現在參禪的人，盡在皮毛上用功夫，把參禪當做比賽，來爭第一。你能坐三小時，我就要坐五小時，勝過你一招。有這種心理作祟，焉能開悟？就是坐了八萬大劫，也不能明心見性。為什麼？因為你有勝負心。所謂：

爭是勝負心， 與道相違背；
便生四相心， 由何得三昧？

The participants in our Chan Session are working at a very superficial level. They've turned meditation into a contest to see who'll win first place. They are thinking: "If you meditate for three hours, then I'll meditate for five hours, so that I can keep the upper hand." If you let such thoughts control you, can you really expect to get enlightened? Even if you sat still for eighty thousand great eons, you'd still be unable to understand your mind and see your nature. Why? Because you have thoughts of victory and defeat.

Fighting brings an attitude of victory
    and defeat
That stands in opposition to the Way.
Further, it provokes the four marks,
Which sends samadhi-power far away.

這首偈頌，是警惕修道人，不可爭第一。功夫到家，智慧現前，自然會有人評判你是第一，那才是真第一。如果心想第一，有這種勝負心，就與道相違背了。

This verse warns cultivators not to fight to be number one. When your spiritual skill matures and your wisdom appears, other people will spontaneously acclaim you as number one. Then you can be considered truly number one. But if you contend to be first, then your attitude of victory and defeat stands in opposition to the Way.

修道的人，要像水一樣，有謙卑心，不爭功、不貪德，好的給人家，壞的自己留著。老子說：

上善若水，水善利萬物而不爭。
處眾人之所惡，故幾於道矣。

Cultivators of the Way should be like water, humble and modest, neither contending for merit nor striving for virtue. They bestow advantages on others and keep the disadvantages for themselves. Lao Zi said,

The highest kind of goodness resembles water,
As it benefits all things and never contends.
It stays in places that most people despise,
And thus it approaches the Way.

上善，就是第一流的修行者，如水一般，向低窪之處流去。雖然水對萬物有利益，可是它不爭功德。不論是飛潛動植，或是胎卵溼化，它都一視同仁，供給所需。修道人，亦復如是，對一切眾生，都視為過去的父母、未來的諸佛，要慈悲為懷，方便為門，拯救他們出離苦海。凡是眾人所不願意住的地方，也要去住，有這種的思想，就離道很近了。凡是有勝負心，就不合乎修道的宗旨，就違背了道。

"The highest goodness" refers to the best kind of cultivators who resemble water as it flows into the lowest places. Although water benefits all things, it refuses to compete for merit and virtue. Whether it is birds, fish, beasts, plants, or creatures born from wombs, eggs, moisture, or transformation, water treats them all with equal kindness and gives them all whatever they need. Cultivators of the Way are just like water, in that they regard all living beings as their parents from lives past and as Buddhas of the future. We make kindness and compassion our duty and expedient resourcefulness our practice as we rescue living beings from the sea of suffering. A cultivator is willing to dwell in places where most living beings are unwilling to stay. With this attitude, he stays close to the Way. Any thoughts of victory and defeat do not accord with the creed of a cultivator and stand in opposition to the Way.

修道人要沒有四相心。「無我相」，誰在修道？修道的人也沒有了。「無人相」，沒有和人比賽的心。「無眾生相」，我相沒有，人相沒有，所以眾生相也空。「無壽者相」，既然眾生相也空了，那來的壽者相？若是有爭強論勝的思想，就有四相心；有了四相心，從什麼地方能得到正定正受？這個道理，不妨琢磨琢磨。一言以蔽之：

有四相心，即是凡夫；
無四相心，即是菩薩。

Cultivators of the Way want to be free of the four marks. They want to have no mark of self. Ask yourself: "Who is this here cultivating the Way?" You'll find that there isn't anyone cultivat-ing. They want to have no mark of others; they have no thoughts of competing with others. They want to have no mark of living beings. Since they have no marks of self or others, quite naturally, the mark of living beings is also emptied out. They want to have no mark of a life span: Since the mark of living beings has been emptied out, how could there be any mark of a life span? But once you indulge in thoughts of victory, the four marks will arise. Once they arise, how can you attain "proper concentration and proper reception?" Why don't you try this out in practice? In a word, anyone who maintains the four marks is an ordinary person. But someone who can be free of them is a Bodhisattva.

