Master Wang Xianglu | 2022-12-06 | Download | AI assisted translation
| 心经随说 | Informal Talks on the Heart Sūtra |
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| 《心经》不是讲的经，是参的经，是修行时印证心地的经。今不得已而随我读经之所得，随诸君修证之意境，契机印心而说，名《心经随说》。 | The Heart Sūtra is not a sūtra merely to be expounded; it is a sūtra to be investigated and practiced, one by which the mind-ground is verified during cultivation. Now, having no alternative, I shall speak of it in accordance with what I have gained from reading the sūtra and with the states realized in your practice, speaking in a way suited to your capacities and sealing mind with mind. It is therefore called Informal Talks on the Heart Sūtra. |
| 《心经》者，一圆顿法门也。义较《金刚经》为深，有空双破，遮表齐资。众生心地未明，不达实相，起惑造业，沦生死海，偏有偏空，中道晦矣。 | The Heart Sūtra is a Dharma gate of perfect and sudden teaching. Its meaning is deeper than that of the Diamond Sūtra: it refutes both emptiness and existence, employing negation and affirmation together. Sentient beings have not clarified the mind-ground and do not comprehend true reality. They give rise to delusion and create karma, sink into the sea of birth and death, cling one-sidedly to existence or to emptiness, and thereby obscure the Middle Way. |
| 佛涅槃后，最初之弊，在着于有，以为佛法如真金可取，必有所得，不觉向外驰求。于是龙猛菩萨救之，宏扬空宗，意谓依世俗谛，当为说有；依胜义谛，一切皆空。于是众生又起空见。其实同一著有，同一不空。 | After the Buddha’s nirvāṇa, the earliest fault was attachment to existence. People thought that the Buddha-Dharma could be obtained like real gold, that one must surely gain something from it, and unconsciously raced outward in search of it. Nāgārjuna Bodhisattva then came to remedy this, widely propagating the school of emptiness. His meaning was that, according to conventional truth, one should speak of existence; according to ultimate truth, all is empty. Sentient beings then gave rise to views of emptiness. In truth, this was the same attachment to existence, the same failure to be empty. |
| 无著菩萨，复请弥勒慈尊，说中道之教，双除空有二执，以明非空非不空。为对机去病，假说为有为空，及超真离智，则又何空何有？空有双非，斯名中道。然而中道亦不立，实相亦假名。智者当下直了。所以讲般若经，与他经不同，重在彼此印心。以心印经，以经印心，再以心印空，所谓“心空及第”。 | Asaṅga Bodhisattva again requested Maitreya Bodhisattva to teach the Middle Way, removing both attachments to emptiness and existence in order to clarify what is neither empty nor not empty. To cure the illness according to the recipient’s capacity, one provisionally speaks of existence and emptiness; but when one transcends truth and leaves wisdom behind, what emptiness or existence could there be? When neither emptiness nor existence remains, this is called the Middle Way. Yet the Middle Way itself is not established, and true reality is also only a provisional name. The wise understand this directly and immediately. Thus, expounding the prajñā sūtras differs from expounding other sūtras: the essential point is mutual mind-sealing. Seal the sūtra with the mind, seal the mind with the sūtra, and then use the mind to seal emptiness—what is called “passing the examination of an empty mind.” |
| 诸君已修证多日，渐了心地法门，可以进而谈般若矣。 | You have practiced and realized for many days already, and have gradually understood the Mind-Ground Dharma Gate. You may now proceed to discuss prajñā. |
| “般若”，华言大智慧，然不足以尽其义，当云“通达世出世法圆融无碍之大智慧”十四字，其义方合。般若乃福慧双修，有空齐照，除习障，证真理，乃体用一如之妙德也。 | “Prajñā” is rendered in Chinese as great wisdom, but this does not fully exhaust its meaning. It should be called “the great wisdom that thoroughly penetrates worldly and supramundane dharmas and is perfectly interfused without obstruction”; only then does its meaning accord fully. Prajñā is the joint cultivation of merit and wisdom, illuminating both existence and emptiness. It removes habitual obstructions, realizes true principle, and is the wondrous virtue in which essence and function are one. |
