(III) Practices of the Three Traditions: Chan, Pure Land, and Esoteric Buddhism （三）禅、净、密三宗的修法
Compiled from Recordings of Master Yuanyin | 2018-06-23 | Download | AI assisted translation
| 释迦牟尼佛和孔子差不多都是出生在周朝时期，佛教是在东汉时传到中国来的。经、律、论被誉为佛教的三藏经典。经是由佛讲述后人记载下来的；论是菩萨根据自己修行的心得编写的，如《大乘起信论》、《大智度论》等；律就是戒律，如比丘戒、沙弥戒、比丘尼戒等。三藏经典博大精深，像海洋一样难以探测。 |
Śākyamuni Buddha and Confucius were born at roughly the same time, during the Zhou dynasty. Buddhism was transmitted to China during the Eastern Han dynasty. The sūtras, vinaya, and treatises are known as Buddhism’s Tripiṭaka. The sūtras are teachings spoken by the Buddha and recorded by later generations; treatises are written by bodhisattvas on the basis of insights gained through their own practice, such as Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna and the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom; and vinaya refers to precepts, such as the precepts for bhikshus, śrāmaṇeras, and bhikshunīs. The Tripiṭaka is vast and profound, as unfathomable as the ocean. |
| 佛教最初传到中国的是禅宗（禅宗是佛教至高无上的正法门，净土宗是横超三界的方便法门）。禅宗可分为外道禅、小乘禅、世间禅和大乘禅。比如现在做气功的人，为把身体气脉打通，练气打坐，目的在气上。 |
The first form of Buddhism transmitted to China was the Chan school. (The Chan school is Buddhism’s supreme and unsurpassed true Dharma gate, while the Pure Land school is an expedient Dharma gate for horizontally transcending the three realms.) Chan may be divided into non-Buddhist Chan, Hīnayāna Chan, worldly Chan, and Mahāyāna Chan. For example, people who practice qigong today may train their breath and sit in meditation in order to open the channels and energies of the body; their aim is centered on qi. |
| 这样带异计而修者就是外道禅。“异计”就是不是为了了生死，而是求其他的目的。比如：让我们的身体健康些，长寿些。更有甚者是为了得到神通，来炫耀自己，获得点名闻利养等等。这些都是带异计而修的，都是外道禅。 |
Those who practice with such ulterior aims practice non-Buddhist Chan. “Ulterior aims” means that they practice not in order to transcend birth and death, but to pursue other purposes—for example, to make their bodies healthier or to live longer. Worse still, some seek spiritual powers in order to show themselves off and gain a little fame, reputation, profit, and support. All such practice pursued with ulterior aims is non-Buddhist Chan. |
| 如果是为了了生死，但只懂得色身无我，以偏空之理而修的是小乘禅。因为他法执未除，执着佛性七大种性（地、水、火、风、空、根、识）当中的地、水、火、风四大种性为我，是为法我，叫做法见未除。 |
If one practices in order to transcend birth and death, but understands only that the physical body is without self and practices according to the principle of biased emptiness, this is Hīnayāna Chan. Because one has not eliminated attachment to dharmas, one takes the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—among the seven great elements of Buddha-nature (earth, water, fire, wind, space, faculties, and consciousness) to be a self. This is the dharma-self, and is called failure to eliminate dharma-view. |
| 这种以偏空真理而修者，是为小乘禅（“偏空真理”有的字典称为“偏真空理”，即偏执我空之真理而不知法亦空，若悟我、法二空，无可执取，则空有双融而代偏空矣。此种偏见亦可说为“我空偏真”之理）。 |
Those who practice according to the truth of biased emptiness practice Hīnayāna Chan. (“The truth of biased emptiness” is called in some dictionaries “the truth of partial true emptiness.” It means clinging one-sidedly to the truth that the self is empty, without knowing that dharmas too are empty. If one realizes the twofold emptiness of self and phenomena, there is nothing to grasp; then emptiness and presence interpenetrate, replacing biased emptiness. This biased view may also be called the principle of “the partial truth of self-emptiness.”) |
| 以四禅八定的禅法而修者，是为世间禅。假如明白了人法俱空，人我没有了，法我也没有了，以此而修者，是为大乘禅。当然没有法我，不是说没有法身，而是说法身的四大种性也不执着。 |
Those who practice by means of the Chan methods of the four dhyānas and eight meditative attainments practice worldly Chan. If one understands that both person and dharmas are empty—so that there is no personal self and no dharma-self—and practices accordingly, this is Mahāyāna Chan. Of course, the absence of a dharma-self does not mean that there is no dharmakāya; it means that one does not cling even to the four great elements of the dharmakāya. |
| 就像我们人有眼睛、耳朵、鼻子、嘴巴，既不执着局部的感官，也不住执整个身体。我们的法身本来就具足地、水、火、风这四大种性，但不可执着这四大种性为我，一有所住，就是法有我。 |
Just as we human beings have eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, we neither cling to particular sense organs nor become attached to the body as a whole. Our dharmakāya inherently possesses the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, but we must not cling to these four great elements as a self. As soon as there is any abiding, there is a self in dharmas. |
| 学大乘禅的人悟人、法双空，毫无偏执。了人无我，可了分段生死；了法无我，则了变易生死。分段生死就是六道轮回的生死。以每次生死皆有个身形，在世上生存一段时间。人有人身，马有马身，狗有狗身。 |
Those who study Mahāyāna Chan realize the twofold emptiness of person and dharmas, without any partial attachment. By realizing that persons are without self, one can be liberated from segmented birth and death; by realizing that dharmas are without self, one can be liberated from transformational birth and death. Segmented birth and death is the birth and death of rebirth in the six realms. Each birth and death involves a bodily form that survives in the world for a period of time. Humans have human bodies, horses have horse bodies, and dogs have dog bodies. |
| 这个身体生存就是生，坏了就是死，这就叫分段生死；变易生死就是我们的思想一生一灭，变化无穷。了了六道轮回的生死，叫了分段生死。了了思想变易的生死，叫了变易生死。 |
When this body survives, that is called birth; when it decays, that is called death. This is called segmented birth and death. Transformational birth and death refers to the arising and ceasing of our thoughts, which change without limit. To be liberated from the birth and death of rebirth in the six realms is to be liberated from segmented birth and death. To be liberated from the birth and death of changing thoughts is to be liberated from transformational birth and death. |
| 一切法根本不可得，认为有法可得，法有真实受用，那就是法见未除。就是法有我，就不能了变易生死。所以罗汉是证偏空真理。而证入人法都空的真理就是菩萨。 |
All dharmas are fundamentally unobtainable. If one thinks there are dharmas to be attained, or that dharmas bring real benefit, then dharma-view has not been eliminated. This means that there is a self in dharmas, and one cannot be liberated from transformational birth and death. Thus arhats realize the truth of biased emptiness, whereas those who realize the truth that both person and dharmas are empty are bodhisattvas. |
| 再进一步，就是认识到我们的法身（就是能够见、能够闻、能够嗅、能够触、能够知的觉性）与诸佛无二无别，用这个真理来修的，就是最上乘禅。修此禅者，须时时刻刻观照，一点妄念都不起。 |
Going a step further, one recognizes that our dharmakāya—that is, the aware nature capable of seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, and knowing—is no different from that of all Buddhas. Those who practice according to this truth practice the highest Chan. Those who practice this Chan must maintain contemplation at every moment, without allowing a single deluded thought to arise. |
| 妄念一起，就把它化空，不跟着它跑，任何境界变现在前也不为所动，久久地这样锻炼下去，就会将身心、世界化空，而亲证本来——佛性。当然一下子做不到，这个念头才息下来，那个念头又来了，须要不停的与它斗争下去。 |
As soon as a deluded thought arises, transform it into emptiness and do not follow it. Whatever circumstances appear before you, do not be moved by them. If you train in this way for a long time, body, mind, and world will become empty, and you will directly realize your original nature—Buddha-nature. Of course, this cannot be accomplished all at once. Just as one thought subsides, another arises; one must continue struggling with them without ceasing. |
| 在起念时，我们要看见它，不跟它跑，不理睬它，它有一百个起，我有一百零一个不理不睬，在这样不理不睬的斗争当中，念头就不期然而然的化掉了。当你一念不生时，忽然“唰……”的一下，能所双亡，根尘脱开了。 |
When a thought arises, we must see it, not follow it, and pay it no heed. It may arise a hundred times, but I pay it no heed a hundred and one times. In the struggle of such nonattention, thoughts naturally dissolve without being deliberately made to do so. When not a single thought arises, suddenly—with a swish—subject and object both vanish, and the sense faculties and their objects fall away. |
| 当下身心（就是思想）、世界与虚空，一齐消殒无存，天真的佛性也就历然现前而亲证本来了。如此修习，就是无上的、最高的“大乘禅”！达摩祖师传给我们的就是这种禅。 |
At that very moment, body and mind—that is, thought—the world, and empty space all disappear together without trace. One’s innate Buddha-nature then stands clearly before one, and one directly realizes one’s original nature. To cultivate in this way is the unsurpassed and highest “Mahāyāna Chan”! This is the Chan transmitted to us by Patriarch Bodhidharma. |
| 前面几种禅，趣入虽有门户次第，然如能一门深入，虔诚修习，皆得功用，不可轻视蔑弃也。达摩未来之前，行者都是修“四禅八定”的禅法，成道的人很多。 |
Although the preceding kinds of Chan differ in their gateways and stages of entry, if one can enter deeply through a single gate and practice sincerely, all can be effective; none should be slighted or cast aside. Before Bodhidharma came, practitioners all cultivated the Chan methods of the four dhyānas and eight meditative attainments, and many realized the Way. |
| 唐、宋以来，大都修达摩祖师的所传的祖师禅，因我国固有的儒教与道教的高深文化，集合达摩所传的禅法，酿成独特的禅风，因之证道的人更多。这些都有历代相续的、真实的历史记载，可以追踪查考。 |
