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(接上期)
「師罔措」，這個時候，了改禪師一聽，罔措，就無所措手了，手也不知道放在什麼地方好，腳也不知道放在什麼地方好，也不知道是走好，是站著好，是坐著好，坐臥都不安了，行住坐臥都不知道對不對了，就罔措了，連放腳的地方都不知道怎樣放了，就這樣子。他這麼樣講來講去，把這位了改禪師給講得愈講愈糊塗，愈講愈不安了。不安地覺得自己怎麼搞的，一點也不明白，所以「師愈不安」，他就很不安，很覺得不好意思。
「一日」，有一天，這個松庭就上堂說法，「上堂曰」，就是上堂說法。佛教裡頭，在這個做法主上堂說法的時候，是很隆重的一個佛事，在廟上所有的人，都要去聽法。他就說了：「一言迥脫獨拔」，就只有一句話，迥脫，就是迥然不同了，脫離這個俗氣了，脫離一切的巢臼，脫離一切的舊套子，也脫離一切的新名詞，新舊都不立了。迥脫，迥然脫離這一切的真俗二諦了，都脫離了。獨拔，獨然出乎其類，拔乎其萃，單獨地超脫了。
這個時候就是「當時師乃大悟」，了改禪師一聽這一句，他把一切一切都放下了。喔！原來背了這麼多包袱，在這兒也拔不出腿來，這麼累贅，沒能迥脫根塵，也沒能離開六根六塵的門頭，就都是在六根六塵裡頭轉，現在他迥脫了，迥脫根塵，也不落於有，也不落於空了，契合中道的理體了，所以他當時就大悟了。
「洪武庚午」，這一年他出世祖庭，他就出去做方丈，在這個大約是江西雲居山的永丘縣，在雲居山那個地方做方丈。
「永樂辛丑」，那一年他「無恙」，沒有什麼病痛。什麼病痛也沒有。「忽集眾敘別」，忽然間就叫：「你們大家快點來啦！我要和你們告假，要走啦！快點來！」集眾，就是敲鐘打鼓，叫大家集合在一起，都來了，就和大家說，我和你們告假了，我們再見了。於是乎他就說出一首偈頌，這首偈頌說的：「行年八十七」，說我今年八十七歲了，「相違在今夕」，你看這「七」、「夕」，這是音韻諧韻，「碧」也是諧韻，這也是詩，也是偈頌。相違在今夕，說我和你們大家要分別，要分開了，就在今天晚間。「撒手威音前」，撒手，就是什麼也不要了，也就是往生了，也就是無罣無礙了。威音前，我撒手在威音王佛以前，那時候我就已經都看破了，已經都放下了。所以「金烏叫天碧」，金烏就是太陽，月亮叫玉兔，這個金烏也就是金雞，金雞叫天碧，這個天碧綠色的，金烏在天上叫，也就是野鶴無糧天地寬的意思，也就是無罣無礙，無人無我，那麼自由自在的；這也就是「千潭有水千潭月，萬里無雲萬里天」了。「偈畢，儼然而寂」，說完了這個偈子之後，儼然，就是很肅穆的，很莊嚴的，「而寂」，就是圓寂了。
【贊曰】
「觸背俱非」：相反地來說法，和這個觸類旁通，都是沒有說對。
「佛祖倒跨」：佛祖他倒駕慈航來教化眾生。
「直下會去」：就在當下，直下就是當下，當下你就要明白，如果你要是等著想一想，再來做一個怎麼樣的說法，那就是早涉周遮，那就是已經是落二落三了。周遮就是很麻煩了，不對了。所以他一想，他那麼一罔措，松庭禪師就罵他，在鬼窟裡討什麼碗？然後了改禪師更愈加不安了。這就是他說這個是觸背，他就說這個是不對，所以說觸背俱非。佛祖倒跨，佛祖倒駕慈航來教化眾生，是哪一位呢？也就是這位了改禪師，大約能受之無愧。直下會去，你要直下可以會了，你再直下會去，這個「去」呢，這裡頭就有一個商量的餘地了，就有一個想一想的意思了，那就不對了，所以早涉周遮，早就落二落三了。
「松庭月冷」：這個松庭，就是子嚴禪師，他這種的門庭高峻，門庭很嚴肅的，就有點寒冷的意思。他這種的道風、家風，很高的、很深的、很莊嚴的、很肅穆的。
「獅子爪牙」：這也是個譬喻，是說就好像獅子的爪和牙那麼厲害。獅子，就是言其這位松庭法師，他的鉗錘，他教化人的這種方法是很厲害的。他怎麼厲害法呢？
「正偏互錯」：正就是對，偏就是不對，可是對裡頭也有不對，不對裡又有個對。這個互錯，互相交錯，這個「錯」不是錯誤的「錯」，交錯就互相間錯、交錯這一樣的意思。你若讀過《楞嚴經》，就會懂得這個意思了，就是互相交映，互相由藉、互相借重。對的法是從不對那兒來的，不對的法是從對那兒來的，所以你若一了解了，根本沒有什麼問題。對，他也可以教化他；不對，他也可以教化他，這樣子就互相交錯。
