Essential Instructions for Practice 修行要诀
Master Wang Xianglu | 2018-06-23 | Download | AI assisted translation
| （一）定宗旨 |
(I) Establishing the Guiding Purpose |
| 一、学佛宗旨，首在开智慧，自觉觉他，广度众生，出苦海、了生死。生死又分为二，一了分段生死轮回，不再混入，二了变易生死，开般若明达生死，本不可得，不受世出世一切苦厄。 |
1. The foremost purpose of studying Buddhism is to develop wisdom: to awaken oneself and others, liberate sentient beings far and wide, leave the sea of suffering, and transcend birth and death. Birth and death are further divided into two kinds: first, to end the cycle of segmented birth and death, no longer being swept into it; second, to end transformational birth and death, opening prajñā and clearly realizing that birth and death are fundamentally unobtainable, so that one is not subject to any suffering or adversity, worldly or supramundane. |
| 二、所谓成佛，即是成大智慧，梵语为般若波罗蜜。以般若方可度登彼岸也。是以开智慧，乃成佛唯一法门，舍此别无二法。 |
2. What is called becoming a Buddha is achieving great wisdom, which in Sanskrit is prajñāpāramitā. Only through prajñā can one cross over to the other shore. Thus, developing wisdom is the sole gateway to Buddhahood; apart from this, there is no second method. |
| 三、学佛贵在自求自修、自除苦恼、自开智慧、自成佛。求佛只如问路求医，走路吃药，还在自己。所以佛学考据，只如地图和药方，与本病不相干也。学佛者，是学与佛无二，同一无烦恼，清净自在，不是变个佛。 |
3. In studying Buddhism, what is precious is to seek and cultivate for oneself, dispel one’s own suffering and afflictions, open one’s own wisdom, and become a Buddha oneself. Seeking the Buddha is only like asking directions or consulting a physician; walking the road and taking the medicine still depend on oneself. Thus, textual research into Buddhism is merely like maps and prescriptions; it has nothing to do with curing one’s actual illness. Those who study Buddhism learn to be no different from the Buddha: equally free from afflictions, pure, and at ease. It is not a matter of changing oneself into some sort of Buddha. |
| 四、学佛目的在断一切苦，得究竟乐。而得究竟乐者，只在开智慧；开智慧在定，得定在坐，坐在法。宗旨目的既定，中途方不疑退，此生必可成就，不问你修净土禅宗密法，都要同此宗旨，同此目的。 |
4. The purpose of studying Buddhism is to cut off all suffering and attain ultimate happiness. To attain ultimate happiness depends solely on developing wisdom; developing wisdom depends on samādhi; attaining samādhi depends on sitting; and sitting depends on a method. Once the guiding purpose and aim are established, one will not doubt or retreat midway. In this very life, accomplishment is certainly possible. Whether one practices Pure Land, the Chan school, or Esoteric Buddhism, one must share this same guiding purpose and aim. |
| （二）明修义 |
(II) Clarifying the Meaning of Cultivation |
| 一、明本来，本来不用修，因冤枉而入病，要恢复本来，方叫做修，否则叫做建造，不叫修理。 |
1. To clarify the original nature: originally, there is no need for cultivation. Yet because of an unjustified affliction, one falls ill. Restoring the original nature is what is called cultivation; otherwise, it is called construction, not repair. |
| 二、修心与修理物品不同，当云复，言复其本来也。物品之修理赖他，心之修复还赖乎自心，以妄心复妄心，至心不可得，光明自在为止。 |
2. Cultivating the mind differs from repairing an object. It should be called restoration, for it restores one to one’s original nature. The repair of objects depends on others, whereas the restoration of mind depends upon one’s own mind. Use the deluded mind to restore the deluded mind, until the mind can no longer be found and all is luminous and at ease. |
| 三、修心虽赖乎法，但教法中用于一时，取舍予夺在我，以明心见性为体，起一切妙法为用。 |
3. Although cultivating the mind depends on methods, the teachings and methods are used only provisionally. Choosing, relinquishing, giving, and taking rest with oneself. Take realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature as the essence, and bring forth all wondrous dharmas as the function. |
| 四、修宜重行，于一切行住坐卧时，无一不用凛觉，在佛堂修持者曰修坐，修坐只一时，而修行在时时。 |
