Teacher Qi Zhijun | 2018-06-23 | Download | AI assisted translation
| 元音古寺打七开示 | Teachings Given During a Seven-Day Retreat at Yuanyin Ancient Temple |
|---|---|
| 齐志军老师 | Teacher Qi Zhijun |
| 起七前 | Before the Retreat Began |
| ★学人问：“打七过程中，如何抓住？” | ★ A student asked: “During the seven-day retreat, how do we ‘grasp hold’ of it?” |
| 齐老师：“‘抓住’只是借用语。真要用力抓，它是没法抓的。因为它不可舍，同时不可得。当我明白了，凛然一觉、朗然现前，已经抓住过了！要是再一抓反而没了。这地方确实只可意会，不可言传，时间到了非常简单。 | Teacher Qi: “‘Grasp hold’ is only a borrowed expression. If you really try to seize it with effort, there is no way to grasp it. It cannot be relinquished, yet it cannot be obtained. When I understand—there is an awe-inspiring awakening, clearly present before me—I have already grasped it! If I try to grasp it again, it is gone instead. This is truly something that can only be apprehended inwardly and cannot be transmitted in words. When the time comes, it is very simple.” |
| 你没那个经历，想在理论上弄明白，累死你也不会明白。这样说吧：从理论上说，所谓“抓住”，即非抓住，是名抓住。” | “Without that experience, if you try to understand it theoretically, you will not understand it even if you exhaust yourself to death. Put theoretically, so-called ‘grasping hold’ is not grasping hold; this is called grasping hold.” |
| ★问：“我们心密法门是结印持咒、心念耳闻，为何说它是从第八识入手？” | ★ Asked: “Our Heart-of-Heart Dharma involves forming mudrās, reciting mantras, and listening inwardly to the mind’s recitation. Why is it said to begin with the eighth consciousness?” |
| 齐师答：“闻思是第六识的。但我们是以总持为法，结印持咒，秘密作用。并非你自己心里思想斗争，想通了而成的。而是不知不觉地成了。 | Teacher Qi replied: “Hearing and contemplation belong to the sixth consciousness. But we take dhāraṇī as our method: forming mudrās and reciting mantras, with their secret functioning. It is not something accomplished through your own mental struggle or by thinking things through. Rather, it comes about without your noticing.” |
| 只要你肯‘行’，不需做思想工作，自己也没有劝自己，打坐观照时间长了，自然就不怀疑了。它不需要从理论上设一个第六识、第八识。它秘密作用，潜移默化。这个法力量大，作用力的确很强。你要是付诸实践就知道，真实不虚啊！从第八识修起就这意思。” | “So long as you are willing to practice, there is no need to engage in mental persuasion; you need not even persuade yourself. After sitting in meditation and maintaining contemplation for a long time, doubts naturally disappear. There is no need to posit a sixth consciousness and an eighth consciousness theoretically. Its secret functioning works by subtle influence and gradual transformation. This Dharma is powerful; its efficacy is indeed very strong. If you put it into practice, you will know that it is true and not false! This is what is meant by cultivating from the eighth consciousness.” |
| 陈老师补充：“我们修行过程中，第八识种子是要翻出来的，这很明显。其实第六识的修法只是转换你的思想而矣，八识种子并没动。八识起修是连根拔起。六识起修是从意根转换，像斩树叶一样，不断的把树叶斩啊斩啊。 | Teacher Chen added: “In the course of our practice, the seeds in the eighth consciousness must be brought forth; this is very evident. In fact, practices of the sixth consciousness merely transform your thoughts, while the seeds of the eighth consciousness remain untouched. To practice from the eighth consciousness is to pull them out by the roots. To practice from the sixth consciousness is to transform things from the mind faculty, like cutting leaves from a tree—continually cutting and cutting the leaves.” |
| 实际上，不要研究它怎样是八识、怎样是六识。实际的作用就是这样嘛！你看我们的种子翻得多利害啊！难受啊！可以持愣严咒心。” | “Actually, do not investigate how something is the eighth consciousness or how it is the sixth consciousness. Its actual effect is simply like this. Look at how intensely our seeds are being brought forth! It is painful! You may recite the Śūraṅgama Mantra heart-mantra.” |
| 齐师再补充：“其实这法就是先把第八识转成大圆镜智。教下普遍的修法是先转第六识成妙观察智，再转第七识成平等性智，然后转第八识成大圆镜智，最后转前五识成成所作智。 | Teacher Qi further added: “In fact, this Dharma first transforms the eighth consciousness into great perfect mirror wisdom. The common method of the doctrinal schools is first to transform the sixth consciousness into wondrous observing wisdom, then the seventh consciousness into the wisdom of equality, then the eighth consciousness into great perfect mirror wisdom, and finally the first five consciousnesses into the wisdom of accomplishing what is to be done.” |
| 你若是非要有个理论分清第六识、第八识，那是个相当缜密的理论体系，若不广读经论，可能会越弄越糊涂。简单地说吧，我们的方法，是先实修，从实践中来。” | “If you insist on having a theory that clearly distinguishes the sixth consciousness from the eighth consciousness, that is quite a meticulous theoretical system. Unless you read the sūtras and treatises extensively, you may only become more confused. Simply put, our method begins with actual cultivation, proceeding from practice.” |
| 起七上座前 | Before Taking One’s Seat at the Beginning of the Retreat |
| ★问：“我们看的光盘里，上师说‘一念断处，这是什么——当下见性。’就这么简单吗？” | ★ Asked: “In the video recording we watched, the master said, ‘At the point where thought ceases—what is this? Seeing one’s true nature in this very moment.’ Is it really that simple?” |
| 齐师：“断！” | Teacher Qi: “Cease!” |
| 全场鸦雀无声，后众人露笑。 | The entire hall fell silent; then everyone smiled. |
| “现前了！就这么简单！” | “It is present before you! It is that simple!” |
| 众人即皱眉。 | Everyone immediately frowned. |
| 师：“又怀疑了！怀疑就打打七吧！” | The teacher said: “Doubting again! If you doubt, then go do a seven-day retreat!” |
| ★问：“据说打七时，历代祖师都会到现场加持？” | ★ Asked: “It is said that during a seven-day retreat, patriarchs of every generation come to the site to bestow blessings?” |
| 答：“现在就加持着，你说的话元音老人听见了。” | Answered: “They are bestowing blessings right now. Master Yuanyin has heard what you said.” |
| 旁问：“老人在哪？” | Someone nearby asked: “Where is the Master?” |
| 答：“就在问的人心里，要不然他怎会想起这事！” | Answered: “He is in the mind of the one asking; otherwise, how would that person have thought of this?” |
| ★问：“齐老师，您希望弟子在这次打七中有什么收获？” | ★ Asked: “Teacher Qi, what do you hope your disciples will gain from this seven-day retreat?” |
| 答：“最好是没有收获！” | Answered: “Best of all, nothing!” |
| 旁问：“那我们来打七不是多余吗？” | Someone nearby asked: “Then isn’t it superfluous for us to come and do a seven-day retreat?” |
| 答：“佛说法四十九年，谈经三百余会，拈出八万四千法门，都是未说一字。难道这打七不多余？！” | Answered: “The Buddha taught the Dharma for forty-nine years, discoursed on the sūtras in more than three hundred assemblies, and set forth eighty-four thousand Dharma gates—all without speaking a single word. So is this seven-day retreat not superfluous?!” |
| ★ 开示： | ★ Teaching: |
| “历来祖师都不会说：‘你见性了’，然后弟子说：‘谢谢师父见证’。如果阿罗汉说：‘我得阿罗汉果了’，那他离阿罗汉太远了！你们别指望这次打七有‘你见性了’这样的对白了。 | “Patriarchs throughout the ages would never say, ‘You have seen your true nature,’ and then have the disciple reply, ‘Thank you, Master, for confirming it.’ If an arhat said, ‘I have attained the fruit of arhatship,’ that person would be far from being an arhat! Do not expect a dialogue such as ‘You have seen your true nature’ during this seven-day retreat.” |
| 打七的人一般不会问‘我这是不是见性啊？’一般会先描述一翻，然后问：‘这是什么呀？’我会这样告诉他：‘我知道你问的是什么，你要是着在这，根本谈不上见性’！有的死缠烂打，希望有上述对白。 | “Those doing a seven-day retreat generally do not ask, ‘Is this seeing my true nature?’ Usually, they first describe it at length and then ask, ‘What is this?’ I would tell them: ‘I know what you are asking about, but if you become attached to this, there can be no talk of seeing your true nature at all!’ Some persistently press the matter, hoping for the dialogue mentioned above.” |