Since the Tang and Song dynasties, most people have cultivated the Patriarchal Chan transmitted by Bodhidharma. China’s profound indigenous cultures of Confucianism and Daoism, combined with Bodhidharma’s Chan teachings, produced a distinctive Chan style; consequently, even more people realized the Way. There are continuous and reliable historical records from successive generations that can be traced and examined. |
| 达摩所传的祖师禅不立文字，直指人心，见性成佛。就是直接告诉我们什么是佛。那时候人的根性好，只怕不知道，一旦知道了什么是佛，就会绵密保护，不让习气沾染上去。时时观空不再着相，用不了几年就能成就，快得很。 |
The Patriarchal Chan transmitted by Bodhidharma does not establish words and letters; it directly points to the mind, and through seeing one’s nature one becomes a Buddha. It directly tells us what Buddha is. People then had good faculties. They feared only not knowing; once they knew what Buddha was, they carefully safeguarded it and did not allow habitual tendencies to defile it. Constantly contemplating emptiness and no longer clinging to appearances, they could attain realization in only a few years—very quickly. |
| 所以达摩祖师所传的顿悟禅非常好，用不着怎么修法，因为我们本来是佛，就是我们不知道。比如六祖大师指示惠明说：“不思善，不思恶”一切放下，什么念头都不动。“惠明良久”，就是停到那儿不动了。 |
Therefore, the sudden-awakening Chan transmitted by Patriarch Bodhidharma is exceedingly good. There is no need for elaborate methods of practice, because we are originally Buddhas; we simply do not know it. For example, the Sixth Patriarch instructed Huiming: “Do not think of good; do not think of evil.” Let everything go, and do not stir any thought. “Huiming remained for a long while” means that he stopped there without moving. |
| 不动的时候一念不生，六祖大师就直接指示他：“正与么时，那个是你明上座本来面目。”就是正在这个一念不生的时候，你不是木头石头（木头石头没有知觉）而是了了分明，“那个”就是你的本来面目。 |
When he was still and not a single thought arose, the Sixth Patriarch directly instructed him: “At just such a time, what is your Original Face, Venerable Ming?” That is, at the very time when not a single thought arises, you are not wood or stone—wood and stone have no awareness—but are clearly and distinctly aware. That is your Original Face. |
| 这就是直接指示，多好啊！后来人不明白这个道理，“那个”就变成了“哪个”了。“‘哪一个’是你明上座本来面目？”就成问话叫你去参了。就像猜谜一样：哪一个？哪一个？其实六祖大师不是这样问的，他是直接指示。 |
This is direct instruction—how excellent it is! Later generations did not understand this principle, and “that” became “which.” “Which one is your Original Face, Venerable Ming?” Thus it became a question for people to investigate. It is like guessing a riddle: Which one? Which one? But the Sixth Patriarch was not asking in this way; he was giving direct instruction. |
| 就像于頔大夫问紫玉禅师：“如何是佛？”禅师就喊他：“于岫大夫！”大夫答应道：“唉”。“即此是！”紫玉禅师说：就是答应的这个就是。于是于岫大夫就开悟了。 |
It was like Minister Yu Di asking Chan Master Ziyu, “What is Buddha?” The Chan master called out, “Minister Yu Xiu!” The minister responded, “Yes!” “This is it!” said Chan Master Ziyu: the very one that responds is it. Thereupon Minister Yu Xiu awakened. |
| 多么简单痛快啊！那么于岫大夫是不是真正开悟了呢？脚跟是否点地呢？后来药山禅师（即石头希迁的徒弟）想考考于岫大夫就说：“哎哟，恐怕大夫埋到紫玉山中去了。 |
How simple and refreshing! But had Minister Yu Xiu truly awakened? Had his feet truly touched the ground? Later, Chan Master Yaoshan, a disciple of Shitou Xiqian, wished to test Minister Yu Xiu and said, “Ah, I fear the minister has been buried in Mount Ziyu.” |
| ”于岫大夫听到之后想：是不是我悟错了？赶快又去参拜药山说：“请大师开示？如何是佛？”药山也是这样喊他：“大夫！”于岫大夫答应道：“唉！”这回药山换了一句话问：“是什么？”于岫大夫，“噢……”这次他真的开悟了。 |
After hearing this, Minister Yu Xiu thought, “Could it be that I awakened incorrectly?” He hurried to pay respects to Yaoshan and said, “Please instruct me, Master. What is Buddha?” Yaoshan likewise called out, “Minister!” Minister Yu Xiu responded, “Yes!” This time Yaoshan changed his words and asked, “What is it?” Minister Yu Xiu said, “Oh...” This time he truly awakened. |
| 紫玉禅师说：“即此是！”就是告诉于岫大夫这就是佛。药山反问：“是什么？”也是告诉于岫大夫这就是佛了。这些都是直接指示。后来就不行了，因为后来人根陋劣，你这样直接告诉他，他反而不以为奇。 |
When Chan Master Ziyu said, “This is it!” he was telling Minister Yu Xiu that this is Buddha. When Yaoshan asked in return, “What is it?” he too was telling Minister Yu Xiu that this is Buddha. These are all direct instructions. Later this no longer worked, because people of later times had inferior faculties. If you told them so directly, they would instead find nothing remarkable in it. |
| 就像祖上遗下的财产一样，不是自己血汗挣来的就不当一回事，滥花滥用。如果直接指示他，他还说：“这就是佛呀？那怎么没有神通，没有辩才呢？恐怕不是吧。”他就不能承当，更谈不上保任。 |
It is like inherited family property: because one did not earn it through one’s own sweat and labor, one does not take it seriously and squanders it recklessly. If one is given direct instruction, one may even say, “This is Buddha? Then why are there no spiritual powers or eloquence? Surely this cannot be it.” Such a person cannot take it up, much less safeguard realization. |
| 所以禅宗到后来就变成起疑情参话头了，直到现在就参一句死话头：“念佛是谁？”参几十年都得不到消息。因为根本起不了疑情。 |
Therefore, Chan later became the practice of arousing a sense of doubt and investigating a huatou. Even today, people investigate the lifeless huatou, “Who is reciting the Buddha’s name?” They investigate it for decades without receiving any news, because they fundamentally cannot arouse a sense of doubt. |
| 参话头是要起疑情：念佛究竟是谁念的呢？是我念的，那么什么是我呢？身体是我吗？身体是地、水、火、风四大假合，假如我们一口气不来了，肉身实体没有烂掉，那时为什么不能念了？所以身体不是我。 |
To investigate a huatou, one must arouse a sense of doubt: Who, after all, is reciting the Buddha’s name? Is it I who recite it? Then what am I? Is the body myself? The body is a provisional combination of the four great elements of earth, water, fire, and wind. If our breath no longer comes, while the physical body has not yet decayed, why can it no longer recite? Therefore, the body is not myself. |
| 思想是我吗？思想是外界客观环境在人脑中的反映。没有外界客观环境就没有思想，所以思想也不是我。那么“阿弥陀佛”这句佛号究竟是谁念的？要把这个问题的答案找出来，就要起疑情。 |
Is thought myself? Thought is the reflection of the external objective environment in the human brain. Without the external objective environment, there would be no thought; therefore thought too is not myself. Then who, after all, recites the Buddha-name “Amitābha Buddha”? To find the answer to this question, one must arouse a sense of doubt. |
| 因为疑情一起，一直思索这个问题，究竟是谁？这样就把思想妄念截断了。思想被这个疑情抓住，就不会胡思乱想了。不然我们妄念多端，一分一秒都没有停止过。即使是睡着了也没有停止的时候，还是妄念多端，乱梦横生。 |
Once a sense of doubt arises, one continually reflects on this question: Who, after all, is it? In this way, one cuts off thoughts and deluded thinking. Thought is seized by this sense of doubt and can no longer wander aimlessly. Otherwise, our deluded thoughts are manifold and do not stop for even a second. Even when we are asleep, they do not stop; deluded thoughts remain manifold, and chaotic dreams arise in profusion. |
| 所以禅宗人说的：“大疑大悟，小疑小悟，不疑不悟。”就是这个道理。因为疑情不起，思想总是在动，就抓不住，就不能深入禅定，妄心就息不下来，本性就不能现前。因为真心都被妄念包裹着看不见了。 |
Therefore Chan practitioners say, “Great doubt, great awakening; small doubt, small awakening; no doubt, no awakening.” This is the principle. When a sense of doubt does not arise, thought is always in motion and cannot be grasped. One cannot enter deeply into samādhi, the deluded mind cannot settle, and one’s intrinsic nature cannot appear before one. The true mind is wrapped in deluded thoughts and cannot be seen. |
| 我到过几个寺院，看他们在那里念念有词：念佛是谁，念佛是谁……。哎！真糟糕，他们没有起疑情，在那里念“念佛是谁？”还不如念阿弥陀佛好呢！念阿弥陀佛还有佛号的果地感应，还有佛因地发心功德的加持，比念“念佛是谁”要得力的多。 |
I have visited several monasteries and seen them murmuring there: “Who is reciting the Buddha’s name? Who is reciting the Buddha’s name? . . .” Alas, how dreadful! They have not aroused a sense of doubt; rather than reciting, “Who is reciting the Buddha’s name?” they would be better off reciting Amitābha Buddha. Reciting Amitābha Buddha brings the responsive efficacy of the Buddha-name as fruition, as well as the empowering support of the merit and virtue generated when the Buddha first aroused the resolve at the causal stage. It is far more effective than reciting, “Who is reciting the Buddha’s name?” |
| 现在是末法时代，佛法衰微，大家都不肯好好的用功修法。现在的禅宗说起来真凄惨，所传之法，都不是自己亲自证到本性后，再传给他人，而以法卷代传。 |
We are now in the Dharma-ending age, when the Buddhadharma is in decline. No one is willing to apply themselves properly to cultivation. The present state of the Chan school is truly lamentable: the Dharma that is transmitted is not transmitted after one has personally realized one’s true nature, but by means of Dharma transmission certificates. |
| 就像我们画图画的画卷一样，用一张长长的画纸，在上面写上四个大字：“正法眼藏”。 |
It is like a scroll used for painting: one takes a long sheet of paper and writes four large characters on it, “Treasury of the True Dharma Eye.” |
| 然后写第一代祖师是谁，第二代祖师是谁，第三、第四……传到我这儿现在是第三十四代，我传给了你，就写第三十五代，把这卷子传给你，就算是把法传给你了。传的人既没有悟道，受的人也没有悟道，大家就这样糊里糊涂地把卷子传下去，就算悟道了，就算法有传承了，这样的传接法，禅宗哪得不扫地？！ |
Then one writes who the first patriarch was, who the second patriarch was, and who the third, fourth, and so on were. By the time it reaches me, it is now the thirty-fourth generation. If I transmit it to you, I write “thirty-fifth generation”; handing this scroll to you is then considered transmitting the Dharma to you. Yet the transmitter has not realized the Way, nor has the recipient realized the Way. Everyone muddleheadedly passes the scroll on, considering that realization of the Way and considering that the Dharma has a lineage of transmission. How could the Chan school fail to be swept away by such a manner of transmitting and receiving the Dharma?! |
