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（5）多年豆腐帳可追
以前有一個老修行開悟後，就前觀後觀，要看一看自己是誰。哦！原來以前他是個什麼人呢？你們誰也猜不著，他是個賣豆腐的。他賣豆腐來到禪堂，隨喜坐一下，把多年的豆腐帳都想起來了，就說了一首偈頌：「難怪禪堂各找誰，萬劫欠債歲復歲；我今只坐半小時，多年豆腐賬可追。」說的雖然不妙，但也不太粗；一個賣豆腐的人會說偈頌，這不是開悟了，怎麼會說呢？
他說，參禪真是妙！我是個賣豆腐的，到一個禪堂裏賣豆腐。和尚到庫房去拿錢，我就在禪堂裏等著。我看這些人都在幹什麼？這些和尚都說：「誰？誰？誰──？」他一看，他也坐著想了：「誰──？誰欠我豆腐賬？五、六年以前，王麻子買了我十塊豆腐，沒有給我錢；四、五年以前，李瘸子他買五塊豆腐，也沒有給錢。參禪真是好，我如果不是在這兒坐一坐，參禪找誰，這個豆腐賬怎能想得起來呢？這真是妙不可言。」
所以偈頌說：「難怪禪堂各找誰」，真難怪他們在這兒各找誰──誰──？我到現在才知道這個妙訣；「萬劫欠債歲復歲」，一年又一年，到萬劫那麼久，也想不起來是誰欠他們的債？現在他們坐在禪堂裏，南無自己（自己問自己）：「哎！是誰？誰欠我錢呢？有誰欠我東西沒還？」他們都在找欠自己債的人；「我今只坐半小時，多年豆腐賬可追。」這個賣豆腐的不是說了一首偈頌就算數，以後他天天去參禪；參得沒有豆腐賬了，他又參：「前生誰欠我豆腐賬？再前生又有誰欠我豆腐賬？」參得種下了一個金剛種子。因為有這個種子，所以今生他又到禪堂；不是追豆腐賬，是去參禪。他這次機緣成熟，參得豁然大悟：「哦！原來我是這麼一回事。」
你們各位究竟是怎麼一回事？你若開了五眼，也可以看一看、找一找：誰是我的媽媽？誰是我的爸爸？誰是我的至親骨肉？我們現在怎麼搞得跑到這兒，在一起坐坐又跑跑，跑跑又坐坐？「哦！原來這個是我以前的爸爸，那個是我以前的媽媽，那是我以前的哥哥，那是我以前的弟弟……。」這些宿世的因果賬都會明白。你們想知道無量劫到現在，生生世世因果循環的關係，就要好好用功；開悟了，就知道：「哦！我原來發願要幫著師父到美國弘揚佛法的，原來如此哎！」
（6）在禪堂就是持戒
我們在禪堂就是持戒，這是「不持之持，不戒之戒」。為什麼呢？每一天跑香、坐香，跑香就是運動你的身，坐香就是安定你的心。跑香運動你的身，令氣血調和百病不生；坐香鍛鍊你的心，令你的心妄想不生，智慧現前。調身調心，令你由戒生定，由定而發慧。打禪七是修行的第一法門，第一個用功的法門，可是沒有善根的人，就覺得受不了，甚至坐一支香也坐不了，有的腿痛，有的腰痛，有的肚子痛，有的連汗毛稍、頭髮尖、眉毛稍也痛，週身都不自在了。你要知道：「不受苦中苦，難為人上人」。萬丈高樓是從地面建築起來，萬德圓融是從根本上建立。打禪七，就是建築這個根本。就好像房子的地基要是打好了，這棟樓就不會坍塌損壞；你要是基礎不做好，颳一颳風、下一下雨，房子或者就會倒坍了。我們參禪，就是造好修行的基礎。
（7）明白生死的路
為什麼不叫「坐禪七」，也不叫「修禪七」，也不叫「行禪七」，卻叫「打禪七」？這個「打」字，就有挨打的意思，是很痛苦的；腰也痛，腿也痛，不挨香板打，也覺得很痛苦。既然痛苦，為什麼又要打禪七？為什麼不找一點快樂？為什麼要受這個痛苦？因為你找快樂，是世間法；你能受這個苦，是出世法。你想要出世，就先要經過一番鍛鍊；鍛鍊，就是不能忍的要忍，不能受的要受，這和一般人不同。你追求世間法，愈享受，就愈會墮落；你追求出世間法，愈受苦，就愈能恢復你本有的智慧光明，所以我們要打禪七。打禪七，外邊要被香板打，裏邊要受精神的痛苦，就是你不能忍腿痛，也要忍著；這麼樣子內外夾攻，打得你沒有地方跑，那時候就開悟了。開悟，就是明白你怎麼樣生、怎麼樣死；把生死的道路明白了，然後就會了生脫死。
（8）修道的第一步
 坐久了，身上會有股暖氣從肚子裏熱起，熱到全身後再回來，來回熱幾次；這是四個階段開始的一個反應，叫「熱」的階段。熱以後，經過一個相當的時間，就到「頂位」了；覺得頭上有什麼，又好像沒有，你看不見、 摸不著，總有一點不可思議的境界。頂位以後就忍不住了，但是還要忍，這叫「忍位」。忍的階段，覺得頭上很不舒服，有什麼東西要把頭鑽個窟窿似的；這時候你要忍，久而久之，這個窟窿鑽透了，跑到頭上，這好像小鳥出籠一樣，高興的不得了：「這是世界第一個人了！」這是「世第一」。這個世界第一位大丈夫、第一位大英雄、第一位大豪傑，沒有人可比的，所以叫「世第一」。在世第一後，還要天天修行，把法身修得周遍法界：以法界為體，以無相為名，以虛空為宗，以慈悲喜捨做用。你修成了之後，還要修「慈、悲、喜、捨」四無量心，慈無量、悲無量、喜無量、捨無量；你把這四無量心再修圓滿了，這還只是修道的第一步。
（9）一種輕安的感覺
你參話頭「念佛是誰」，參到極點，就會豁然開悟。開悟，是明白以前所不明白的事，以前所不知道的現在都知道了。在開悟之前，要有疑情；這個疑情一生出來，大疑就有大悟，小疑就有小悟。所以開悟就是明白道理，並不是什麼一個很特別的境界。坐禪有初禪、有二禪、有三禪，有四禪。初禪之前，先有一種輕安的境界；這種輕安是覺得身上很舒服、很自在、很受用的，這種舒服自在，叫做「法喜」。你得到法喜充滿的境界，你不吃也不餓，不睡也不睏，甚至於你不穿衣服也不冷；人坐著好像是沒有自己似的，走路也好像沒有自己似的，不知自己在什麼地方，這就是修行開始的一種輕安的感覺。在輕安的境界以後，就會入初禪的定；那時候自己像空了似的，覺得脈搏也停了。
待續
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5) Recalling the Tofu Debts of Many Years Past
In the past, there was an old cultivator who, after his enlightenment, wanted to find out who he really was in the past. What kind of person was he in the past? I bet none of you know. He was a tofu seller. In the past, he came to a Chan hall while selling tofu and happily sat in meditation like the others in the hall. While sitting, he was able to recall all his tofu debts. He composed a verse, which goes like this:
No wonder everyone in the Chan hall is looking for the “who?”
