no taking or letting go." One truly aims to reach the utmost, not to dissolve it into nothingness. If one has not yet reached this utmost point but already seeks to dissolve it, they fall into wrong grasping. And if they then try to equate this with true understanding, that is precisely a false statement.
蒙示，以葛藤埽葛藤，與不絆葛藤者，優劣若何？夫台宗二而不二、不二而二，正爭此葛藤之有無，則教理不廢葛藤，葛藤無非圓頓。
> You have asked: "What is the difference between using entanglement to sweep away entanglement, and the one who is not entangled at all?" The Tiantai school teaches that "two but not two, not two yet two"—this is precisely the point of contention over whether there is entanglement or not. So, doctrinal principles do not discard entanglement; entanglement itself is perfect and sudden.
荅：文字性離，非離文字。未達斯旨，謾云不立，只此不立，便是文字。悟時轉法華，此不絆葛藤也，誰為所埽？誰為能埽？智者九旬談妙，字字從祕藏流出，字字能含攝祕藏，豈似尋章逐句，入海算沙，全墮葛藤窠臼，乃云葛藤埽葛藤邪？
> Answer: The nature of words and letters is inherently free, not separate from them. Those who fail to grasp this truth mistakenly claim to "not establish words and letters"—yet this very claim of "not establishing" is itself words and letters. When enlightened, one turns the Lotus Sutra; this does not become entangled in vines and creepers. Who is it that sweeps away? Who is it that is swept away? The Wise One (Zhiyi) spoke of the sublime for ninety days, with every word flowing from the secret treasury, every word capable of containing the secret treasury—how could this be like those who merely trace sentences and chase phrases, counting sand grains at the sea's bottom, completely falling into the trap of vines and creepers, and then speak of "using creepers to sweep away creepers"?
蒙示，多句不如一句，須得水源。若尋枝蔓，妄云句歸何處，不太蚤計邪。竊聞台宗，專用六識，謂伐樹得根，灸病得穴。既得其本，即蔓是本，既得其源，即流是源。
> You've shown me that many threads of thought are not as good as one single thread. We must find the water source. If you chase after branch-tips and vines, aimlessly asking where each phrase returns to, isn't that calculating too early? I have heard that the Tiantai School focuses solely on the sixth consciousness. They say it's like cutting down a tree by its root, or treating an illness by finding the right acupuncture point. Once you grasp the root, even the vines are the root. Once you find the source, even the streams are the source.
荅：定穴定根，所以待灸待伐，故曰須得水源。若培業根而不伐，護膏肓而不灸，則錯認源流，倒置本末，悖台宗奧旨，入生死迅流矣。
> Answer: To fix the acupuncture points and solidify the roots is to prepare for moxibustion and pruning—hence the saying, “one must find the water source.” If one nurtures the roots of karma without cutting them, or protects the vital organs without treating them, then they mistake the source for the stream, invert the fundamental and the superficial, contradict the profound teachings of the Tiantai school, and plunge into the swift river of birth and death.
蒙示，一念識心，保無失腳。未知用那個心保得？若用識心，隔陰不知宿命。然台宗專用六識，為圓頓無上止觀，懸合《楞嚴》。《楞嚴》云「憶佛念佛，現前當來，必定見佛。」憶念非用六識邪？教中明用六識，六識明知位次。若能依教修學，教理可作保人。
> I have received your instruction that, "With a single thought of the mind of consciousness, one can be safeguarded from losing footing." I wonder, with which heart or mind can this safeguarding be achieved? If we use the mind of consciousness, after passing through the barrier of death, we will not remember our past lives. Yet the Tiantai school specifically uses the sixth consciousness as the foundation for its perfect and sudden supreme Calmness and Insight, which implicitly aligns with the \*Śūraṅgama Sūtra\*. The \*Śūraṅgama Sūtra\* says, "If you recollect the Buddha and reflect on the Buddha, now or in the future, you will surely see the Buddha." Is not this act of recollecting and reflecting the use of the sixth consciousness? In the teachings, it is clearly stated that the sixth consciousness is used, and this consciousness is clearly aware of its position and stages. If one can study and practice according to the teachings, the doctrine itself can serve as a guarantee.
荅：台宗觀一念識心，即不思議境者，以圓解之人，既達如來藏性，故即流是源也。若謂專用六識，是以攀緣為自性，乃生死根本，正《楞嚴》所訶。猥云懸合，不幾謗止觀邪。又勢至圓通，屬七大中根大，故曰都攝六根，淨念相繼，意根為主，五根從之，以根為識，確為有過。台宗云「觀心若起，本跡俱絕」，從此方能斷惑證理，安立位次。若六識明知位次，便屬法塵分別影事，何名圓頓法門？既留心台教，藉為保人，未識保人作何面孔，能決定相保邪？果然識得保人，管取亦能自保。
> Answer: The Tiantai school teaches that contemplating a single thought-moment of consciousness as the inconceivable realm is possible because practitioners with a perfect understanding realize that the nature of the Tathagata-garbha (the womb of the Thus-Come One) underlies everything; thus, the flowing stream (of deluded consciousness) is itself the source (of enlightenment). If one claims to exclusively use the sixth consciousness (the sense-based mind), that would mean taking discursive thought as self-nature, which is the very root of birth and death—precisely what the \*Śūraṅgama Sūtra\* criticizes. To rashly claim that this matches (the Tiantai teaching) would almost be slandering the practice of tranquility and insight (śamatha-vipaśyanā). Moreover, the perfect penetration of Mahāsthāmaprāpta belongs to the faculty element (indriya-dhātu) among the seven elements. Therefore, it says "gather in the six senses, with pure thoughts continuing uninterrupted." Here, the mind faculty (manas) is the primary, and the other five faculties follow. To equate faculties with consciousness (i.e., treating them as essentially the same) is indeed mistaken. The Tiantai school says, "When the mind's contemplation arises, both the original and the trace are cut off." Only from this point can one sever delusions and realize truth, establishing the stages of practice. If the sixth consciousness were to clearly know the stages, this would be nothing more than discursive thinking about mental objects (dharma-objects)—a shadow-pursuit. How could this be called a perfect and sudden teaching? Since you are devoted to Tiantai teachings and use them as a guarantor, I wonder what expression this guarantor wears—can it truly guarantee? If you truly recognize the guarantor, you can be sure that you will also be able to guarantee yourself.