| 禅宗产生很长时间后，才出现了净土宗。净土宗是在东晋时，由庐山东林寺的慧远法师设立的。 |
The Pure Land school appeared only long after the Chan school arose. It was established during the Eastern Jin dynasty by Dharma Master Huiyuan of Donglin Monastery on Mount Lu. |
| 当时，慧远法师看很多人参禅不对机，就设了两个佛堂：一个是禅堂，一个是依据三经（即《阿弥陀经》、《无量寿经》、《观无量寿佛经》）设立的念佛堂。让参禅不对机的人入念佛堂，于是就产生了净土宗。 |
At that time, Dharma Master Huiyuan saw that many people were not suited to Chan meditation, so he established two Buddha halls: one Chan hall and one Buddha-recitation hall established on the basis of the three sūtras—the Amitābha Sūtra, the Sūtra of Immeasurable Life, and the Contemplation Sūtra of Amitāyus Buddha. He had those unsuited to Chan meditation enter the Buddha-recitation hall, and thus the Pure Land school arose. |
| 净土宗比较方便，借佛的慈悲力量接引，横超三界，往生西方极乐世界。但要真正做到一心不乱才行。关于一心不乱在净土宗里横起纷争。 |
The Pure Land school is comparatively accessible and convenient. Relying on the compassionate power of the Buddha to guide one, one can transcend the three realms horizontally and be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. But one must truly attain one-pointedness of mind without distraction. Within the Pure Land school, intense disputes have arisen over one-pointedness of mind without distraction. |
| 有些人说：“我们全仗佛力，不要一心不乱，散心念佛就行了（散心念佛就是一面嘴上念，一面思想乱动）。”还有的说：“恐怕不行吧！佛说要执持名号一心不乱，才能彼佛现前接引往生。”所以净宗行人也有分歧。 |
Some say: “We rely wholly on the Buddha’s power; there is no need for one-pointedness of mind without distraction. It is enough simply to recite the Buddha’s name with a scattered mind.” (Reciting the Buddha’s name with a scattered mind means reciting aloud while one’s thoughts roam chaotically.) Others say: “I am afraid that will not do. The Buddha said that one must uphold the name with one-pointedness of mind without distraction before that Buddha will appear to guide one to rebirth.” Thus practitioners of the Pure Land school also hold differing views. |
| 是不是要一心不乱呢？假如马马虎虎念佛就能往生，为什么憨山大师还说：“口念弥陀心散乱，喉咙喊破也徒然”呢？所以还是需要一心不乱的。 |
Must one attain one-pointedness of mind without distraction? If casual Buddha-recitation were enough for rebirth, why did Master Hanshan say, “Though the mouth recites Amitābha, if the mind is scattered, shouting until the throat breaks is futile”? Therefore, one-pointedness of mind without distraction is still necessary. |
| 关于一心不乱也有深浅，分起来很详细：有事一心，理一心，理事一心，事事一心。我们不讲深的，讲最简单的，就是佛号要时时刻刻在心中念：阿弥陀佛，阿弥陀佛……。 |
One-pointedness of mind without distraction also has deeper and shallower levels, which can be analyzed in great detail: one-pointedness in phenomena, one-pointedness in principle, one-pointedness in principle and phenomena, and one-pointedness among phenomena. We shall not discuss the deeper levels, but only the simplest: the Buddha-name must be continually recited in the mind at every moment—“Amitābha Buddha, Amitābha Buddha . . .” |
| 遇到再好的境界也不乐而忘形，还是阿弥陀佛，阿弥陀佛……；遇到再坏再烦恼的境界也不烦恼，还是阿弥陀佛，阿弥陀佛……，心不动摇。这是事一心不乱。要能做到这样才行。假如连这个也做不到，我看生西方就很困难。 |
When encountering even the finest circumstances, do not become so delighted that you lose yourself; continue, “Amitābha Buddha, Amitābha Buddha . . .” When encountering even the worst and most afflictive circumstances, do not become troubled; continue, “Amitābha Buddha, Amitābha Buddha . . .” The mind remains unmoved. This is one-pointedness in phenomena without distraction. One must be able to achieve this. If one cannot even do this, I fear rebirth in the West will be very difficult. |
| 因为佛不是跑到你面前来接引你。永明寿禅师曾在《宗镜录》中讲：佛就好比是天上的月亮，在千江万水中都显现，我们的心就好比是千江万水。一心不乱就像清水，阿弥陀佛只能在清水中显现。 |
This is because the Buddha does not simply run up before you to guide you. Chan Master Yongming Shou once said in the Record of the Treasury Mirror: the Buddha is like the moon in the sky, reflected in a thousand rivers and ten thousand waters, while our minds are like those thousand rivers and ten thousand waters. One-pointedness of mind without distraction is like clear water; Amitābha Buddha can appear only in clear water. |
| 假如我们的心污七八糟就像一潭浑水，佛就是来了你也见不到。因为大家都不肯好好用功，所以本书中说：在现在的末法时代，连“普遍通行的‘净土宗’念佛法门也难方便实行了”。 |
If our minds are a complete muddle, like a pool of muddy water, then even if the Buddha comes, we cannot see him. Because no one is willing to apply themselves properly, this book says: in the present Dharma-ending age, even the universally practiced Buddha-recitation Dharma gate of the “Pure Land school” is difficult to practice conveniently. |
| 净土宗其实是很容易方便实行的，就是念一句佛号：“阿弥陀佛”。但为什么又说：“难以实行”呢？因为现在的修行人不肯用功念佛，都是在装模作样，上上早殿，上上晚殿，敲敲唱唱就算功课做好了。 |
The Pure Land school is actually very easy and convenient to practice: one need only recite the Buddha-name, “Amitābha Buddha.” But why is it said to be “difficult to practice”? Because present-day practitioners are unwilling to apply themselves to Buddha-recitation. They merely put on appearances: they attend the morning service and evening service, strike instruments and chant, and count their daily practice as complete. |
| 这还是比较好的，差一些的，连殿也不上，只想做经忏挣钱。这样修行有用处吗？一点用处也没有！念佛求生西方，要念到一心不乱才行。佛说：“欲净其土，先净其心；随其心净，即佛土净。 |
That is still comparatively good. Those who are worse do not even attend the services; they think only of performing sūtra and repentance rites to earn money. Is such cultivation of any use? It is of no use whatsoever! To seek rebirth in the West through Buddha-recitation, one must recite until attaining one-pointedness of mind without distraction. The Buddha said: “If one wishes to purify one’s land, one must first purify one’s mind; as one’s mind is purified, so too is the Buddha-land purified.” |
| ”心不清净，与净土不相应，是不能往生净土的。佛在《观经》中讲，念佛法门有十六种观法，最后一观叫念佛观。应该怎么观呢？就是念佛时，须心念耳闻，就是说念佛时，耳朵能够清清楚楚地倾听自己的念佛声音。 |
If the mind is impure, it does not accord with the Pure Land, and one cannot be reborn in the Pure Land. In the Contemplation Sūtra, the Buddha taught that the Buddha-recitation Dharma gate has sixteen methods of contemplation. The last is called the contemplation of Buddha-recitation. How should one contemplate? When reciting the Buddha’s name, one must recite in the mind and hear with the ears; that is, while reciting the Buddha’s name, one’s ears must listen clearly to the sound of one’s own recitation. |
| 这种观法，不是用眼睛看，而是用耳朵来观照我们念佛的声音。以耳根摄定意根，使其不生妄念而达到进入念佛三昧的目的。我们真能证入念佛三昧，当腊月三十日到来时，绝定能生西。否则，就很难说了。 |
This method of contemplation does not use the eyes to look; rather, it uses the ears to contemplate the sound of our Buddha-recitation. One uses the ear faculty to gather in and stabilize the mind faculty, preventing deluded thoughts from arising and thereby entering the samādhi of Buddha-recitation. If we can truly realize and enter the samādhi of Buddha-recitation, then when the thirtieth day of the twelfth lunar month arrives, we shall certainly be reborn in the West. Otherwise, it is difficult to say. |
| 因此，念佛须一切放下，静静地念：“阿弥陀佛、阿弥陀佛……”同时用耳朵静听自己念佛的声音，才能摄心入观。现在的人念佛不入观，不肯照佛教导的方法来切实实行，所以收效甚微。 |
Therefore, when reciting the Buddha’s name, one must let go of everything and quietly recite, “Amitābha Buddha, Amitābha Buddha . . .” At the same time, one quietly listens with the ears to the sound of one’s own recitation. Only then can one gather the mind and enter contemplation. People today recite the Buddha’s name without entering contemplation and are unwilling to put into actual practice the method taught by the Buddha; therefore, they see very little result. |
| 大势至菩萨教导我们：“都摄六根，净念相继。”就是教导我们念佛，须把眼、耳、鼻、舌、身、意这六根，都摄在这一句佛号上。 |
Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva taught us: “Gather in the six sense faculties and let pure mindfulness continue uninterruptedly.” This teaches us that, when reciting the Buddha’s name, we must gather the six faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind into this single Buddha-name. |
| 眼睛不看别的东西，耳朵不听别的声音（只听我念佛的声音），鼻子不闻什么香臭，舌头也不尝什么味道，不说话。竭尽心力，“阿弥陀佛、阿弥陀佛……”静静地一直念下去，自然渐渐息下妄心而安然入定。 |
The eyes do not look at other things; the ears do not hear other sounds, listening only to the sound of one’s own Buddha-recitation; the nose does not smell fragrances or odors; the tongue does not taste flavors or speak. Exerting all one’s mental strength, one quietly continues reciting, “Amitābha Buddha, Amitābha Buddha . . .” Naturally, the deluded mind gradually comes to rest, and one peacefully enters samādhi. |
| 可惜现在净宗行人不肯这样做。说到“净念相继”这句话，意义深长，确实很难做到。因为不是照字面看起来那么简单，不是只静静地念这句佛号，就叫净念相继，而是很深的，像禅宗开悟后保任到家的功夫一样。 |
Unfortunately, practitioners of the Pure Land school today are unwilling to do this. The words “pure mindfulness continues uninterruptedly” have profound meaning and are indeed very difficult to accomplish. They are not as simple as they appear from the words alone. Quietly reciting this Buddha-name does not by itself constitute uninterrupted pure mindfulness. It is something very profound, like the work of safeguarding realization until completion after awakening in the Chan school. |
