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How to Practice Contemplation
I. Heart Esotericism: Contemplation Off the Meditation Cushion 一、心密正行：座下观照

Compiled from the Teachings of Three Generations of Patriarchs and Teacher Qi | 2022-06-29 | Download | AI assisted translation

（一）座下观照是正行 (I) Off-cushion contemplation is the primary practice
132、修心密打坐是助行，座下观照是正行。 132. In practicing heart esotericism, meditation is an auxiliary practice; off-cushion contemplation is the primary practice.
问：老师，我在座下应如何修呢？看经诵咒？ Question: Teacher, how should I practice off the cushion? By reading the scriptures and reciting mantras?
答：修心密，打坐是助行，座下观照是正行。 Answer: In practicing heart esotericism, meditation is an auxiliary practice; off-cushion contemplation is the primary practice.
（二）观照方法 (II) Methods of Contemplation
133、刚开始时如何觉照？ 133. How does one begin to maintain aware contemplation?
答：同是“觉照”一词，各宗的修法侧重面有所不同。修行贵在一门深入。您修的什么法，请教本门的善知识最为稳妥。若将别宗的修法混合进来，有时候“醍醐反成毒药”。 Answer: Although the term “aware contemplation” is the same, the various schools emphasize different aspects of practice. What matters in cultivation is to go deeply into one method. Whatever Dharma you practice, the safest course is to consult a wise teacher in that tradition. If you mix in practices from other schools, then sometimes “ghee turns into poison.”
比如：“持执名号，不杂他课”与“念佛一声，挑水三担”就不能混在一块修。若心有旁骛，恐不能一门深入。然而，祖师观当机众生之机缘，又何止是融合。所以，若刚刚上路，急宜一门深入；若已能观机逗教，融合自是无妨。 For example, “uphold the name exclusively, without mixing in other practices” and “recite the Buddha’s name once, then carry three loads of water” cannot be practiced together indiscriminately. If the mind is distracted by other pursuits, one may be unable to go deeply into a single method. Yet when the patriarchs observed the capacities and conditions of sentient beings, what they did was more than mere integration. Therefore, when you have only just set out, you should urgently go deeply into one method; once you can discern capacities and teach accordingly, integration presents no problem.
134、可以先持咒 134. One May First Recite a Mantra
问：好像老人说下座后持咒也可以，没有再详细说。 Question: It seems that the Elder said it was also permissible to recite mantras after getting off the cushion, but he did not explain further.
答：哦！坐下观照是正行。若还不能观照，当然可以先持咒。 Answer: Ah! Off-cushion contemplation is the primary practice. If you are not yet able to contemplate, then of course you may first recite a mantra.
问：打坐了之后，才逐渐晓得观照真是重要。 Question: Only after meditating did I gradually come to understand how important contemplation truly is.
答：所以，坐下的正行并非持咒啊！ Answer: Therefore, the primary practice off the cushion is not mantra recitation.
问：持咒可以化妄念，对笨人是不是很有效？ Question: Mantra recitation can dispel deluded thoughts. Is it especially effective for dull people?
答：妄念即菩提，化它干啥？ Answer: Deluded thoughts are bodhi. Why try to dispel them?
问：是的，不睬它，就是菩提。 Question: Yes. Not attending to them is bodhi.
答：你不被它所害，它必为你所用。 Answer: If you are not harmed by them, they will surely serve your use.
问：是的，道理明白。 Question: Yes, I understand the principle.
答：扔了这个道理，看是什么？ Answer: Cast aside this principle. What do you see?
问：这个！ Question: This!
答：那么，凛然一觉，“这个”会现前吗？ Answer: Then, in one stark awakening, will “this” appear before you?
问：圆明朗照！ Question: Perfectly bright and clearly illuminating!
答：既然已知什么是观照，就别再坐下持咒了。 Answer: Since you already know what contemplation is, do not continue reciting mantras off the cushion.
135、不睬它 135. Do Not Attend to It
甲：如何观照？ A: How should one contemplate?
答：不睬它！ Answer: Do not attend to it!
乙：后学在此请教：不睬它，难道让他放野马吗？ B: This junior student wishes to ask: if one does not attend to it, does that mean letting it run wild like an untethered horse?
答：“不管它”是当时针对他的情况讲的。因为他正在“观照”这个名相上念念不停地思维，“不管它！”当下就截断了他的念念相续。 Answer: “Do not attend to it” was said in response to his particular condition at the time. He was continuously thinking about the label “contemplation.” “Do not attend to it!” immediately cut off the continuity of his thoughts.
问：在座上念头很多，怎么办？ Question: During meditation, there are many thoughts. What should I do?
答：不理它！什么念头都不管，只管咒语。 Answer: Do not heed them! Pay no attention to any thoughts; attend only to the mantra.
问：没有定在一点上，会不会……？ Question: If the mind is not settled on one point, might it…?
答：我让你只管咒语，就是为了对治你的那个定在意念上的事。 Answer: I tell you to attend only to the mantra precisely in order to counter your attempt to fix the mind on a thought.
136、不理睬、看念头起处、念起即觉、断、呸、停…… 136. Do Not Heed It; Watch Where Thoughts Arise; Be Aware as Soon as a Thought Arises; Cut It Off; “Peh!”; Stop…
问：请教齐老师：“念起即觉”与“不随念转，不为境迁”的关系？ Question: Teacher Qi, may I ask about the relationship between “be aware as soon as a thought arises” and “Inwardly, do not turn with thoughts; outwardly, do not move with circumstances”?
答：一个事情，两种说法。只要照着做，就会知道：原来果然是同一回事！若不实施，入海算沙无益。 Answer: They are one matter, expressed in two ways. As long as you put them into practice, you will know that they are indeed the very same thing. If you do not practice, counting sand by the sea is of no benefit.
问：论直下无心和不理睬：直下无心属无为法；不理睬属有为法。 Question: Regarding immediate no-mind and not heeding thoughts: immediate no-mind belongs to the unconditioned Dharma, while not heeding thoughts belongs to conditioned dharmas.
答：对于已知心外无法，但不明“心也不可得”者，就向他说：直下无心！对于随妄念跑也不自知，甚至拿佛法的名相用己意测度者，就向他说：别理睬这些了！ Answer: To those who already know that there is no dharma outside mind but do not understand that “mind, too, is unobtainable,” one says: “Immediately, no-mind!” To those who follow deluded thoughts without realizing it, or who even use their own ideas to speculate about Buddhist terms, one says: “Do not heed these things!”
若不面对这两种人，还是忘了这两个词好。 If one is not addressing either of these two kinds of people, it is better to forget these two expressions.
问：老师好，请问“呸”和“不理睬”真的一样没有层次区别吗？ Question: Hello, Teacher. May I ask whether “peh!” and “do not heed it” are really the same, with no difference in level?
答：慢说这两个，即使那个“念头起处”，也都一样。都是为了不跟妄念跑。问的心态不同，所说的言教也不同。 Answer: Not only these two—even “where a thought arises” is the same. All are meant to prevent one from following deluded thoughts. The questioner's state of mind differs, and so the verbal teaching differs.
问：《碧岩录》举：僧问赵州：“‘至道无难，唯嫌拣择’，才有语言是拣择，和尚如何为人？”州云：“何不引尽这语。”僧云：“某甲只念到这里。”州云：“只这‘至道无难，唯嫌拣择’。” 读到这里,忽然就想起老师的一句话：“停！这就是观照。”哈哈！ Question: The Blue Cliff Record relates: A monk asked Zhaozhou, “The ultimate Way is not difficult; it only rejects choosing and rejecting. As soon as there are words, there is choosing and rejecting. How, then, does the Master guide people?” Zhaozhou said, “Why do you not quote the saying in full?” The monk said, “I can only recite it up to here.” Zhaozhou said, “It is simply this: ‘The ultimate Way is not difficult; it only rejects choosing and rejecting.’” Reading this, I suddenly thought of something the teacher once said: “Stop! This is contemplation.” Ha ha!