| “波罗”言彼岸。“蜜多”言到，到者，证到也，由烦恼生死此岸，到菩提涅槃彼岸也。要具七种最胜，方可名“波罗蜜多”。 | “Pāra” means the other shore. “Mitā” means to arrive; arrival means realization. It is to go from this shore of afflictions, birth, and death to the other shore of bodhi and nirvāṇa. One must possess seven supreme qualities before one may be called pāramitā. |
| 何等谓七？一者安住菩萨种姓，此在见道分以后；二者依大菩提心，即发四无量心等；三者悲悯有情；四者具行事业；五者无相智所摄；六者回向菩提；七者不为二障间离。于此七中缺一，不名彼岸。故非修至证三昧，一切都无着手处。 | What are these seven? First, abiding in the bodhisattva lineage; this comes after the stage of seeing the Way. Second, relying on great bodhicitta—that is, arousing the four immeasurable minds and so forth. Third, compassion for sentient beings. Fourth, fully engaging in beneficial activities. Fifth, being encompassed by non-characteristic wisdom. Sixth, dedicating all to bodhi. Seventh, not being interrupted by the two obstructions. If even one of these seven is lacking, it cannot be called the other shore. Therefore, unless one practices to the point of realizing samādhi, there is nowhere at all to begin. |
| “心”者，坚实灵妙之称。 | “Heart” is a name for that which is firm, real, numinous, and wondrous. |
| “经”者，贯也，契也，常道也，路也。总言以此迷惘之心，循般若觉路，离生死业海，超登彼岸。但此岸是一个境界，入流、中流、到彼岸各各有境界。到彼岸而不上陆，是不彻底，等于未渡。 | “Sūtra” means to thread together; it means to accord; it is the constant path, the road. In sum, it means that this bewildered mind follows the awakening path of prajñā, leaves the karmic sea of birth and death, and transcends to the other shore. Yet this shore is one state, entering the stream is another, being midstream another, and arriving at the other shore another. To reach the other shore but not go ashore is not thoroughgoing; it is equivalent to not having crossed. |
| 必到彼岸之上，始永不退转，故云“蜜多”。梵语“多”者，上也。世人说“多心经”，真是误解可笑。或者因为世人多心，所以劝修，修至无心为止，却也有理，不知心经是参的经，是说八地以上菩萨之意境。若到“无挂碍”三个字，非十地到妙觉不能做到。 | One must reach the land of the other shore before one will never again regress; hence the word “mitā.” In Sanskrit, “tā” means above. When worldly people speak of the “Many-Hearts Sūtra,” it is truly a laughable misunderstanding. Or perhaps, because worldly people are so full of divided thoughts, they are urged to practice until they become mindless; that too has some reason to it. But they do not know that the Heart Sūtra is a sūtra to be investigated, and that it speaks of the states of bodhisattvas above the eighth bhūmi. To reach the three words “without hindrance” cannot be accomplished before the tenth bhūmi and the stage of wondrous enlightenment. |
| 全经根本，重在“自在”二字。“观自在”三个字，不单指观世音菩萨，乃指一切菩萨，终不离此自在意境。即一切众生，本来亦是此意境，只因无明二障所覆，不能启发，自己弄得不自在，有体不能起用，枉受颠倒。 | The foundation of the entire sūtra lies in the two words “at ease.” The three words “Avalokiteśvara” do not refer solely to Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva; they refer to all bodhisattvas, who never depart from this state of ease. Indeed, all sentient beings originally abide in this state as well. Yet because they are covered by ignorance and the two obstructions, they cannot bring it forth. They themselves make themselves not at ease: though they have the essence, they cannot bring its function into operation, and so suffer vainly from inversion. |