| 我就明确说：我宁可得罪你，也不害你！我说你见性是害你了，我不说你见性是得罪你了。可我并没说你不见性。别人的嘴是不可靠的。并不是我说了算，你须要自己有把握。” | “Then I state clearly: I would rather offend you than harm you! If I say that you have seen your true nature, I harm you; if I do not say so, I offend you. But I have not said that you have not seen your true nature. Other people’s words are unreliable. It is not for me to decide; you must have assurance for yourself.” |
| ★开示： | ★ Teaching: |
| “它不在理解的语言里，但可以通过语言来烘托，通过语言来领会。要是能领会，那么，‘打死了喂狗’是真报佛恩啊！不能领会，就是谤佛了。云门祖师是一代大祖师呀，他怎会乱讲。那是在特定环境下说的，换一个环境，就是谤佛了。这些语言不能生硬理解啊，‘它’不在理解的语言里。” | “It is not found within language that can be understood, yet language can evoke it and enable one to apprehend it. If one can apprehend it, then ‘Beat him to death and feed him to the dogs’ is truly repaying the Buddha’s kindness! If one cannot apprehend it, then it is slandering the Buddha. Patriarch Yunmen was a great patriarch of his generation—how could he speak carelessly? He said this in a particular setting; in a different setting, it would be slandering the Buddha. Such words cannot be understood rigidly. ‘It’ is not within language that can be understood.” |
| ★问：“打坐是助行，下坐是正行？……” | ★ Asked: “Sitting meditation is an auxiliary practice, while practice off the cushion is the main practice? …” |
| 答：“这是平常修行说的，打七时不讲这个，只管打坐。 | Answered: “That is how practice is ordinarily discussed. During a seven-day retreat, we do not speak of this; simply concentrate on sitting in meditation.” |
| 若晚上六时睡不着觉，妄想纷飞，这时想观照，那不如持咒。凛然一觉、朗然现前，就是观照了。妄念一来，‘喝！’空空朗朗、明明净净。不是找一个光影，盯在那，根本不是那回事！” | “If, at six o’clock in the evening, you cannot sleep and deluded thoughts are flying about, then rather than trying to maintain contemplation, it is better to recite the mantra. An awe-inspiring awakening, clearly present before you—that is contemplation. As soon as a deluded thought arises: ‘Hey!’ Empty and open, clear and pure. It is not a matter of seeking out some light or image and fixing your gaze on it. That is not it at all!” |
| ★问：“发脾气，是因果业报，还是……” | ★ Asked: “When one loses one’s temper, is it karmic cause and effect, or …?” |
| 答：“‘不除妄念不求真’，不是除了妄念来求一个真。轮刀上阵也得见性，何况光火！” | Answered: “‘Do not eliminate deluded thoughts or seek the true.’ It is not a matter of eliminating deluded thoughts in order to seek some truth. Even amid battle, sword in hand, one must see one’s true nature—much less when merely angered!” |
| ★开示： | ★ Teaching: |
| “什么是佛教？可以用三句话来定义：诸恶莫作（是人道），众善奉行（是天道），自净其意（是解脱道）。” | “What is Buddhism? It can be defined in three sentences: Do no evil (the human path); practice all good (the heavenly path); purify one’s own mind (the path of liberation).” |
| ★开示： | ★ Teaching: |
| “佛是大医王，如果没有病，那就没有药。佛法的根本是无法，‘无法法亦法’。那是佛对第一代祖师（不是禅宗的第一代，是佛教的第一代，各宗的第一代。六祖以后才有禅宗，六祖以前这是佛教的正宗）大迦叶尊者说的。 | “The Buddha is the great king of physicians. If there were no illness, there would be no medicine. The fundamental principle of the Buddha-Dharma is no dharma: ‘No-dharma is also Dharma.’ This was what the Buddha said to the first-generation patriarch, Venerable Mahākāśyapa—not the first patriarch of the Chan school, but the first patriarch of Buddhism, the first patriarch of all the schools. The Chan school came into being only after the Sixth Patriarch; before the Sixth Patriarch, this was the orthodox tradition of Buddhism.” |
| ‘法本法无法，无法法亦法。今付无法时，法法何曾法。’本来无法可说，但还是说了，因为众生有病啊。‘法法何曾法’，还是未说一字。” | “‘The Dharma that is fundamentally Dharma has no dharma; no-dharma is also Dharma. Now, when the no-dharma is transmitted, how have dharmas ever been dharmas?’ Originally there was no Dharma to be spoken, yet it was still spoken because sentient beings are ill. ‘How have dharmas ever been dharmas?’—not a single word has still been spoken.” |
| ★开示： | ★ Teaching: |
| “六祖说动用三十六对，那是应病与药，对治法门。” | “The Sixth Patriarch spoke of employing thirty-six pairs. These are medicines prescribed according to the illness—Dharma gates for counteracting it.” |
| ★问：“前念已断、后念未生，完全可以领悟到。但在睡梦中，一点梦都没有了，什么都不知道时……？” | ★ Asked: “I can fully understand ‘the previous thought has ceased and the next thought has not yet arisen.’ But when there is not even a dream in sleep, and one knows nothing at all …?” |
| 答：“前念已断、后念未生，不属于“知”，也不属于“不知”。与梦更不相干。” | Answered: “‘The previous thought has ceased and the next thought has not yet arisen’ belongs neither to ‘knowing’ nor to ‘not knowing.’ It has even less to do with dreams.” |
| ★问：“自己本来是佛，可以承担，但是妄念来了还做不了主，还会随着它跑？” | ★ Asked: “I can accept that I am originally a Buddha, but when deluded thoughts arise, I still cannot be my own master and follow them along?” |
| 答：“其力未充啊！这是空灵的力量，不是要抓住一个东西的力量，莫如说是扔的力量，扔掉了，力量就大。” | Answered: “Your strength is not yet sufficient! This is the power of emptiness and luminosity, not the power of grasping something. It would be better called the power of throwing away: once it is thrown away, the power becomes great.” |
| ★开示：“无为是什么意思？不是什么都不干，而是干了就是没干。百丈禅师就是这样，忙得团团转，却说自己是闲人。” | ★ Teaching: “What does non-contrivance mean? It does not mean doing nothing; rather, having acted, it is as though one has not acted. Chan Master Baizhang was like this: busily occupied, yet he called himself an idle person.” |
| ★开示：“‘断除烦恼重增病，趣向真如亦是邪。’这是禅宗的《传灯录》里说的。” | ★ Teaching: “‘To cut off afflictions only increases the illness; to pursue suchness is also deviant.’ This is said in the Chan school’s Records of the Transmission of the Lamp.” |
| ★问：“我有不间断长期的耳鸣，在持咒时也不断鸣响，怎办？” | ★ Asked: “I have continuous, long-term tinnitus. It continues ringing even while I recite the mantra. What should I do?” |
| 答：“它鸣它的，你念你的。” | Answered: “Let it ring; you recite.” |
| ★问：“怎样精进？” | ★ Asked: “How does one practice diligently?” |
| 答：“一般说，努力用功就是精进。但这不是了义的精进。了义的精进是这样说的：‘若起精进心,是妄非精进。若能心不妄，精进无有涯’” 。 | Answered: “Generally speaking, making an earnest effort in practice is called diligence. But this is not ultimate diligence. Ultimate diligence is expressed thus: ‘If the mind gives rise to diligence, it is delusion, not diligence. If the mind is free of delusion, diligence is boundless.’” |
| 入七后（第一、第二个七） | After Entering the Retreat (the First and Second Seven-Day Periods) |
| ★问：“我认为每一个世界都是尽虚空，遍法界的……” | ★ Asked: “I think that every world completely pervades empty space and the Dharma realm …” |
| 答：“佛经里有原文：‘如帝网珠，光光互摄’。若误解，就可能会死板。” | Answered: “There is an original passage in the Buddhist sūtras: ‘Like jewels in Indra’s net, each light mutually encompasses the others.’ If misunderstood, it may become rigidly conceptualized.” |
| ★开示： | ★ Teaching: |
| “释迦牟尼佛这儿本来就是净土。我们所处的五浊恶世就是释迦牟尼佛的凡圣同居土，它以五浊恶世的形式出现。火里生莲，在这么难受的世界里成道。在这，就是释迦牟尼佛最纯正的净土。 | “The place of Śākyamuni Buddha is originally the Pure Land. The Sahā world of the five turbidities in which we dwell is Śākyamuni Buddha’s Land of the Common Residence of Ordinary Beings and Sages; it appears in the form of the Sahā world of the five turbidities. Lotuses grow from fire: one realizes the Way in such a painful world. Here is Śākyamuni Buddha’s most pristine Pure Land.” |