答：其实本不曾停，只是当下停止虚妄相想。比如，某演员排练电视剧进入了角色，以至于到了忘我的境界。忽然，导演大喝一声“停！”，那演员会怎么样？ Answer: Actually, nothing ever stopped; it was only that deluded conceptualization stopped in that very moment. For example, an actor rehearsing a television drama becomes immersed in the role, even to the point of forgetting himself. Suddenly, the director shouts, “Stop!” What will happen to the actor?
（三）别误解观照 (III) Do Not Misunderstand Contemplation
137、观照，即去掉莫妄想执着 137. Contemplation Means Letting Go of Deluded Thoughts and Attachments
问：老师，您好！近来尘事扰人，有点烦，心乱。 Question: Hello, Teacher. Recently, worldly affairs have been disturbing me. I feel somewhat vexed and my mind is in turmoil.
答：白云漫青山，青山依然在。青山自青山，岂受白云碍！ Answer: White clouds drift across green mountains, yet the green mountains remain as they are. Green mountains are simply green mountains—how could white clouds obstruct them?
问：修，进步不进步不管他，我今后只管按步骤做就是。我以前把静作为进步的标准了。 Question: As for practice, I will no longer concern myself with whether I am progressing. From now on, I will simply follow the steps. Previously, I took quietness as the standard of progress.
答：其实只有一个标准——去掉妄想执着。 Answer: In fact, there is only one standard—letting go of deluded thoughts and attachments.
问：平时观照妄念来时，朗然“一觉”将其化空。 Question: In ordinary life, when deluded thoughts arise, I use a bright moment of awakening to dissolve them into emptiness.
答：恰好。 Answer: Exactly so.
问：而独存此“一觉知”时，这“一觉”时而“觉”所见，时而“觉”所闻，时而“觉”受，应如何安置这“一觉”呢？也就是说：妄念来时这“一觉”可以觉之，将其化空，可妄念走后如何放此“一觉”？ Question: But when this single awareness remains alone, it is sometimes aware of what is seen, sometimes aware of what is heard, and sometimes aware of what is felt. How should this awareness be placed? That is, when deluded thoughts arise, this awareness can notice them and dissolve them into emptiness; but after the deluded thoughts have gone, how should this awareness be let go?
答：何必续貂。 Answer: Why add an unnecessary embellishment?
138、不是压念 138. It Is Not Suppressing Thoughts
问：断念和压念之别？能比喻一下吗？ Question: What is the difference between cutting off thoughts and suppressing thoughts? Could you give an analogy?
答：且把妄执妄念比作野草。为了不让它生长，有的人搬块石头压上（喻压念），有的人把草连根铲除（喻断念）。 Answer: Let us compare deluded attachments and deluded thoughts to weeds. To prevent them from growing, some people place a stone over them to weigh them down—this illustrates suppressing thoughts—while others uproot the weeds entirely—this illustrates cutting off thoughts.
搬石头压草的人追求看不见草（他认为不起念头就是无念），纵然修成，也是无用。看那广袤的大戈壁，不见一草，那还属于“因缘所生法”，只是目前“缘尽法还灭”，主要是不具外缘——缺水。一旦天降甘霖，不用你去种，草就自己长出来了——遇缘即发。即使不遇缘，无草也无苗——死寂一片，不能起无量无边的妙用。 Those who place stones over weeds seek not to see the weeds—they think that the absence of arising thoughts is no-thought. Even if they succeed in cultivation, it is useless. Look at the vast Gobi Desert: not a blade of grass is seen there, yet it still belongs to conditioned dharmas. It is merely that, for the moment, when conditions are exhausted, the dharma also ceases; chiefly, the external condition is absent—there is no water. Once sweet rain falls from the sky, grass will grow by itself without your planting it—when conditions are encountered, it arises. Even if no conditions are encountered, where there is neither grass nor sprouts, there is only dead stillness; it cannot give rise to boundless wondrous functioning.
斩断草根的人，见草即知根，斩断草根后，把草摆在那里晒，他不怕见草（有念即无念），晒干了还可以当柴烧，正好派上用场（妄念即菩提）。因为没石头，可以种禾苗，妙用可起矣！ Those who cut off the roots of the weeds know the roots upon seeing the weeds. After cutting off the roots, they set the weeds out to dry. They do not fear seeing weeds—when thoughts arise, that itself is no-thought. Once dried, the weeds can even be used as firewood; they can be put to good use—deluded thoughts are bodhi. Because there are no stones, grain can be planted, and wondrous functioning can arise.
139、不是没有念头 139. It Is Not the Absence of Thoughts
问：比如现正上网，动念才能做事，此时如何断？ Question: For example, when I am now using the internet, I need to think in order to do things. How should I cut off thoughts at such a time?
答：如果压念不起，那就无法上网了。 Answer: If you suppress thoughts so that none arise, then you will be unable to use the internet.
问：老师我常常有一念不起的时候,该怎么用功? Question: Teacher, I often have times when not a single thought arises. How should I practice then?
答：哈哈！我不会要你延长这个“一念不起”的时间。有念即是无念，才是真无念。 Answer: Ha ha! I would not ask you to prolong the time during which “not a single thought arises.” When thoughts arise, that itself is no-thought; that is true no-thought.
140、断的是妄念 140. What Is Cut Off Are Deluded Thoughts
问：事务繁忙时，就用“断”字；赋闲在家就念咒，居然发现经常忘事以至于无所事事，工作中经常失误。 Question: When work is busy, I use the word “cut off”; when I am at leisure at home, I recite mantras. Yet I have found that I often become forgetful, to the point of having nothing to do, and often make mistakes at work.
答：“断”是断那属于“贪、嗔、痴、慢、疑、恶见”的妄念，不是断工作呀。并非事务繁忙时断，而是妄想纷飞时断。 Answer: “Cut off” means cutting off the deluded thoughts that belong to greed, anger, ignorance, pride, doubt, and wrong views; it does not mean cutting off your work. It is not that you cut off thoughts when affairs are busy, but that you cut them off when deluded thoughts are flying about.
问：我的工作属决策性，不知思考工作是否也属“妄念”？ Question: My work involves making decisions. I do not know whether thinking about my work also counts as “deluded thoughts.”
答：思考工作并不属于“贪、嗔、痴、慢、疑、恶见”，当然不属于妄念。 Answer: Thinking about work does not belong to greed, anger, ignorance, pride, doubt, or wrong views, so of course it is not deluded thought.
问：修行人平时保护真心，会不会影响工作？ Question: When practitioners ordinarily safeguard the true mind, will this affect their work?
答：不会。如果影响工作，那是误解了这个“保护”真心。不随妄念跑，便是保护真心。若能不随妄念跑，还会提高工作效率呢。 Answer: No. If it affects your work, then you have misunderstood this “safeguarding” of the true mind. Not following deluded thoughts is safeguarding the true mind. If you can avoid following deluded thoughts, you will even improve your efficiency at work.
问：怎么处理工作认真与不执着之间的关系？ Question: How should one handle the relationship between being conscientious at work and non-attachment?
答：工作认真并非执着。我们不执着的是贪、嗔、痴、慢、疑、恶见。工作并不是贪、嗔、痴、慢、疑、恶见呀。 Answer: Being conscientious at work is not attachment. What we do not cling to are greed, anger, ignorance, pride, doubt, and wrong views. Work is not greed, anger, ignorance, pride, doubt, or wrong views.
问：是不是妄想坚固了，就成了器世间？ Question: Does deluded thinking, once it becomes solidified, become the material world?
答：哈哈！你真善思维。 Answer: Ha ha! You are very good at thinking.
问：哦，不该思维，还是不对？ Question: Oh, then should I not think? Is that still incorrect?
答：哦！不是不该思维，是不黏着思维。 Answer: Oh! It is not that you should not think; it is that you should not cling to thinking.
141、不是看念头 141. It Is Not Watching Thoughts
甲：老师，我观照用正念，看着我的念头，念头起，不睬它，看住这不动。 A: Teacher, in contemplation I use right mindfulness: I watch my thoughts. When a thought arises, I ignore it and keep watch over what does not move.
答：谁让你“看着念头”了？ Answer: Who told you to “watch your thoughts”?
乙：老师，请您答复一下我的问题。 B: Teacher, please answer my question.