| 有人说凡夫不同菩萨，观照了才自在，不观照便不自在。如此说法，般若成个死物，岂非笑话，《心经》的心尚是未经修行的心，尚不会用般若渡过彼岸的心，尚是不自在的苦厄心，不能利己，安能利他，不名菩萨。 | Some say that ordinary beings differ from bodhisattvas: when they contemplate, they are at ease; when they do not contemplate, they are not at ease. If this were so, prajñā would become a dead thing—would that not be absurd? The “heart” of the Heart Sūtra would still be a heart not yet cultivated, a heart that still cannot use prajñā to cross to the other shore, a suffering and afflicted heart not at ease. Unable to benefit itself, how could it benefit others? It could not be called a bodhisattva. |
| 但要到利己利他，成大自在之境，非依般若修行不可，且必“行深”的般若。般若是荡空扫有，而甚深的般若，却是空空。般若是剑，以剑破见，最后仍要破剑，以剑破剑，得无所破，方名究竟。是在各人所修得之境界而施，非有定法。 | Yet to reach the state of benefiting oneself and others and attaining great ease, one cannot but practice in reliance on prajñā; moreover, one must practice “profound” prajñā. Prajñā sweeps away emptiness and existence, but profoundly deep prajñā empties even emptiness. Prajñā is a sword: use the sword to destroy views, but in the end one must still destroy the sword. Use the sword to destroy the sword, until there is nothing left to destroy; only then is it ultimate. This is applied according to the state each person has realized; there is no fixed dharma. |
| 今初步先言“苦厄”。苦厄如何断？渡即是断。但如何渡？应先明“苦厄”是什么？凡碍于事者曰“苦”，碍于理者曰“厄”。事理不自在，便是大苦厄。而事理之纠纷，不出五蕴。 | As a first step, let us speak of “suffering and affliction.” How are suffering and affliction cut off? Crossing over is itself cutting off. But how does one cross over? One must first understand what “suffering and affliction” are. Obstruction in phenomena is called “suffering”; obstruction in principle is called “affliction.” When one is not at ease in principle and phenomena, that is great suffering and affliction. The entanglements of principle and phenomena do not go beyond the five aggregates. |
| “五蕴”者，色、受、想、行、识也。以蕴结不易解，故曰“蕴”。 | The “five aggregates” are form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. Because they are bound together in a mass that is not easily disentangled, they are called aggregates. |
| 凡六根六尘，皆属于色；如见红花，根尘相对，和合成见，见即触动而受入矣；随即思量计度，是何物乎？是名想；因想而行蕴流转，是名行；因想行之转而识为红花，是名曰识。 | The six sense faculties and the six sense objects all belong to form. For example, when one sees a red flower, faculty and object confront one another and combine to produce seeing. Seeing is then stirred, and the impression is received; immediately one reflects and discriminates: What is this thing? This is called perception. Because of perception, the aggregate of formations flows on; this is called formations. Because perception and formations turn and continue, one recognizes it as a red flower; this is called consciousness. |
| 总之心境相对，无论为善为恶，为是为非，终不出此五蕴。维执之坚，故蕴之亦坚，越不放松，则比量计执心越强，事理之苦厄越大。 | In brief, when mind and circumstances stand in opposition, whether the matter is good or evil, right or wrong, it never goes beyond these five aggregates. Because one’s clinging is firm, the aggregates too are firmly bound. The less one relaxes, the stronger become the mind’s comparative calculations and attachments, and the greater become the suffering and affliction of principle and phenomena. |
| 其总因在无智慧力澈了其本空，认妄为真，认虚为实，认暂时生灭、不可靠者为永久足恃，冤枉受此苦恼。故智者明澈苦厄之根，不在五蕴，而在不能空五蕴。 | The fundamental cause is the lack of the power of wisdom to see thoroughly that they are originally empty. One mistakes delusion for truth, the insubstantial for the real, and what arises and ceases temporarily and cannot be relied upon for what is permanent and dependable, and so suffers these troubles in vain. Therefore, the wise clearly understand that the root of suffering and affliction does not lie in the five aggregates, but in being unable to empty the five aggregates. |
