前期提示:元賢禪師後來於崇禎那年,在鼓山當方丈.也在開元寺、寶善寺、浙江真寂寺當過方丈後·於丁丑年坐著圓寂了·
贊曰：
遍至十方 諸佛世界
是二音聲 朗徹無礙
得見壽昌 打失布袋
一撾石鼓 頓發聾聵
「遍至十方，諸佛世界」，「是二音聲」：那麼無論到什麼地方，都是這個真虛二音。這個二音，你怎麼講都可以的，不是一定說是就是「謦欬」那兩個音。這兩個音就是你有兩種的這個音聲，是二音聲。「朗徹無礙」：你能把它都明白了。這個二音，就是在那一個音裡頭又有兩個音，或者兩個音裡頭又有一個音。二而不二，那麼不二而二。這個就是你明白了，一為無量；你沒有明白，無量還是一；你明白了，無量也是一，一又是無量。你沒有明白呢？它就是相反的。你明白，也是這樣的；沒明白，還是這樣的。是二音聲，朗徹無礙，這裡頭沒有什麼玄妙的，可是還沒有不是玄妙的。也就是真空裡頭有個妙有，妙有裡頭又有真空；無音裡頭又有個音，有音裡頭又沒有音，就是這麼糊塗。你若明白了，就不糊塗；不明白了，就糊塗。
你說：「師父您這麼講，我更加糊塗了！」那師父也糊塗，徒弟也糊塗，糊塗教糊塗。啊！糊塗教糊塗，大家若知道糊塗了，就不要糊塗了，如此而已，沒有太多話同你們講的。
這個是二音聲，朗徹無礙。「得見壽昌」：能見到壽昌了，才「打失布袋」：他把那個執著的布袋，和這個臭皮囊，都能看破了，放下了。這叫打失了，看破放下了。
「一撾石鼓」：就是一敲這個石鼓，「頓發聾聵」：那個聾子也聽見了，糊塗的也明白啦！
又說偈曰：
行住坐臥皆清淨 穿衣喫飯亦菩提 機教相扣無所得 文字不立有何奇
放下布袋真自在 粉碎虛空了他依 遍往十方諸佛剎 毫端法界誰狐疑
「行住坐臥皆清淨」：什麼叫清淨光明身呢？行住坐臥都是清淨光明身。可是你要怎麼樣呢？就是要清淨身、口、意。你身、口、意三業清淨了，那就是清淨光明身；你身、口、意沒有清淨，那就是五濁惡世的眾生身。
「穿衣喫飯亦菩提」：這個吃飯穿衣服，你不要以為：「哦！我吃這個飯，營養我這個身體，穿衣服遮我這個醜呀，遮寒遮暖啊！」其實這個你若會用，都是在那修道的，都是菩提。你吃東西，你不要偷著吃；穿衣服，不要偷著穿，這就不犯戒了。你若吃東西，「哦！我餓了」，偷著去吃點東西，犯戒了。「啊！我想要穿一件有價值的衣服，我不叫人知道這是很值錢的，我穿到裡邊。」這也是衣錦尚絅，那個外邊穿上一個粗布的衣服，裡邊穿上一個很值錢的輕裘，就是又輕暖又名貴，這麼一件衣服，這叫衣錦尚絅。古人有的是這樣的。這樣的，我告訴你，這也是犯戒，犯一個偷盜的戒，不叫人看見。
那麼你能以會吃飯，會穿衣服，再會睡覺，不要「哎呀！我今天睡得不夠啊！好苦啊！我睜不開眼睛啦！」說你比什麼都苦，這就是沒會。你若會了，吃沒吃飯是一樣，穿沒穿衣服是一樣的，睡沒睡覺是一樣的。菩提心要是常常在那兒，對這些都放下了，就是不執著它。所以，吃飯穿衣亦菩提，你若會用，這吃飯、穿衣、睡覺，這都是可以在菩提裡邊，都是在覺悟裡邊。譬如你吃東西，你不貪吃好的，不貪吃有味的，這都是合菩提心的。你若一貪，說：「哦！這個甜的，我要多吃一點；那個苦的，我要不吃它；那個辣的，我要離它遠一點。」這都是離菩提遠了。菩提無心，菩提本無樹，也沒有心，所以吃飯穿衣亦菩提。
「機教相扣無所得」：機就是眾生，教就是教化，你教化眾生。這機教相扣，機和教就像合成一個似的。無所得，也沒有一個教，也沒有個機。這個時候，都合而為一。那麼你也不能說我教化這個人，我有一個什麼功勞。也不可以說，啊！你教化我，我怎麼樣感謝你。無所得，兩個都是虛空，什麼都沒有。你也不要謝謝我，我也不要謝謝你。所以我們萬佛城誰也不說「謝謝」兩個字，這都是表法呢！這你們各位要知道的，「謝謝！啊！謝謝！」這都是人情，這是面子，這是在這個心意識上用功夫了。所以我們學佛法的人，應該給人做一個榜樣，儘量不說這一些個虛套的話。所以不說謝謝。