老人在《略论明心见性》说：“做无念功夫，也不是把前念断、后念未起的真空无念时间逐渐延长为进步，譬如今日无念只一分钟，慢慢延长为五分钟、十分钟，乃至一小时或二十四小时为成功。 The Elder says in A Brief Discussion of Realizing the Mind and Seeing One’s True Nature: “When practicing no-thought, progress does not mean gradually extending the interval of true emptiness and no-thought between the cessation of the preceding thought and the arising of the following thought. For example, no-thought today may last only one minute, then gradually be extended to five minutes, ten minutes, or even one hour or twenty-four hours, and be considered success.”
须知无念是活泼泼的，不是呆板如木石一块。僧问赵州：如何是无念？州云：急水上打球子！后人下语云：念念不停留！所谓无念不是一念不生为无念，而是随起随息，无丝毫住相痕迹。” “You should know that no-thought is lively and dynamic; it is not stiff and inert like a block of wood or stone. A monk asked Zhaozhou, ‘What is no-thought?’ Zhaozhou said, ‘Hitting a ball on swift water!’ A later commentator said, ‘Thought after thought does not linger!’ So-called no-thought does not mean that not a single thought arises. Rather, thoughts cease as soon as they arise, without the slightest trace of abiding in appearances.”
这里的“前念断、后念未起的真空”指的是“念头起处”吗？ 这里说“无念是活泼泼的”，“看念头起处”观照如何活泼泼的？ Does the “true emptiness between the cessation of the preceding thought and the arising of the following thought” here refer to “the point at which a thought arises”? It says that “no-thought is lively and dynamic.” How can contemplation that “watches the point at which thoughts arise” be lively and dynamic?
答：那就从“看念头”说起吧： Answer: Then let us begin with this notion of “watching thoughts.”
“看念头”的说法可能源自于天台宗的“一念三千”，定中起一念，观此念具足三千法，这是“摩诃止观”的修法。现在就连天台宗本宗也无法修“摩诃止观”，而是“教宗天台，行在弥陀”，改念佛了。 The expression “watching thoughts” may derive from the Tiantai school’s “three thousand realms in a single thought”: when a thought arises in samādhi, one contemplates how that thought fully contains the three thousand dharmas. This is the practice of the Mahāśamatha-Vipaśyanā. Nowadays, even the Tiantai school itself can no longer practice the Mahāśamatha-Vipaśyanā. Instead, it follows Tiantai in doctrine while practicing Amitābha Buddha-recitation.
今人想阴炽盛，若去附会“看念头”，第一不在定中，第二无智力观出具足三千法。那么，看念头就成了妄念相续，与天台宗的“摩诃止观”毫不相干了。 People today are filled with rampant discursive thoughts. If they force an association with “watching thoughts,” first, they are not in samādhi; second, they lack the wisdom to perceive the three thousand dharmas as fully present. Thus, watching thoughts simply becomes a continuous stream of deluded thoughts and has nothing whatever to do with the Tiantai school’s Mahāśamatha-Vipaśyanā.
“看念头”的说法还可能源自于禅宗的“看话头”，“看话头”须提起疑情，全身心聚焦到一句无意味的话头上，久久，久久，突然脱落，本来一段真光朗然现前，谓之“破参”。现在禅宗也很少有人锲而不舍地参话头了。听禅宗师父所讲的内容，大多是在讲教，更多的是在启蒙。 The expression “watching thoughts” may also derive from the Chan school’s “investigating huatou.” To investigate huatou, one must arouse a sense of doubt and focus one’s whole body and mind on a single huatou that carries no ordinary meaning. After a long, long time, there is suddenly a falling away, and one’s original radiant light clearly manifests before one. This is called “breaking through the investigation.” Nowadays, few in the Chan school persist unremittingly in investigating huatou. Most of what Chan teachers speak about is doctrinal teaching; still more is introductory instruction.
今人提不起疑情，若将“看话头”演绎成“看念头”，冤死大慧，栽赃禅宗！ People today cannot arouse a sense of doubt. If they reinterpret “investigating huatou” as “watching thoughts,” they do a grave injustice to Dahui and falsely accuse the Chan school!
却颇有乐“看念头”不疲者，将做白日梦说成是修行。这样的人来问老人，老人就依他的性情，指导他“看念头的起处”，其目的是使他脱开妄念相续。与“不睬它”异曲同工。 Yet there are quite a few who tirelessly delight in “watching thoughts” and call daydreaming practice. When such people came to the Elder with questions, he guided them, according to their dispositions, to “watch the point at which thoughts arise,” intending thereby to free them from the continuous stream of deluded thoughts. This serves the same purpose as “ignore it.”
对妄念相续较松动些的，老人直接说“不睬它”；对妄念相续成习性者，老人叫他看个起处（转移他牢固的思路）。这本就是因人施教、应病与药。奈后人无端起诤何！ To those whose continuous stream of deluded thoughts was somewhat looser, the Elder directly said, “Ignore it.” To those for whom such continuity had become habitual, he told them to look at the point of arising, thereby redirecting their fixed patterns of thought. This was simply teaching according to the person and prescribing medicine according to the illness. Why should later people stir up disputes for no reason?
142、不是去感觉 142. Do Not Seek Sensation
问：现在，即使歇下，也总不是那种当时的了了分明感觉，仿佛而已，这可怎么办？ Question: Now, even when I rest, I no longer have that clear and distinct feeling I had at the time; it is only a vague semblance. What should I do?
答：歇即菩提。感觉属于受阴。沩山对仰山（慧寂）说：寂子，莫入阴界！ Answer: Resting is bodhi. Feeling belongs to the aggregate of sensation. Guishan said to Yangshan (Huiji), “Disciple Ji, do not enter the realm of the aggregates!”
问：在无事时，可以让清净不生一念，并“呆”在那个境界里一会，感觉感觉。 Question: When there is nothing to do, may I let the mind be pure, with not a single thought arising, and remain blankly in that state for a while, experiencing the feeling?
答：哈哈！感觉即不得。 Answer: Ha ha! The moment you seek a feeling, you have missed it.
问：我断掉妄念以后在这个相对的空白期都是体会自己的存在。体会能够感觉的这个就是自己。 Question: After cutting off my deluded thoughts, during this relative blank interval I experience my own existence. I experience that which is capable of feeling as myself.
答： 这哪是“断掉妄念以后”啊，看：“体会自己的存在，体会能够感觉的这个就是自己”，这是断掉妄念了么？其实是换了换妄念的内容而已。 Answer: How is this “after cutting off deluded thoughts”? Look: “I experience my own existence; I experience that which is capable of feeling as myself.” Have deluded thoughts been cut off? In fact, you have merely changed the content of your deluded thoughts.
143、观照不要用力 143. Do Not Exert Yourself in Contemplation
问：日常时，怎样才能提起观照？我怎么总觉得很费力，因觉其费事，一懒惰也就不观不照了。有何善巧吗？ Question: In daily life, how can I bring forth contemplation? Why does it always feel so strenuous? Because it feels troublesome, once I become lazy, I neither contemplate nor observe. Is there any skillful means?
答：别跟着妄念跑，不费力呀。 Answer: Do not run after deluded thoughts. That requires no effort.
问：我觉得妄念来时一觉即了，用力就不是觉了。这不是可以用力的事，对不对？ Question: I feel that when deluded thoughts arise, one awakening is enough; if one exerts effort, it is no longer awakening. This is not something that can be done through effort, is it?
答：对呀！“寂照照寂，切忌用力”嘛。 Answer: Exactly! “In quiescence, illuminate; in illumination, be quiescent. Above all, avoid exerting effort.”
问：老师好，我在看元音老人讲法的光盘时，听到这样一段：“憨山大师说，我们念佛持咒的时候，要像推重车上山一样”，我先前又看到大愚法师的修行要诀：“寂照照寂，切忌用力。”两者在是否用力或者说如何用力方面，似乎有矛盾之处，这两处到底说的是什么？ Question: Greetings, Teacher. While watching a DVD of Master Yuanyin’s Dharma teachings, I heard this passage: “Master Hanshan said that when we recite the Buddha’s name or uphold mantras, we should be like someone pushing a heavily laden cart up a mountain.” Earlier, I also read Patriarch Dayu’s essential instruction for practice: “In quiescence, illuminate; in illumination, be quiescent. Above all, avoid exerting effort.” The two seem contradictory regarding whether, or how, one should exert effort. What exactly do these two passages mean?