| 我曾问过一些人：‘如果有人说，我不去西方，我哪都不去。我就在五浊恶世里，我相信释迦牟尼佛的加持力，在这里我生生世世不退转。这个人算不算信佛？’多数人说他不算佛教徒。 | I once asked some people: “Suppose someone says, ‘I will not go to the Western Pure Land; I will go nowhere. I will remain in this Sahā world of the five turbidities. I have faith in the empowering power of Śākyamuni Buddha, and life after life I will never regress here.’ Does this person count as a believer in the Buddha?” Most people said that he did not count as a Buddhist. |
| 其实，这人是最纯正的佛教徒，他生生世世跟释迦佛修法，不纯正吗？！但你看这么多人说他不算佛教徒，这是净土宗长期教化的结果。现在有的禅师也在说教（但这比只做经忏的好多了），但说教也不说圣谛第一义。 | In fact, this person is the most authentic of Buddhists. Life after life, he practices with Śākyamuni Buddha—how is that not authentic?! Yet so many people say that he does not count as a Buddhist. This is the result of the Pure Land school’s long-term teaching. Nowadays some Chan masters also preach the teachings (which is still much better than merely performing sūtra and repentance rites), but even when they preach, they do not speak of the ultimate meaning of the Noble Truth. |
| 如《金刚经》里‘如是灭度无量无数无边众生，而实无众生得灭度者’就不讲。无相的都不讲，只讲有相的，甚至变成了‘谁说无相谁是邪恶的’这一观念。 | For example, the passage in the Diamond Sūtra, “Thus I liberate immeasurable, innumerable, boundless sentient beings, yet in reality no sentient being is liberated,” is not discussed. Nothing without characteristics is discussed; only what has characteristics is discussed. It has even become the notion that “whoever speaks of the formless is evil.” |
| 这样下去的话，释迦牟尼佛佛法的精华都灭尽了！元音老人胆大，他就敢提起。现在大家听到老人说法，都来学了。终究解脱根性的人还是解脱根性，绝不满足那个简单格式化。 | If this continues, the essence of Śākyamuni Buddha’s Dharma will be utterly extinguished! Master Yuanyin was bold enough to raise the matter. Now that people hear the Elder teaching the Dharma, they all come to study. Those with the capacity for liberation will, in the end, still have the capacity for liberation; they will never be satisfied with that simple, standardized format. |
| 除了简单的格式化，还有就是拼命往上较劲，什么舍身饲虎、割肉喂鹰、燃指供佛，实际那不是人人都能做得到的。要是燃了指的话，心中心法是没法修的，结不了印呀！各有各的方便，燃指有他的精神意义，不能说他不对。 | Apart from simple standardization, there is also the desperate striving upward: offering one’s body to feed a tiger, cutting flesh to feed an eagle, burning one’s fingers as an offering to the Buddha. In fact, not everyone can do such things. If one burns one’s fingers, one cannot practice the Heart-of-Heart Dharma, because one cannot form the mudrās! Each has its own expedient means. Burning one’s fingers has its spiritual significance, and one cannot say that it is wrong. |
| 但拿燃指来换，是换不来的。要是想‘我燃指了，佛菩萨能给我个东西’，能给吗？能给的话，释迦佛早就给我们了，哪用燃指！本来是一种方便，有人就把它变成究竟了。所以元音老人受到攻击是很自然的。他胆大，敢说真话。敢说真正的佛法教义。” | But one cannot obtain anything in exchange for burning one’s fingers. If one thinks, “I have burned my fingers, so can the Buddhas and bodhisattvas give me something?” Can they? If they could, Śākyamuni Buddha would have given it to us long ago—why would there be any need to burn one’s fingers? It was originally an expedient means, but some people have turned it into the ultimate. Therefore, it is only natural that Master Yuanyin was attacked. He was bold and dared to speak the truth—the true doctrines of the Buddhadharma.” |
| ★问：“生净土横出三界，要过的一关指的是什么意思？” | ★Question: “What does it mean to say that rebirth in the Pure Land is a horizontal transcendence of the three realms, and that there is a barrier one must pass?” |
| 答：“我哪知道他是什么意思？本来这些话是很有道理的，本来这确实是一个很好的方便法，但一说过头说绝对，就把别的路都堵死了。 | Answer: “How would I know what he means? These words originally make a great deal of sense. This truly is a very good expedient method, but once it is overstated and made absolute, all other paths are blocked off. |
| 还有些是方便说，例如：两个人相约到兜率内院，一个先去了，后来一个经过外院时贪恋而留在外院了，这都是方便说。还有，《大集经》云‘末法时期，亿亿人修行，罕一得道，唯依念佛，得度生死’，我找《大集经》找过几遍了，找不到这段话。 | “There are also teachings given as expedient means. For example, two people agree to go to the Inner Court of Tuṣita. One arrives first; later, the other passes through the outer court, becomes attached to it, and remains there. These are all expedient teachings. Also, the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra says, ‘In the age of Dharma decline, billions upon billions practice, yet scarcely one attains the Way; only by relying on Buddha-recitation can one be liberated from birth and death.’ I have searched the Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra several times but have not found this passage.” |
| 按时下的一套，老人受攻击是可以理解的。但我们不满足于那一套，因为佛经被他们说的都是有，虽然他们整天念《心经》：‘无眼耳鼻舌身意，无色声香味触法，……无智亦无得’，整天念无，却偏偏说有，不敢说无。 | According to the prevailing set of ideas, it is understandable that the Elder was attacked. But we are not satisfied with that set, because they explain the Buddhist sūtras entirely in terms of existence. Although they recite the Heart Sūtra all day long—“no eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touchables, or dharmas, … no wisdom and no attainment”—and recite nonexistence all day long, they insist on existence and dare not speak of nonexistence. |
| 害怕说无就被说成断灭了！道不可得，不可舍，能断灭得掉吗？那才是正教，是圣谛第一义！佛法的根本就在这。有幸啊！我们遇到老人，跟佛法这么相应，应该庆幸啊！别人爱怎么说就怎么说吧。” | They fear that speaking of nonexistence will cause them to be accused of annihilationism! The Way cannot be obtained and cannot be relinquished—can it be annihilated? That is the true teaching, the ultimate meaning of the Noble Truth! This is the foundation of the Buddhadharma. How fortunate we are! We have encountered the Elder, who accords so closely with the Buddhadharma. We should rejoice in this! Let others say whatever they wish.” |
| ★问：“我们临走的时候，弥勒佛会来接我们吗？” | ★Question: “When we are about to depart, will Maitreya Buddha come to receive us?” |
| 答：“还怕什么啊！我们有慈氏咒，那是我们回家的咒。” | Answer: “What is there to fear? We have the mantra of Maitreya Bodhisattva; it is the mantra that brings us home.” |
| 问：“往生兜率天有没有什么相？比如说生西方净土出现的身体柔软这些？” | Question: “Are there any signs of rebirth in Tuṣita Heaven? For example, when one is reborn in the Western Pure Land, there are signs such as the body remaining supple?” |
| 答：“其实，现在说生净土的这些瑞相，是可能有，不是必然有，示不示相都能生净土。另，生天也会有这样的瑞相。” | Answer: “In fact, the auspicious signs now spoken of in connection with rebirth in the Pure Land may occur, but they are not inevitable. Whether signs appear or not, one can still be reborn in the Pure Land. Moreover, rebirth in heaven may also be accompanied by such auspicious signs.” |
| ★问：“助念有必要吗？” | ★Question: “Is assisted Buddha-recitation necessary?” |
| 答：“当然很好，助念是亡者度活的人。别说反了，你度他？你有什么能力度他？他提供一个机会给你助念，你认为帮了人了，自己也受益了。是这样的意思，度你的。” | Answer: “Of course it is very good. In assisted Buddha-recitation, the deceased liberates the living. Do not get it backward—do you liberate them? What ability do you have to liberate them? They provide you with an opportunity to assist in recitation. You think you have helped someone, but you yourself also benefit. That is what it means: they liberate you.” |