修道人要記住《金剛經》的四句偈：「一切有為法，如夢幻泡影，如露亦如電，應作如是觀。」凡是有形有相的，皆是有為法。有為法，好像作夢，好像幻化，好像泡沫，好像影子，好像電光，皆是虛妄而無實體。一切的一切，皆應該這樣來觀察，才能明白真實的道理，就不會執著，不會打妄想了。

Cultivators should remember this verse from the Vajra Sutra,

All things born of conditions are like dreams,
Like illusions, bubbles, and shadows;
Like dewdrops, like flashes of lightning:
Contemplate them in these ways.

Anything with shape or form is considered a "dharma born of conditions." All things born of conditions are like dreams, illusory transformations, bubbles of foam, and shadows. Like dewdrops and lightning, they are false and unreal. By contemplating everything in this way, we will be able to understand the truth, let go of attachments, and put an end to random thoughts.

在《金剛經》上又說：「過去心不可得。現在心不可得。未來心不可得。」過去心為什麼不可得？因為過去已經過去了，還管它做什麼。現在心為什麼不可得？因為現在念念不停。你說這是現在，等你說完，現在又過去了，時間不會停留的。未來心為什麼不可得？因為還沒有來嘛！你說那是未來，可是它又來了，連未來也沒有。所以過去、現在、未來，三心了不可得。能依佛所說的法去修行，直截了當可達涅槃之境。

The Vajra Sutra also says, "Past thoughts cannot be obtained, present thoughts cannot be obtained, and future thoughts cannot be obtained." Why can't we get at past thoughts? Because they've already gone by. What's the point of worrying over them? Why can't we get at present thoughts? Because the present moment doesn't stop for even an instant. If you claim that this moment is the present, as soon as the words leave your mouth, that "present" has already gone by; time never stops. Why do we say that future thoughts cannot be obtained? Because the future hasn't yet arrived. You may admit that it hasn't yet come, but right then it arrives, so the "not-yet-come" (literal Chinese translation for "future") doesn't exist either. Therefore, the past, the present, and future are three thoughts that cannot possibly be obtained. If we can cultivate according to the Dharma that the Buddha spoke, then straightaway, we can realize the state of Nirvana.

修道人要依正知正見的法為準繩，勇猛修習。這時候，「離言說相」，言說的相也沒有了，沒有什麼話可說的。「離心緣相」，心緣的相也沒有了，沒有什麼緣可攀的。「離文字相」，文字的相也沒有了，沒有什麼文字可代表，可說出來。既然說不出來，還有什麼可回憶？還有什麼放不下？還有什麼可認真？各位！要在這個地方用功，不可在皮毛上用功。

Cultivators of the Way must use proper knowledge and views as their standard and cultivate vigorously. Our goal is to "leave behind the mark of speech," so that there's nothing left to say. We also want to "leave behind the mark of the mind and its conditions," so that there's nothing left to climb on. We want to "leave behind the mark of written words." Once words also are gone, they can't represent our speech at all. Since there's no way to express with words, what is there to remember? What is there that we can't put down? What is left to take so seriously? We should apply ourselves to this, and stop toying with the superficial aspects.

有人在想：「今天坐禪，腿不知疼，腰不知痠，不知不覺到開靜的時間。」因為你在睡覺嘛！當然什麼也不知道。不要誤認是境界，若是有這個執著，則容易走火入魔，大上其當。

Someone is thinking, "Today in meditation, my legs didn't hurt and my back has stopped aching. Before I knew it, it was time to stand up and walk." That's because you were sleeping! Of course you knew nothing at all! Don't misinterpret this state. If you become attached, then you can easily enter a demonic state and be taken in.

各位注意！凡是從外來的境界，不要注意它，不要理會它，聽其自然，不隨它轉。在《楞嚴經》上講得非常明白，希望參禪者，要徹底研究「五十陰魔」的來龍去脈。《楞嚴經》是參禪人的寶鑑，所有修道人宜深入鑽研。

Pay attention to this, everyone! Pay no heed to external states. Ignore them completely. Let states come and go naturally. Don't let them influence you one way or the other. The Shurangama Sutra explains this matter quite clearly. I hope that all Chan meditators will look into the details of the Fifty Skandha-demon States of that Sutra very thoroughly. The Shurangama Sutra serves as a precious mirror for Chan meditators, and every cultivator of the Way ought to be thoroughly familiar with it.