答：憨山大师说的是念佛，大愚阿阇黎说的是观照。又岂止这两种，方便有多门，乃至八万四千法门，岂能千篇一律。比如净土宗“精勤念佛”与禅宗“念佛一声，挑水三担”又怎能强求一律。众生烦恼如病（八万四千烦恼）各有不同，佛法如药（八万四千法门）也各有不同。 Answer: Master Hanshan was speaking of Buddha-recitation, while Acharya Dayu was speaking of contemplation. Nor are these the only two methods: skillful means have many doors, even eighty-four thousand dharma gates. How could they all be required to conform to a single pattern? For example, how could one force the Pure Land school’s “diligent Buddha-recitation” and the Chan school’s “at one recitation of the Buddha’s name, carry three loads of water” into a single mold? Sentient beings’ afflictions, like illnesses—the eighty-four thousand afflictions—each differ; the Buddhadharma, like medicine—the eighty-four thousand dharma gates—also differs in each case.
问：在实际持咒、结印、观照的时候到底如何做才算如法？ Question: In actually upholding mantras, forming mudrās, and engaging in contemplation, what should one do for it to accord with the Dharma?
答：若学憨山大师念佛，便用力追顶；若是心密观照，便切忌用力。 Answer: If you are learning Master Hanshan’s Buddha-recitation, then exert yourself in pressing forward continuously. If you are practicing heart esotericism contemplation, then above all avoid exerting effort.
144、你跟它，是轮回；它跟你，是妙用。 144. If You Follow It, That Is Saṃsāra; If It Follows You, That Is Wondrous Functioning
问：在聊天室，要不是老师制止我的意识纠缠（有位师兄称为“纠禅”），我还要夜行下去。为改掉过去的缺点，做一下决心——莫妄想！不作为座右铭，作为生死贴。天天顶在脑门上。 Question: If the teacher had not stopped my entanglement with consciousness in the chat room—what one Dharma brother called “entangling Chan”—I would have continued on that night journey. To correct my past shortcomings, I have made a resolution: “Do not indulge in deluded thoughts!” I will not make it a motto, but a life-and-death reminder, pressing it against my forehead every day.
答：你那样思维没有毛病，但你不能叫它牵着你走。 Answer: There is nothing wrong with your way of thinking, but you must not let it lead you along.
若它不是主人公，而你是主人公，那么，它将是你最锐利的武器。你的思维优于别人，你的武器便比别人更锐利。然而，它若牵着你走，便会害了你的法身慧命，所谓“伤锋犯手”，便是喻此。善能分别诸法相，于第一义而不动。 If it is not the master, and you are the master, then it will become your sharpest weapon. If your thinking surpasses that of others, your weapon will be sharper than theirs. But if it leads you along, it will harm your dharmakāya and wisdom-life. The saying “the blade wounds the hand that wields it” is a metaphor for this. Be able to distinguish well the characteristics of all dharmas, yet remain unmoved in the ultimate truth.
问：若不觉得是妄念，也不跟着吗？ Question: If I do not recognize it as a deluded thought, should I still not follow it?
答：你跟它，是轮回；它跟你，是妙用。他跟你，就不是妄念。 Answer: If you follow it, that is saṃsāra; if it follows you, that is wondrous functioning. If it follows you, it is not a deluded thought.
问：可以理解为，跟与不跟自己做得主，即非妄念吗？ Question: May this be understood to mean that, if I myself am master of whether to follow or not follow it, it is not a deluded thought?
答：你若真能做得主，它为你所用，不是妙用么？ Answer: If you can truly be master, and it is put to your use, is that not wondrous functioning?
问：我想请问齐老师，悟后起用或者平时于座下绵密观照待人接物，也是用此念头办事。潇洒起用和随妄念执著流浪的区别何在? Question: I would like to ask Teacher Qi: after awakening, when functioning is brought forth, or when one continually and seamlessly contemplates while dealing with people and circumstances off the meditation cushion, one still uses these thoughts to carry out affairs. What is the difference between freely bringing forth functioning and wandering along in attachment to deluded thoughts?
答：你这不已经把区别说出来了么。 Answer: Have you not already stated the difference yourself?
问：念头著与不著，如何是其分界? Question: What is the boundary between thoughts that are attached and those that are unattached?
答：“分界”是著？还是不著？ Answer: Is “boundary” attachment, or nonattachment?
问：自已如何体察? Question: How can one discern this for oneself?
答：现在知道什么是随念转了吧。 Answer: Now you know what it means to be carried along by thoughts, do you not?
问：一念生时，随之而行事，我如何知其是应起之念还是妄生之念? Question: When a thought arises and I then act upon it, how can I know whether it is an appropriate thought that should arise or a deluded thought arising falsely?
答：可曾听说过“终日吃饭没咬住一粒米”么？何曾有念生！又何曾行什么事！ Answer: Have you not heard, “All day long one eats, yet does not bite down on a single grain of rice”? When has any thought ever arisen? And when has one ever undertaken any action?
问：末学的工作是新闻编辑，在编写文字等需要高度的集中思考工作时，该如何观照呢？ Question: I work as a news editor. When doing work such as editing copy that requires highly concentrated thought, how should I engage in contemplation?
答：粗妄想就是“贪、嗔、痴、慢、疑”。思考工作不属于妄想。 Answer: Coarse deluded thoughts are greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt. Thought-intensive work does not belong to deluded thinking.
问：我在用脑工作时，该如何用心？ Question: When I am doing mental work, how should I use my mind?
答：专心写公文，心无旁骛，也未离观心。倒是写公文时，心有旁骛，再起一“观心”之念，不名观心。 Answer: Concentrate on writing the document, with no distracting concerns, and you have not departed from observing the mind. But if, while writing the document, your mind is distracted and you then give rise to another thought of “observing the mind,” that is not called observing the mind.
问：在工作时是否可以念咒，是否存在一心二用，反而不好？ Question: When working, may I recite a mantra? Would that be dividing the mind between two tasks and therefore be counterproductive?
答：若一心二用，便不好。若心无旁骛，便是无上大密咒。 Answer: If you divide the mind between two tasks, it is not good. If the mind has no distracting concerns, that itself is the unsurpassed great esoteric mantra.
问：请问做事时（如看书，看电视）如何观照？ Question: When doing things, such as reading or watching television, how should one engage in contemplation?
答：做事，事是境；看书，书是境；看电视，电视是境。观照就是不随念转、不为境迁。“不为境迁”并非不做事、并非不看书、并非不看电视，只是不要被这些境牵着鼻子走就是了。 Answer: When doing something, the activity is an object; when reading, the book is an object; when watching television, the television is an object. Contemplation means not being carried along by thoughts and not being moved by circumstances. “Not being moved by circumstances” does not mean not doing things, not reading, or not watching television. It simply means not letting these objects lead you by the nose.
问：请问我在聚精会神看书时是不是随念转了？ Question: When I am reading with full concentration, am I being carried along by thoughts?
答：不是。不聚精会神才是随念转呢。 Answer: No. Failing to concentrate fully is what it means to be carried along by thoughts.
145、若能心不妄，精进无有涯 145. If the Mind Is Free of Delusion, Diligence Has No End
问：修法一年多快两年了，打坐也还没坐的好。 Question: I have practiced this Dharma for more than a year, nearly two years, but I still have not learned to sit meditation properly.
答：一年多快两年，本是打开本来的大好时机。只可惜你用持咒和关注声音代替了观照，正行没了，只靠打坐助行就没这个力量。 Answer: After more than a year, nearly two years, this should have been an excellent opportunity to uncover what is original. Unfortunately, you have used mantra recitation and attending to sounds in place of contemplation. The main practice has been lost; relying only on sitting meditation as an auxiliary practice does not have this power.
问：后学读了您的贴子，浑身大汗。走了这么一段冤枉路啊。这两天坐上也没有那么多要求了，平时凛觉也轻松了。 Question: After reading your post, this later student broke out in a sweat all over. I have taken such a long, roundabout path! These past two days, I have had fewer demands while sitting, and my keen awareness in daily life has also become more relaxed.
