学佛法的人必须要有择法眼，认识是法、非法，黑法、白法，善法、恶法。切记不要以是为非，以非为是，或将黑作白，拿白当黑，或以善为恶，以恶为善，这都是颠倒。想认识这些法，一定要有择法眼。

Students of the Buddhadharma must have the Dharma-selecting Eye so they can recognize right dharmas and wrong dharmas, black dharmas and white dharmas, good dharmas and bad dharmas. Be sure you never take right as wrong and wrong as right; or black as white, and white as black; or good as bad, and bad as good--that's all upside-down. If you want to recognize these dharmas, you must certainly have the Dharma-selecting Eye.

首先要无我相，若有我相，就生种种障碍，而无智慧。有了我相，就生出自私心，跟着就陆续生出自利心、有所求心、贪心。若又求不到，也贪不到，就生斗争心，与人争强论胜。

First of all, you cannot have the mark of self. If you have the mark of self, all kinds of obstacles will arise, and you will have no wisdom. Once there is a mark of self, selfish thoughts arise, followed by thoughts of benefiting the self and thoughts of seeking and greed. If you do not obtain what you seek and crave, contentious thoughts arise, and you will struggle with others to see who is stronger.

如果能没有“我相”，则什么叫“我”？谁是我？我又是谁？想一想，参一参“念佛是谁？”这“念佛是谁？”不是念的，你念来念去是没有用的，而是要参，参如同用锥子锥一个东西，锥出窟窿了才算透，才能彻悟明白。

If you can have no mark of self, then what is the self? Who am I? Ponder and investigate: "Who is mindful of the Buddha?" The question "Who...?" isn't meant to be recited. It's of no use if you keep reciting it. You must investigate it. Investigation can be compared to drilling a hole. When you drill all the way through, you will thoroughly understand.

一时不明白，一时都要参；
时时不明白，时时都要参。

If for one moment you don't understand,
For one moment you must investigate.
If for every moment you don't understand,
For every moment you must investigate.

参也不是猜测的，你若猜“我念佛？你念佛？他念佛？谁念佛呢？”猜来猜去是猜不着的，而是要找这个“谁…？”这个谁字就是金刚王宝剑，就是智慧剑。若用智能剑把其它妄想全斩断了，智能自然现前。

Investigating doesn't mean guessing. You guess, "Well, I'm mindful of the Buddha, you're mindful of the Buddha, and he's mindful of the Buddha, too? So who's mindful of the Buddha?" You can keep guessing, but you won't get the answer. Rather, you must search for the "who." The word "who" is the Vajra King Jeweled Sword, the sword of wisdom. You must use the wisdom sword to cut through all other idle thoughts, and then wisdom will spontaneously appear.

参禅这法门你若不认识、不明白，而像念佛号似的，以为念得越多越好，这是错误的。不需要念得多，最好能拉长长的声，念几个钟头也念不完，甚至参八万大劫也不间断，这才是真正参禅。

If you don't understand the Dharma-door of investigating Chan and you think the more you recite the better, just like reciting the Buddha's name, that's a mistake. You don't need to recite many times, but ideally you should stretch out the sound and keep it going for a few hours, or even for eighty-four thousand eons, without a break. Then you're really investigating Chan.

为什么要参“念佛是谁？”这“谁”字本来也是多余，但因为我们人就像猴子，总要找事做，找东找西。若有个“谁”字挡着，那些妄想也就没有了，这是以毒攻毒的法门，参禅就是勤拂拭，没有妄想才是“时时勤拂拭”。为什么要勤拂拭？因为“勿使惹尘埃”，这是“扫一切法，离一切相”的法门。

Why do we want to investigate "Who is mindful of the Buddha?"? The word "who" is basically superfluous, but we are like monkeys, always looking around for something to do. If there is the word "who" acting as a shield, then all those idle thoughts will disappear. This Dharma-door uses poison to fight poison. To investigate Chan simply means to diligently wipe (the mirror of the mind) clean. Only when we are free of all random thoughts are we "diligently wiping it clean at all times." We want to wipe it clean so it won't get dusty. This is the Dharma-door of "sweeping away all dharmas, and separating from all marks."

若是没有择法眼，不认识真法，就不会参；不会参就是白费功夫。若不认识正法，就会跟邪法跑，所以择法眼是最重要的。

If you don't have the Dharma-selecting Eye and you don't recognize the true Dharma, then you won't know how to investi-gate. If you don't know how to investigate, then you're just wasting your effort. If you don't recognize the proper Dharma, then you'll follow after deviant dharmas. That's why the Dharma-selecting Eye is so important.

一九八二年十二月四日晚间开示于
万佛圣城