| 所谓净者，要能所双亡，根尘脱落才叫净。就是念佛时能念的心和所念的佛号，一时脱落，无能无所，廓尔清净，才是一念净。有念佛的心和所念的佛号，有能有所，这是相对的。相对的都是虚妄不实的。绝对的才是真的。 |
What is meant by “pure”? Only when subject and object both perish, and the sense faculties and their objects fall away, can it be called pure. While reciting the Buddha’s name, when the mind that recites and the Buddha-name being recited simultaneously fall away—when there is neither subject nor object, and all is vast and utterly pure—there is a single pure thought. If there is a mind that recites the Buddha’s name and a Buddha-name that is recited, there are subject and object; this is relative. Whatever is relative is illusory and unreal. Only the absolute is real. |
| 唯有我们的佛性是绝对的。你现在念佛，心、法、佛号都是相对的，所以这不是净念。 |
Only our Buddha-nature is absolute. When you recite the Buddha’s name now, the mind, the Dharma, and the Buddha-name are all relative; therefore, this is not pure mindfulness. |
| 要等念佛念得入定了，念得能所脱掉了，就像我们修心中心法一样，持咒持到最后，“啪——”脱掉了，法没有了，人也没有了，心也没有了，世界也没有了，都空净了，但灵知了了，这才是一念净。 |
Only when Buddha-recitation has entered samādhi and subject and object have fallen away is it like our practice of the Heart-of-Heart Dharma: one recites the mantra until, at the very end, “snap!”—it falls away. The Dharma is gone, the person is gone, the mind is gone, and the world is gone. All is empty and pure, yet luminous knowing remains clear and ever-present. Only this is a single pure thought. |
| 一念净就是一念相应，这一念就是佛。一念相应一念佛，念念相应念念佛。念念都是如此不动，念念都是佛，这才叫做相继不断！你们看这是何等的功夫啊！讲到“相应”，还有静中的相应和动中的相应不同。 |
A single pure thought is a single moment of accord. This single thought is Buddha. With one thought in accord, one thought is Buddha; with thought after thought in accord, thought after thought is Buddha. When every thought is thus unmoved and every thought is Buddha, this is called continuing without interruption. See what a demanding practice this is! Speaking of accord, moreover, accord in stillness differs from accord in activity. |
| 静中相应，就是我们打坐的时候，能所双亡，打开了本来，与佛相应。但下座动中又忘记了，跟着外境跑了，就不相应了。所以这只是静中相应，动中不相应还是不行。 |
Accord in stillness means that while we are sitting in meditation, subject and object both perish, our Original Face is opened, and we accord with the Buddha. But if, after rising from the cushion and entering activity, we forget it again and chase after external circumstances, then we are no longer in accord. Thus, accord in stillness alone is insufficient; there must not be nonaccord in activity. |
| 功夫须做到动静一如，动中不跟境界转，仍然是了了分明，如静中一样才行，这就更难了。相继就是继续不断，就是不问动静，时时如此，不只是一时如此，而他时如彼。 |
The practice must reach the point of being equally at ease in stillness and activity. In activity, one must not turn with circumstances, but remain clear and distinct, just as in stillness. This is still more difficult. Continuing means continuing without interruption: regardless of activity or stillness, one remains thus at all times, not merely for a time now and then at another time in a different way. |
| 因为我们旧习深重，打坐用功，常是今天能脱开，明天又脱不开，要等多少天后才脱一次，以后不再脱开，那是瞎猫碰着死老鼠，非但不是相继的功夫，也不算开悟。 |
Because our habitual tendencies are deeply entrenched, when we sit in meditation and apply ourselves, we may often break free today but not tomorrow; perhaps only after many days do we break free once more. If thereafter we never break free again, that is merely a blind cat happening upon a dead mouse. Not only is it not the practice of continuity, it does not even count as awakening. |
| 纵然功夫增进，静中能相继了，动中有走着，还不能算相继成片的功夫。真正的相继，须动中也如静中一样相继。就是在做事时尽管在做，却等于没做，丝毫不住着。做过之后，更没有丝毫做的痕迹。做到这样动静一如的相继，才叫净念相继。 |
Even if one’s practice advances and continuity can be maintained in stillness, if one is still carried away in activity, it cannot yet be called a continuous, undivided practice. Genuine continuity requires that, in activity too, one continue just as in stillness. Thus, although one is doing things, it is as if nothing has been done, with not the slightest attachment. After doing them, not the slightest trace of having done them remains. Only such continuity, equally at ease in stillness and activity, is called uninterrupted pure mindfulness. |
| 禅宗功夫也是要做到这个地步才叫打成一片。参禅打开本来之后要进一步保任，长养圣胎，使他发育长大。保任功夫是两个阶段。 |
Chan practice must likewise reach this point before it can be called becoming continuous and undivided. After Chan practitioners open their Original Face, they must further safeguard realization and nurture the sacred embryo, allowing it to develop and mature. The practice of safeguarding realization has two stages. |
| 保就是保护，就是当我们打开本来了，认识了法身，要严密地保护他，不让他粘染物境而停滞不前，须时时照看他而不忘记。等保护圆熟了，就不须再保。放任他，独立自主而无犯触，以法性本来如此，非有意做作。 |
Safeguarding means protecting. When we have opened our Original Face and recognized the dharmakāya, we must guard it closely, not allowing it to become tainted by sense objects and thereby stagnate. We must attend to it constantly without forgetting it. Once this protection has reached full maturity, there is no further need to protect it. Let it function freely, independently and autonomously, without violation or obstruction. This is so because dharmatā is originally thus; it is not something deliberately contrived. |
| 功夫做到这里——动静一如的相继功夫，非但净就是禅，禅就是净，禅净不分家。就是儒教孔夫子最后也说：“七十而从心所欲不逾矩。”可见功夫到家，是不分什么宗派的。 |
When practice reaches this point—the work of continuity equally at ease in stillness and activity—not only is Pure Land practice Chan and Chan Pure Land practice; Chan and Pure Land are not separate households. Even Confucius, at the end, said: “At seventy, I could follow my heart’s desires without transgressing the bounds.” This shows that when practice has reached completion, there is no distinction among schools. |
| 有些不懂佛教真理的人，总在分别说：“你是禅宗，我是净土。”其实不相干。又有些人分别说：“净土好，稳妥；禅宗不好，危险！”不知道都是一样的。你说禅宗危险，是你不竭尽心力修行故。 |
Some people who do not understand the true principles of Buddhism are always making distinctions, saying, “You belong to the Chan school, and I belong to the Pure Land school.” In fact, this is irrelevant. Others make distinctions by saying, “Pure Land is good and reliable; Chan is not good and is dangerous!” They do not realize that they are the same. You say Chan is dangerous because you do not cultivate with all your heart and strength. |
| 你不专心致志的念佛，净土也一样危险。不见莲池大师道：“念佛者多，生西者少”吗！你说净土好，禅宗也一样好，六祖大师以来，见性了道的人，不是也很多吗？所以大家不要互相诽谤了，法都是好的。 |
If you do not practice Buddha-recitation with one-pointed dedication, Pure Land is equally dangerous. Have you not seen Master Lianchi say, “There are many who recite the Buddha’s name, but few who are reborn in the West”? You say Pure Land is good, but Chan is equally good. Since the Sixth Patriarch, have there not also been many who saw their true nature and realized the Way? Therefore, do not slander one another. All dharmas are good. |
| 就看这个法是否适合你的根器，适合根器就是好法。另外，人们之所以有分别，是法没有修圆满，死守在一门，着在一点上，才生出差别见。如真正打开来，见到本性，就圆满了，就知道各宗都相同而无异议了。 |
It depends only on whether a dharma is suited to your faculties; if it suits your faculties, it is a good dharma. Moreover, people make distinctions because they have not cultivated a dharma to completion. They rigidly cling to a single gate and become attached to one point, thereby giving rise to discriminating views. If one truly opens through and sees one’s intrinsic nature, one is complete and understands that all schools are alike, without disagreement. |
| 所以说我们心中心密法，就是禅宗，就是净土，和中国的十大宗派，没有点滴分别，只是在下手用功时有些不同罢了。 |
Therefore, our Heart-of-Heart Esoteric Dharma is Chan, and it is Pure Land. It differs not in the slightest from the ten major schools of Chinese Buddhism; there are only some differences in how one begins the practice. |
| 我们心中心密法所讲的道理，和禅宗完全一致，也讲打开来见到本性后，了见、思二惑，圆满三身四智，更讲心净佛土净，发愿往生西方极乐世界，并且更进一步，可随愿往生其他诸方净土，不是只能往生一个净土。所以我们心中心法既是禅，又是净土。但真正实行起来是要专心致志的用功，不是说说即能办到的。 |
The principles taught by our Heart-of-Heart Esoteric Dharma are entirely consistent with Chan. It likewise teaches that, after opening through and seeing one’s intrinsic nature, one eliminates the delusions of views and thought and perfects the three kāyas and four wisdoms. It further teaches that when the mind is pure, the Buddha-land is pure; that one should make vows for rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss; and, going a step further, that one may be reborn according to one’s vows in other Pure Lands in every direction, rather than being limited to rebirth in only one Pure Land. Thus, our Heart-of-Heart Dharma is both Chan and Pure Land. But to put it into actual practice, one must apply oneself with one-pointed dedication; it cannot be accomplished merely by talking about it. |
| 其实净土宗也是如此，也须一心精念佛号，不可懈怠。但现在人讲的净土宗与净土原意大相径庭，非但念佛不入定，连念佛三昧也不要，甚至说不念佛也不要紧，只要耳闻一句佛号，即能往生西方。 |
Pure Land school practice is in fact the same: one must also recite the Buddha’s name single-mindedly and diligently, without laxity. But the Pure Land school as now taught differs greatly from the original meaning of Pure Land. Not only do people not enter samādhi through Buddha-recitation; they do not even seek Buddha-recitation samādhi. Some even say that it does not matter if one does not recite the Buddha’s name, so long as one hears the Buddha’s name once, one can be reborn in the West. |