答：“若能心不妄，精进无有涯。” Answer: “If the mind can remain free of delusion, there is no limit to diligent practice.”
（四）心密观照三步曲 (IV) The Three Steps of Contemplation in Heart Esotericism
146、三步曲 146. The Three Steps
问：后学修《六字大明咒》有一段时间，也是一门深入，平时妄念来了马上用咒号转。 Question: I have practiced the Six-Syllable Great Bright Mantra for some time, going deeply into this one method. When deluded thoughts arise in daily life, I immediately turn to the mantra.
答：妄念来了，不要睬它，谓之观照，号称正行。 Answer: When deluded thoughts arise, do not heed them. This is called contemplation and is known as the principal practice.
问：可有时觉得越转越乱。 Question: But sometimes I feel that the more I turn to it, the more chaotic things become.
答：妄念原本就乱，你再去转，岂不更乱！ Answer: Deluded thoughts are chaotic to begin with. If you turn toward them again, will that not make them even more chaotic?
问：这该如何是好？ Question: What should one do, then?
答：那我就多扯点葛藤吧——观照三步曲： Answer: Then let me spin out a little more entanglement—the three steps of contemplation:
初：不随念转，不为境迁。 First: Do not turn with thoughts; do not be moved by circumstances.
修心密，观照是正行，六印一咒是助行。“不随念转，不为境迁”即是观照，这并非用真心看妄念，而是没有能观所观。无观之观，才是真观。 In practicing heart esotericism, contemplation is the principal practice, while the six mudrās and one mantra are auxiliary practices. “Do not turn with thoughts; do not be moved by circumstances” is contemplation. This does not mean using the true mind to observe deluded thoughts; there is neither an observer nor an object observed. Contemplation without observing is true contemplation.
真能“不随念转，不为境迁”，即是果地境界，现在做不到而学着做，故称“从果地修起”。妄想执着习惯了，熟啊；不随念转，不为境迁，还没有习惯，生啊。久久这样做去，熟处转生，生处转熟，必有刹那脱落之时，那时如冷灰爆豆，朗然现前矣！ To be truly able not to turn with thoughts or be moved by circumstances is itself the state of fruition. Since one cannot yet do so but learns to do so, it is called “cultivating from the fruition stage.” We are accustomed to deluded thoughts and attachments; they are familiar. Not turning with thoughts or being moved by circumstances is not yet habitual; it is unfamiliar. Continue in this way for a long time: what is familiar becomes unfamiliar, and what is unfamiliar becomes familiar. There will surely come a moment when everything falls away; then, like beans popping in cold ashes, it will brightly appear before you.
中：凛然一觉，朗然现前。 Second: With a solemn awakening, it brightly appears before you.
脱落之后，可能妄执的习气仍在。习气反扑时，如同乌云蔽日，急需“凛然一觉，朗然现前”。现前的是什么？即是这个坛子上众说纷纭的离念灵知。任你横说竖说，都说不到它，它是离念的，不落语言，不犯思维。 After things have fallen away, the habitual tendencies of deluded attachment may still remain. When these habits strike back, they are like dark clouds obscuring the sun, and one urgently needs “a solemn awakening, and it brightly appears before you.” What is it that appears before you? It is the lively knowing free from thought, about which people on this forum have expressed so many differing views. However one may speak of it, horizontally or vertically, one cannot put it into words. It is free from thought; it does not fall within language or transgress into discursive thinking.
他是灵明的，非同木石。它不是光影、不是概念，言语道断、心行路绝，唯证乃知。无以名之，强名曰：离念灵知。离念灵知现前，自是“不随念转，不为境迁”。 It is numinously lucid, unlike wood or stone. It is neither light and shadow nor a concept. The way of words is cut off, and the path of mental activity ceases; only through realization can it be known. There is no name for it, but we reluctantly call it “lively knowing free from thought.” When lively knowing free from thought appears before you, that itself is not turning with thoughts and not being moved by circumstances.
后：本来是佛，观什么照！ Last: One is originally Buddha—what is there to contemplate?
这才是真观照！初、中都是学观照。此后，离念灵知也不可得，开悟见性也成剩语。你若说他见性，他可能会说：“见即是性，更见什么性！”你若说他这话立了个“见”，他不跟你争。 This alone is true contemplation. The first and second are both learning contemplation. After this, even lively knowing free from thought cannot be obtained, and awakening to one’s true nature becomes mere leftover words. If you say that such a person has seen their true nature, they may say: “Seeing itself is nature—what further nature is there to see?” If you say that these words establish a “seeing,” the person will not argue with you.
因他是应你的话说了一句，他是为你说，他自己那里连“见”也无。顶多可能回你一句类似于“老僧今日输却一半”的话。罕遇穿耳客，多逢刻舟人，欲不“输却一半”也得乎！ For he spoke that sentence in response to your words; he spoke it for your sake. For himself, there is not even “seeing.” At most, he may reply with something like, “This old monk has lost half the case today.” Those who can take the piercing word are rarely encountered; those who mark their boats to seek a lost sword are many. How could one avoid “losing half the case”?
147、三步曲本是应问而讲，不可立言。 147. The three steps were explained only in response to a question; they should not be fixed in words.
问：请问老师见性前和见性后应怎样用功夫? Question: How should one apply oneself before and after seeing one’s true nature?
答：若已切实体验到离念灵知之性，发觉念起，一看起处，便朗然现前了。 Answer: If you have truly experienced the nature of lively knowing free from thought, then whenever you notice a thought arising, look into where it arises, and it will brightly appear before you.
这就叫“凛然一觉、朗然现前”，“凛然一觉”与“看起处”其实是同一回事。一开始学观照就是“不随念转，不为境迁”。当然，这要能察觉到随念转才行。若跟着念头跑也察觉不到，那就只好先在座下持咒了。上述这些都不是真正的观照，真正的观照是——“本来是佛，观什么照！” This is called “with a solemn awakening, it brightly appears before you.” “A solemn awakening” and “looking into where it arises” are actually the same thing. At the outset, learning contemplation means “not turning with thoughts and not being moved by circumstances.” Of course, you must first be able to notice that you are turning with thoughts. If you cannot even notice that you are running after thoughts, then you must first recite the mantra off the meditation cushion. None of the foregoing is true contemplation. True contemplation is: “One is originally Buddha—what is there to contemplate?”
问：念头的起处还有处吗？ 明月高照。 Question: Does the place where a thought arises itself have any location? The bright moon shines high.
答：若如此，观照就是：走作时，凛然一觉，使之朗然现前。 Answer: If that is so, contemplation is this: whenever you stray, have a solemn awakening and let it brightly appear before you.
问：月落时相见吧…… Question: Let us meet when the moon sets …
答：那么，观照就是：“本来是佛，观什么照！” Answer: Then contemplation is: “One is originally Buddha—what is there to contemplate?”
问：这句“本来是佛，观什么照！”是到家人话。到家的人看来是废话，未到家的人很容易中毒呀。 Question: This saying, “One is originally Buddha—what is there to contemplate?” is the speech of one who has arrived home. To those who have arrived home, it may seem like idle talk, but those who have not arrived home can easily be poisoned by it.
答： 既未到家，那就只管学着“不随念转，不为境迁”吧。 Answer: Since you have not yet arrived home, simply learn not to turn with thoughts and not to be moved by circumstances.
问题如下：（下文是齐老师分段解答——编者注） The questions are as follows: (What follows is Teacher Qi’s response, given in sections—editor’s note.)
问：您的旧贴有关观照三步曲的“不随念转、不被境迁”，没有必要改成“别随念转、别被境迁”吧？ Question: In your earlier post on the three steps of contemplation, concerning “not turning with thoughts and not being moved by circumstances,” there is no need to change this into “do not turn with thoughts; do not be moved by circumstances,” is there?
答：最好是把这些文字都忘了，而实行之。 Answer: It would be best to forget all these words and put them into practice.
问：“不随念转”是个概括的方法吧？具体来讲入手方法却有很多种，比如大手印的“呸”、参禅的“参话头”、念佛、我们所说的“不理睬”等，这些都是入门方便法吧？ Question: “Not turning with thoughts” is a general method, is it not? More specifically, there are many ways to begin: the “pei!” of Mahāmudrā, Chan investigation of a huatou, Buddha-recitation, and what we call “not heeding them.” These are all expedient methods for entering the gate, are they not?