「雪裡藏鴉」：那麼他這個教裡頭，不一定個個都是純潔的，不一定個個都是善良之輩，或者裡邊也有一些在裡頭搞亂的分子，在裡頭不守規矩的。我不知道旁人，就拿我們萬佛城來說，我就知道，裡面有好的是很好的，規規矩矩的，那麼裡面也有調皮搗蛋的。所以萬佛城裡邊，我告訴你們，裡邊真正修行的也有，可是以前什麼事情他們都做過，好像販毒的、做不法的事情的都有，可是他們現在都改過遷善了，一到了萬佛城，都改變了，黑的也不黑了，白的也不白了。所以雪裡藏鴉，有的時候是龍蛇混雜，份子不齊，是這樣子，不一定完全是好的。所以你就學佛法裡頭，你不要以為他學了佛法，他就眞是好了，一樣有那個無底的貪心，無底的那麼深，怎麼樣填也填不滿的，一樣也有不學佛的，也有沒有貪心的。所以大家要是明白了，這一切法都是佛法，都是不可說不可說，沒有什麼，沒有一個對與不對。雪裡藏鴉，那個鴉的黑色，你也看不見了，要是雪一化了，也還是露出來了。所以無明煩惱就在菩提裡頭，菩提本來很多，可是那個煩惱很少，就因為那個很少，因為無明就是黑暗的，你雖然智慧光明那麼多，可是那裡頭一點點無明，那力量就很大了，就像毒藥似的，你吃一點點，喔！就沒有沒命了，這無明亦復如是。
【宣化偈曰】
「松庭月冷夜寒涼」：就說這個松庭月冷，松庭禪師他這個規矩很森嚴的，一般人認為他，英文叫 really cold （很冷），那麼夜寒涼，就好像那個晚間很寒冷的。
「門牆高峻莫商量」：門牆高峻，他這個家風是特別的森嚴，特別有規矩，所以莫商量，你什麼事情你不要說，和他商量商量啊，怎麼樣好好辦啊，他沒有商量的餘地，他是我怎麼樣就怎麼樣子。所以了改禪師就被他罵，說他在鬼窟裡討碗。
「折攝二則方便用」：這叫什麼呢？這叫折攝二則，用折服法和攝受法。驕傲的人，他就用折服法，去折服他；那麼不驕傲的人，他就用攝受法來攝受他。所以這就叫折攝二則。方便用，互相用這種方便權巧的法門來教化人。「恩威並運巧妙詳」：恩威並運，他對人也有恩，但是也有威，是並運。巧妙詳，很巧妙地，很周詳地來教化人。
「鬼窟尋寶空費力」：他說這個了改禪師，說他「鬼窟尋寶空費力」，你在鬼窟裡找寶貝，找好東西！那是找不到的，很費力的。
「火宅苟安甚勉強」：三界無安猶如火宅啊！這個大宅裡頭就來著火了，你在這兒還以為很安樂的，這是太勉強了，講不通的。
「迥脫根塵無所住」：迥脫根塵，也不落於有，也不落於空，也不著到六根，眼耳鼻舌身意，六塵，色聲香味觸法，都不著住到根塵上了，無所住，也就是《金剛經》上說：「應無所住而生其心」，那麼就無所住了。
「逍遙自在歸故鄉」：這時候了改禪師豁然大悟，才能逍遙自在歸故鄉，又逍遙，又自在，才能回到自己那個真正的、本有的那個家鄉裡面去。
待續
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(continued from last issue)
The Master was at loss. When Dharma Master Lyau Gai heard this, he was in a dilemma and did not know what to do. He didn't know where to place his hands and feet. He was uncertain whether it would be better to walk, stand or sit. He could neither sit nor recline at ease, and he didn't know if it was right to walk, stand, sit, or recline. So the more Dhyana Master Sung Ting talked, the more confused and uneasy Dhyana Master Lyau Gai felt. He was so unsettled that he wondered what was wrong with himself - how come he didn't understand anything?