| 把净土宗糟蹋、破坏得体无完肤，真是披着佛衣的逆种、魔子，这种人不下地狱、受刀山油锅之苦才怪！净土宗本有“十六观”、“念佛三昧”、“般舟三昧”等等修法，可见须行人认真修习的。 |
They have ravaged and ruined the Pure Land school beyond recognition. They truly are perverse offspring and demons’ children clad in the garments of Buddhism. It would be strange indeed if such people did not descend into hell and suffer the torments of the mountain of knives and cauldron of boiling oil! The Pure Land school originally had such practices as the “Sixteen Contemplations,” “Buddha-Recitation Samādhi,” and “Pratyutpanna Samādhi.” This shows that practitioners must cultivate them earnestly. |
| 修“般舟三昧”要一天到晚走着或站着念佛。不许坐，不许睡。这是很辛苦的，很难做到。所以本书说：“普遍通行的‘净土宗’念佛法门，也难方便实行。”这话讲得很有道理，是很难实行。所以到临命终时都是乱七八糟。 |
To practice “Pratyutpanna Samādhi,” one must recite the Buddha’s name while walking or standing from morning to night. One is not permitted to sit or sleep. This is extremely arduous and difficult to accomplish. Therefore, this book says: “Even the widely practiced Pure Land Dharma gate of Buddha-recitation is not easy to carry out conveniently.” This is very reasonable; it is indeed difficult to practice. Consequently, when the time of death comes, people are all in confusion. |
| 舍报安详，一心不乱，更是做不到，因为他没有好好修行。能够安安稳稳的，一点无挂碍走掉的人，当然是有，不能说一个都没有，只是很少很少了。我曾见过一位老太太，她是接受救济的，生活很苦没有钱。 |
To relinquish the body peacefully and with one-pointedness of mind without distraction is even more difficult to achieve, because they have not cultivated properly. Of course, there are people who can depart calmly and steadily, without the slightest hindrance; one cannot say that there are none at all. But they are very, very few. I once saw an elderly woman who received public assistance. She lived in great hardship and had no money. |
| 那时候，政府每个月只给她八块钱。她只有到菜市场拾一点菜叶吃。在热水瓶里放点剩米饭，到开水房要点开水一胀，变成稀饭喝喝。 |
At that time, the government gave her only eight yuan each month. She could only pick up a few vegetable leaves at the market to eat. She would put some leftover rice into a thermos, obtain some boiling water from the hot-water room, and let it swell into porridge to drink. |
| 她一天到晚念佛：“阿弥陀佛，阿弥陀佛……”，提前一个星期就知道自己要走了，这就是预知时至。她告诉那个开水房的人说：“今天我泡过了，明天就不来了。 |
All day long she recited the Buddha’s name: “Amitābha Buddha, Amitābha Buddha . . .” A week in advance, she knew that she was about to depart; this is called knowing the time of one’s death in advance. She told the attendant in the hot-water room, “I have already soaked my rice today; tomorrow I will not come.” |
| ”开水房的人问她：“你要去哪里呢？”她说：“唉，我要出远门了。”以后一个星期大家都没有再看见她。有人说，这个老太太晚上进屋，就没有见她出来过。于是，把她的房门破开一看，老太太已坐在床上坐化了。这就很好啊！ |
The attendant in the hot-water room asked her, “Where are you going?” She replied, “Ah, I am going on a long journey.” For the following week, no one saw her again. Someone said that the old woman had entered her room one evening and had never been seen coming out. They broke open her door and found that she had already passed away while seated on her bed. This was very good indeed! |
| 由此可见，净宗行人还是需要一心不乱才能往生西方极乐世界，而禅宗人要做到断惑证真才能证成佛，才能了脱生死。断惑证真就是要把见惑、思惑、无明惑都断除而证见本性。 |
From this we can see that Pure Land practitioners still need one-pointedness of mind without distraction in order to be reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Chan practitioners, on the other hand, must eliminate delusions and realize truth before they can attain Buddhahood and be liberated from birth and death. To eliminate delusions and realize truth means to eliminate the delusions of views, the delusions of thought, and the delusions of ignorance, and thereby realize one’s intrinsic nature. |
| 开悟就是已经见到本性，但只是刚到法身边，了了见惑（就是知见）。知见正了心就不会再动摇了，但思惑（就是思想）还未了，对境还要生心，分段生死就不能了。 |
Awakening means that one has already seen one’s intrinsic nature, but has only just reached the threshold of the dharmakāya and eliminated the delusions of views—that is, conceptual views. Once one’s views are correct, the mind will no longer waver. But the delusions of thought—that is, discursive thinking—have not yet been eliminated; when one encounters circumstances, thoughts still arise, and one cannot be liberated from segmented birth and death. |
| 所以净土宗常说禅宗这一点不好：“禅宗人参禅虽然开悟了，也不能了生死。还是净土宗稳妥，‘但得见弥陀，何愁不开悟’，往生西方极乐世界就证到阿鞞跋致，一生补处（就是证成等觉菩萨），不再六道轮回了。 |
Therefore, the Pure Land school often says that this is a weakness of Chan: “Although Chan practitioners may awaken through investigating Chan, they still cannot transcend birth and death. The Pure Land school is more reliable: ‘Once one sees Amitābha, why worry about not awakening?’ When one is reborn in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, one realizes the stage of nonretrogression and becomes a bodhisattva in the final life before Buddhahood—that is, an equal-enlightenment bodhisattva—and no longer undergoes rebirth in the six realms.” |
| ”禅宗是有很多人得到一点知解就以为开悟了，实际功夫并没有跟上去。有些人用功打开本来见到本性，那也只是初到法身边。 |
It is true that many Chan practitioners gain a little intellectual understanding and think that they have awakened, while their actual practice has not kept pace. Some practitioners open through in their efforts and see their intrinsic nature, but this too is only an initial arrival at the threshold of the dharmakāya. |
| 就像刚刚登上舞台的边缘，还没有到舞台的中间呢！要继续努力用功，心里彻底空净了，才能真正证悟。所以要在境界中锻炼身心，达摩所传第二代祖师神光大师，就是在妓院酒楼里锻炼身心。 |
It is like having just climbed onto the edge of a stage, without yet reaching its center. One must continue applying oneself diligently. Only when the mind is completely empty and pure can one truly realize awakening. Therefore, one must temper body and mind amid circumstances. Master Shenguang, the second patriarch in the lineage transmitted by Bodhidharma, tempered his body and mind in brothels and wine shops. |
| 别人说他：“你是个和尚，怎么还往妓院酒楼里跑？”他说：“我到这里是来炼心的，看看我的心还动不动。”所以这才是练真功夫。当然净土宗人把禅宗说的这么不好也不对，因为这样一说别人就无心学禅宗了。 |
Others said to him, “You are a monk—why do you still go to brothels and wine shops?” He replied, “I come here to temper my mind, to see whether it still moves.” This is genuine practice. Of course, it is also wrong for Pure Land followers to speak so badly of Chan, because such remarks cause others to lose interest in studying Chan. |
| 其实禅宗的立足点和净土宗不同。禅宗假如真的见到本性，纵然习气未了，也只需七升天上七到人间就能了了。他会上上升进，不会再到三恶道中，这就很好啊！现在有人讲：“五祖戒，草堂青。 |
In fact, Chan and Pure Land have different points of departure. If Chan practitioners truly see their intrinsic nature, then even if their habitual tendencies have not yet been eliminated, after seven rebirths in heaven and seven rebirths among humans they can be fully liberated. They will continue to rise to higher and higher states and will not return to the three lower realms. This is very good indeed! Now some people say, “Wuzu Jie, Caotang Qing.” |
| ”意思是说五祖山的戒禅师虽然开悟了，但并没有了生死，再投胎就是苏东坡。并说苏东坡娶了几个老婆，也不能出家修行。其实苏东坡还是不错的，他并没有忘记修行。 |
This means that Chan Master Jie of Wuzu Mountain, though awakened, had not yet transcended birth and death; in a later rebirth he became Su Dongpo. They further say that Su Dongpo married several wives and was unable to leave home and cultivate. In fact, Su Dongpo was quite admirable; he did not forget his practice. |
| 他是又修道又修佛，也很用功啊！他做了很多诗词歌赋都是与佛法有关的。据说他再转身投胎就是憨山大师了，这不是很好吗？所以禅宗有禅宗的不同，不要再彼此诽谤，应当互相赞叹才好，因为各有各的缘份，各有各的根基。就像我们吃东西，你喜欢吃甜的，他喜欢吃辣的，各有所好。所以说是法法平等无有高下。 |
He cultivated both the Way and Buddhism, and he practiced diligently. He composed many poems, lyrics, and essays related to the Buddhadharma. It is said that in a subsequent rebirth he became Master Hanshan. Is this not good? Thus, Chan has its own distinctive features. Do not slander one another any longer; rather, you should praise one another, because each person has his own affinities and faculties. It is like eating: you enjoy sweet food, while another enjoys spicy food; each has his own preference. Therefore, all dharmas are equal, without superiority or inferiority. |
| 佛在世时就预示，末法时代只有净土宗和密宗最应机。禅宗门风高峻，要上上根人才能相应，中下根人就不行了。现在禅宗都是法卷传法，不是开悟传法，有其名而无其实。 |
Even while the Buddha was in the world, he foretold that in the Dharma-ending age, only the Pure Land school and Esoteric Buddhism would be most suited to people’s capacities. The Chan school’s style is lofty and steep; only those of the highest capacities can accord with it, while those of middling and lesser capacities cannot. Nowadays, Chan transmits the Dharma through Dharma certificates rather than through awakening; it has the name but lacks the reality. |
| 真是遗憾、太可惜了！其实禅宗是佛教的正法门，其他都是方便法门。净土宗简易方便，横超三界。密宗法门很多，但真正修大法的人很少，都是修求神通的法，来炫耀自己。 |
This is truly regrettable and most unfortunate! In fact, Chan is the direct Dharma gate of Buddhism; the others are all expedient Dharma gates. The Pure Land school is simple and convenient, allowing horizontal transcendence of the three realms. Esoteric Buddhism has many Dharma gates, but very few people truly practice the great Dharma. Most practice methods for seeking spiritual powers in order to display themselves. |