答：对！这些都是不随念转的方法。 Answer: Correct. These are all methods of not turning with thoughts.
问：“凛然一觉，朗然现前”，这个方法与“脱开法”、“看念头起处”都是同一法门不同表述吧？这个程度，应该是见性后才采取的吧？没有见性（自然不会知道朗然现前) Question: “With a solemn awakening, it brightly appears before you”—is this the same dharma gate, expressed differently from the “method of disengagement” and “looking into where a thought arises”? At this level, one should adopt it only after seeing one’s true nature, should one not? Without seeing one’s true nature, one naturally would not know what it is for it to brightly appear before one.
答：对！是同一件事的不同表述。“没有见性自然不会知道朗然现前”莫如说“若真朗然现前，是名见性”。 Answer: Correct. They are different expressions for the same matter. Rather than saying, “Without seeing one’s true nature, one naturally would not know what it is for it to brightly appear before one,” it would be better to say, “If it truly brightly appears before one, this is called seeing one’s true nature.”
问：观照三步曲，是否可以相比：“观自在”、“观”、无观之观？第二部、第三步就是寂照、照寂？ Question: Can the three steps of contemplation be compared to “Avalokiteśvara,” “contemplation,” and contemplation without observing? Are the second and third steps respectively quiescence illuminating and illumination quiescent?
答：闲名果然满五湖。 Answer: Indeed, idle names fill the five lakes.
问：三步曲并不是现在每个人必然经过的过程，就像修法次第。是吧？ Question: The three steps are not necessarily a process through which everyone must now pass, like stages in practicing a method. Is that so?
答：三步曲本是应问而讲。能用便用，不可立言。 Answer: The three steps were explained only in response to a question. Use them if they are useful, but do not fix them in words.
问：感想嘛，不名运粪入，只名运粪出。 Question: As for impressions, it is not called carrying manure in, but only carrying manure out.
答：哈哈！却恰恰是运粪入。 Answer: Ha ha! It is precisely carrying manure in.
148、三步曲之间如何跨越？ 148. How Does One Cross Between the Three Steps?
问：心密三步曲的第二步与第三步之间如何跨越？ Question: How does one cross from the second to the third step of the three steps of heart esotericism?
答：没有跨越。若有跨越，便到不了第三步。 Answer: There is no crossing. If there were a crossing, one could not reach the third step.
问：是不是就这么一觉下去，其它不管。 Question: Is it simply a matter of continuing with this one awakening and disregarding everything else?
答：这样说也行。 Answer: That is one way of putting it.
问：老师，应该是没有界限的吧？ Question: Teacher, there should be no boundary, should there?
答：若说有，第三步也不彻了。若说没有，又谈何二三！ Answer: If you say there is one, then the third step is not thorough. If you say there is none, then why speak of a second and a third?
问：就像三关一样，是吗？ Question: It is like the three barriers, is it not?
答：哎呀！别粘这些理论了。 Answer: Oh, do not cling to such theories.
问：似乎第一步和第二步，这两者是同时的。 Question: It seems that the first and second steps occur simultaneously.
答：三者也同时。 Answer: All three occur simultaneously.
问：三？另一个是谁？ Question: Three? What is the other one?
答：另一个是“本来是佛，观什么照！” Answer: The other is, “One is originally Buddha—what is there to contemplate?”
问：如果是同时，老师为何分为两次？ Question: If they occur simultaneously, why did you divide them into two stages?
答：“凛然一觉，朗然现前”时自会“不随念转，不为境迁”。 Answer: When there is “a solemn awakening, and it brightly appears before you,” one naturally does not turn with thoughts or become moved by circumstances.
149、不随念转、不随境迁 149. Not Turning with Thoughts; Not Being Moved by Circumstances
（1）正确理解“不随念转、不随境迁” (1) A Correct Understanding of “Not Turning with Thoughts; Not Being Moved by Circumstances”
问：齐老师曾经说过这样的意思，用心中心法来明心见性就像杀鸡用牛刀。我知道心中心法三密加持力量很大，确实比较容易打开本来。但明心见性后，主要是座下观照，又如何体现心中心法的特别威力？请齐老师明示。 Question: Teacher Qi once expressed the idea that using the Heart-of-Heart Dharma to realize the mind and see one’s true nature is like using an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken. I know that the power of the threefold esoteric empowerment of the Heart-of-Heart Dharma is tremendous and that it is indeed relatively easy through it to open up to one’s original nature. But after realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature, the principal practice is contemplation off the meditation cushion. How, then, is the Heart-of-Heart Dharma’s special power manifested? Please clarify this, Teacher Qi.
答：说“特别威力”莫如说“直接”。 Answer: Rather than speak of “special power,” it would be better to speak of “directness.”
直接，就是直接向证果的人看齐。还没有断尽惑业，就直接学断尽惑业者，就像小孩学着做大人的事一样。 Directness means directly measuring oneself against those who have realized fruition. Though one has not yet completely severed delusion and karma, one directly learns from those who have done so, just as a child learns to do what adults do.
先不说“凛然一觉，朗然现前”和“本来是佛，观什么照”，即此“不随念转，不为境迁”就已经是果地的境界了。 Leaving aside “with a solemn awakening, it brightly appears before you” and “one is originally Buddha—what is there to contemplate?”, this very “not turning with thoughts and not being moved by circumstances” is already the state of fruition.
圭峰宗密禅师说：“一切众生，无不具有觉性，灵明空寂，与佛无殊。但以无始劫来，未曾了悟，妄执身为我相，故生爱恶等情。随情造业，随业受报。生老病死，长劫轮回。 Chan Master Guifeng Zongmi said: “There is no sentient being who does not possess the nature of awakening: numinously lucid and empty-quiescent, it is no different from that of the Buddha. Yet, from beginningless kalpas onward, they have never realized it. Deludedly attaching to the body as a mark of self, they give rise to feelings such as love and aversion. Following these feelings, they create karma; following karma, they undergo retribution. Birth, old age, sickness, and death: they revolve through saṃsāra for long kalpas.
然身中觉性，未曾生死，如梦被驱役，而身本安闲；如水作冰，而湿性不易。若能悟此性，即是法身，本自无生，何有依托？灵灵不昧，了了常知，无所从来，亦无所去。然多生妄执，习以性成，喜怒哀乐，微细流注。 “Yet the nature of awakening within the body has never undergone birth and death. It is like being driven and commanded in a dream while the body itself lies peacefully at rest; it is like water becoming ice while its wet nature remains unchanged. If one can awaken to this nature, this is the dharmakāya, originally unborn—what could it depend upon? Numinous and never obscured, clear and ever-present knowing, it comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. Yet through deluded attachments over many lives, habits have become second nature; joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure flow on in a subtle continuous stream.
真理虽然顿达，此情难以卒除。须常觉察，损之又损，如风顿止，波浪渐停。岂可一生所修，便同诸佛力用？但可以空寂为自体，勿认色身；以灵知为自心，勿认妄念。妄念若起，都不随之。即临命终时，自然业不能系。 “Although the truth may be suddenly comprehended, these feelings are difficult to remove all at once. One must constantly be aware of them and diminish them again and again, like waves gradually subsiding after the wind suddenly ceases. How could the practice cultivated in one lifetime immediately equal the powers and functions of all Buddhas? One need only take empty quiescence as one’s own essence and not identify with the physical body; take lively knowing as one’s own mind and not identify with deluded thoughts. Whenever deluded thoughts arise, do not follow them at all. Then, even at the time of death, karma will naturally be unable to bind one.
虽有中阴，所向自由，天上人间，随意寄托。若爱恶之念已泯，即不受分段之身，自能易短为长，易粗为妙。若微细流注，一切寂灭，唯圆觉大智朗然独存，即随机应现千百亿化身，度有缘众生，名之为佛。” “Though there is an intermediate state, one may proceed freely wherever one wishes, taking rebirth in the heavens or human realm as one pleases. If thoughts of love and aversion have already fallen away, one will no longer receive a segmented body and will naturally be able to transform the short into the long and the coarse into the wondrous. If the subtle continuous stream is entirely quiescent, and only the great wisdom of perfect enlightenment remains brightly present, then one can manifest countless transformation bodies in response to circumstances, liberating sentient beings with whom one has affinities. This is called Buddha.”