| ★问：“到时元音老人会来接我们心密弟子的，是吗？” | ★Question: “Master Yuanyin will come to receive us disciples of heart esotericism, won’t he?” |
| 答：“元音老人来接的都是那些修得不太好的，修得好的根本用不着接。” | Answer: “Master Yuanyin comes to receive those whose practice has not been very good. Those who have practiced well have no need to be received at all.” |
| ★问：“我们如果想生西方净土，老人会直接把我们送去，还是先接到内院再送去？” | ★Question: “If we wish to be reborn in the Western Pure Land, will the Elder send us there directly, or first receive us into the Inner Court and then send us there?” |
| 答：“你想去哪？净土在你心外吗？还用跑去吗？退一步说，如果你不愿去，老人是拿你没办法的。比如中阴身，他听你的话，就解脱了，还轮回就是因为他不愿听。” | Answer: “Where do you wish to go? Is the Pure Land outside your mind? Is there any need to run there? To take a step back, if you are unwilling to go, the Elder can do nothing about you. For example, an intermediate-state being will be liberated if it listens to your words; it continues in rebirth only because it is unwilling to listen.” |
| 问：“这中阴指的是第八识吗？” | Question: “Does this intermediate state refer to the eighth consciousness?” |
| 答：“那时已经投胎过了，第七识及前六识都生起来了。只是身体很稀薄，有身体的。如果光是第八识，不会那么思维，也听不见你说话。” | Answer: “By then, it has already entered the womb; the seventh consciousness and the first six consciousnesses have all arisen. It simply has a very subtle body—it does have a body. If it were only the eighth consciousness, it could not think in that way or hear what you say.” |
| ★问：“我们的灌顶是什么？” | ★Question: “What is our empowerment?” |
| 答：“灌顶就告诉你六印—咒，不灌顶就不告诉你。不要把它想得很神奇。就算神奇存在，也不顶饿。我不否定加持力的存在，但它不顶饿，代替不了成道。真成道是超越那加持力的，超越不了加持力就成不了道。 | Answer: “Empowerment means telling you the six mudrās and one mantra; without empowerment, they are not told to you. Do not imagine it to be something so miraculous. Even if miraculous things exist, they cannot fill your stomach. I do not deny the existence of empowering power, but it cannot fill your stomach and cannot substitute for realizing the Way. Truly realizing the Way means transcending that empowering power; if you cannot transcend it, you cannot realize the Way. |
| 它不管用，只是信心不足的人用这增加信心，感到加持力，产生信心了，就这点作用。它不可能帮你提前打开本来见性。倒是把这个放下，放得快的可以提前。这些有相的东西，放下才能见性。” | “It is of no real use. It merely helps those whose faith is insufficient to increase their faith: they feel the empowering power and thereby develop faith. That is its only function. It cannot help you open up and see your true nature ahead of time. Rather, if you let this go, those who let it go quickly may do so sooner. One can see one’s true nature only by letting go of these things with characteristics.” |
| 问：“加持力是什么？” | Question: “What is empowering power?” |
| 答：“它是有一种力量，但我们不重视它。之所以不重视它，因为它跟明心见性大不相干。” | Answer: “It is a kind of force, but we do not attach importance to it. We do not attach importance to it because it has little to do with realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature.” |
| 问：“如果有一个上师对我有超强的加持力，但我对它不感冒是不是没作用？” | Question: “If a guru has extraordinarily strong empowering power over me, but I do not feel drawn to it, will it have no effect?” |
| 答：“你就是对它感冒，也不顶用。消业、背业这些都是方便说，代替不了你自己用功。” | Answer: “Even if you do feel drawn to it, it is of no use. Eliminating karma and carrying karma are expedient teachings; they cannot replace your own diligent practice.” |
| ★问：“永嘉大师说‘六度万行体中圆’，我们平时怎样？……” | ★Question: “Chan Master Yongjia said, ‘Within the essence, the six perfections and myriad practices are complete.’ How should we conduct ourselves in daily life? …” |
| 答：“你可能理解错了。你说六度万行是在立一个六度万行的相。其实，永嘉大师是勘破了六度万行，《证道歌》的意思绝不是立一个有相的六度万行。它是勘破了六度万行的，突破了六度万行相。那才是真正的六度万行。” | Answer: “You may have misunderstood. When you speak of the six perfections and myriad practices, you are establishing an appearance of the six perfections and myriad practices. In fact, Chan Master Yongjia saw through the six perfections and myriad practices. The meaning of the Song of Realizing the Way is certainly not to establish the six perfections and myriad practices as something with characteristics. It sees through the six perfections and myriad practices and breaks through their appearance. That is the true six perfections and myriad practices.” |
| 问：“但做的还是要做，不是说我们要不住相，不废相？” | Question: “But what needs to be done should still be done, should it not? Is it not said that we should neither abide in appearances nor discard appearances?” |
| 答：“本来是无碍的，该做的还是要做，但这么一说就有问题了，就成了一种交换。你修福，一定功不唐捐，我们做好事，一定功不唐捐。但做好事跟开悟见性是两码事。不做，不影响开悟见性。做了，也不影响开悟见性。 | Answer: “Originally, there is no obstruction: what should be done should still be done. But once it is put this way, there is a problem, for it becomes a kind of exchange. If you cultivate blessings, your efforts will certainly not be wasted; if we do good deeds, our efforts will certainly not be wasted. But doing good deeds and awakening to see one’s true nature are two different matters. Not doing them does not hinder awakening to see one’s true nature. Doing them does not further awakening to see one’s true nature. |
| 并不是去拿世间有相的东西来交换的，佛法里没有这个交换市场。但这个不妨是一个方便说。比如说挖山洞不代表能成道，但也可能挖着挖着时机到了，一下子悟道了的。但我们现在打七，说无上道，就不说这些了。” | “It is not a matter of using worldly things with characteristics as something to exchange. There is no such marketplace of exchange in the Buddhadharma. Yet this may serve as an expedient teaching. For example, digging a mountain cave does not mean that one can realize the Way, but one might dig and dig until the time is ripe, and suddenly awaken to the Way. But now, when we undertake a seven-day retreat and speak of the unsurpassed Way, we do not speak of such things.” |
| 问：“不是说初地到八地，再到十地以上……” | Question: “Is it not said that one proceeds from the first bhūmi to the eighth bhūmi, and then above the tenth bhūmi …?” |
| 答：“如果这些概念还有一丝在心里挂碍着，扫不清楚，那么连初地也没证，不用再往后说了。初地菩萨早就把这些扫得很干净了。如果不搞干净这些事，就容不得别的。 | Answer: “If even a single trace of these concepts remains as an obstruction in your mind and has not been swept clean, then you have not realized even the first bhūmi, so there is no need to speak of what comes later. A first-bhūmi bodhisattva has long since swept these things away completely. If these matters are not thoroughly cleared away, there is no room for anything else.” |
| 我举一个极端的例子：在一个专弘净土的流通处，只流通净土的书。 | I will give an extreme example: at a distribution center devoted exclusively to propagating the Pure Land, only Pure Land books are distributed. |
| 有一个人发心流通《宗镜录》——净土宗的祖师永明寿禅师写的（永明寿禅师的生日就是阿弥陀佛的圣诞，因为大家都认为他就是阿弥陀佛的化身，用他的生日做弥陀圣诞）。本来他写的《宗镜录》在这里流通很合适。 | Someone resolves to distribute the Record of the Source-Mirror—a work written by Chan Master Yongming Yanshou, a patriarch of the Pure Land school. (Chan Master Yongming Yanshou’s birthday is observed as Amitābha Buddha’s birthday, because everyone regards him as an incarnation of Amitābha Buddha.) Originally, it would have been entirely appropriate for his Record of the Source-Mirror to be distributed there. |