| 例如，海灯法师在学佛前，是和他舅舅一起练武的，他舅舅是四川青城山的剑客。 |
For example, before Master Haideng studied Buddhism, he practiced martial arts with his maternal uncle, who was a swordsman from Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan. |
| 有一天，海灯法师在四川边境看见两个小喇嘛抽鸦片，就对他们说：“哎！你们还是和尚呢，怎么抽鸦片，不学好！”一个小喇嘛说：“你别看不起我们。别看你有刀，有剑，我们念一个咒，你这刀剑就砍不破我们的手臂。 |
One day, at the border of Sichuan, Master Haideng saw two young lamas smoking opium and said to them, “Hey! You are monks, yet you smoke opium and do not behave properly!” One young lama said, “Do not look down on us. You may have knives and swords, but if we recite a mantra, your knives and swords will be unable to cut through our arms.” |
| ”海灯法师摇摇头表示不相信。小喇嘛说：“你不相信？等我抽完，让你试试。”这个小喇嘛“呼呼呼——”地把鸦片抽完，精神足了，嘴里嘟嘟嘟念个咒，然后把袖子卷起来让海灯法师砍。 |
Master Haideng shook his head to indicate that he did not believe it. The young lama said, “You do not believe me? Wait until I finish smoking, and then you may try.” The young lama inhaled the opium with repeated puffs. Once he was invigorated, he muttered a mantra, rolled up his sleeve, and told Master Haideng to strike his arm. |
| 海灯法师开始不敢砍，只是用刀背轻轻一碰，“啪”刀被弹起来了。他又用了一点力，刀又被弹起来了。海灯法师想：咦？还管点用！小喇嘛说：“嗨，你用刀刃使劲砍，我这个法很灵的。 |
At first, Master Haideng did not dare to cut him. He merely touched him lightly with the back of his knife, and with a smack the knife sprang back. He applied a little more force, and the knife sprang back again. Master Haideng thought, “Eh? It really does seem to work!” The young lama said, “Come on, strike hard with the blade. My method is very efficacious.” |
| ”这次海灯法师用刀刃轻轻的一碰，“啪”刀又弹起来了。小喇嘛说：“你用劲砍，没关系。”海灯法师这回用力一砍，“啪”刀又被弹起来了。这下海灯法师信服了，开始发心学佛法。海灯法师讲他学佛的因缘就是这么来的。 |
This time, Master Haideng lightly touched him with the blade, and with a smack the knife sprang back again. The young lama said, “Strike with force; it is all right.” This time Master Haideng struck hard, and with a smack the knife sprang back again. At this, Master Haideng was convinced and began to arouse the resolve to study the Buddhadharma. Master Haideng said that this was how his affinity for studying Buddhism began. |
| 所以宗喀巴大师看到密宗日久弊生，红教的弟子们尽弄这些小神通，而不修习正法，把红教弄得乌烟瘴气。于是他去其糟粕，取其精华，整理教规，穿黄衣，另立黄教。现在密宗的派别很多，有红教、黄教、白教、花教等。 |
Therefore, Master Tsongkhapa saw that, over time, abuses had arisen in Esoteric Buddhism. The disciples of the Red school were all occupied with such minor spiritual powers and did not cultivate the true Dharma, turning the Red school into a chaotic mess. He therefore discarded its dregs, retained its essence, reorganized its regulations, wore yellow robes, and established the Yellow school. Esoteric Buddhism now has many branches, including the Red, Yellow, White, and Flower schools. |
| 但目前学密法的人大部份都是为求神通，不是想了生死，走到邪路上去了，真可惜！其实我们修行到一定程度，自然会显发神通，自然会六通具足。外道也有神通，但只有天耳通、天眼通、神足通、他心通和宿命通这五通。 |
But at present, most people who study Esoteric Buddhism seek spiritual powers rather than liberation from birth and death, and they have gone down a deviant path. What a pity! In fact, when our cultivation reaches a certain level, spiritual powers naturally manifest, and the six supernormal powers naturally become complete. Non-Buddhist paths also possess spiritual powers, but only the five powers of divine ear, divine eye, bodily mobility, knowledge of others’ minds, and knowledge of past lives. |
| 没有漏尽通。漏尽通称为道通，就是一点都不着相，烦恼都光净了。只有佛才是六通具足，比如莲花生大士就是肉体飞升成佛，威力神通不可思议。还有大势至菩萨也是威力神通很大。 |
They do not have the power of the exhaustion of outflows. The power of the exhaustion of outflows is called the power of the Way: one is not attached to appearances at all, and all afflictions are utterly exhausted. Only a Buddha possesses all six supernormal powers. For example, Guru Padmasambhava is said to have ascended bodily and attained Buddhahood; his majestic powers were inconceivable. Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva likewise possesses great majestic spiritual powers. |
| 就像我们心中心法修到一定程度就会有神通，但还不知道是从什么地方来的。因为神通是我们本来具足的，本来就没有来处。只要不着相，一切放下，神通就会自然显发，要去求反而求不到。 |
When our Heart-of-Heart Dharma practice reaches a certain level, spiritual powers may arise, yet we do not know where they come from. Spiritual powers are originally complete within us; they have no origin to begin with. So long as we do not cling to appearances and let go of everything, spiritual powers will manifest naturally. If we seek them, we will instead be unable to obtain them. |
| 针对本密法，孙景风居士讲：“听闻的人，至少要明白‘九乘教义’，具有瑜伽初步的智解，才能心印相合，融会贯通，事理无碍。”这就要求听到这个法的人要有相当的智慧才行（并不是阿猫阿狗都能听得懂）。所以在这里我们先讲一下密宗的“九乘教义”。“九乘”就是指外三乘，内三乘和密三乘 |
Regarding this Esoteric Dharma, lay practitioner Sun Jingfeng said: “Those who hear it must at least understand the ‘doctrines of the nine vehicles’ and possess an initial intellectual understanding of yoga. Only then can mind and seal correspond, allowing them to integrate and comprehend it fully, without obstruction between principle and phenomena.” This requires those who hear this Dharma to possess considerable wisdom; it is not something that just anyone can understand. Therefore, we shall first explain the “doctrines of the nine vehicles” of Esoteric Buddhism. The “nine vehicles” refer to the outer three vehicles, the inner three vehicles, and the secret three vehicles |
| （见下图）： |
(see the diagram below): |
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| 外三乘就是显教的声闻、辟支佛和菩萨。主要讲的是教理，让我们明白怎样才能修成罗汉？怎样才能修成辟支佛？怎样才能修成菩萨？如何才能证成佛？先要知道这些教理，然后才能精修密法。 |
The outer three vehicles are the śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva vehicles of Exoteric Buddhism. They chiefly expound doctrinal principles, enabling us to understand how to cultivate oneself into an arhat, a pratyekabuddha, or a bodhisattva, and how to realize Buddhahood. One must first understand these teachings before one can cultivate the Esoteric Dharma in depth. |
| 假如我们在修密法前，一点教理都不懂，修起来就很困难。就像我们要去一个地方，先要问清楚路该怎么走，乘什么车，然后才能出发。这样就不会兜圈子走弯路。 |
If, before practicing the Esoteric Dharma, we do not understand any doctrinal principles at all, practice will be very difficult. It is like going somewhere: first, we must clearly ask which road to take and what vehicle to use, and only then can we set out. In this way, we will not go in circles or take detours. |
| 内三乘就是事业部、行持部和瑜伽部，讲的是实修的一些具体方法。事业部（又叫作部），就是一些息灾增益的法。现在世上的灾难很多，息灾法可以帮我们息止灾难（比如地震、火山爆发、水灾、旱灾等）。 |
The inner three vehicles are the Kriyā division, the Caryā division, and the Yoga division, which teach specific methods of actual practice. The Kriyā division, also called the Action division, consists of practices for pacifying disasters and increasing benefits. There are many disasters in the world today, and practices for pacifying disasters can help us bring such disasters to an end—for example, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and droughts. |
| 增益法可以帮我们得到某些利益：比如身体健康长寿、减少疾病、财产丰富、五谷丰登等。行持部就是指修初步的观想法。修密法一般开始就是修观想法。 |
Practices for increasing benefits can help us obtain certain benefits, such as health and longevity, fewer illnesses, abundant wealth, and plentiful harvests. The Caryā division refers to the initial practice of visualization. Esoteric practice generally begins with visualization. |
| 比如修“嗡、阿、吽”，就是用白光、红光、蓝光分别观想顶部、喉部、心部。还有‘颇哇法’，首先要从我们的下丹田观想一个仰月坛城（像月牙一样，是向上弯，不是朝下弯，非常明亮。）。 |
For example, to practice “oṃ, āḥ, hūṃ” is to visualize white, red, and blue light respectively at the crown, throat, and heart. There is also the practice of Phowa. First, one visualizes an upward-curving lunar maṇḍala in the lower dantian—shaped like a crescent moon, curving upward rather than downward, and exceedingly bright. |
| 从这个基础上起一个脉管，下面小上面大，像一个喇叭口，直通我们头顶的梵穴。要把这个脉管观亮，看着像日光灯一样亮，从会阴直通梵穴。这个脉管底下有一个明点，这个明点就像绿豆大小，比黄豆稍微小一些。 |
From this foundation, visualize a channel arising, narrow below and broad above like the mouth of a trumpet, extending directly to the brahma aperture at the crown of the head. Visualize this channel as bright, as though illuminated by a fluorescent lamp, running directly from the perineum to the brahma aperture. At the bottom of this channel is a luminous drop, about the size of a mung bean, slightly smaller than a soybean. |
| 月牙、脉管、明点观亮以后，再用三字诀来修。先用‘嘿’字。这个‘嘿’字是从下丹田里喊出来的。一喊‘嘿——’就把下丹田的气都往上提，肛门自然就提起来了。 |
After visualizing the crescent, channel, and luminous drop as bright, practice with the three-syllable formula. First use the syllable “hei.” This “hei” is shouted from the lower dantian. With one shout of “hei—,” all the qi in the lower dantian is drawn upward, and the anus naturally contracts upward as well. |
| 密咒就起这个作用，字音鼓气；把气鼓上来，明点就由下面升到顶上了。但不能出去，一出去命就没有了。这个明点就是第八识。 |
A mantra serves this function: its sound stimulates the qi. When the qi is driven upward, the luminous drop rises from below to the crown. But it must not leave; once it leaves, life is gone. This luminous drop is the eighth consciousness. |
| 这时候要观想阿弥陀佛的一只脚（这就叫阿弥陀佛颇哇法）或者观世音菩萨的一只脚（这就叫观音颇哇法）踏在我们顶门梵穴上，明点就出不去了。‘嘿——’气到了顶上，再用‘嘎’字。‘嘎——’气就下来了。 |