禅师说了悟后的三个阶段：①妄念若起，都不随之。即临命终时，自然业不能系。虽有中阴，所向自由，天上人间，随意寄托。②若爱恶之念已泯，即不受分段之身，自能易短为长，易粗为妙。③若微细流注，一切寂灭，唯圆觉大智朗然独存，即随机应现千百亿化身，度有缘众生，名之为佛。 The Chan master described three stages after awakening: (1) Whenever deluded thoughts arise, do not follow them. Even at the time of death, karma will naturally be unable to bind one. Though there is an intermediate state, one is free to go wherever one wishes, taking one’s abode in heaven or the human realm as one pleases. (2) Once thoughts of love and aversion have vanished, one no longer receives a body subject to segmented birth and death, and can naturally transform the short into the long and the coarse into the sublime. (3) Once the subtle continuous stream and all else have become quiescent, and only the great wisdom of perfect enlightenment remains brilliantly present, one can manifest countless transformation bodies in response to circumstances, liberating sentient beings with whom one has affinities. This is called Buddhahood.
后两个阶段在八地以上，先不说后两个阶段，只说①吧。若真能“以空寂为自体，勿认色身；以灵知为自心，勿认妄念。妄念若起，都不随之”，就已经“业不能系”了，“业不能系”即打破了六道轮回的怪圈、跳出轮回了，这不就是成道么！ The latter two stages are above the eighth bhūmi. Let us not discuss them for now, but only the first stage. If one can truly “take empty quiescence as one’s own essence and not identify with the physical body; take luminous knowing as one’s own mind and not identify with deluded thoughts. Whenever deluded thoughts arise, do not follow them,” then karma is already “unable to bind” one. When karma cannot bind one, one has broken the vicious cycle of rebirth in the six realms and escaped saṃsāra. Is this not realizing the Way?
所以，我们说“不随念转，不为境迁”并不是要求你立即做到，而是学着做，是努力的方向，号称正行。一旦能做到，你就成道了。看，这不是很直接么！无须欲钩牵，直接奔果地，大丈夫曷当如斯乎！ Therefore, when we say, “Do not turn with thoughts; do not be moved by circumstances,” we are not demanding that you accomplish this at once. Rather, you should learn to do it; it is the direction of your effort, called right practice. Once you can do it, you will realize the Way. See how direct this is! There is no need to be drawn along by the hook of desire; go straight toward the fruition. Should not a great person be like this?
（2）巧在“不理睬” (2) The Skill Lies in “Not Paying Attention”
问：我觉得自己以前的观照不准确。不是说去观脑子里某一个点的念头起处，这样头上安头.而是念头一来(不管它从哪来)，看见，一声“不睬它”，一下断开。立时通身放下，了了分明，心里清清楚楚。一会儿，念头又来，再一喝“不睬它”。这样才是观照，对吗?请老师指正。 Question: I feel that my previous contemplation was inaccurate. It does not mean observing the point in the brain from which a thought arises—that would be putting a head on top of one’s head. Rather, when a thought comes, regardless of where it comes from, see it and say, “Do not pay attention to it.” It breaks off at once. Immediately, let go completely; everything is clear and distinct, and the mind is lucid and unmistakable. After a while, another thought comes, and again one gives a shout: “Do not pay attention to it.” This is contemplation, is it not? Please correct me, Teacher.
答： 观念头起处并非头上安头。只是你原先说的不是起处啊：“座下就观脑里的念头”，念头并不等于“起处”啊。 Answer: Observing where a thought arises is not putting a head on top of one’s head. But what you originally described was not its point of arising: “Off the cushion, observe the thoughts in the brain.” A thought is not the same as its point of arising.
问：老师，我的意思是我以前观念头就注意脑袋里，看着某一点，当它是起处，起来就觉。 Question: Teacher, I mean that when I previously observed thoughts, I focused on my head, watching a particular point and taking it to be the point of arising. When a thought arose, I became aware of it.
答：这更不相干。所以我才说：把“观！”换成“不睬它！” Answer: That is even more beside the point. That is why I said: replace “Observe!” with “Do not pay attention to it!”
问：但愿从此坛子上再没有与修法无关的烦恼妄语。 Question: May there henceforth be no more vexatious and delusive talk on this forum unrelated to practice.
答：关于与修法无关的烦恼妄语，最好的办法就是：不睬他——别跟他的贴。 Answer: Regarding vexatious and delusive talk unrelated to practice, the best method is this: do not pay attention to him—do not respond to his posts.
问：白浪滔天时如何？ Question: What should one do when white waves surge to the heavens?
答：抛向无生国里！ Answer: Throw them into the land of the unborn!
问：要怎样，才能把的住？ Question: What must one do in order to hold fast?
答：不要怎样，才能把得住。 Answer: Do not do anything in order to hold fast.
问：打坐时才发现，如惊涛骇浪一般汹涌澎湃。 Question: Only while sitting in meditation do I discover that they surge and billow like tempestuous waves.
答：风停浪犹涌！别睬它！别跟着它跑！ - Answer: Even after the wind stops, the waves still surge! Do not pay attention to them! Do not run after them!
问：口头禅、狂禅、和真正的禅有什么不同呢？ Question: What is the difference between mere verbal Chan, wild Chan, and genuine Chan?
答：哈哈！待你把“口头禅、狂禅、真正的禅……”全抛向东洋大海，就明白了。 Answer: Ha ha! When you throw “mere verbal Chan, wild Chan, genuine Chan . . .” all into the Eastern Ocean, you will understand.
150、凛然一觉，朗然现前 150. A Stern Awakening; Luminous Presence
问：凛然一觉，很好做。但感觉不到朗然现前。是不是爆炸后，才会有朗然现前？ Question: A stern awakening is easy enough to do, but I do not experience luminous presence. Does luminous presence come only after an explosive breakthrough?
答：若如是，即使爆炸，也不会有朗然现前。 Answer: If that is how it is, then even after an explosion there will be no luminous presence.
问：朗然，我觉得又生出事端。这个词语容易误导问，以为有个光明。实际上我觉得还就是：一念不生，了了分明。 Question: I feel that “luminous” creates further complications. The term can easily mislead people into thinking that there is some kind of light. In fact, I think it is simply this: not a single thought arises, yet all is clear and distinct.
答：哈哈！你不说“朗然”，却来了个“了了分明”。 Answer: Ha ha! You do not say “luminous,” yet you have come up with “clear and distinct.”
问：我嘴上说说，到那时心里可没有呀。我也明白您的朗然了。 Question: I merely say it with my mouth; when the time comes, it is not actually in my mind. But now I also understand what you mean by “luminous.”
答：“本来是佛，观什么照！”是真朗然。 Answer: “Originally a Buddha—what is there to contemplate?” This is true luminous presence.
问：凛然一觉，朗然现前。我有两种认识，也分别进行了两种做法：平时生活尽管做自己的，凛觉，觉后就放，一会再觉。 Question: “A stern awakening; luminous presence.” I have two understandings of this and have accordingly adopted two methods. In everyday life, I simply do whatever I need to do, have a stern awakening, and then let go after becoming aware; after a while, I become aware again.
如此反复锻炼凛觉的次数；这是强调次数，不强调时间延续的做法；还有一种做法，朗然现前，然后努力持续这种状态，不染一物。这是锻炼时间延续的办法。目前，我认为，后一种做下去，才能“打成一片”，所以保持高度的警觉性，所以近期锻炼这种。 In this way, I repeatedly train in the number of stern awakenings. This method emphasizes frequency, not sustained duration. The other method is luminous presence, followed by striving to maintain this state without being stained by a single thing. This trains sustained duration. At present, I think that only by continuing with the latter method can one become continuous and undivided. So I maintain a high degree of vigilance and have recently been training in this way.
答：对你来说，两种都很好，第二种更好。但并不是所有的人都这样。有一事相问：你这么做，会影响工作吗？ Answer: For you, both methods are very good; the second is better. But not everyone is like this. Let me ask you something: does practicing this way affect your work?
