参禅的法门，要念兹在兹。时时刻刻都要回光返照，也不要紧，也不要慢，所谓：

紧了绷，慢了松，
不紧不慢才成功。

In the Dharma-door of investigating Chan, you must fix your attention on what you are doing. At all times, you should return the light and reflect within. Don't be too tense, and don't be too slack. It's said,

Too tight, and it'll break. Too slack,
and it'll be loose.
Neither tight nor slack,
and it will turn out right.

不紧不慢就是中道，行住坐卧不离这个，离了这个，就是错过。这个是什么，就是中道了义。

Being neither tense nor slack is the Middle Way. Walking, standing, sitting and lying down, don't be apart from this. Once you leave this, you have missed it. What is this? It's the ultimate meaning of the Middle Way.

参禅要不偏不倚，不要太过，也不要不及，太过或不及，那不是中道。不落空有二边，才是中道。所谓“中道就是非空非有”，也就是真空妙有。无着于真空，无碍于妙有，真空妙有不可取，也不可舍，取也不得，舍也不可，这是真空妙有的境界。

In investigating Chan, you must be impartial, not leaning to one side. Don't go too far, and don't fail to go far enough. If you go too far, or not far enough, it's not the Middle Way. If you don't fall into the two extremes of emptiness and existence, then that's the Middle Way. It's said, “The Middle Way is neither emptiness nor existence.” It is True Emptiness and Wonderful Existence. Do not be attached to true emptiness, and do not be obstructed by wonderful existence, for true emptiness and wonderful existence cannot be grasped or renounced. You cannot take hold of them or let go of them. That's the state of true emptiness and wonderful existence.

用功的人，要有始有终，才能有所成就，所谓“贯彻始终”。不可一曝十寒，遇难即退，半途而废，那是没有出息的人，古人说：

修道不怕慢，只怕站。

When you are applying effort, you should finish what you start; only then will you accomplish anything. As it's said, “Carry it through from beginning to end.” You shouldn't “put it in the sun for one day and freeze it for ten,” retreat in the face of difficulty, or give up halfway─that's the behavior of people without backbone. The ancients said,

In cultivation, don't be afraid to go slowly.
Just be afraid of standing still.

平时用功参禅，照顾自己的话头，用自己的金刚宝剑（智慧），斩断一切的妄想；妄想斩断，智慧现前；有了智慧光明，破了无明的黑暗；无明破除，就出离三界，不受生死，也就是闯过生命之轮（十二因缘）的关。

In your daily investigation of Chan, be mindful of your own meditation topic, and slash through all your idle thoughts with your Vajra-jewelled sword of wisdom. When idle thinking is severed, wisdom will arise. With the light of wisdom, you can smash through the gloom of ignorance. Once ignorance is smashed, you can transcend the Three Realms, escape birth and death, and crash your way out of the wheel of life (i.e. the twelve links of conditioned co-production).

用功修道的人，要有忍耐心，无论怎样辛苦，都要忍受，忍就能到彼岸，所以各位打禅七，不要怕辛苦，所谓“苦尽甘来”。“不在最底下，到不了最顶上。”要知道万丈高楼乃是从平地建起，不是在虚空造成的。所以我们参禅的人，要从根本上入手，就是把妄想驱除。若能把妄想制止，这时候，

心清水现月，
意定天无云。

Those who apply effort in cultivating the Way must have patience. No matter how hard it is, you must patiently bear it. With patience you can reach the other shore. So in joining this Chan Session, you all should not be afraid of hardship. It's said, “When bitterness ends, sweetness comes.” If you don't start at the very bottom, you can't reach the top. Remember that a ten thousand foot skyscraper is built from the ground up. It isn't built in mid-air. Therefore, Chan cultivators must start with the basics, which are to get rid of idle thinking. If you can stop your idle thoughts, then at that point,

The moon appears in the waters of
a pure heart;
There are no clouds in the sky of
a calm mind.

心平百难皆散，意定万事皆平，所谓：

心止念绝真富贵，
私欲断尽真福田。

When the heart is at peace, all problems go away; When the mind is still, the myriad things are in harmony. As it is said,

True wealth is stopping the mind and cutting off thought;
True fields of blessings are devoid of all selfish desires.

参禅就是去妄存真，也就是沙里澄金，在沙子里找金粒，那是很不容易的一件事。可是你想求金子，必须在沙子里找，必须要有耐性，你想明白自己本有佛性吗？明心见性吗？就要有耐心去修行，去参学，去研究，久而久之，豁然贯通，骤然开悟，原来如此！

One investigates Chan just to get rid of the false and keep the true. It is also to pan for gold, to look for gold dust in the sand, which is a difficult task. But if you want to find gold, you have to look in the sand, and be patient. Do you want to understand your inherent Buddha-nature? Do you want to understand your mind and see your nature? Then you must patiently cultivate, study and investigate, and when enough time has passed, you will suddenly penetrate and enlighten to the fact that it is originally this way!

参禅上了路，不需要打闲岔，各位自己努力参“念佛是谁？”非把这个“谁”找到不可，什么时候找到，方可停止。功夫到了炉火纯青的时候，便有好消息。

When your investigation of Chan is progressing well, there's no need to meddle in other people's business. Each of you should put forth effort to investigate “Who is mindful of the Buddha?” No matter what, you have to find out "who" it is. Only when you find the answer can you stop. When the intensity of your efforts has reached a peak, there will be good news.

结双跏趺坐的姿势，是将左腿放在右腿上，然后将右腿搬到左腿上，因为左腿属于阳，右腿属于阴。打坐时，左腿是阳在上边，右腿是阴在下边，好像无极生太极，太极生两仪（阴仪、阳仪），也是这样的摆法。若是因为方便起见，左腿在下，右腿在上也可以的。法无定法，随着个人习惯而决定，不必执着一定要这种姿势。教你左腿压右腿，这只是个方法而已。并不是硬性规定，一定要这样子。

To sit in full-lotus posture, put your left foot on your right thigh, and then put your right foot on your left thigh. The reason for this is that the left leg is yang and the right leg is yin. When you sit in meditation, the left leg which is yang is on top, and the right leg which is yin is below. This is like the Limitless giving rise to the Absolute, and the Absolute giving rise to the two primordial forms (the yin fish and the yang fish)─they are also set up in this way. For the sake of convenience, putting the left leg below and the right leg on top is also okay. The Dharma is not fixed, and the decision is based on individual preference. You don't need to become attached and think that you have to use this posture. When I teach you to put your left leg on top of your right leg first, that's only one method. It's not a hard and fast rule that you have to do it that way.

总而言之，结跏趺坐，是教你容易入定。你能在走路时入定，那么坐不坐都可以的。入定的境界，没有任何的妄想，心中一念不生，一尘不染。若能行住坐卧一念不生，一尘不染，那就是在用功，并不一定是坐在那里，才算是用功。

In general, sitting in the full-lotus posture will make it easier for you to enter samadhi. If you can remain in samadhi even when you are moving, then it is not necessary to sit. Within samadhi, you have no idle thoughts. Your mind is totally free from thinking and you are not defiled by even a speck of dust. If you can constantly maintain this state when you are moving, still, sitting or reclining, then you are working vigorously. It is not the case that you are working hard only when sitting.