4. Cultivation should emphasize practice. In all activities—walking, standing, sitting, and lying down—there must never be a moment without vigilant awareness. Practice in the Buddha hall is called seated cultivation; seated cultivation occupies only a time, whereas cultivation is present at all times. |
| 五、修者修至明心见性为第一关，见性后，开般若妙用，方可以除习气，此是第二关。是先破无明，后除习气，此禅密二宗，由果寻因，乃根本解决唯一办法，与他宗不同。 |
5. In cultivation, realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature is the first gate. After seeing one’s true nature, one opens the wondrous function of prajñā; only then can habitual tendencies be removed. This is the second gate. First one destroys ignorance, then one removes habitual tendencies. In the Chan and Esoteric schools, this means seeking the cause from the fruition; it is the only fundamental solution and differs from other schools. |
| 六、以般若凛觉自己，观世间一切皆平等，此即是大心，观自己本体与佛不二，此即是正修。 |
6. Use prajñā to maintain vigilant awareness of oneself, and contemplate all things in the world as equal: this is great resolve. Contemplate one’s own fundamental essence as nondual with the Buddha: this is right cultivation. |
| 七、无论何宗皆以归净土为止。或念阿弥陀佛以净其土，或参禅修密以净其土，明心见性后，方入正修。否则劳而无功，毕竟退转。至不退转时，在净土宗曰阿裨跋致；在禅宗曰破初参；在密宗曰证三昧悉地。 |
7. Whatever school one follows, the final destination is rebirth in the Pure Land. One may recite Amitābha Buddha’s name to purify one’s land, or investigate Chan or cultivate Esoteric Buddhism to purify one’s land. Only after realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature does one enter right cultivation. Otherwise, one labors without result and will ultimately regress. In the Pure Land school, the stage of nonretrogression is called avaivartika; in the Chan school, it is called breaking through one’s initial huatou investigation; in Esoteric Buddhism, it is called realizing samādhi-siddhi. |
| （三）求正法 |
(III) Seeking the True Dharma |
| 一、一切佛法本无邪正之别，但断无一法可以普及，人人皆可当机之理，故不论禅、净、密，以当机为第一。如其人应修净土而令之参禅，此即毒药，如其人应修密宗而限以净土，此亦是毒药。故其责在师，师必负阿鼻之责。 |
1. Fundamentally, no Buddhist teaching is inherently false or true. Yet there can be no single method that is universally suitable and appropriate for everyone. Therefore, whether one practices Chan, Pure Land, or Esoteric Buddhism, suitability to the practitioner is foremost. If someone should practice Pure Land but is made to investigate Chan, that is poison. If someone should practice Esoteric Buddhism but is restricted to Pure Land practice, that too is poison. Therefore, the responsibility lies with the teacher, who must bear the karmic responsibility of Avīci hell. |
| 佛度众生，本在去执，若再教伊执著，不使之活泼自在，实难辞咎。譬如治病，死守一法，以为谨慎稳妥，而因循即可坐误，不可不知。 |
The Buddha liberates sentient beings by removing attachment. If one further teaches them to become attached, preventing them from being lively and at ease, one can scarcely escape blame. It is like treating an illness: rigidly adhering to one method, believing it to be cautious and reliable, can through delay lead to a fatal mistake. This must be understood. |
| 二、求师不可以人情用事，如药不对症，即当变计。如修净土多年，不见功效，可以修密。至证三昧后，回头再修净土，则定有把握。鄙人近始自信修净土有几分把握，故敢忠告。 |
2. In seeking a teacher, one must not be swayed by personal feelings. If medicine does not suit the illness, one should change one’s plan. If one has practiced Pure Land for many years without seeing results, one may practice Esoteric Buddhism. After realizing samādhi, if one turns back to practice Pure Land, one will certainly have assurance. Only recently have I myself come to have some confidence in practicing Pure Land, and therefore I dare offer this sincere advice. |
| （四）防诸病 |
(IV) Guarding Against Various Ills |
| 一、勿苦修 凡毁残身体，均非佛法，佛以得大自在为主，上升极乐。如愿苦行，何不入地狱修乎？当知苦行者，乃在坚定其志，百折不回，防其情逸也。世人每以恶衣恶食为苦，不知无智慧而心放荡失主宰者，为世间第一等苦人，学佛应从得定慧下手，无第二法也。 |