「文字不立有何奇」：那個文字，連一個字也沒有。不立文字，有什麼奇怪的？寫出來文章––這個文章好啊，那個詩好啊，那個什麼……，這都覺得：「喔！奇文！奇詩！」一個文字也沒有，你說有什麼可奇的，也沒有什麼特殊的，也沒有什麼平凡的，文字不立有何奇！
「放下布袋真自在」：那麼你若能把你執著的這個臭皮囊真放下了，不為它做馬做牛，不為它做奴隸。心為形役，哦！到時候我給它找兩餐，到時候我給它買一點衣服，到時候我又給它吃點藥，到時候我又給它弄點什麼、什麼、什麼……。你說這不是給這個心為形役，這個形體變成一個喧賓奪主了。所以你能以放下布袋，真自在，那才是真正的自在，你說那多快樂！你沒有累贅了，一點也沒有了。你看！猶如虛空，猶如明月，「清風明月無來去」，無來無去的，無罣無礙的，不增不減的。你說有什麼？想想看，你若能把這個布袋放下了，這個臭皮囊放下了，你煩惱也沒有了，是誰也不發火了。人家罵你一頓，你發火了，這是沒有打失布袋；人家打你，或者怎麼樣子，你就在那個地方就生了煩惱了，那你沒有打失布袋呀！沒有見到壽昌啊！
這個「一撾石鼓」，也就是一敲這個石鼓，一打這個石鼓，一擊這個石鼓。「頓發聾聵」，發聾震聵，聵就是糊塗人，什麼也都不懂。聾就是指聾子，聵也就是失去知覺了，不懂人性了。你們大家快醒過來，所以後邊我這個簡簡單單又說偈，就說「行住坐臥皆清淨」，那都是清淨法身，「穿衣喫飯亦菩提」，都是菩提。那麼「機教相扣無所得」，本來沒有什麼的。所以我常常想：「你們不聽我話，我也不需要有什麼煩惱了。」為什麼呢？我想：「啊！我應該聽聽這個師父話。這一些個不聽我的話的，都是我的師父。」那麼這樣一想，這比吃蜜糖都甜，一點苦也沒有了。所以說「機教相扣無所得，不立文字有何奇」，這有什麼奇怪的？「放下布袋真自在」。
「粉碎虛空了他依」：這個了他依，我們人在這世界有這個三法印（依他起性，遍計執性，圓成實性），凡事我們這個計較－－這個依他起性，好像人在晚間，在路上看見一條黑繩子，他因為看不清楚這是一條繩子，他就懷疑了：「喔！那是一條蛇啊！」這是依他起性。依他起性這一個繩子，你就有依他起性了，然後就有遍計執性了。想：「咦！這個黑影子一定是條蛇！」再弄清楚了，原來是一條繩子，那條繩子是麻搓的，根本什麼也沒有，這就是圓成實性。圓成實性是歸無所得，所以了他依，沒有依他起性了。你要是虛空都沒有了，你這個依他起性在什麼地方起？沒有了。
「遍住十方諸佛剎」：你這個虛空都沒有了，十方剎土都是在這個目前，也沒有來，也沒有去。所以「毫端法界誰狐疑」：還誰在那狐疑？你有一個狐疑在，就因為你沒有看破、放下，你那布袋還揹著呢！所以就有這麼多的，又想這個，又想那個；這個也煩惱啦，那個也無明啦，都來了。你若都放下了，有什麼了不起的。各位想一想看！ |
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From last issue: Dhyana Master Yuanxian served as the Abbot at Gushan Monastery in 1634. Later he also served as the abbot at Kaiyuan, Baoshan, and Zhenji Monasteries. He passed into stillness in 1657 while in a seated position.
