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贊曰
無相道場。何處不見。
不撥而轉。頓超方便。
恐上紙筆。碑語通遍。
夜半當天。太陽獨現。
「無相道場，何處不見」，這個無字相的道場，什麼地方都是無相道場。「不撥而轉」，不用撥動它，它就自己轉動了，「頓超方便」，他這種頓悟，超過這一切方便法門。
「恐上紙筆」，因為恐落到紙筆上，他就不留痕跡，什麼也不要的；一有了痕跡就著相了，就不是無相道場，「碑語通遍」，那麼梁山就說：「你說的這一句話可以立碑刻銘，你能這樣子說出來，從來沒有人說過你這句話，也沒有這樣有見地。」「夜半當天」，晚間就像是白天似的，「太陽獨現」，太陽光獨現出來，這也就是說他出乎其類，拔乎其萃，與眾不同的。
或說偈曰
無相道場寥然空 人心惟危執厥中
望梅止渴騙自己 畫餅充飢哄兒童
恐落紙筆絕言說 為示規範日午食
八十五年終難睹 坐化歸歟事重重
「無相道場」，道場都是無相，無相道場這是一個名，沒有一處的，所以說「寥然空」，根本就是沒有這麼一個無相道場。
「人心惟危執厥中」，在儒教所講的：「人心惟危，道心惟微，惟精惟一，允厥執中」，這是儒教的十六字真傳。「人心惟危」就是說，人心很危險的，你要不危險，也不要太去求這個微妙、求玄妙，只要合乎中道可以了。允執厥中，也只近那個中道。為什麼呢？
「望梅止渴」，連這個口渴了，你想酸梅，這口裡就很多口水出來了，就不渴了，真是不渴了，這是自己「騙自己」，這叫望梅止渴。
三國上曹操用兵，軍隊走得又飢又渴，也沒有水喝，曹操就說：「前面有一片梅林，咱們到梅林那兒，大家吃一點酸梅，就不渴了。」這麼樣一說，軍隊裡所有的人都想著有梅林了，一想到這個梅，一股酸味，於是乎都把渴給忘了，這叫「望梅止渴」。其實這正是自己騙自己。
「畫餅充飢哄兒童」，小孩子歡喜吃餅，你在紙上畫個餅，就告訴這小孩子這是個餅，吃了就不餓了，這是哄小孩子。也就是說，找這個無相，根本不必找，你找到無相，所以梁山就指吳道子畫的觀音給他看，他問什麼叫「無相的道場」，他指到觀音像給他看，他正在想要說什麼呢？梁山就說：「這是有相的。」有相是這個；無相你應該知道；所以他就開悟了，也不要望梅止渴、也不要畫餅充飢了，然後他要告辭了。梁山就問他為什麼你一句話也不說？他說「恐落紙筆」，他怕說出來的話寫到紙上，就留出痕跡了，留出這個文字了；所以，一句話也不說就走了。為什麼他走了？他已經明白了、開悟了、懂了！所以他恐落紙筆，「絕言說」，什麼也不說了。
「為示規範」，為了給大家作一個榜樣，持這個戒律，他「日午食」，也就是日中一食，他在中午吃飯。
「八十五年終難睹」，他寫這個偈頌說，修因如此，八十五年，也沒見著這無見頂相，所以他終難睹。「坐化歸歟事重重」，坐那個地方，就往生了，這個事也重重、理也重重，事理都是重重無盡。
本文完
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A verse in praise says:
The Way-place of No Marks:
Where won’t you see it?
Without being turned, it revolves by itself,
Instantaneously transcending expedient means.
He feared what he said would get recorded on paper,
But his words were inscribed on stone tablets everywhere.
In the dead of night, right in the middle of the sky,
A solitary sun appears.
Commentary:
The Way-place of No Marks: Where won’t you see it? Every place is just the Way-place of no marks.
Without being turned, it revolves by itself, instantaneously transcending expedient means. You don’t need to give it a spin; it can turn and revolve by itself. With sudden enlightenment, one can transcend all the expedient dharma doors.