1. Do not cultivate through self-mortification. Any practice that damages the body is not Buddhadharma. The Buddha takes great freedom as primary, ascending to ultimate bliss. If one wishes to undertake ascetic practices, why not enter hell to practice? One should understand that ascetic practice is meant to strengthen one’s resolve, so that one does not turn back despite a hundred setbacks, and to guard against indulgence. Worldly people often regard poor clothing and food as suffering, not realizing that those without wisdom, whose minds are unrestrained and lack self-mastery, are the most suffering people in the world. Those who study Buddhism should begin by attaining samādhi and wisdom; there is no second method. |
| 二，勿怨修 修之本意在解脱得自在，如因怨而修，则嗔根难拔，故当解释，使其自得，此惟得定开慧解空，则入欢喜地也。 |
2. Do not cultivate resentfully. The original intent of cultivation is liberation and freedom. If one cultivates out of resentment, the root of anger is difficult to uproot. Therefore, one should explain matters so that people may understand for themselves. Only by attaining samādhi, opening wisdom, and realizing emptiness can one enter the ground of joy. |
| 三、勿盲修 盲修之病，世人最多，凡未明心见性者，皆是盲修，故学佛第一要诀，在开智慧，明白后，方是正修。 |
3. Do not cultivate blindly. The fault of blind cultivation is exceedingly common in the world. Anyone who has not realized the mind and seen one’s true nature is cultivating blindly. Therefore, the foremost essential of studying Buddhism is to develop wisdom. Only after understanding clearly does one engage in right cultivation. |
| 四、勿压修 凡修行多求死定，压住妄念勿起之辈，既有沦为死灰、土、木、金、石之弊，日后反动更加危险，此皆压修之病也。 |
4. Do not cultivate by suppression. Many practitioners seek a deadened samādhi, forcibly suppressing deluded thoughts so that they do not arise. This has the drawbacks of causing one to become like dead ashes, earth, wood, metal, or stone; and the later reaction is even more dangerous. These are all illnesses of suppressive cultivation. |
| 如一念不思，正坐定心，某会曾传此法，此名无记空，一也，终日禅定，硬制其念，自以为得定，二也。硬行忍辱，不能观空，久久成病，三也。食斋持戒，非从本愿，为人情所冲动，不能持久，对人嗔恨，心不能素，四也。 |
For example: not thinking a single thought and merely sitting to settle the mind—one association once transmitted this method; this is the first, an indeterminate emptiness. Spending all day in meditation, forcibly restraining thoughts, and believing oneself to have attained samādhi—this is the second. Forcing oneself to endure humiliation without being able to contemplate emptiness, until illness develops over time—this is the third. Eating vegetarian food and observing precepts, not from one’s fundamental vow but from being stirred by social pressure; being unable to persist, resenting others, and unable to keep the mind pure—this is the fourth. |
| 外道死守精气神，临死不能散功，或至癫狂，五也。此皆见功于一时，流弊在日后，近有腹胀欲死，乃至自杀，即此类也。种如是因，而欲得极乐之果，不亦大悲悯哉！ |
Non-Buddhist practitioners rigidly cling to essence, energy, and spirit; when dying, they cannot disperse their cultivated power and may even become deranged—this is the fifth. All these may show effects for a time, but their harmful consequences emerge later. Recently, some have suffered abdominal distension to the point of death, or even committed suicide; these belong to this category. Having planted such causes, how could they seek the fruition of ultimate bliss? Is this not deeply pitiable? |
| 五、勿小修 修行目的在成佛，如自甘劣小，即非大器，决不能成。故当发大愿，修大行：只求此生开智慧成佛，大愿也，我当以智慧救度一切众生，大行也。 |
5. Do not cultivate on a small scale. The purpose of cultivation is to become a Buddha. If one is content with something inferior and small, one is not fit for great things and can never succeed. Therefore, one should make great vows and undertake great conduct: to seek only to develop wisdom and become a Buddha in this very life is a great vow; to resolve to liberate all sentient beings through wisdom is great conduct. |