The Master was even more disconcerted. He felt very embarrassed.
One day, Sung Ting entered the hall to speak the Dharma. It is a very important Buddhist affair when the Dharma Host enters the hall to speak Dharma, and everyone at the temple has to go listen to the Dharma. He said,
"One word brings radical liberation and solitary excellence." Here, to attain radical liberation means to become quite different, to cast off worldly habits, give up old haunts, abandon the old way of doing things, and renounce the new as well. Neither the new nor the old
exist. Radical liberation is liberation from both transcendental and worldly truth. "Solitary excellence" means rising above ordinary people, being an outstanding individual who alone transcends what is common.
At that moment, the Master became greatly enlightened. When Dhyana Master Lyau Gai heard these words, he put everything down. He had been weighed down by so much baggage before that he could not escape the six sense organs and six sense objects. Instead, he continued to be involved with them. But now he has escaped them and is no longer stuck in existence or emptiness. At the moment when he united with the essence of 'the Middle Way, he became greatly enlightened.
In the Geng Wu year of the Hung Wu reign, he became the Abbot in Ju Ting (Patriarch's Court). This was probably in Yung Chyou District on Yun-jyu (Cloud Abode) Mountain in Jyang-nan (South of the River) Province. He was the Abbot at Cloud Abode Mountain.
In the year of Syin Chou in the reign of Yung Le, without experiencing any illness or pain, he suddenly gathered the great assembly together to bid farewell. Unexpectedly, he said, "All of you come quickly. I want to say good-bye to you, for I'm leaving! Hurry and come!" The bell tolled and the drums rolled, summoning everyone to convene. He told them, "Farewell, and hope we meet again." Then
he spoke a verse, "I will part from you this evening, at the age of eighty-seven. I am eighty-seven years old this year." In Chinese, the words "seven", "evening" and "blue" all rhyme, so this is a rhymed verse. He told everyone, "I will take leave of you tonight.
I put it all down before the time of Awesome Sound." That is, he let go, no longer wanting anything at all, and went off to rebirth without hindrance. "I had already put it all down before the time of Awesome Sound King Buddha. I had already seen through everything then, and put everything down." Therefore,
a golden rooster crows at dawn. The golden rooster is the sun, and the jade rabbit is the moon. The golden rooster crows at dawn, when the sky starts to turn blue. This has the same meaning as "Although the wild cranes are not fed, they have boundless freedom." It also means being free of obstructions, of the disintinctions of self and others, and having total independence. This is also the meaning of "A thousand lakes, a thousand reflections of the moon. Ten thousand miles without clouds, ten thousand miles of sky."
After finishing the verse, he composed himself and entered Nirvana. With solemn dignity, he entered the ultimate quiescence.
A verse in praise says:
Direct and indirect, both are wrong. Whether you speak Dharma indirectly by saying the opposite, or you say one point directly so the rest can be inferred, it is wrong.
The Buddha turned around and came back. The Buddha turned back the boat of kindness to come teach and transform living beings.
Right here and now, try to comprehend. You have to understand it right in this instant. If you wait and think about what you should say, then
you're already embroiled in complications. You've already fallen into the second or third position. "Complications" are troublesome and wrong. Dhyana Master Lyau Gai was flustered as he tried to think, so Dhyana Master Sung Ting scolded, "What are you begging for in the ghosts' grotto?" That made Dhyana Master Lyau Gai even more disconcerted. Whether he approached it directly or from behind, it was wrong. The Buddha turned back the boat of compassion to teach living beings. This probably refers to Dhyana Master Lyau Gai, who is worthy of this role.
