“龙”究竟是什么样子？一般人是不知道的。除非开五眼的圣人才知道龙的真面目。不过，中国人所画的龙，头上有角，身上有鳞，眼睛突出，嘴巴很大，有胡须，有四足，身很长，尾很短。画龙的人，只画龙头不画龙尾，所谓“神龙见首不见尾”，表示有神秘之感。

What do dragons look like? Ordinary people don’t know. Only sages who have opened the five eyes know what dragons really look like. The dragons depicted by Chinese artists have horns, scales, prominent eyes, a large mouth, whiskers, four feet, a long body and a short tail. The artists paint only the dragon’s head and not its tail. The saying, “You can see only a divine dragon’s head, not its tail” refers to the sense of mystery here.

中国人绘龙为什么是这样子？因为曾经有位禅师，他在定中所见龙的形相是这样子。龙有神通，变化莫测，能大能小，能隐能现。六祖大师曾经用钵将巨龙降伏，为南华寺除害。

Why did the Chinese paint dragons that way? Because there was a Dhyana Master who saw a dragon in his samadhi that looked like that. Dragons have spiritual penetrations. Their transformations are inconceivable. They can become big or small; visible or invisible. The Sixth Patriarch used his bowl to subdue a giant dragon that had been a menace to Nanhua Monastery.

龙是一条大虫，因为往昔修行时，乘急，所以有神通；戒缓，所以堕为畜生。

龙的种类不同，有金龙、白龙、青龙、黑龙，有胎生的龙，有卵生的龙，有湿生的龙，有化生的龙，又有虬龙、鹰龙、蛟龙、骊龙，又有天龙、地龙、王龙、人龙，又有鱼化龙、马化龙、象化龙、蛤蟆化龙。

龙有四种苦：

Dragons are giant worms. In their past cultivation, since they diligently cultivated the Great Vehicle, they are endowed with supernatural powers. However, since they were lax in holding the precepts, they have fallen into the animal realm. There are different varieties of dragons, such as gold, white, blue, and black dragons. Some dragons are born from embryos, some from eggs, some from moisture, and others by transformation. There are also two-horned young dragons, eagle dragons, single-horned dragons, black dragons, celestial dragons, earthly dragons, imperial dragons, human dragons, fish-transformed dragons, horse-transformed dragons, elephant-transformed dragons, and toad-transformed dragons. Dragons undergo four sufferings:

（一）被大鹏金翅鸟所吞苦。

(1) the suffering of being swallowed by golden-winged peng birds,

（二）交尾变蛇形苦。

(2) the suffering of tails intersecting and being changed to snake form,

（三）小虫咬身苦。

(3) the suffering of being bitten by insects, and

（四）热沙烫身苦。

(4) the suffering of being scorched by hot sands.

龙的职业是布云降雨。可是有五种情形不能降雨：

The dragons’ duty is to spread clouds and make the rain fall. But there are five situations under which they cannot make rain:

（一）火大增盛。

(1) the fire element is in preponderance,

（二）风吹云散。

(2) the wind blows the clouds asunder,

（三）阿修罗收云入海。

(3) asuras condense the clouds into the sea,

（四）雨师放逸。

(4) the rainmakers are remiss, or

（五）众生孽重。

(5) living beings’ offenses are heavy.

各位想知道龙的形状？那么，就努力修行用功打坐，开了五眼，便见到真龙的本来面目。我现在讲“龙的公案”，这是我亲身经验的故事，千真万确，绝非杜撰。

Do you want to know the dragons’ real form? Then you must apply effort in cultivation and work hard in meditation, and after you open your five eyes you will be able to see the original face of the dragon. Now let me tell you a story about dragons. This is my personal experience. It is absolutely true and not made up.