He feared what he said would get recorded on paper. Dhyana Master Jingxuan was afraid that what he said would be recorded on paper,and so he didn’t want to leave any traces. He wanted nothing at all. Leaving traces behind is an attachment to marks, and not a Way-place of no marks.
But his words were inscribed on stone tablets everywhere. But Dhyana Master Liangshan thought those words should be chiseled in stone because nobody had ever said those words before, or had ever had the insight required to say something like that.
In the dead of night, right in the middle of the sky, a solitary sun appears. The night seemed to turn into day; the sun shone brightly. That means he was an outstanding person among his fellow cultivators; he was different from the rest.
Another verse says:
The markless Way-place is vast and empty.
The human mind is dangerous: hold to the Middle.
Thinking about plums to try to quench
one’s thirst is just cheating oneself.
Drawing cakes to satiate one’s hunger is only
fit for placating children.
Fearing lest what he said would be recorded
with brush and paper, he stopped speaking.
Wishing to serve as a model, he ate one meal a day at noon.
In eighty-five years, it was still hard to see it:
After he seated himself and departed,
affairs unfolded layer after layer.
Commentary:
The markless Way-place is vast and empty. Way-places all have marks. “The Way-place with no mark” is just a term, and basically there is no such place. Therefore, here it says “vast and empty”. Basically, there is no Way-place that is markless.
The human mind is dangerous: hold to the Middle. In Confucianism, it is said that “the human mind is dangerous; the Way-mind is subtle. Concentrate and be singleminded: sincerely hold to the Middle.” This is (a translation of) the sixteen word mind-dharma of the Confucian School. “The human mind is dangerous,” it cannot be trusted. If you don’t want to be caught in a dangerous situation, then you should not try to seek what is subtle and wonderful. You should stick to the Middle Way. Why is that?
Thinking about plums to try to quench one’s thirst is just cheating oneself. when we feel thirsty, if we think about sour plums, lots of saliva will be produced in our mouths. Then we will no longer feel thirsty. However, although it is possible to alleviate our thirst temporarily by thinking that way, we are cheating ourselves.
This refers to an incident that occurred during the Three Kingdoms Period. Cao Cao told his troops: “Very soon we will arrive at a plum orchard, and then we will eat sour plums and will no longer feel thirsty.” The moment his troops heard that, they started to imagine the taste of sour plums, and so they forgot their thirst. That is known as “to quench one’s thirst by imagining plums.” In fact, this is just cheating oneself.
Drawing cakes to satiate one’s hunger is only fit for placating children. Children like to eat cakes. You may draw the picture of a cake on paper and tell them, “Eat it and you will not be hungry,” but that is a child’s game. This principle applies to one who is looking for that which has no mark. Actually, you do not need to look for it, because there is no markless Way-place after all.
Dhyana Master Jingxuan asked about the markless Way-place. Dhyana Master Liangshan pointed to the image of Guanyin Bodhisattva, painted by Wu Dao Zi. When Dhyana Master Jingxuan was about to say something, Dhyana Master Liangshan quickly said, “Since this has marks, you should know what has no marks.” Upon hearing that, Dhyana Master Jingxuan immediately became enlightened. He did not need to “quench his thirst by imagining plums, nor did he need to “draw a picture of cakes to satisfy his hunger.”
Fearing lest what he said would be recorded with brush and paper, he put an end to speaking. Then Dhyana Master Jingxuan was about to leave Dhyana Master Liangshan. The latter asked him, “Why didn’t you say anything?” Dhyana Master Jingxuan answered that he was afraid to leave traces on paper, and so without saying anything, he left. Why did he leave? Because he understood; he was enlightened, and so he said nothing.
Wishing to serve as a model, he ate one meal a day at noon. Because he wished to be an example of one who holds the precepts, he ate one meal a day at noon.
In eighty-five years, it was still hard to see it. He wrote a verse saying, “In my eighty-five years, the causes of my cultivation are such that I have not seen the invisible mark atop the summit.”
After he seated himself and departed, affairs unfolded layer after layer. He sat there and went off to rebirth. Specifics unfold layer upon layer; principles open up layer after layer as well. Specifics and principles both expand layer upon layer and are inexhaustible.
The End
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