---
title: "靈峰蕅益大師宗論 · 祖堂幽棲寺丁亥除夕普說"
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/cmgn46fpf0nokk104rqzd2m35"
---

### 祖堂幽棲寺丁亥除夕普說

> Lecture at Zutang Youqi Temple, New Year's Eve 2007

諸昆仲！欲復本來面目，須破我、法二執；欲破我、法二執，先懲流俗知見。何謂流俗知見？今人一出家參學，便要做善知識，只此豈非我執？又或以律非教，以教斥禪，以禪藐教輕律，豈非法執？縱使和融，不互相非，亦罕兼善。且律師不問何等根性，概要人持律，法師不問何等根性，概要人聽經，宗師不問何等根性，概要人參禪，豈非我、法二執？殊不知禪、教、律三，皆如來隨機所說，豈有死法？吾今為諸昆仲徹底說破，若真為生死持戒，持戒亦必悟道，真為生死聽經，聽經亦必悟道，真為生死參禪，參禪亦必悟道，真為生死營福，營福亦必悟道；專修一法亦悟道，互相助成亦悟道，以因地真正故也。若想做律師受戒，想做法師聽經，想做宗師參禪，想有權勢營福，則受戒、聽經、參禪、營福，必皆墮三惡趣。故智者大師云：「為利名發菩提心，是三塗因。」毫釐有差，天地懸隔，錯認定盤星，醍醐成毒藥。今受戒、聽經、參禪、營福之士，口中亦說真為生死，心中未知生死大苦，火燒眉毛，且圖眼下。殊不知無始劫來，頭出頭沒，枉受多少辛酸；即今幸得人身，幸成僧相，亦經過多少艱苦。然猶未肯猛省發心，此與燕雀處堂何異。且如今夜臘月三十，古人以喻大命盡時，何等迫切。今人且歡呼茶飲，曾不思百歲光陰，尚存幾許，豈不痛哉。予出家時，母舅謂曰：「法師世諦流布，吾甥決不屑為，將必為善知識乎。」予曰：「法師是烏龜，善知識是忘八，總不墮此坑塹。」舅曰：「畢竟何為？」予曰：「佛且不為，況其他也。」舅曰：「既爾，何用出家？」予曰：「只要復我本來面目。」舅乃歎善。嗟嗟！予初志若此，尚被虛名所害，不滿本志，深以為恥，況初心便要做善知識者邪？假使做得一箇世諦善知識，濟甚麼事？名利日重，正法日衰，壞周室者，齊桓晉文耳。又吾眼見耳聞諸善知識，唯紫柏大師一人，已證無生，已得自在。其餘大老，建叢席，立規條，廣大周詳，名滿海內者，臨命終時，俱未免牽纏係戀，反不若我憨翁大師，及幽溪師伯，晚年一味默修，不管叢林中事，皆得脫然坐逝。又不若彼雪庭禪師、靈源法師，一生不拘小節，臨終亦得瀟然。故知門庭施設，不惟無益本分，正復縈絆殺人。吾憾障深力薄，戒品尚多缺略，持名猶屬散心。然既深知生死過患，故決不敢裝模作樣，大膽欺心。今二年聚首，不久擬別，故盡力抖擻屎腸，為諸昆仲，作此最後警策，伏惟著眼。珍重。