A verse in praise says:
Pervading throughout the ten directions
In all the Buddha worlds,
Thus are the two sounds,
Unimpeded, resonant, and clear.
Upon seeing Master Shouchang,
He put down his cloth sack.
One strike of the stone drum
Awakened the deaf and the muddled.
Commentary:
Pervading throughout the ten directions / In all the Buddha worlds / Thus are the two sounds / Unimpeded, resonant, and clear. No matter where one goes, there are two kinds of sounds: real and fake. The “two sounds” can be interpreted in many ways and don’t necessarily mean a loud sound and a soft sound. “Unimpeded, resonant, and clear” means that one completely understands. As for the two sounds, there may be two sounds within a single sound, or one sound within two different sounds. They are dual and yet nondual. If you understand, then the one becomes limitless. If you don’t, then the limitless is still one. If you understand, then the limitless is one, and the one is limitless. Whether you understand or not, it’s still the same way. Within this, there is nothing subtly wonderful, and yet there is nothing that is not subtly wonderful. Within true emptiness there is wonderful existence, and within wonderful existence there is true emptiness. There is sound within the absence of sound, and absence of sound within sound. How confusing! Once you understand, you won’t be confused anymore.
“Teacher, listening to you has made me more confused!"
Then the teacher is confused, and so is the disciple. One who is muddled teaches others to be muddled. Since we realize that we’ve been muddled, let’s not be muddled anymore.
Upon seeing Master Shouchang, / He put down his cloth sack. After meeting Master Shouchang, he saw through and set down his attachments and his stinking skin bag (body).
One strike of the stone drum / Awakened the deaf and the muddled. The deaf were restored to hearing, and the muddled became clear-headed.
Another verse says:
Whether moving or still, awake or asleep, one is pure.
Wearing clothes and eating are also Bodhi.
When the teaching tallies with the potentials, nothing is
attained.
Without a single word, what is wonderful?
Putting down the cloth sack, one is truly at ease.
Smashing through emptiness, one puts an end to mutual
dependence.
Travelling to Buddhalands throughout the ten directions,
Who doubts that the Dharma realm can manifest at the
tip of a hair?
Commentary:
Whether moving or still, awake or asleep, one is pure. What is meant by the pure and bright body? Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down are all the pure and bright body. What should you do? Purify the body, mouth, and mind. Once the three karmas of body, mouth, and mind are pure, that is the pure and bright body. If you are impure in body, mouth, and mind, then you simply have the body of a living being in the evil world of the five turbidities.
Wearing clothes and eating are also Bodhi. Don’t think that you are eating to nourish the body and wearing clothes to cover up the body and keep out the cold and heat. If you know how to apply your skill, then these activities are also part of cultivation; they are also Bodhi. As for eating, you shouldn’t steal food to eat or eat on the sly. As for wearing clothes, you shouldn’t steal clothes to wear. Then you won’t violate the precepts. If you get hungry and sneak into the kitchen to eat on the sly, then you’ve broken the precepts. Or let’s say you want to wear expensive clothes, but you don’t want others to see them, so you wear them inside. You wear a rough coat on the outside, and underneath it you wear expensive furs that are soft and warm. That’s what some people did in ancient times. I tell you, this is also violating the precept of stealing, because you hide something from others.
You have to know how to eat, dress, and sleep. Don’t say, “I didn’t get enough sleep last night, and I can hardly keep my eyes open. I feel terrible.” If you say that, it means you don’t know how to do it right. If you knew how, then it would be the same whether or not you’ve eaten, put on clothes, slept. If your Bodhi mind is constantly present, then you will put all of these things down. You won’t be attached to them. If you know how to do them right, then eating, wearing clothes, and sleeping are all within Bodhi (enlightenment). If you aren’t greedy for fine food and delicious treats, then you’re in accord with the Bodhi mind. If you say, “I want to eat more of this sweet stuff, but I’m going to stay away from the bitter and hot food,” then you are still far from Bodhi. “Originally, Bodhi has no tree.” It is without a mind, so eating and wearing clothes are also Bodhi.