| 六、勿贪修 言不可见法即求，见师即拜。得一正法，当一门深入，不可心活，见异思迁、朝修夕改，而致徒劳无功。 |
6. Do not cultivate greedily. This means that one should not seek a teaching whenever one sees one, nor bow to every teacher one meets. Having obtained a true Dharma, one should enter deeply through a single gate. One must not be fickle, abandoning one path for another and changing one’s practice morning and evening, thereby laboring in vain. |
| 七、宜自制 一勿骄慢，二勿自喜而自是，三勿恼恨，四勿性急，五勿怠惰，六勿衡量他人意境，七勿先求神通，此皆用功期内必有之毛病。功夫益深，习气翻出益多，不可不防，可阅余之《乙亥讲演录》而细参之。 |
7. Exercise self-restraint. First, do not be arrogant or conceited. Second, do not become self-satisfied and self-righteous. Third, do not become vexed or resentful. Fourth, do not be impatient. Fifth, do not be indolent. Sixth, do not measure the inner states of others. Seventh, do not seek spiritual powers first. These are all faults that necessarily arise during the period of practice. The deeper one’s practice becomes, the more habitual tendencies emerge; one must guard against them. You may read my Records of the Yihai Lectures (1935) and examine it carefully. |
| （五）务八要 |
(V) Diligently Upholding Eight Essentials |
| 一、要圆修 言心量宜大，则见义思圆，自无门户胜劣之见。 |
1. Cultivate comprehensively. This means that one’s mind-capacity should be broad. Then, when one sees principles, one considers them comprehensively, and naturally has no view that one school is superior or inferior to another. |
| 二、要痛修 言自己警觉痛切，则进步自速，此生必得究竟。 |
2. Cultivate earnestly. This means that if one is keenly and urgently alert, one’s progress will naturally be swift, and one will certainly attain the ultimate in this very life. |
| 三、要愿修 言必有愿力为主，愿力宜正大，宜切实，此即是修。 |
3. Cultivate through vows. This means that the power of vows must be primary. One’s vows should be upright, great, and practical. This itself is cultivation. |
| 四、要专修 言得有正法，当专一深入，自可由一门会入普门而圆矣。 |
4. Cultivate with single-minded focus. This means that, having obtained a true Dharma, one should concentrate on it and enter deeply. Then one can naturally enter the universal gate through a single gate and attain completeness. |
| 五、要活修 言专一与固执呆板不同，心宜活泼，则得自在。且佛开种种法门，非可执一，随时当有变化，第宗旨则无变易也。 |
5. Cultivate flexibly. This means that single-minded focus differs from rigid and inflexible attachment. The mind should be lively; then one attains freedom. Moreover, the Buddha established various dharma gates, so one must not cling to a single one. There should be adaptations according to circumstances, although the guiding purpose itself does not change. |
| 六、要双修 要我与佛相对成双，求佛还当求己，一也；家庭修持，能得伴侣赞助，二也；修慧兼宜修福，发愿必须行愿，三也；持斋者，口素并宜心素，勿见他过，四也。此均双修，由此可得齐全，功德亦易圆满。 |
6. Cultivate in pairs. First, let oneself and the Buddha stand as a pair: in seeking the Buddha, one should also seek oneself. Second, in household practice, one should receive the support of one’s companion. Third, in cultivating wisdom, one should also cultivate blessings; in making vows, one must also put them into practice. Fourth, those who keep a vegetarian diet should keep both the mouth and the mind pure, and should not see the faults of others. These are all forms of paired cultivation. Through them, one can become complete, and merit and virtue are more easily brought to fulfillment. |
| 七、要实修 言功夫实在，冷暖自知，不可自欺，故以实行为主。实行者，心行耳，非表面唱拜也。 |
7. Cultivate genuinely. This means that one’s practice must be real; only one knows for oneself whether one is cold or warm. One must not deceive oneself, and should therefore take actual practice as primary. Actual practice is the practice of the mind, not outward chanting and bowing. |