At this point, visualize one foot of Amitābha Buddha—this is called Amitābha Buddha Phowa—or one foot of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva—this is called Avalokiteśvara Phowa—pressing upon the brahma aperture at the crown, so that the luminous drop cannot escape. When the “hei—” qi has reached the crown, use the syllable “ga.” With “ga—,” the qi descends. |
| 大家可以试一试，‘嘿——’气就上去了，‘嘎——’气就落下来了。到最后要走的时候，就用第三个字，‘啪——’就出去了。 |
Everyone may try it: with “hei—,” the qi rises; with “ga—,” the qi falls. When it is finally time to depart, use the third syllable: “pa—,” and it goes out. |
| 比如，临终要走时，先用‘嘿——’字把明点升到头顶，然后把阿弥陀佛（或观音菩萨）踏在头顶上的脚拿掉。最后‘啪——’顶开了，这个明点出去，就到阿弥陀佛或观音菩萨的心中，就生到西方极乐世界去了。 |
For example, when one is about to depart at death, first use the syllable “hei” to raise the luminous drop to the crown. Then remove the foot of Amitābha Buddha, or Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, that is pressing upon the crown. Finally, with “pa—,” the crown opens, the luminous drop leaves, enters the heart of Amitābha Buddha or Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, and one is reborn in the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. |
| 这就是‘颇哇法’。净土宗里面也有观想法，在《十六观经》中就讲了十六种观想法。瑜伽部就是指相应。就是说我们的心要和佛的心相应，心佛道交打成一片，做功夫要言行一致，就是相应。不是说的很多，做的很少，贪嗔痴还是重得很，那就不行。所以要上与佛、下与众生，慈悲喜舍时时刻刻都相应才行。 |
This is the practice of Phowa. The Pure Land school also has visualization practices; the Sūtra of Sixteen Contemplations teaches sixteen kinds of visualization. The Yoga division refers to correspondence. That is, our minds must correspond with the Buddha’s mind; mind and Buddha commune and become an undivided whole. In practice, one’s words and conduct must accord with each other; this is correspondence. It will not do to say much but do little, while greed, anger, and ignorance remain very strong. Therefore, one must constantly correspond, above with the Buddha and below with sentient beings, through loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. |
| 密三乘是指玛哈约嘎、阿努约嘎、阿底约嘎。玛哈约嘎（玛哈是大，约嘎是瑜伽）是指通过持真言（即念咒）入定证入妙明境界。这个妙明境界就是指空、乐、明。空就是把身体化空，乐就是乐趣无比，明就是放大光明。 |
The secret three vehicles refer to Mahāyoga, Anuyoga, and Atiyoga. Mahāyoga—mahā means great, and yoga means union—refers to entering samādhi through upholding true words, that is, reciting mantras, and realizing the wondrously luminous state. This wondrously luminous state refers to emptiness, bliss, and luminosity. Emptiness means transforming the body into emptiness; bliss means incomparable joy; and luminosity means radiating great light. |
| 按“四禅八定”的修法，到第二禅天是喜，到第三禅天就是乐，这种快乐是一种轻安宁喜，是世间的任何快乐都无法相比的。证入妙明境界，出现空乐明之后不能有所住着。 |
According to the practice of the four dhyānas and eight meditative absorptions, the second dhyāna heaven is joy, while the third dhyāna heaven is bliss. This bliss is a light, peaceful joy beyond comparison with any worldly pleasure. After realizing the wondrously luminous state and experiencing emptiness, bliss, and luminosity, one must not abide in them. |
| 住在空上就不能出空界，住在乐上就不能出欲界，住在明上就不能出色界。所以尽管证到妙明境界也不能住相，要归无所得。 |
If one abides in emptiness, one cannot leave the realm of emptiness; if one abides in bliss, one cannot leave the desire realm; if one abides in luminosity, one cannot leave the form realm. Therefore, even upon realizing the wondrously luminous state, one must not cling to appearances, but return to nothing to be attained. |
| 阿努约嘎就是圆满相应（阿努是圆满之意），是说佛性本来如此，本来就是妙明境界，任何众生本来都具足空、乐、明，而不是因修法才有的，当一悟到：“噢！佛不是我们修法修成的，而是本来如此！”就开悟了。 |
Anuyoga means perfect correspondence—anu means perfection. It means that Buddha-nature is originally thus: it is originally the wondrously luminous state, and every sentient being is originally complete with emptiness, bliss, and luminosity. These are not acquired through practice. When one awakens to this—“Oh! A Buddha is not made by our practice; it is originally so!”—one awakens. |
| 所以说道不是修，而是悟。阿底约嘎比阿努约嘎更高了一层。阿底约嘎就是大圆满相应（阿底就是大圆满）。就是说我们本身是佛，本来具足一切妙用，这就是大圆满心要。虹光法，大手印法，还有我们的心中心法等都是大圆满法。 |
Thus, the Way is not cultivated but awakened to. Atiyoga is a level higher than Anuyoga. Atiyoga is the correspondence of Great Perfection—ati means Great Perfection. It means that we ourselves are Buddhas, originally complete with all wondrous functions. This is the essential point of Great Perfection. The rainbow-body practice, Mahāmudrā practice, and our Heart-of-Heart Dharma are all Great Perfection practices. |
| “大圆满”是密宗红教最高的法，和“大手印”是一个法。“大手印”是修“大圆满”的前行，藏文译为“彻却”（意为“立断”）。大手印把我们的本性比做一个大手，尽虚空遍法界。 |
“Great Perfection” is the highest teaching of the Red School of Esoteric Buddhism and is the same practice as “Mahāmudrā.” Mahāmudrā is the preliminary practice for cultivating Great Perfection; in Tibetan it is rendered as Trekchö, meaning “cutting through.” Mahāmudrā compares our intrinsic nature to a great hand that pervades the entirety of empty space and the dharma realm. |
| 比如孙悟空一个跟头可以翻十万八千里，但翻来翻去还是跳不出如来佛的手掌心。我们的心量就是如此之大，这就是我们的佛性。修“大手印”就是要证成三空相应，也就是要明心见性。三空就是指内虚空、外虚空和密虚空。 |
For example, Sun Wukong could travel 108,000 li with a single somersault, yet no matter how he leapt about, he could not escape the palm of the Tathāgata’s hand. Our mind-capacity is just this vast; this is our Buddha-nature. To practice Mahāmudrā is to realize correspondence with the three spaces, that is, to realize the mind and see one’s true nature. The three spaces are inner space, outer space, and secret space. |
| 内虚空是指要把我们的身体化空。所以我们常说：修心中心法，身体没有化空还有身体在就不行。外虚空是指身体外的空间。密虚空是指我们的本性，即佛性。我们的佛性本来是空，本来就没有东西。 |
Inner space means transforming our bodies into emptiness. Therefore, we often say that in practicing the Heart-of-Heart Dharma, it will not do if the body has not been transformed into emptiness and a body still remains. Outer space refers to the space outside the body. Secret space refers to our intrinsic nature, namely Buddha-nature. Our Buddha-nature is originally empty; originally, there is nothing there. |
| 没有什么男女老少，青黄赤白。但它又不是断灭空，不是一点东西都没有，而是灵妙真心，就是妙有。妙有者，有而不有，不有而有，无相可见。所以它具有很大的功能，很大的能量。我们将内虚空、外虚空、密虚空化为一体时，就是一个大空。这个大空并非是一点知觉都没有，而是了了分明，灵知了了。这就是彻却界，即大手印。 |
There are no distinctions of male or female, young or old, blue, yellow, red, or white. Yet it is not annihilationist emptiness, not a state in which there is absolutely nothing; rather, it is the numinous and wondrous true mind, namely wondrous presence. Wondrous presence is presence without being present, and non-presence that is nevertheless present; it has no appearance that can be seen. Therefore, it possesses great function and great energy. When we unite inner space, outer space, and secret space into one, this is the great emptiness. This great emptiness is not the absence of all awareness; rather, it is clear and distinct, with lucid spiritual knowing. This is the realm of Trekchö, namely Mahāmudrā. |
| 大手印的三要素就是见、定、行。要做到见、定、行三合一。我们首先要见地正确，要明白什么是我们的本性。知道本性是一切众生都具有的，它不生不灭，不增不减，不垢不净，不动不摇。 |
The three essential elements of Mahāmudrā are view, samādhi, and conduct. One must bring view, samādhi, and conduct into unity. First, our view must be correct: we must understand what our intrinsic nature is. We must know that intrinsic nature is possessed by all sentient beings; it neither arises nor ceases, neither increases nor decreases, is neither defiled nor pure, and neither moves nor wavers. |
| 这样就知道这个世界上的所有东西都是虚妄不实的，都是“因缘所生法，我说即是空”。我们只要把自己所执着的一切东西都放下，恢复我们活活泼泼的本性就成就了。所以见地正确就有了定力。 |
Then we know that all things in this world are illusory and unreal: “All dharmas arising from causes and conditions, I say, are empty.” As long as we let go of everything to which we cling and restore our lively and vibrant intrinsic nature, accomplishment is attained. Thus, when one’s view is correct, one has the power of samādhi. |
| 因为我们知道外面的色、声、香、味、触、法都是假的，都是不值钱的稻草，就不再着相了。有了佛性这个大宝贝就不要外面的稻草了。我们最珍贵的佛性，在佛经上被誉为“摩尼宝珠”，能予众宝。它能生出一切东西来。 |
Because we know that external forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, and dharmas are all false, all as worthless as straw, we no longer cling to appearances. Once we possess the great treasure of Buddha-nature, we no longer want the external straw. In the Buddhist sūtras, our most precious Buddha-nature is praised as the “maṇi jewel,” which can bestow every treasure. It can bring forth all things. |
| 我们的心安定了，行为就能合拍，这就是瑜伽，即相应。假如我们说的是一套，做的是另一套那就不行，因为我们的行为没有修上去。所以“行”就是指要能真正证到。 |
When our minds are settled, our conduct can be in harmony. This is yoga, that is, correspondence. If what we say is one thing and what we do is another, that will not do, because our conduct has not been cultivated to that level. Thus, “conduct” means being able truly to realize it. |
| 修大手印明心见性后，再进一步修大圆满脱嘎法（意为顿超，亦叫虹光法）。禅宗是先开悟，开悟后再在境界上把自己的习气磨光，把所谓的见惑、思惑、尘沙惑、无明惑全磨练光净，一点也不着相了，这样就成就了。 |