The debts of ten thousand eons have accumulated over the years.
I sit for only half an hour,
And my many years of tofu debts can be traced.
This verse, though not profound, is not too bad either. If this tofu seller were not enlightened, how could he come up with such a verse?
He said, “How wonderful it is to investigate Chan! As a tofu seller, I came to the Chan hall to sell tofu. While waiting for the monk to get money from the storeroom, I looked and thought, ‘What are these people doing here?’ They were all saying “Who? Who? Who?” Seeing this, the tofu seller sat down and start to look for that “Who – Who still owes me money for the tofu I sold them? Five or six years ago, Wang Ma Zi purchased ten pieces of tofu and has not paid for it. Four or five years ago, Mr. Li purchased five pieces of tofu and also has not paid for it. Investigating Chan is really good. If I did not sit here and search for that ‘who,’ how could I have possibly recalled all these tofu debts? This is truly inconceivable.”
Therefore the verse says: No wonder everyone in the Chan hall is looking for the “who?” No wonder everyone there is searching for the “who?” I have come to know this wonderful practice.
The debts of ten thousand eons have accumulated over the years. Ten thousand eons have since passed, and one cannot recall who still owes money. Now they sit in the Chan hall to “Namo” themselves (to ask themselves): “Who is it? Who still owes me money? Who owes me?” They were all looking for their creditors. “And I now sit for only half an hour, and I manage to recall my many years’ of tofu debts.” The tofu seller did not just stop there after saying the verse, he investigated Chan everyday thereafter and recalled all his tofu debts. He also investigated, “Who owes me tofu debts from the last life and the life before that.” He planted vajra seeds. As a result of those
vajra seeds, he came to the Chan hall, not to trace his tofu debts, but to investigate Chan. This time the conditions had ripened and he managed to awaken: “Oh! My original self is like this.”
So what about your original self? If you open the five eyes, you can take a look. Who is my mother? Who is my father? Who are my close relatives? How come I have ended up here—sitting and walking, walking or sitting. “Oh! This was my father in the past, that was my mother in the past, that was my elder brother in the past and that was my younger brother in the past.” You can understand all of the debts of these causes and effects from past lives. If you want to know the causes and effects and relationships you’ve had in life after life from beginningless eons in the past to the present, you should work hard at your cultivation. Once you become awakened, you will know, “Oh! In the past I made vows to assist my Teacher to propagate Buddhism in the United States.”