| 但流通处的人拿《宗镜录》翻过后，说这书不能流通，理由是里边没说念佛，这书是外道的。太可怜了，那是净宗祖师写的呀！这就是太过头了。 | But after the people at the distribution center leafed through the Record of the Source-Mirror, they said that the book could not be distributed, because it did not speak of Buddha-recitation and was therefore a non-Buddhist work. How pitiful! It was written by a patriarch of the Pure Land school! This is going too far. |
| ‘十地’的概念，跟其他的方便说一样，都跟成道搭不上关系，别想用任何有相的东西往里搭。我也很同意这些方便说，但，金屑虽贵，入目成翳。” | The concept of the “tenth bhūmi,” like other expedient teachings, has no connection with realizing the Way. Do not try to connect any thing with characteristics to it. I also agree very much with these expedient teachings, but although gold dust is precious, when it enters the eye it becomes a speck. |
| ★出家人问：“我们修了心中心法，又打经忏是不是有影响？” | ★A monastic asked: “After practicing the Heart-of-Heart Dharma, will it affect us if we also perform sūtra and repentance rites?” |
| 答：“经忏可能不应付也不行。打个比方，我们不说别人，如果我有机会出了家，在一个庙里作住持，假如我不做经忏的话，可能我也承担不了。 | Answer: “It may be impossible not to perform sūtra and repentance rites when circumstances require it. To give an example, without speaking of others: if I had the opportunity to become a monastic and were the abbot of a temple, then if I did not perform sūtra and repentance rites, I might not be able to shoulder the responsibility either.” |
| 因为来的大多数是那样的人，只有少数人求解脱，我总不能为少数人服务啊！连某某老和尚见面都是这样：‘发财！发财！发大财！’他如果不说这个，没啥跟来人说，来的人是求发财的啊！那经忏就经忏吧！ | Because most of those who come are that kind of person, and only a few seek liberation. I cannot possibly serve only the few! Even when a certain old monk meets people, he says: “Get rich! Get rich! Get very rich!” If he did not say this, he would have nothing to say to those who come, because they come seeking wealth! So let the scripture-chanting and repentance rites be just that! |
| 象大家这些真正求解脱的，要开悟见性的，才是佛教的精英呀！正因为这个，“末法”的末字后面还有一个法字，还有正法的存在，否则佛法早就没了，哪还有佛法？” | People like all of you, who genuinely seek liberation and want to awaken and see your true nature—these are the elite of Buddhism! Precisely because of this, after the character mo in “Dharma-ending Age” there is still the character fa, Dharma: the true Dharma still exists. Otherwise, the Buddha-Dharma would long since have disappeared; how could there still be any Buddha-Dharma?” |
| ★问：“说到净土宗，我们国内有没有一个象净空法师那样……” | ★ Question: “Speaking of the Pure Land school, do we have anyone in our country like Dharma Master Jingkong...” |
| 答：“早几年，就出现了对净空法师的争论，争论到现在，还没有一个法师的影响力能超过净空法师的。我们只说影响力，不说别的。 | Answer: “Several years ago, debates about Dharma Master Jingkong arose. These debates continue to this day, yet no Dharma master has had influence greater than Dharma Master Jingkong’s. We are speaking only of influence, not of anything else.” |
| 前几年，就有‘目前佛教界存在三个不正常现象’的说法：第一是会集本现象，第二是本愿法门现象，第三是净空法师现象。指名批评净空法师，就出现问题了。净空法师的拥护者很多，一听这话就有意见了，就跟他争了。这些争吵到现在还没结束。咱们不要介入这个争论。 | Several years ago, people spoke of “three abnormal phenomena currently existing in Buddhist circles”: first, the phenomenon of compiled editions; second, the phenomenon of the Original-Vow Dharma Gate; and third, the phenomenon of Dharma Master Jingkong. Once Dharma Master Jingkong was singled out for criticism, problems arose. Dharma Master Jingkong has many supporters, and when they heard this, they objected and argued with him. These disputes have not yet ended. Let us not become involved in this controversy. |
| 其实，有些净土宗祖师强调‘信’，用什么方便说都是为了强调信心。从‘信’这儿入门，跟我们的法从‘行’入门不一样。我们不怕别人骂，就怕你不‘行’！因为我们的法是普贤菩萨传的。普贤菩萨是什么菩萨？！” | Actually, some Pure Land patriarchs emphasized “faith.” Whatever skillful means they used in speaking were all intended to emphasize faith. Their entry point is “faith,” which differs from our Dharma, whose entry point is “practice.” We are not afraid of others’ criticism; we are only afraid that you will not practice! For our Dharma was transmitted by Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. What kind of bodhisattva is Samantabhadra Bodhisattva?!” |
| ★问：“平时，对男女方面，我是能把持得住的。但昨晚，我在睡梦中看到一女子，长得那么漂亮！心一动，就漏丹了。在梦中到底怎么把持？” | ★ Question: “In ordinary circumstances, I can restrain myself in matters concerning men and women. But last night, in a dream, I saw a woman who was so beautiful! As soon as my mind stirred, I lost my vital essence. How can one maintain restraint in a dream?” |
| 答（反问）：“你以为你在白天真能心不动吗？” | Answer, counter-questioning: “Do you think that during the day you truly can keep your mind from stirring?” |
| 旁问：“象这种情况要不要象法本上说的隔五六个小时再上座？” | Another question: “In a situation like this, should one wait five or six hours before sitting again, as the practice manual says?” |
| 答：“那都是普遍说的，我们现在是打七的特殊情况，隔五六个小时再上座怎么能行？还有，举例说，某天你下座时大小便急得不得了，难道还要死板的再熬十五分钟再大小便吗？” | Answer: “That is a general instruction. We are now in the special circumstances of a seven-day retreat; how could it work to wait five or six hours before sitting again? And, for example, suppose that when you come off the cushion one day, you urgently need to urinate or defecate. Must you rigidly endure another fifteen minutes before relieving yourself?” |
| ★问：“齐老师，是不是持咒时要观想咒音从丹田发出？” | ★ Question: “Teacher Qi, when reciting a mantra, should one visualize the mantra sound issuing from the dantian?” |
| 答：“谁说的？！”即转向发问者旁的一学人：“岂有此理！你昨天说持咒时头脑胀痛很厉害，我要你先看大夫是不是头有病，后来你说大夫说没病，但你还是胀痛，我才让你用这方法对治。这是针对你个人的，你竟然对别人说应该这样修？真是岂有此理！如果老有一个“丹田”在，身体怎么可能化空啊？！！！岂有此理！” | Answer: “Who said that?!” He immediately turned to a practitioner beside the questioner: “How absurd! Yesterday you said that your head swelled and hurt badly when reciting the mantra. I told you first to see a doctor to determine whether there was something wrong with your head. Later, you said the doctor found nothing wrong, but your head still hurt, so only then did I tell you to use this method as a remedy. It was directed specifically to you personally, yet you told others that they should practice this way? How absurd! If there is always a ‘dantian’ there, how could the body possibly dissolve into emptiness?!!! How absurd!” |
| 第三个七 | The Third Seven-Day Retreat |
| ★内护问：“关于止语，请老师开示？” | ★ Inner attendant asks: “Please give us instruction concerning observing silence.” |
| 答：“只能说这是规矩。现在不同古代啊！古代的当地政府同时就是执法机关，他们明白禅宗的打七是根本不能出来的，死了就放在桌底下，待解七以后才拿出去火化，根本不管。 | Answer: “One can only say that it is a rule. Things are different now from ancient times! In ancient times, the local government was also the law-enforcement authority. They understood that during a Chan seven-day retreat one absolutely could not leave. If someone died, they would place the body beneath a table and wait until the retreat ended before taking it out for cremation; they simply paid no attention to it.” |
| 现在能这样吗？打七死了人行吗？公安局能不查吗？加上我们来自各地，如果有人投诉去公安局，能不处理吗？所以现在不能象古代一样强制你止语。假如你非要说话，你是来去自由的，干脆止七出去说算了！” | Could this be done now? Would it be acceptable for someone to die during a seven-day retreat? Would the police not investigate? Moreover, we come from all over the country. If someone complained to the police, could they refrain from handling it? Therefore, we cannot now compel you to observe silence as they did in ancient times. If you insist on talking, you are free to come and go; simply end your retreat and go outside to talk!” |