> Oh, fellow seekers! To reclaim your original nature, you must first break free from attachment to both self and dharmas (all phenomena). To break these two attachments, you must first rid yourselves of worldly intellectual habits. What are worldly intellectual habits? Nowadays, as soon as someone leaves home to study the Dharma, they want to become a "good spiritual teacher" (kalyāṇa-mitra). Isn't that just attachment to self? Furthermore, some use monastic discipline (Vinaya) to dismiss scriptural study, use scriptural study to reject Chan (Zen) meditation, or use Chan to look down on scriptural study and monastic discipline—isn't that attachment to dharmas? Even those who try to blend the three without mutual rejection rarely excel at all of them. Look at the Vinaya master: regardless of the student's capacity, he insists everyone follows the precepts. The Dharma teacher: regardless of capacity, he insists everyone listens to the sutras. The Chan master: regardless of capacity, he insists everyone practices meditation. Aren't these also attachments to self and dharmas? They fail to realize that Chan, scriptural study, and Vinaya are all teachings the Tathāgata (Buddha) gave according to people's differing capacities. How could they be rigid, one-size-fits-all methods? Let me reveal this completely to you, my fellow seekers: If you genuinely observe the precepts for the sake of escaping birth-and-death (saṃsāra), then precept-keeping will naturally lead you to awakening. If you truly listen to the sutras for the sake of birth-and-death, then studying will lead to awakening. If you sincerely practice Chan for birth-and-death, then meditation will lead to awakening. If you earnestly cultivate merit for birth-and-death, then merit-making will lead to awakening. Whether you focus on a single practice or combine several in mutual support—either can lead to awakening—because your fundamental motivation is genuine. But if you take the precepts aspiring to become a Vinaya master, study sutras aiming to be a Dharma teacher, practice Chan hoping to be a Chan master, or cultivate merit seeking power and influence—then your precept-keeping, sutra-study, Chan-practice, and merit-making will all lead you to fall into the three lower realms (animals, hungry ghosts, hell-beings). As the Great Master Zhiyi said: "To arouse bodhicitta for fame and profit is the cause of the three evil destinies." A hairbreadth of deviation in motivation creates a gap as vast as between heaven and earth. Misjudge the starting point, and nectar turns into poison. Nowadays, those who take precepts, listen to sutras, practice Chan, and cultivate merit often speak of doing it for the sake of birth-and-death, but in their hearts they don't truly grasp the immense suffering of birth-and-death. Their eyebrows are singed by fire, yet they still only focus on immediate pleasure. They forget that throughout endless kalpas, they have been sinking and surfacing in saṃsāra, enduring countless miseries in vain. Now, having finally obtained a human body, and further, the rare opportunity to be a monastic—passed through so much hardship to get here—yet still they refuse to wake up and set their minds resolutely. How is this different from swallows contentedly nesting in a hall that's about to burn? Moreover, think of "the last day of the twelfth lunar month," which the ancients used as a metaphor for the final moment of life. How urgent this should make us! Yet people today gather, cheer, and enjoy tea, never considering how much of their hundred-year lifespan still remains. Isn't this heartbreaking? When I first left home, my maternal uncle said to me, "A Dharma teacher peddling worldly knowledge—I'm sure you, my nephew, would never stoop to that. So you must intend to become a good spiritual teacher." I replied, "A Dharma teacher is a turtle, and a good spiritual teacher is a tortoise. I will not fall into either ditch." "What will you do then?" he asked. "I won't even act as a Buddha," I said, "much less anything else." "Then why become a monk at all?" he pressed. "Simply to reclaim my original nature," I answered. My uncle sighed in admiration. Alas! That was my original aspiration, and yet I still found myself trapped by empty fame, unable to fulfill this goal. I have been deeply ashamed of that. How much worse is it for those whose very first thought is to become a 'good spiritual teacher'? Even if someone manages to become a worldly 'good spiritual teacher,' of what use is that? When fame and profit grow day by day, the true Dharma declines day by day. The ones who truly ruined the Zhou dynasty were not its enemies, but its 'righteous' protectors, Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin. Among the 'good spiritual teachers' I have seen and heard about, only Great Master Zibai truly realized birthlessness and attained freedom. All the rest—those who built great monasteries, established elaborate rules, and gained fame throughout the land—when their final moment came, they were all ensnared by attachments and regrets. They were far inferior to my master, the Venerable Han Gong, or my Dharma-uncle Youxi, who in their later years practiced silently, took no part in monastic affairs, and passed away serenely while sitting. They were also inferior to Chan Master Xuetang and Dharma Teacher Lingyuan, who were never bound by petty formalities in life and died just as freely. Thus we can see that establishing institutions and setting up traditions not only fails to help with the essential matter, but actually entangles and kills people on the path. I deeply regret that my karmic obstacles are heavy and my power is weak. My precepts are still incomplete, and my recitation of the Buddha's name is still scattered and distracted. Yet since I deeply understand the danger of birth-and-death, I absolutely dare not put on airs, pretending to be something I'm not, deceiving my own mind. We have gathered together for two years. Soon we'll have to part. So I have emptied my foul entrails completely, making this final exhortation for my fellow seekers. I humbly ask you to pay close attention. Take care of yourselves.