| 八、要养修 言已发明心地，修有所得，必以涵养为主。例如下： |
8. Cultivate through nurturing. Once one has awakened to the mind-ground and gained something through cultivation, nurturing must be primary. The following example illustrates this: |
| 甲、取质 谓玉之良而大者。佛性平等，虽一时根器有别，但心量宜大。玉小不能再放大，而心则不然，玉质不可改也，而心可改也。 |
A. Selecting the material. This means choosing jade that is fine and large. Buddha-nature is equal in all. Though people’s capacities may differ temporarily, one’s mind-capacity should be broad. Small jade cannot be enlarged, but the mind is not so: jade’s substance cannot be changed, whereas the mind can be changed. |
| 乙、雕琢 谓质好而不修，良可惜也。然必得良工，大料改小，则师之咎。 |
B. Carving and polishing. This means that fine material left unworked is truly regrettable. Yet one must find a skilled artisan; if a large piece of material is made into a small one, the fault lies with the teacher. |
| 丙、打磨 谓不经打磨，则不光润，故必经种种磨练，以一切冤怨逆事，皆我入道之助，然火气仍在也。 |
C. Grinding and burnishing. This means that without grinding and burnishing, jade will not become lustrous and smooth. Therefore, one must undergo all kinds of trials and tempering, taking every grievance, resentment, and adverse event as an aid to entering the Way. Yet the fire of one’s temperament still remains. |
| 丁、入土 谓不经涵养，则力不充，故必靖气内敛，此非学而可致，乃自然功深耳。总之，时时心不放逸，至空净后，了无系染，欲求烦恼，亦不可起矣。 |
D. Burying in earth. This means that without nurturing, one’s strength will not be sufficient. Therefore, one must calm one’s energies and gather them inwardly. This cannot be attained through study; it arises naturally only when one’s practice has become deep. In short, at every moment do not let the mind become lax. Once emptiness and purity are reached, there is no attachment or defilement at all; even if one wished to raise afflictions, they could no longer arise. |
| （六）明过程 |
(VI) Clarifying the Process |
| 修行过程，本无定法，但亦有最要数点如下： |
There is fundamentally no fixed method in the process of cultivation, yet its most essential points are as follows: |
| 一、求得正法，言得正合我机之法也，或密或禅、或持名或观相，皆所以净我自性之土而已。 |
1. Seek and obtain a true Dharma—that is, a method rightly suited to one’s own capacity. Whether Esoteric Buddhism, Chan, name-recitation, or visualization of forms, all serve only to purify the land of one’s own intrinsic nature. |
| 二、如法修持，中途切不可杂以我见，自然得定。 |
2. Practice in accordance with the Dharma. Along the way, one must never mix in one’s own views; then samādhi will naturally be attained. |
| 三、开发般若，此言大智慧，由定而生，定慧相合即是戒，此名具足十戒。 |
3. Develop prajñā. This means great wisdom, which arises from samādhi. The union of samādhi and wisdom is precept; this is called possessing the complete ten precepts. |
| 四、明心见性，心地既明，则本心自见，色空不二，方不受惑。 |
4. Realize the mind and see one’s true nature. Once the mind-ground is clear, one’s original mind naturally becomes apparent. Form and emptiness are nondual; only then is one no longer subject to delusion. |
| 五、心不惑故，然后可除习气。 |
5. Because the mind is no longer deluded, one can then remove habitual tendencies. |
| 甲、空境。 |
A. Emptying circumstances. |
| 乙、空心。（粗分） |
B. Emptying the mind. (A coarse division) |
| 丙、空法。（细分） |
C. Emptying dharmas. (A subtle division) |
| 丁、空空。（微细分）（以上为先开第六漏尽通，即是名道通，是谓得体） |
D. Emptying emptiness. (An extremely subtle division) (The foregoing is the initial opening of the sixth supernormal power, the exhaustion of outflows; this is called the power of the Way and is said to be attaining the essence.) |
| 六、发五神通，此谓起用，切不可先求，惟明心后自得开展，小有证效，喜则成魔。如无道通而先求此，名曰妖通，以外道亦有五通也。 |
VI. The arising of the five supernormal powers is what is meant by their functioning. One must never seek them first; only after realizing the mind will they naturally unfold. If, upon obtaining a slight sign of realization, one becomes delighted, one turns into a demon. If one seeks these powers before attaining realization of the Way, they are called demonic powers, for non-Buddhist paths also possess the five powers. |