| ★问：“世尊当年是用什么法修行？” | ★ Question: “What Dharma did the World-Honored One use for cultivation in those days?” |
| 答：“释迦佛是来示现的，需要什么法？法本法无法，无法法亦法，今付无法时，法法何曾法。他来这个世间已是八千回了，都是来示现的，修什么法？须要按照示现来修的，是我们啊！” | Answer: “Śākyamuni Buddha came to manifest an example. What Dharma would he need? ‘The Dharma is originally dharma-less; even the dharma-less Dharma is a dharma. Now that I transmit the dharma-less Dharma, when have dharmas ever been dharmas?’ He has come into this world eight thousand times already, each time to manifest an example. What Dharma would he cultivate? It is we who need to practice according to the example he manifested!” |
| ★问：“开悟、见性是一回事吗？” | ★ Question: “Are awakening and seeing one’s true nature the same thing?” |
| 答：“可以这么说，是一回事，还有其他说法——涅槃、菩提……。你要分别名相也可以说有分别。但在这场合，就不讲分别或不分别的理论了。六祖坛经说得很清楚：‘菩提自性，本来清静，但用此心，直了成佛。’” | Answer: “One may put it that way: they are the same thing. There are also other expressions—nirvāṇa, bodhi, and so forth. If you wish to distinguish among the terms, you may say that there are distinctions. But on this occasion, we will not discuss theories of distinction or non-distinction. The Platform Sūtra of the Sixth Patriarch states it very clearly: ‘The self-nature of bodhi is originally pure. Simply use this mind, and directly attain Buddhahood.’” |
| 问：“但我觉得还是有分别……” | Question: “But I still feel that there are distinctions...” |
| 答：“你若是想把理论搞透了，干脆建议你闭关阅藏，什么善知识也不听，直接听佛说话。到真正大开圆解时，能不通达吗？大开圆解并不是把理论搞懂了，是从另一个角度说开悟见性。” | Answer: “If you wish to master the theory thoroughly, I would simply suggest that you enter solitary retreat and study the Buddhist canon. Do not listen to any spiritual teacher; listen directly to the Buddha’s words. When you truly attain great and perfect understanding, how could you fail to comprehend? Great and perfect understanding does not mean merely understanding the theory; it is another way of speaking about awakening and seeing one’s true nature.” |
| ★开示：“见性另一个说法是了脱生死，证入涅槃。但有个生死给你了吗？了生死了，不是指原来有生死，现在有涅槃。它不是得到了一个伟大的理论，而是一切正常。明白了吗？本来如此，本无生死，本来涅槃。” | ★ Instruction: “Another expression for seeing one’s true nature is to be liberated from birth and death and to realize nirvāṇa. But is there any birth and death for you to be liberated from? Liberation from birth and death does not mean that there was originally birth and death and now there is nirvāṇa. It is not the attainment of some grand theory; rather, everything is simply normal. Do you understand? It has always been so: originally there is no birth and death; originally there is nirvāṇa.” |
| ★问：“无明是什么？” | ★ Question: “What is ignorance?” |
| 答：“不要想到什么‘宇宙起源’那些深奥得不得了的意思。简单地说，‘无明’就是不明白。” | Answer: “Do not imagine some extremely profound meaning such as ‘the origin of the universe.’ Simply put, ‘ignorance’ means not understanding.” |
| ★问：“无明是什么？” | ★ Question: “What is ignorance?” |
| 答：“本来清净，哪有无明！《心经》说得很清楚了，‘无无明亦无无明尽’。” | Answer: “Originally pure—where could ignorance be? The Heart Sūtra states it very clearly: ‘There is no ignorance, and also no ending of ignorance.’” |
| 第十八天 | Day Eighteen |
| ★问：“念往生广咒还要加什么咒？” | ★ Question: “When reciting the Extended Rebirth Mantra, what other mantra should one add?” |
| 答：“我知道提问的这个人对往生广咒一定有疑，否则听过这个咒没有念就已经生过那边了！用不着再念了！这是毫无疑问的。要不然还加什么咒？还有简单的，连往生广咒都不需要，念一句佛号就能生西。还有一个更简单的例子：周利盘陀伽一句‘扫帚’就能证阿罗汉果。所以呀，加什么咒？别加咒了，加把扫帚吧，把那些疑扫一扫！ | Answer: “I know that the person asking this question must certainly have doubts about the Extended Rebirth Mantra; otherwise, merely having heard this mantra, one would already have been reborn there without even reciting it! There would be no need to recite it again! This is beyond all doubt. Otherwise, what other mantra would there be to add? There is an even simpler way: one does not even need the Extended Rebirth Mantra; reciting a single Buddha-name can bring rebirth in the Western Pure Land. There is an even simpler example: Chūḷapanthaka attained arhatship through the single word ‘broom.’ So what mantra should be added? Do not add another mantra—add a broom, and sweep away those doubts!” |
| 他要是还有疑惑，我们也不是对每个人都要求那么高，所以就要求每天念四十九遍往生广咒。不要再加什么了，再加点什么，就显得这个咒没力量了。” | If he still has doubts, we do not demand so much from everyone. Therefore, we simply require the recitation of the Extended Rebirth Mantra forty-nine times each day. Do not add anything else. If you add something else, it will make this mantra seem powerless.” |
| ★问：“一千座过后，我们还没开悟，那我们应该干啥呢？” | ★ Question: “After one thousand sessions, if we still have not awakened, what should we do?” |
| 答：“以净土为归。心密有三句话，如果没有最后‘以净土为归’这句话，只有前两句，心密的门槛就太高了，没有几个人能学心密的。千座以后，如果念佛的话，力量就大不一样了。 | Answer: “Take the Pure Land as the ultimate destination. The Heart-of-Heart Dharma has three statements. Without the final statement, ‘the Pure Land as the ultimate destination,’ and with only the first two statements, the threshold for the Heart-of-Heart Dharma would be too high; very few people could study it. After one thousand sessions, if one recites the Buddha’s name, its power is altogether different.” |
| 一千座，是最低限度，多多益善！并不是说，千座后必须不打座。这都不是说死的，要根据情况定。千座以后，如果座上座下心态一个样，那打不打座无所谓。我们不管打座，管心态。如果不打座心就乱，一打座心就安，那就得打。” | One thousand sessions is the minimum; the more, the better! This does not mean that after one thousand sessions one must stop meditating. These matters are not fixed; they must be determined according to circumstances. After one thousand sessions, if one’s state of mind is the same on and off the cushion, it makes no difference whether one meditates or not. We are not concerned with sitting meditation; we are concerned with one’s state of mind. If your mind becomes scattered when you do not sit, but becomes settled as soon as you sit, then you must continue sitting.” |
| ★问：“见性与不见性，要紧吗？” | ★ Question: “Does it matter whether one has seen one’s true nature or not?” |
| 答：“那不是不见性的人能揣摸的。说也没用，说也不明白，干脆就不抬那个杠了。如人饮水，冷暖自知，心里清楚。它如果是假的，能传到现在吗？” | Answer: “That is not something a person who has not seen their true nature can speculate about. There is no use speaking of it, for they will not understand it anyway. So let us simply not raise that issue. As when people drink water, they themselves know whether it is cold or warm; inwardly, they know clearly. If it were false, could it have been transmitted down to the present?” |
| ★问：“爆炸与见性的关系？” | ★ Question: “What is the relationship between an explosion and seeing one’s true nature?” |
| 答：“举一个例子，每个毕业生都放一串鞭炮，但不能说他没放鞭炮就没毕业。有些着相厉害的人，爆炸了一样不见性。他着爆炸相了。本来没有爆炸一词，古人叫‘粉碎’，古代没有爆炸这个词。 | Answer: “Take an example: every graduate sets off a string of firecrackers, but one cannot say that someone who did not set off firecrackers did not graduate. Some people have very strong attachment to appearances; even if they have an explosive experience, they still do not see their true nature. They are attached to the appearance of explosion. Originally there was no term ‘explosion’; the ancients called it ‘shattering to pieces.’ In ancient times, there was no word for explosion.” |