6) Being in the Chan Hall Is Upholding the Precepts
We are holding precepts when we are in the Chan hall. This is called “Upholding without upholding,” and “Having precepts without precepts.” Why? Everyday we walk and sit in meditation. Walking meditation exercises the body, and sitting meditation calms the body. Walking meditation can regulate the body as the blood circulation flows and thus prevents sickness. Sitting meditation trains our mind. It can stop our false thoughts from arising and enable our wisdom to manifest. When we train our body and mind, this will cause
samadhi to arise from holding the precepts. And then wisdom manifest from
samadhi. The Chan session is the foremost method of cultivation and the foremost way of applying effort. One who lacks good roots will not be able to bear it. Some people cannot endure even one period of sitting. They either get pain in their legs, backaches, or stomachaches. Some feel pains in their pores, hair tips, or even their eyebrows or all over the body. You should know that if you don’t endure suffering, you cannot become an honorable person. A skyscraper is built upwards from the foundation, and great merit and virtue comes from the fundamentals. Investigating Chan is a way to build this foundation. If you lay a good foundation, the house will not topple. If the foundation is not solid, if there is gusty wind or heavy rain, the house will fall apart. The purpose of investigating Chan is to lay the groundwork for cultivation.
7) Understanding the Road of Birth and Death
Why isn’t it called “sitting” for a Chan session? It is not called cultivating a Chan session, or conducting a Chan session but rather the expression is “striking” or “beating” a Chan session. The word “beating” actually means being beaten up. This means it is very painful. Your back aches and your legs are in pain. Even if you do not get hit by the incense stick, you feel pain. If it is so painful, why does one want to do a Chan session? Why does one not go find something more pleasurable to do? Why go through this suffering? Seeking pleasure is worldly dharma, while enduring suffering is transcendental dharma. If you want to transcend this world, you must first go through the training. This training is to bear the unbearable, and to endure hardship. This is different from the ordinary person. If you chase after worldly dharmas the more you indulge in worldly pleasures, the more you will decline and fall. On the other hand, if you aspire to world-transcending dharmas, the more hardship you endure, the more you unveil the original light of wisdom. Therefore, we must do the Chan session. Externally you have to endure the physical pain of being hit by the incense stick, and internally you have to bear the psychological suffering. You have to bear the pain in your legs no matter how painful it gets. Being attacked from within and without, to the point that there is no place to escape, you will then become enlightened. When you get enlightened, you will know how you are born and how you die. Once you understand the path of birth and death, you will be liberated from birth and death.
8) The First Step of Cultivation
When one sits for a long time, there will be a warm
qi (energy) that will come from the stomach and spread to the whole body. This will repeat a few times. This signals the beginning of the four stages. It is called the stage of heat. After a long period of time, the heat will move to the crown of your head. You will feel that something is there and yet not there. You can’t see or feel it. It’s an inconceivable state. After the heat reaches the top of the head, you will have difficulty bearing it but you should bear it. This is the stage of “patience.” At this stage; it is quite uncomfortable on the top of your head. It feels as if something were drilling a hole into your head. You must be able to bear it. After some time, the hole has been drilled through and it moves to the top of your head. This is like a bird being released from its cage. It is extremely happy. One is the foremost person in the world; one is number one in the world. One is the foremost hero, the great hero who is beyond compare. After the stage of “foremost in the world,” one must continue to cultivate. You should cultivate until your Dharma body fills the entire Dharma Realm, taking the Dharma Realm as your substance, “Formless” as your name, the void as your principle, and kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity as your functions. After you have completed your cultivation,
you still need to practice the Four Limitless Minds – kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. When you perfect these Four Limitless Minds, it is just the beginning of the cultivation.
9) A Sense of Light Ease
 When you investigate the meditation topic, “Who is mindful of the Buddha?” to the ultimate point, eventually you will become enlightened. Enlightenment is understanding what you did not understand and knowing what you did not know in the past. Before realizing enlightenment, you should harbor doubt. It is said, “Great doubt results in great enlightenment, and small doubt results in small enlightenment.” Enlightenment also means to understand principle. It is not really a special state. There are the first
dhyana, the second dhyana, the third dhyana and the fourth
dhyana stages in Chan meditation. In the first dhyana, there is this feeling of light ease. You will feel comfortable, free, and benefited. This kind of comfort is called bliss in the Dharma. You will experience the state of blissfulness. You will not feel hungry even if you do not eat, nor tired if you do not sleep, nor cold if you are not wearing enough clothes. It will be as there is no self when sitting, and no self when walking. One does not know where one’s “self” is. This feeling of light ease is the beginning of cultivation. After this state, you will enter the
samadhi of the first dhyana; it is like your self is empty and you feel that your pulse has stopped.
To be continued
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