After practicing Mahāmudrā and realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature, one further practices the Great Perfection Tögal method, meaning “direct crossing,” also called the rainbow-body practice. In the Chan school, one first awakens; after awakening, one then wears away one’s habitual tendencies amid circumstances, thoroughly polishing away the so-called delusions of views, delusions of thought, dust-like delusions, and delusions of ignorance. When one no longer clings to any appearance at all, accomplishment is attained. |
| 密宗比禅宗多了一个方便接引法，就是脱嘎法。脱嘎就是用我们身内的五种光和外界的五种光合起来，光光相映，合为一光。我们身内的五种光就是：一、远通水光，就是从我们眼睛里放出的光。 |
Esoteric Buddhism has one more expedient method of guidance than the Chan school: the Tögal method. Tögal unites the five lights within our bodies with the five lights of the external world, so that light reflects upon light and they merge into one light. The five lights within our bodies are: first, far-reaching water light, the light radiated from our eyes. |
| 我们的眼睛不是水汪汪的吗？这是由于有脉管直通到眼睛的缘故。二、白柔脉光，就是各种脉管所放的光。练气功的人不是讲任脉、督脉、中脉等等。这些脉管都放光，就叫白柔脉光。 |
Are our eyes not watery and bright? This is because channels extend directly to the eyes. Second, soft white channel-light, the light radiated by the various channels. Those who practice qigong speak of the ren channel, du channel, central channel, and so forth. When these channels all radiate light, this is called soft white channel-light. |
| 三、肉团心光，就是从我们的心脏放出的光。四、法界体性光，就是我们自性的光明。五、界性净光，就是我们的整个身体是一个法界，身体统统是光。外面的五种光就是：太阳光，月亮光，灯光，水光和黑光。 |
3. The light of the physical heart is the light emitted from our heart. 4. The light of the Dharma-realm essence is the luminosity of our own nature. 5. The pure light of realm-nature means that our entire body is a dharma realm; the whole body is light. The five outer lights are sunlight, moonlight, lamplight, waterlight, and black light. |
| 黑暗也是一种光。修虹光法就是用外面这五种光，激发我们身体里面的五种光。我们现在不是有激光吗？就是把能放光的红宝石放在激光盘里面，用强烈的电光打上去，把宝石本身的光激发出来，这就是激光。 |
Darkness is also a kind of light. The practice of the rainbow body uses these five outer lights to stimulate the five lights within our body. Do we not now have lasers? A ruby capable of emitting light is placed in a laser chamber and struck by an intense electric light, thereby stimulating the gem's own light. This is laser light. |
| 激光很强能穿透钢板。修虹光法就是用外界的光刺激我们的本性光。这样外面五种光和身内五种光合为一体，就使整个身体由量变到质变，变成一个光明体。 |
Laser light is powerful and can penetrate steel plates. The practice of the rainbow body uses external light to stimulate the light of our intrinsic nature. When the five outer lights and the five lights within the body merge into one, the entire body undergoes a transformation from quantitative to qualitative change and becomes a body of light. |
| 到临终时，“轰——”化成一束光就走了，这就是即身成佛，与即生成佛不同（一个是身体的“身”，一个是生命的“生”）。 |
At the time of death, with a “boom—,” one transforms into a beam of light and departs. This is attaining Buddhahood in this very body, which differs from attaining Buddhahood in this very life (one refers to the “body” of the physical body, the other to the “life” of one lifetime). |
| 即生成佛是指活在世上这一生能成佛，但临终时没有化成光还有身体遗留下来；如果身体化成光也成佛了，就是即身成佛。 |
Attaining Buddhahood in this very life means being able to attain Buddhahood during this lifetime in the world; yet at death one does not transform into light, and a body remains behind. If the body also transforms into light and one attains Buddhahood, this is attaining Buddhahood in this very body. |
| 修成虹光法最好的情况是爪发不留，身心都融于法界而变成光明体；修得不太好的还有指甲和头发留下，其余都化成光了；修得最坏的情况是身体不能化成虹光，而是缩阴，就是身体缩小了。比如供养在九华山百岁宫无暇禅师的报身，就是缩得很小，不足二尺，装金后供在佛龛里面供人瞻仰，那就是缩阴。 |
The best result of accomplishing the practice of the rainbow body is that no nails or hair remain: body and mind both merge into the dharma realm and become a body of light. In a less successful practice, the fingernails and hair remain, while everything else transforms into light. In the least successful case, the body cannot transform into a rainbow body but instead shrinks—that is, the body becomes smaller. For example, the remains of Chan Master Wuxia, enshrined in the Hundred-Year Palace on Mount Jiuhua, shrank to less than two feet. After being gilded, they were placed in a Buddhist shrine for people to venerate. That is what is meant by shrinking. |
| 要修虹光法就不能工作，要闭关，要从早到晚不停的修才行。如果修一修又去上班了，那就不行。因为这个法不是看太阳光就是看水光，不是看水光就是看月光，不是看月光就是看灯光，不是看灯光就是看黑光。 |
To practice the rainbow body, one cannot work; one must enter retreat and practice continuously from morning to night. If one practices for a while and then goes off to work, it will not do. This is because this practice consists of looking either at sunlight or waterlight; then either at waterlight or moonlight; then either at moonlight or lamplight; then either at lamplight or black light. |
| 总之要一天到晚打坐修法才能成就，不然就化不成光。所以没有时间或不具备好的外部条件都不能修。比如你现在要看水光，那就必须有水才行啊！所以虹光法修起来很难。 |
In short, one must sit in meditation and practice the Dharma all day long in order to attain accomplishment; otherwise, one cannot transform into light. Therefore, those without time or favorable external conditions cannot undertake this practice. For example, if you are to look at waterlight, there must be water. Thus, the practice of the rainbow body is very difficult. |
| 即使虹光法修成后，也不能有所住着，如果住着在虹光上，也只不过是法界一游魂，不能圆证佛果。因为佛性本来是空的，我们的心，就象整个大虚空一样一丝不挂，一尘不染。一切相都是我们本来具有的佛性所显现的。 |
Even after accomplishing the practice of the rainbow body, one must not abide in or cling to it. If one clings to the rainbow body, one is merely a wandering spirit in the dharma realm and cannot fully realize Buddhahood. This is because Buddha-nature is originally empty. Our mind is like the vast empty sky: utterly bare and unstained by a single speck of dust. All appearances are manifested by the Buddha-nature that we inherently possess. |
| 佛性是具足万相，具足万能的。因为一切都没有，所以才能有一切。佛教的教理是最圆满最彻底的。而其他宗教总有个东西，总有点住着。如果住在一点东西上，其它就不能圆满具足了。 |
Buddha-nature fully possesses all appearances and all capacities. Precisely because everything is empty can everything exist. Buddhist doctrine is the most complete and thorough. Other religions, however, always posit some thing, always have some point of attachment. If one abides in some one thing, one cannot possess everything completely and perfectly. |
| 可见密宗到最高层和禅宗讲的完全一样，也是无相的，有相法都是导引法，都是初步的摄机法，无相法才是上上法。禅宗其实也是密法，并不是显教。密者就是如来密因，无法可见也。 |
It can thus be seen that, at its highest level, Esoteric Buddhism says exactly the same thing as the Chan school: it too is formless. Form-based practices are all guiding methods, preliminary methods for gathering in practitioners; formless practice alone is the supreme Dharma. The Chan school, in fact, is also Esoteric Buddhism, not Exoteric Buddhism. “Esoteric” means the Tathāgata’s secret cause: no dharma can be seen. |
| 《楞严经》中不是讲：大佛顶如来密因修证了义吗？我们的佛性就是无相可见，无声可闻。既然无声无相又怎么能见到呢？所以说大佛顶是见不到的（只要心心相应就是）。这就是如来密因，这就是秘密。 |
Does not the Śūraṅgama Sūtra speak of “the Great Buddha-Crown, the Tathāgata’s secret cause, and the ultimate meaning of cultivation and realization”? Our Buddha-nature has no form that can be seen and no sound that can be heard. Since it is without sound and form, how can it be seen? Therefore, the Great Buddha-Crown cannot be seen (so long as mind accords with mind). This is the Tathāgata’s secret cause; this is what is secret. |
| 就像惠明问六祖大师：“还有更密的吗？”六祖说：“密在汝边，与汝说者即非密也”。意思是说秘密在你自己，和你讲的就不是秘密。前面我们讲过禅宗有外道禅、凡夫禅、小乘禅、上乘禅、最上乘禅。 |
It is like when Huiming asked the Sixth Patriarch, “Is there anything still more secret?” The Sixth Patriarch replied, “The secret lies at your side; once it is spoken to you, it is no longer secret.” This means that the secret lies within yourself; what can be explained to you is not the secret. Earlier, we discussed the Chan school’s non-Buddhist Chan, ordinary-person Chan, Hīnayāna Chan, Mahāyāna Chan, and supreme-vehicle Chan. |
| 外道禅是带异计而修的，心外有法，欣上而厌下，他们不知道上下都是平等的，众生就是佛，佛就是众生；凡夫禅不是带异计而修，是正信因果而欣上厌下；小乘禅是悟了偏空真理而修的，认为这个身体不是我，偏空了；上乘禅（又称菩萨禅）是悟法、我二空之理而修的；最上乘禅就是悟了我们本身就是佛，佛就是我们。 |
Non-Buddhist Chan is practiced with heterodox views: it posits dharmas outside the mind, seeking what is higher and rejecting what is lower. Such practitioners do not know that high and low are equally the same, that sentient beings are Buddhas and Buddhas are sentient beings. Ordinary-person Chan is not practiced with heterodox views; it is based on right faith in cause and effect, while still seeking what is higher and rejecting what is lower. Hīnayāna Chan is practiced after awakening to the truth of biased emptiness; it regards this body as not-self and falls into biased emptiness. Mahāyāna Chan, also called bodhisattva Chan, is practiced after awakening to the twofold emptiness of dharmas and self. Supreme-vehicle Chan is awakening to the fact that we ourselves are Buddhas and Buddhas are ourselves. |
| 如来自性我们一点也不缺少，同佛一模一样。这样来修就是最上乘禅。这和密宗的大圆满不是一样吗？！所以讲到最高处，密宗和禅宗完全一样。 |
We lack not the slightest thing of the Tathāgata’s intrinsic nature; it is exactly the same as that of the Buddha. To practice in this way is supreme-vehicle Chan. Is this not the same as the Great Perfection of Esoteric Buddhism?! Thus, at the highest point, Esoteric Buddhism and the Chan school are exactly the same. |