When the teaching tallies with the potentials, nothing is attained. When one teaches living beings, the teaching and the potentials merge into one. Nothing is attained; there is no teaching and no potentials, because they have united into one. You cannot say that you have taught such and such a person and have therefore accrued merit. Nor can the person say that he is grateful to you for teaching him. Nothing is attained. Both sides are empty; there is nothing at all. You don’t have to thank me, and I don’t have to thank you. At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, no one says “thank you.” This is a symbolic custom. All of you should know, when you say, “Oh, thank you, thank you so much!” you are indulging in superficial human emotions; you are applying effort at the level of the mind consciousness. Those who study the Buddhadharma should set good examples for others to follow; we should try to refrain from worldly expressions such as “thank you.”
Without a single word, what is wonderful? There’s not even a single word. You may put things in writing or read what people have written and say, “What a fine essay! What a wonderful poem!” Yet not a single word is established, so what’s so extraordinary? There is nothing special and nothing ordinary.
Putting down the cloth sack, one is truly at ease. Truly put down your attachments and your stinking skin bag, and stop toiling away on its behalf, stop acting as its slave. Don’t let the mind be a slave to the body. Don’t say, “I’ve got to find meals for it, buy clothes for it, feed it medicine. I’ve got to do this and that for my body...” With that attitude, wouldn’t you say the mind is a slave to the body? The body has taken over. If you set down the cloth sack, you’ll truly be at ease. How happy you’ll be! You’ll be relieved of all your burdens! It’s like empty space or the bright moon. “The light breeze and the bright moon neither come nor go.” They neither come nor go; they are totally unimpeded, neither increasing nor decreasing. What is there then? Think it over: if you can put down the cloth sack—the stinking skin bag—your afflictions will come to an end. Nobody will lose his temper anymore. When someone scolds you and you get angry, it’s because you haven’t put down the cloth sack. If someone beats you or does something else to you, you become afflicted at that point. That’s because you haven’t put down your cloth sack. You haven’t met Master Shouchang.
The previous verse said, “One strike of the stone drum / Awakened the deaf and the muddled.” The muddled are as if unconscious; they don’t understand human affairs. All of you should quickly wake up. Then I wrote another simple verse, which began, “Whether moving or still, awake or asleep, one is pure.” It’s all the pure Dharma body. “Wearing clothes and eating are also Bodhi. / When the teaching tallies with the potentials, nothing is attained.” Basically there’s nothing at all. So I often think to myself, “If none of you listen to me, I don’t need to get afflicted. Why not? I should listen to my teacher. All those who don’t listen to me are my teachers.” When I think of it like that, it’s sweeter than honey; all the bitterness is gone. “Without a single word, what is wonderful?” What’s so strange about it? “Putting down the cloth sack, one is truly at ease.”
Smashing through emptiness, one puts an end to mutual dependence. In the world, there are the three Dharma seals. There are also the Nature of Dependent Arising, the Nature of Pervasive Discrimination and Attachment, and the Nature of Absolute Truth. When we discriminate about things, that is the Nature of Dependent Arising at work. For example, if you see a rope on the road at night, because you can’t see very clearly, you might think it’s a snake. The Nature of Dependent Arising begins with the rope. Then with the Nature of Pervasive Discrimination and Attachment, you think, “Oh, this black form must be a snake!” When you take a closer look, you find that it’s merely a rope made of twisted hemp—nothing serious at all. This is the Nature of Absolute Truth, which returns to a state of nonattainment. “Puts an end to mutual dependence” means that the Nature of Dependent Arising is gone. If even empty space does not exist, from where could the Nature of Dependent Arising come forth? It’s also gone.
Travelling to Buddhalands throughout the ten directions… If you can do away with empty space, then the Buddhalands of the ten directions will appear right in front of you. There is no coming and no going. Who doubts that the Dharma realm can manifest at the tip of a hair? Who is in doubt? You have doubts only because you haven’t seen through and put things down. You’re still carrying the cloth sack around. That’s why you’re still thinking about this and that, getting afflicted over this and being confused about that. Once you’ve put everything down, what’s the big deal? Think it over. |