| 禅宗说得更简单，‘口＠力（hou4）’的一声，一下子全明白了。这个呀，不是揣摸得到的。揣摸得到的是爆炸，见性揣摸不到，不在你的思维里。爆炸可以凸现出真实，但真实不是爆炸。 | The Chan school puts it more simply: with a single ‘hou!’ sound, everything is understood at once. This cannot be reached through speculation. What can be speculated about is an explosion; seeing one’s true nature cannot be speculated about, for it is not within your thinking. An explosion may bring the real to prominence, but the real is not an explosion.” |
| 原本不用一千座就可以打开本来了。但总是在有相上求，就不来了。乌云遮住了，青天就不露了。青天露得猛像爆炸，露得不猛不像爆炸。 | Originally, there was no need for one thousand sessions to uncover one’s original nature. But one constantly seeks through appearances, and so it does not appear. When dark clouds cover it, the blue sky does not reveal itself. When the blue sky reveals itself forcefully, it resembles an explosion; when it does not reveal itself forcefully, it does not resemble an explosion.” |
| 老人说过，有时像爆炸，有时像卷起来的簾子一下子‘哗啦’掉下来──这下明白了！还有的身体像陶瓷一下子碎了！还有的像底下掉下去了，‘嗵’的一下桶底脱落──这下明白了！还有的更简单。‘噢’！——原来如此！这都是一样的。” | The old master said that sometimes it is like an explosion; sometimes it is like a rolled-up curtain suddenly falling down with a crash—then one understands! For some, the body feels as if it suddenly shatters like porcelain! For others, it feels as though the bottom has dropped out from beneath them, with a thump—as though the bottom of a bucket has fallen away—then one understands! For still others, it is even simpler: ‘Oh!’—so that is how it is! These are all the same.” |
| ★ 开示： | ★ Instruction: |
| “大死才能大活，不死掉现在这个思维心就活不成了。世间心死透，法身慧命才能活呵。怎么死呀，我在网上经常这么说：选一个适合你的法门，或念佛、或参禅、或修密，行起解绝，发恒久心，锲而不舍，一门深入。” | “Only through a great death can there be a great life. Unless this present thinking mind dies away, it cannot come alive. Only when the worldly mind has died completely can the wisdom-life of the dharmakāya come alive. How does one die? I often say this online: choose a Dharma gate suited to you—whether Buddha-recitation, Chan investigation, or Esoteric practice—put it into practice, cut off conceptual understanding, arouse a lasting resolve, persevere without letup, and go deeply into one practice.” |
| ★问：“如果一个人完全没有文化，也不看书，也不看光盘，就这样修，他和文化很高的人修起来完全一样吗？” | ★Question: “If a person has no education at all, does not read books or watch DVDs, and simply practices in this way, will that person’s practice be exactly the same as that of someone highly educated?” |
| 答：“不一定。有的可能还更快，有的人听到一句经就打开了，比如六祖。” | Answer: “Not necessarily. Some may even be faster. Some people hear a single line of scripture and are opened up—for example, the Sixth Patriarch.” |
| 问：“会否他自己不知道？” | Question: “Could it be that they themselves do not know it?” |
| 答：“怎么可能不知道，自己最清楚了。” | Answer: “How could they not know? They themselves know best.” |
| ★江西师兄：“我发了愿，一定要在这个七里边拿下这个……” | ★Dharma Brother from Jiangxi: “I have made a vow that I must accomplish this within this seven-day retreat...” |
| 答：“拿下不拿下以什么为标准了？依齐老师的嘴说没用，他说拿下就拿下了？他说没拿下就没拿下了？你要问我，我偏不说，我不说你就拿不到了？” | Answer: “What standard determines whether you have accomplished it or not? Is it of any use to rely on Teacher Qi’s words? If he says you have accomplished it, then you have; if he says you have not, then you have not? If you ask me, I may refuse to say. If I do not say so, does that mean you cannot attain it?” |
| 江西师兄：“拿不到就拿不到了！” | Dharma Brother from Jiangxi: “If I cannot attain it, then I cannot attain it!” |
| 齐：“那不是冤枉了？实际你拿到了，我偏不说。你把你的标准建立在我的嘴上，你就上当。” | Qi: “Wouldn’t that be unjust? In fact, you may have attained it, but I might deliberately refuse to say so. If you establish your standard on what I say, you will be taken in.” |
| 江西师兄：“我不怕上当。” | Dharma Brother from Jiangxi: “I am not afraid of being taken in.” |
| 齐：“我偏说不行，一直说不行，看你怎么样？” | Qi: “Then I will deliberately say that it is not so—keep saying that it is not so—and see what you do.” |
| 江西师兄：“可以。” | Dharma Brother from Jiangxi: “That is fine.” |
| 齐：“那你说！” | Qi: “Then tell us.” |
| 江西师兄： | Dharma Brother from Jiangxi: |
| “（刚才一座）念到念不出来了，心里很慌，好像会死一样。怕死！后来想到元音老人说‘不怕死’！念一下，过去了。一醒，没有什么！我再看一看下一回吧。念念，又过去了。这达不到目的啊！一直连续了四五回。 | “During the session just now, I recited until I could no longer recite. I felt terrified inside, as though I were going to die. I was afraid of death! Then I remembered Master Yuanyin’s words: ‘Do not fear death!’ I recited once, and it passed. When I came to, there was nothing. I thought I would see what happened the next time. I recited again, and it passed again. This would not accomplish the purpose! It continued four or five times in succession.” |
| 后来就干脆不想了，咒语不停的念。后我念到‘嗡拔啦拔啦——啪！’好凉爽的感觉！好轻松……嗡拔啦拔啦——拔！哦！就完了！” | “Afterward, I simply stopped thinking about it and kept reciting the mantra without interruption. Then I recited, ‘Om bala bala—pa!’ and felt so cool and refreshed! So relaxed... Om bala bala—ba! Oh! Then it was over!” |
| 齐： | Qi: |
| “爆炸的时候轻松！……咱们刚才约好了，我偏说不是，我看你怎么办。我的意思是，你若是把你的完成任务建立在别人，哪怕是齐老师的嘴上，就是一种悲剧。你自己心中有数，应该是如人饮水，冷暖自知。 | “When the explosion occurred, you felt relaxed! ... We had just agreed that I would deliberately say it was not so, to see what you would do. What I mean is this: if you place the completion of your task in the hands of another person—even in the words of Teacher Qi—it is a tragedy. You know the score in your own mind. It should be as when one drinks water: one knows for oneself whether it is cold or warm.” |
| 到时候和盘托出时，我们对照说：是！就这样,对照心态一样不一样。比一比心态，这就叫验证。验证绝对不是封你一个什么。不是封的，你自己绝对清楚的。” | “When the time comes to lay everything out, we can compare notes and say, ‘Yes, that is it,’ and compare whether the states of mind are the same. Comparing the states of mind is what is called verification. Verification definitely does not mean conferring some designation upon you. It is not something conferred; you yourself know with absolute certainty.” |
| 江西师兄： | Dharma Brother from Jiangxi: |
| “我的感受是咒子不能停。咒子不停，脚也不疼，手也不疼。咒不能停，不停就比较有效果，如果念念停了就达不到目的。” | “My feeling is that the mantra must not stop. When the mantra does not stop, my feet do not hurt and my hands do not hurt. The mantra must not stop. If it continues without stopping, it is relatively effective; if the recitation stops, the purpose cannot be achieved.” |
| 齐： | Qi: |
| “这些东西啊！弄了一大堆闲杂，哎呀！不要求你‘佛之一字我不喜闻’，也不要求你‘打死了喂狗’，至少，别让这些闲杂成为障碍了。 | “All this stuff! You have piled up a whole lot of miscellaneous baggage. Ah! I am not asking you to say, ‘I do not even wish to hear the word Buddha,’ nor am I asking you to say, ‘Beat me to death and feed me to the dogs.’ But at the very least, do not let this miscellaneous baggage become an obstacle.” |