我在东北的时候，收了一个徒弟，法名果舜，他很用功修行，不到半年的时间，打坐能入定，在定中能知道因果循环报应的道理，修持功夫颇到家。后来他自己到外边建一所茅棚，作为修行的道场。落成之日，请我去开光，我领四个徒弟前去，其中有两个徒弟已开五眼。当时我没有注意在茅棚的旁边有龙王庙，当天的境界来了，我们正在打坐的时候，那两个开五眼的徒弟来到我面前说：“师父！茅棚外边来了十条龙，要皈依师父。”

When I was in Manchuria, I accepted a disciple named Guo Shun. He worked very hard in cultivation. In less than half a year he could enter samadhi when he sat in meditation. When he was in samadhi, he learned the principle of cause and effect and its resultant retributions. His skill in cultivation was quite good. Later on he went out to build a hut as his Way-place for cultivation. On the day of its inauguration, he invited me over to perform the opening ceremonies. I brought along four disciples, two of whom had opened the five eyes. I did not notice there was a dragon temple next to the hut. The state came that day. While we were sitting in meditation, the two disciples who had opened the five eyes came to me and said, “Master! There are ten dragons outside the hut. They want to take refuge with you.”

我对徒弟说：“你不要胡说，你怎么知道他们是龙？他们皈依我做什么？我怎能作他们的师父？我没有他们那样大的本领。”

I said, “Don’t talk nonsense! How do you know they are dragons? What do they want to take refuge with me for? How could I be their master? I don’t have any great ability like they do.”

徒弟说：“他们自己说是龙，现在跪在外边，一定要求皈依。”

The disciples said, “They themselves said they were dragons. They are kneeling outside now, insisting on taking refuge.”

当时正逢初夏，天旱无雨，田地的禾苗，差不多枯死。我对龙（化人身）说：“你们皈依我可以，但是我有一个条件。你们是龙，专管下雨，现在哈尔滨附近很久没有下雨，非常干旱，明天如果下雨，那么，后天就给你们授皈依；要是不下雨，就不收你们作弟子。”

This happened in the early summer. There hadn’t been any rain. The young grain shoots in the fields were almost withered. I told the dragons (who had assumed human form), “You can take refuge with me on one condition. You are dragons and you are in charge of rainfall. Now there hasn’t been any rain in the vicinity of Harbin. It is very dry. If it rains tomorrow, I’ll transmit the Three Refuges to you the day after. However, if there’s no rain, I won’t take you as my disciples.”

众龙异口同声地说：“我们的职责就是行雨，可是没有玉皇大帝的敕令，我们不敢下雨，否则，要受处分。”

The dragons said in unison, “Our duty is to make the rain fall. But we don’t dare make rain without orders from the Jade Emperor; otherwise we’ll be punished.”

我又说：“你们到玉皇大帝座前对他说：‘哈尔滨有位出家人，请求在哈尔滨四周四十里之内降雨。’这是我的条件。”

I said, “You go before the Jade Emperor and tell him that there is a monk in Harbin asking for rain within a radius of forty li [13.3 American miles] from Harbin. Those are my terms.”

第二天果然天降大雨，解除旱灾，在哈尔滨四十里以内，普降甘霖。第三天，便给这十条龙授皈依，共同法名叫“急修”。他们皈依之后，隐形不见，去度化同类的龙。从此之后，我无论到什么地方，都有水用。我在香港，香港有水用；我到万佛圣城，万佛圣城有水用。这不是奇迹出现，乃是因为十条龙及其眷属都来护法的缘故。

On the second day it rained and the drought was over. Sweet dew fell within the area forty li around Harbin. On the third day, I transmitted the Three Refuges to the ten dragons and gave them a collective Dharma name, “Quickly Cultivate.” After the refuge ceremony they disap-peared and went back to teach and transform their own kind. From then on, wherever I went I could get water. When I was in Hong Kong, Hong Kong had water. I came to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, and the City has water. That is not a miracle. It happens because the ten dragons and their families have all come to protect the Dharma.

有人问：“师父！你看那十条龙是什么样子？”皈依我的龙，乃变化人的形相，和普通人一样，没有什么区别。开五眼的人知道是龙。你想知道吗？赶快用功修道，专心打坐，少打妄想，不要发脾气，无论是逆境或顺境都要忍耐，不可起贪心，到一念不生一尘不染的境界，自然开五眼。那时候，你就能清清楚楚看见龙是什么样子！

Someone asked, “Master, what did the ten dragons look like?” The dragons that took refuge with me had changed themselves into human form. They looked no different from ordinary people. People who have opened the five eyes would know they were dragons. Do you want to know? Then hurry up and work hard, concentrate in meditation, cut down your false thoughts, don’t become angry, be patient with both good and bad states, and don’t be greedy. When you reach the state where not one thought arises and the mind is totally pristine, you will naturally open the five eyes. Then you can see clearly what dragons look like!