---
title: "靈峰蕅益大師宗論 · 四書蕅益解自序"
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/cmgn46k3s0onzk104shiyhid0"
---

### 四書蕅益解自序

> Preface to Ouyi's Commentary on the Four Books

蕅益子，年十二，談理學，而不知理；年二十，習玄門，而不知玄；年二十三，參禪，而不知禪；年二十七，習律，而不知律；年三十六，演教，而不知教。逮大病幾絕，歸臥九華，腐滓以為饌，糠秕以為糧，忘形骸，斷世故，萬慮盡灰，一心無寄，然後知儒也、玄也、禪也、律也、教也，無非楊葉與空拳也，隨嬰孩所欲而誘之，誘得其宜，則啞啞而笑，不得其宜，則呱呱而泣。泣笑自在嬰孩，於父母奚加損焉？顧兒笑則父母喜，兒泣則父母憂，天性相關，有欲罷不能者。伐柯伐柯，其則不遠。今之誘於人者，即後之誘人者也。儻猶未免隨空拳黃葉而泣笑，其可以誘他乎？維時徹因比丘，相從於患難顛沛，律學頗諳，禪觀未了，屢策發之，終隔一膜。爰至誠請命於佛，鬮得須藉《四書》，助顯第一義諦，遂力疾為拈大旨，筆而置諸笥中，屈指十餘年，徹因且長往矣。嗟嗟！事邁人遷，身世何實，見聞如故，今古何殊。變者未始變，不變者亦未始不變，尚何一分無常、一分常之邊執也哉？今夏述《成唯識心要》，偶以餘力閱舊稿，改竄未妥，增補未備，首《論語》，次《中庸》，次《大學》，後《孟子》。《論語》，孔氏書，故居首。《中庸》、《大學》，皆子思所作，居次。子思先作《中庸》，《戴禮》列為第三十一，後作《大學》，《戴禮》列為第四十二。大學章首在明明德，承前章末予懷明德而言，本非一經十傳，舊本亦無錯簡，王陽明居士已辨之矣。孟子學於子思，故居後。解《論語》曰點睛，開出世光明也，解《庸》、《學》曰直指，談不二心源也，解《孟子》曰擇乳，飲其醇，存其水也。佛祖聖賢皆無實法綴人，但為人解粘去縛，今亦不過用楔出楔，助發聖賢心印而已。

> Ou Yi, at twelve, studied Confucian philosophy without understanding it; at twenty, practiced Daoist arts without grasping them; at twenty-three, engaged in Chan meditation without experiencing it; at twenty-seven, observed monastic discipline without realizing its essence; and at thirty-six, expounded the teachings without embodying them. Then, struck by a severe illness at death's door, I retreated to Mount Jiuhua, eating rotten dregs as meals and husks as provisions, letting go of my physical form, severing worldly ties, extinguishing every thought, and leaving my mind with nothing to cling to. Only then did I realize that Confucianism, Daoism, Chan, Vinaya, and Teachings were all nothing more than a leaf or an empty fist—things used to coax a crying child according to its desires. When coaxed rightly, the child laughs; when not, it weeps. The crying and laughing belong to the child alone—what do they add or subtract from the parents? Yet the parents feel joy when the child laughs and sorrow when it cries, a bond of nature that cannot be denied. "To carve an axe handle, the model is close at hand." Those who are coaxed now become those who coax others later. If I myself still cannot avoid crying and laughing at the empty fist and yellow leaf, how can I coax others with conviction? At that time, the bhikkhu Cheyin accompanied me through trials and tribulations. He was well-versed in the Vinaya but had not clarified Chan contemplation. I repeatedly urged him on, yet a barrier remained. Finally, I sincerely petitioned the Buddha and drew a lot, which indicated that the Four Books should be used to help illuminate the ultimate truth. So I forced myself through illness to extract their essential meaning, wrote it down, and stored it in a case. Now, more than ten years later, Cheyin has long since passed away. Alas! Events pass, people change—what reality does the body-world possess? Sight and hearing remain as before—what difference exists between past and present? The changing has never changed, and the unchanging is not truly unchanging either. Where then is the extreme view of "one part impermanent, one part permanent"? This summer, while writing "The Essential Commentary on the Cheng Weishi Lun," I happened to review the old manuscript in my spare time. I corrected what was inappropriate and added what was missing, placing the \*Analects\* first, then the \*Doctrine of the Mean\*, then the \*Great Learning\*, and the \*Mencius\* last. The \*Analects\* is Confucius's work, so it comes first. The \*Doctrine of the Mean\* and \*Great Learning\* were both written by Zisi, and thus follow. Zisi composed the \*Doctrine of the Mean\* first—it appears as Chapter 31 in the \*Book of Rites\*—and later the \*Great Learning\*, which appears as Chapter 42. The opening phrase of the \*Great Learning\*, "illustrating bright virtue," follows the previous chapter's closing phrase "cherishing bright virtue," originally constituting one scripture with ten commentaries. The old version contains no misplacement, as the layman Wang Yangming has already clarified. Mencius studied under Zisi, hence his text comes last. My commentary on the \*Analects\* is called "The Eye-Opener," for it reveals the light of transcendence. My commentary on the \*Doctrine of the Mean\* and \*Great Learning\* is called "Direct Pointing," for it discusses the unitive source of mind. My commentary on the \*Mencius\* is called "Selecting the Cream," for it extracts the essence while discarding the dregs. Buddhas, sages, and saints of all traditions never impose any fixed doctrine on people; they merely help untie their knots and remove their bonds. Now, too, I am only using one wedge to remove another, assisting in awakening the mind-seal of the sages.

## 靈峰蕅益大師宗論卷第六之一

> Volume 6, Part 1 of the Collected Writings of Master Ouyi (Lingfeng)

## 靈峰蕅益大師宗論卷第六之二

> Chapter 6, Part 2 of Master Ouyi's Collected Works (Lingfeng)