Right here and now, try to comprehend. You must understand immediately. But here it implies that there is room for discussion and deliberation -- that's wrong, so
you're already embroiled in complications, you've long fallen into second or third place.
The cold moon at Sung Ting's place. Sung Ting is Dhyana Master Dz Yen. The gate to his place was high and stern, with a chilly air to it. The spirit of his cultivation and teaching was lofty, profound, dignified and solemn.
The claws and fangs of a lion. This is metaphor of the power of a lion's claws and fangs. The lion is Dharma Master Sung Ting, whose methods for teaching and transforming people were very powerful.
Proper and partial are meshed together. Proper means right, and partial means wrong. But right also contains wrong, and wrong also contains right. They mesh and intermingle together. If you've read the Shurangama Sutra, you will understand the meaning of this intermingling. Right dharmas come from wrong dharmas, and wrong dharmas come from right dharmas. Once you understand them, there are no more problems. Whether a person is right or wrong, he is able to teach and transform him. Right and wrong are meshed together.
Crows are hidden in the snow. Among the people he taught, perhaps there were some who were not so pure and wholesome. Some may have been trouble-makers, who refused to abide by the rules. I don't know about others, but just consider the people in the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. I know that some of the people here are very well-behaved and follow the rules, but there are also mischief-makers here. At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, there are some people who truly cultivate. In the past, they may have done all sorts of illegal things such as selling drugs, but they have reformed now. After coming to the City, they reformed and became good. The black ones are not black anymore, and the white ones are not white anymore.
Therefore, "crows are hidden in the snow." Sometimes the dragons and snakes mingle together and you cannot tell them apart. That's the way it is; not everyone is good, even among Buddhists. Don't think just because a person studies the Buddhadharma, he has to be a truly good person. Some people have greed which is like a bottomless basket. Such a basket is so deep that you could never fill it up. There are such people (in Buddhism). There are also people without greed who have not studied Buddhism. So we should understand that all dharmas are Buddhadharma, and as such they are ineffable, beyond words. There is nothing there; there's no right and no wrong. You cannot see the blackness of the crows until the snow melts and reveals them. Thus, ignorance and affliction are right within Bodhi. Originally there was a lot of Bodhi and only a bit of affliction. But that small bit of dark ignorance within the great radiance of wisdom is as potent as poison. Even a tiny bit will kill you. Ignorance is just like that.
Hsuan Hua's verse says:
The moon at Sung Ting's was cold, and the nights were chilly. The regulations at Dhyana Master Sung Ting's place were very strict, and people thought he was really cold. It was very cold at night.
The gate and wall were high and stern, uncompromising. He had a reputation for being especially stern and especially well-disciplined. He was uncompromising. You could not bring up any matter to discuss with him, to work out a good solution. He left no room for discussion and just had his own way. So he scolded Dhyana Master Lyau Gai and asked him why he was begging in the ghosts' cave.
The two methods of subduing and attracting were expediently used. He used the dharma of subduing to overcome arrogant people. If a person wasn't arrogant, he used the dharma of attracting to gather him in. He used these Dharma-doors of expedient means and clever techniques to teach and transform living beings.
Kindness and awesomeness functioned together - skillful, wonderful, and all-pervasive. He treated people with both kindness and awesomeness; the two qualities functioned together. "Skillful, wonderful, and all-pervasive": He was very clever and wonderful, and very attentive to all the details when he taught and transformed people.
Seeking treasure in the cave of ghosts, he wasted his efforts. He said to Dhyana Master Lyau Gai, "So you want to look for treasures in the ghost's cave, and search for goodies! You won't find any, and you'll waste a lot of effort."
In the burning house, he enjoyed a fool's paradise, but it was all unreal. The Triple Realm is like a burning house, with no peace. Although the house is on fire, you still think it's secure and happy there. This is all unreal. It is unreasonable.
Completely liberated from the sense organs and objects, he dwelt nowhere. He was not stuck in existence or emptiness. Nor was he attached to the six sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind) and the six sense objects (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, objects of touch, and dharmas). The
Vajra Sutra says, "Produce the thought which dwells nowhere." He did not abide in any place.
Free and at ease, lie returned to his native village. Suddenly Dhyana Master Lyau Gai was greatly enlightened, so he was happy-go-lucky, without a care, and could return to his own true, inherent hometown.
to be continued
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