问：第一种常用在动脑的工作时候，第二种常用在不动脑的走路、空坐、空闲时候。尤其第二种，力量较大些，在座上也是尽力这样做的，在座下偶尔也能做事时也这样，感觉做事不象自己做的似的，蒙蒙的，但多数不行会影响工作，说明力量还不够。既然这样正确，以后我坚持这样做下去。 Question: I often use the first method when doing work that requires thought. I usually use the second when walking, sitting idly, or at leisure, when I do not need to think. The second has somewhat greater force, and on the cushion I also do my utmost to practice in this way. Off the cushion, I can occasionally practice this way while working as well, but it feels as though the work is not being done by myself; everything is hazy. Usually I cannot do it, as it affects my work, which shows that my strength is still insufficient. Since this is correct, I shall persist in practicing this way from now on.
答：应该是：不但不影响工作，而且会无形中提高工作效率，因为工作时打妄想少了，“制心一处，无事不办”嘛。 Answer: It should be that this not only does not affect your work, but imperceptibly improves your efficiency, because there are fewer deluded thoughts while you work. As the saying goes, “When the mind is focused on one point, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished.”
151、本来是佛，观什么照！ 151. Originally a Buddha—What Is There to Contemplate?
甲：观照的关键是什么？怎么才能看到妄念起来？ A: What is the key to contemplation? How can one see deluded thoughts arising?
乙：分两步：像老人所说，心不随境转，因为所有境相皆不真，要离相离境；破能念、能观。念起无住，其念亦空，境上无我，其境亦空。 B: There are two steps. As the elder said, the mind does not turn with circumstances, because all appearances of circumstances are unreal; one must leave appearances and circumstances behind. Then break through the one who thinks and the one who contemplates. When a thought arises, do not abide in it; the thought itself is empty. There is no self in circumstances; circumstances themselves are empty.
答：还有第三步——扫掉前两步的痕迹。 Answer: There is also a third step—sweep away the traces of the first two steps.
乙：第三步：真发慈悲菩提心。 B: The third step is to genuinely arouse the compassionate mind of bodhicitta.
答：第二步还有这个在：“念起无住，其念亦空，境上无我，其境亦空。” Answer: This still belongs to the second step: “When a thought arises, do not abide in it; the thought itself is empty. There is no self in circumstances; circumstances themselves are empty.”
到了第三步才可能如此： Only at the third step can it be like this:
之乎者也！衲僧鼻孔大头朝下，若也不信，问取东村王大姐！（这是宗下的） “All this pedantic talk! The nostrils of a patch-robed monk face downward. If you do not believe it, ask Sister Wang from the eastern village!” (This is from the Chan school.)
“饭千亿三世诸佛，不如饭一无念、无住、无修、无证之者。”（这是教下的） “Feeding the Buddhas of the three times, countless as a thousand million, is not as good as feeding one who is without thought, without abiding, without practice, and without realization.” (This is from the doctrinal school.)
问：“本来是佛，观什么照”，某某师兄对此问题的批判已很久了，若不亲证，他会永远陷在自己的意识情解中。这位师兄90年代就已得心中心灌顶，可至今仍未打满一千座。若能劝他，倒是祈盼他远离网络，一切放下，如法修行，早日亲证本来！ Question: Regarding “Originally a Buddha—what is there to contemplate?”, a certain Dharma brother has been criticizing this question for a long time. Unless he directly realizes it, he will forever remain trapped in his own consciousness and conceptual understanding. This Dharma brother received Heart-of-Heart Dharma empowerment in the 1990s, yet has still not completed one thousand meditation sessions. If someone can persuade him, I hope that he will stay away from the internet, let go of everything, practice in accordance with the Dharma, and directly realize his original nature as soon as possible.
答：“四依”里有“依了义，不依不了义”。老人所说的“本来是佛，观什么照”才是了义的。 Answer: Among the Four Reliances is: “Rely on definitive meaning, not on nondefinitive meaning.” What the elder said—“Originally a Buddha—what is there to contemplate?”—is definitive meaning.
不了义也须说，“应病与药”嘛，“随众生心，应所知量”嘛。古德云“孤峰顶上草里坐”，孤峰顶上——了义，草里坐——不了义。象那德山，若非“草里坐”，怎会引出岩头的“不会末后句”。 Nondefinitive meaning must also be taught: “prescribe medicine according to the illness,” and “in accordance with the minds of sentient beings, respond according to their capacity to understand.” An ancient worthy said, “Sitting amid the grass atop a solitary peak.” Atop a solitary peak is definitive meaning; sitting amid the grass is nondefinitive meaning. Take Deshan: if he had not been “sitting amid the grass,” how could Yantou have been prompted to say, “He does not understand the final phrase”?
然而，德山毕竟是“孤峰顶上”人，也能引出岩头如是说“且喜堂头老汉会末后句了也”。岩头没别的可耍了，情急之下，带了个“只得三年活”的尾巴，却引得后世诸多执著神通（预测）者的许多聒噪。若说预测的能力，谁能比得过天人，然而，天人解脱了么？天人不在六道轮回里了么？ Yet Deshan was, after all, a person “atop a solitary peak,” and this also prompted Yantou to say, “It is fortunate that the old fellow at the head of the hall understands the final phrase.” Yantou had no other trick to play; in his urgency, he added the tail end, “He has only three years left to live,” thereby provoking much chatter among later generations who cling to spiritual powers, such as prediction. But in terms of predictive ability, who could surpass the devas? Yet have the devas attained liberation? Are they not still within the cycle of rebirth in the six realms?
再举一例：老人既说“一念不生了了分明的灵知之性”，也说“有什么灵知不灵知的！”后句才是了义呀！ To give another example: the elder both said, “the nature of luminous knowing in which not a single thought arises, yet all is clear and distinct,” and said, “What luminous knowing or nonluminous knowing is there?” The latter statement is definitive meaning.
问：请教老师 “本来是佛，观什么照！”１、这一步是不是指舍弃观照，已经超越观照啦，即使寂照照寂也越过。２、要到这个阶段，是不是必须能时时观照纯熟后才涉及这更高一步，是不是如果连观照还生疏就不可能直接越过到达这个阶段？３、这一步，是不是八地菩萨阶段？ Question: Teacher, I would like to ask about “Originally a Buddha—what is there to contemplate?” 1. Does this step mean abandoning contemplation and already transcending it, even going beyond quiescent illumination and illuminating quiescence? 2. To reach this stage, must one first become thoroughly proficient in constant contemplation before this higher step is involved? If one is still unskilled in contemplation, is it impossible to pass directly beyond it and reach this stage? 3. Is this step the stage of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva?
答：圆悟云：若不到事事无碍，根本没资格谈禅。 Answer: Yuanwu said: “Unless one reaches the nonobstruction among phenomena, one is fundamentally unqualified to speak of Chan.”
（下文是齐老师分段解答——编者注） (What follows is Teacher Qi’s answer, divided into sections—editor’s note.)
问１、这一步是不是指舍弃观照，已经超越观照啦，即使寂照照寂也越过。 Question 1: Does this step mean abandoning contemplation and already transcending it, even going beyond quiescent illumination and illuminating quiescence?
答：其实这不是“步”，连舍弃、超越也无。 Answer: In fact, this is not a “step”; there is not even abandoning or transcending.
问２、要到这个阶段，是不是必须能时时观照纯熟后才涉及这更高一步，是不是如果连观照还生疏就不可能直接越过到达这个阶段？ Question 2: To reach this stage, must one first become thoroughly proficient in constant contemplation before this higher step is involved? If one is still unskilled in contemplation, is it impossible to pass directly beyond it and reach this stage?
答：这里没有阶段，也没有到达。 Answer: Here there are no stages, nor is there any arriving.
问３、这一步，是不是八地菩萨阶段？ Question 3: Is this step the stage of an eighth-bhūmi bodhisattva?
答：有什么地不地的！ Answer: What bhūmi or no bhūmi is there?
君不见，绝学无为闲道人，不除妄想不求真…… Have you not seen: “A carefree person of the Way, beyond learning and contrivance, does not eliminate deluded thoughts or seek the true . . .”
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