| （七）示要诀 |
(VII) Essential Instructions |
| 一、凡夫与佛，本体不二，只是不明因果，故觉在后，觉在果地，并有始终不觉者。只要一觉，即是彼岸，故宜用一字诀曰阿。言心有所起时，此在因地动念，常常先自凛觉，想我今日如是因，将来必得如是果，则恐惧而勿入矣。久久纯熟，不致误入。此阿字即是凛觉，即是照见，即是转，即是空，即是无染，即是净土。 |
I. Ordinary beings and Buddhas are not two in their fundamental essence. It is only because ordinary beings do not understand cause and effect that awakening comes later—awakening at the stage of fruition—and some remain unawakened from beginning to end. Once one awakens, one has reached the other shore. Thus one should use the one-character formula: A. Whenever something arises in the mind, a thought has stirred at the causal stage. One should first rouse oneself with solemn vigilance: “If I create such a cause today, I will certainly receive such a result in the future.” Then, in fear, one will not enter into it. With long familiarity, one will not mistakenly enter into it. This syllable A is solemn vigilance; it is seeing clearly; it is transformation; it is emptiness; it is freedom from defilement; it is the Pure Land. |
| 二、把此心如在通衢大道，一切形形色色，了了见闻，过而不留，与我无染，此便是佛境。 |
II. Regard this mind as though it were on a great thoroughfare: all manner of forms are clearly seen and heard, yet they pass without lingering and leave no defilement upon me. This is the realm of a Buddha. |
| 三、若有所接，只随缘应付，善恶分明而不起我见，常与自己脾气奋斗。情为我爱，转而疏之；见为我执，解而空之，久久自然自在。 |
III. When encountering anything, simply respond in accordance with conditions. Distinguish clearly between good and evil, yet do not give rise to a view of self. Constantly contend with your own temperament. Emotional attachment is self-love: transform it and loosen it. Views are attachment to self: release them and empty them. In time, one naturally becomes free and at ease. |
| 四、辨轻重，言观世间无论千万最大事，都抵不过一个死；千万个死，还抵不过我一修；而千万个修，又抵不过我一觉。觉则心空，此是最上福德，轻重利害，不可比拟。当知众苦只缘不觉，极乐无过明心。 |
IV. Distinguish what is weighty from what is light. Consider that, among all the greatest affairs in the world, however numerous, none outweighs a single death; yet ten thousand deaths do not outweigh a single act of practice; and ten thousand acts of practice do not outweigh a single awakening. With awakening, the mind is empty. This is the highest merit and virtue; no comparison can be made of what is weighty or light, beneficial or harmful. Know that all sufferings arise solely from non-awakening, and that no bliss surpasses realizing the mind. |
| 五、勿忘记，但有时忘记，或虽不忘记而力不能转，又奈何？曰有二诀：一把未来之恐怖事先一想，二曰持咒，顿然可以觉转。 |
V. Do not forget. But what if at times one does forget, or, though one does not forget, lacks the strength to transform it? There are two methods: first, think in advance of the fearful consequences that may come in the future; second, recite a mantra. One can then immediately awaken and transform. |
| 诸仁真肯用功者，每日勿忘修法，念念在觉，方是念念在佛。时时修，时时照。每日将此七条看一次，再与人讲一次，一修一照，行之年半，不间断，如不证三昧见实相者，余即为妄为魔，并望回向一切众生，皆得成佛，此便是消灾延寿法。 |
All worthy people who genuinely wish to apply themselves should not forget to practice each day. With every thought abiding in awakening, one abides with every thought in the Buddha. Practice at all times; illuminate at all times. Each day, read through these seven points once, and explain them once to others. Practice and illuminate; continue in this way for a year and a half without interruption. If you do not realize samādhi and see the true reality, then I am deluded and demonic. I also hope that you will dedicate the merit to all sentient beings, so that all may attain Buddhahood. This is the method for dispelling calamities and extending life. |