| 要是这些还在，你说打开本来见性，被别人笑话！你看看临济祖师说什么？十地菩萨是什么？菩提是什么？涅槃是什么？你翻翻看他有说过吗？那就是不让那些名相障碍你的眼睛！你这一大堆名相，好像光环一样，他不否定你才怪了。 | “If these things are still present, and you claim that you have opened up and seen your true nature, others will laugh at you! Look at what Patriarch Linji said. What are tenth-bhūmi bodhisattvas? What is bodhi? What is nirvāṇa? Look through his writings—did he ever speak of such things? He did not want such names and forms to obstruct your sight! You have this great heap of names and forms, like halos around you; of course he would reject them.” |
| 不把名相给你，你就没见性啊？开悟见性也是一个名相。这道理《金刚经》这么说：须陀洹能作是念“我得须陀洹果”不？不作是念！一作是念，就不能证那个果了。扫荡净了！法尚应舍，何况非法！……” | “If such names and forms are not given to you, does that mean you have not seen your true nature? Awakening and seeing one’s true nature are also names and forms. The Diamond Sūtra puts it this way: Can a srotāpanna entertain the thought, ‘I have attained the fruit of stream-entry’? No, such a thought is not entertained! Once such a thought arises, one cannot realize that fruition. Sweep it all away! Even the Dharma should be relinquished, much less what is not Dharma! ...” |
| ★问：“那么一刹那的瞬间，怎样才能把它拉长半个小时，一个小时？” | ★Question: “How can one extend an instantaneous moment to half an hour or an hour?” |
| 答：“没有人让你拉长它。” | Answer: “No one is asking you to extend it.” |
| 问：“怎么保持？” | Question: “How does one preserve it?” |
| 答：“不保持。没有什么值得保持。” | Answer: “Do not preserve it. There is nothing worth preserving.” |
| 问：“现前了不需要保持？” | Question: “Once it manifests before one, is there no need to preserve it?” |
| 答：“那是发现赶都赶不走，还需要保持啊？要是‘现前’需要保持，那一定错了！一定不是。那是拿一个有相的代替无相的了。无相的开悟，赶都赶不走。不可取，不可舍，不在取舍里。这才是不生不灭、涅槃。” | Answer: “Once it is discovered, you cannot drive it away even if you try—so why would it need preserving? If what ‘manifests before you’ needs to be preserved, it is certainly mistaken; it certainly is not that. You have substituted something with form for that which is formless. Formless awakening cannot be driven away. It cannot be grasped or discarded; it is not within grasping and discarding. This is neither arising nor ceasing; this is nirvāṇa.” |
| ★问：“我觉得几分钟不够过瘾，我看过问答集，有些几个星期都不消失。” | ★Question: “I feel that a few minutes are not satisfying enough. I have read collections of questions and answers in which some experiences did not disappear for several weeks.” |
| 答：“那是光影，不是平常心，平常心才是道。” | Answer: “Those are light-images, not ordinary mind. Ordinary mind is the Way.” |
| 问：“有的师兄说开车几十公里，怎么过红灯、绿灯都不知道。” | Question: “Some Dharma brothers say that they drive for dozens of kilometers without knowing whether they have passed red lights or green lights.” |
| 答：“那个还是光影！光影有光影的路，那个路很明显，但不是本体。即使车飞过去了，穿过时空过去了，那还是光影，不是本体。本体没有那些相。” | Answer: “That too is merely a light-image! Light-images have their own course, and that course is very obvious, but it is not the essential nature. Even if the car flies through, even if one passes through space and time, it is still a light-image, not the essential nature. The essential nature has none of those appearances.” |
| ★开示： | ★Teaching: |
| “现在有人以身体难受不难受，有病没病作为开悟见性的准则，作为修行的标尺。古人云：朝闻道，夕死可矣！病是我们的一个特点，它是生命里具有的一个属性。历代祖师多少示病的？这有什么相干？总是拿个有相的来衡量，着相太习惯了。” | “Nowadays, some people take whether the body feels uncomfortable, or whether one is ill, as the criterion for awakening and seeing one’s true nature, as the measure of practice. The ancients said, ‘If one hears the Way in the morning, one may die content in the evening.’ Illness is one of our characteristics; it is an attribute inherent in life. How many patriarchs throughout the generations manifested illness? What does that have to do with anything? People are always using something with form as a measure; they are far too accustomed to clinging to appearances.” |
| ★问：“爆炸与脱开是一回事吗？” | ★Question: “Are explosion and breaking free the same thing?” |
| 答：“爆炸本身不是脱开，但爆炸会凸现出来比较明显，容易见性。境界是有相的，凡所有相皆是虚妄，虚妄上求真实，不是缘木求鱼吗？其实，真爆开了，还争论吗？哪象这样缠啊！老问爆炸后怎么样，你爆一回看看啊！怎么可能不认取？那是非常明显的。” | Answer: “Explosion itself is not breaking free, but an explosion may make it stand out more clearly, making it easier to see one’s true nature. Experiences are conditioned appearances; all appearances are illusory. To seek what is real amid illusion—is that not like climbing a tree to look for fish? In fact, if there has truly been an explosion, would one still argue about it? How could one remain entangled like this? You keep asking what happens after an explosion—have an explosion once and see for yourself! How could you fail to recognize it? It is extremely obvious.” |
| 问：“刚才那师兄已经爆炸了！” | Question: “That Dharma brother just now has already exploded!” |
| 答：“没有！他在理论里爆炸！他还在那名词里出不来。如果一爆炸，他那一套理论自然全忘光！” | Answer: “No! He has exploded within theory! He still cannot get out of those terms. If there were truly an explosion, his entire set of theories would naturally be forgotten.” |
| ★问：“是不是开悟的人都能透得过公案？” | ★Question: “Can everyone who has awakened penetrate Chan koans?” |
| 答：“不一定，心不在那，透什么啊！如果心在那的话可能会。但有一点，他言谈话语就跟公案差不多。因为那是自然的，不是故意造作！他说法是非常直接的，不拐弯抹角，和盘托出，非常平常。” | Answer: “Not necessarily. If their mind is not on that, what is there to penetrate? If their mind is on it, perhaps they can. But there is one point: their speech is much like a Chan koan. This is because it is natural, not deliberately contrived. Their teaching is very direct, without beating around the bush; they lay everything out, and it is very ordinary.” |
| ★问：“心念时为什么嘴要动？” | ★Question: “Why must the mouth move during mental recitation?” |
| 答：“说心念是为了与口念相区别。‘耳闻’是说听出来的——“此方真教体，清净在音闻”啊！咒是耳根听出来的。但是，如果摄不住，那就嘴巴动动——嗳！听到了。但还是靠听出来的。” | Answer: “We speak of mental recitation to distinguish it from oral recitation. ‘Hearing with the ear’ means that it is heard—the saying goes, ‘In this land, the true substance of teaching lies in pure hearing of sound.’ The mantra is heard through the ear faculty. But if you cannot gather it in, then move your mouth a little—ah! You hear it. Yet it still depends on hearing it.” |
| ★问：“念咒时感觉见到咒语一圈一圈在转？” | ★Question: “While reciting a mantra, I feel as though I see the mantra turning round and round?” |
| 答：“咒是听出来的，有时六根互摄，就看见了，实际还是听出来的。” | Answer: “The mantra is heard. At times, when the six sense faculties mutually encompass one another, it is seen; but in actuality, it is still heard.” |
| ★开示： | ★Teaching: |
| “法本法无法”，就是依照“无法”这个原则；“无法法亦法”，是依这个原则产生无量的法门；“今付无法时”，现在我交付给你的是“无法”这一根本；那么“法法何曾法”，以前说的，都没说过，别传我的语言，传根本吧！这是用‘无法’这个词，其实就是佛性嘛！名词多了。” | “‘Originally, dharmas are dharma-less’ means following the principle of ‘dharma-less.’ ‘Dharma-less dharmas are also dharmas’ means that immeasurable dharma gates arise from this principle. ‘Now that I transmit the dharma-less’ means that what I now impart to you is this fundamental ‘dharma-less.’ Thus, ‘When have dharmas ever been dharmas?’ Everything said before was never really said. Do not transmit my words; transmit the root. This uses the term ‘dharma-less,’ but in fact it is Buddha-nature. There are simply many terms for it.” |
| ★问：“后面的路怎样走？” | ★Question: “How should one proceed along the road ahead?” |
| 答：“没有路，不用走。” | Answer: “There is no road; there is no need to walk.” |