| 其所以不能观空者，在自己慧照力不强，不强由于工夫不深，故用深般若观照，但并非般若另有深浅二物。是言功夫纯熟时，即可照见深入，证知其毕竟皆空，而苦厄自渡。能渡自己苦厄者，必能渡人，此即大自在菩萨。 | The reason one cannot contemplate them as empty is that one’s own power of wisdom-illumination is insufficient. It is insufficient because one’s practice is not deep. Thus one uses profound prajñā for contemplation; but this does not mean that prajñā itself consists of two separate things, shallow and deep. It means that, when one’s practice has become fully mature, one can see and penetrate deeply, realizing that they are ultimately all empty, and suffering and affliction are thereby crossed over of themselves. Whoever can cross over their own suffering and affliction can certainly cross over others; this is the bodhisattva of great ease. |
| 众生本来是自在，只因不觉而放弃耳。愚人不解，以为五蕴是个毒物，故入于断灭，不知“照见五蕴皆空”，不是照见五蕴皆灭。般若不是死法，要活人来用。能用般若，斯人毕竟不会死矣，以生死了也。 | Sentient beings are originally at ease; they merely abandon it through not awakening. Foolish people fail to understand and think that the five aggregates are poisonous things, and thus fall into annihilationism. They do not know that “seeing that the five aggregates are all empty” does not mean seeing that the five aggregates are all extinguished. Prajñā is not a dead dharma; it requires a living person to use it. Whoever can use prajñā will ultimately never die, because birth and death have been resolved. |
| 故般若有文字、观照、实相、眷属、境界五种。以文字而知般若相貌，遂起观照般若之用，证知实相般若之体。凡六度万行者，皆般若引为眷属者也，非此不足以显般若之功用。而功德齐资，得大自在时，即境界般若也。 | Therefore, prajñā has five kinds: literary prajñā, contemplative prajñā, prajñā as true reality, retinue prajñā, and realm prajñā. Through written words one comes to know the features of prajñā, and thereupon activates the function of contemplative prajñā, realizing the essence of prajñā as true reality. The six perfections and myriad practices are all retinues led by prajñā; without them, prajñā’s function cannot be fully displayed. When merit and virtue together provide the support and one attains great ease, this is realm prajñā. |
| 世人愚惘，不了“色空”二义。所言“空”者，并非虚无之空、灭后之空、不可得见之空，正是眼前形形色色，即有即空。以无自性，故空；以因缘假合，故空；以毕竟不实，故空。 | Worldly people are foolish and bewildered, failing to understand the two meanings of form and emptiness. The “emptiness” spoken of is not the emptiness of nothingness, the emptiness after extinction, or an emptiness that cannot be seen. It is precisely the myriad forms before our eyes: existence itself is emptiness. Because they have no inherent nature, they are empty; because they are provisionally combined through causes and conditions, they are empty; because they are ultimately unreal, they are empty. |
| 日月星辰，山河大地，草木丛林，宫殿房舍，人物禽兽，其形万类，无非是色，无非是空。智者不惑，正不必细为解释，已证知即色即空矣。盖非色无以显空，非空无以见色，相形而真俗二谛立矣。 | The sun, moon, and stars; mountains, rivers, and earth; grasses, trees, and forests; palaces, houses, people, animals, and birds—their forms are of countless kinds, yet none is other than form and none is other than emptiness. The wise are not deluded by this and need no detailed explanation, for they have already realized that form itself is emptiness. Without form there is no way to reveal emptiness, and without emptiness there is no way to see form. In their mutual contrast, the two truths of ultimate and conventional reality are established. |
| 《维摩诘经》云：“非色灭空，色自性空”。此空，非空非不空，不可即定为空。以空亦空故。譬如镜子照一切，由小而大，由近而远，先见我面，次照室内，再照室外园林山水，乃至日月风云，一切世界。 | The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: “It is not that form is extinguished into emptiness; form is empty in its own nature.” This emptiness is neither empty nor not empty; it cannot simply be fixed as emptiness, for emptiness too is empty. It is like a mirror reflecting everything: from small to large, from near to far. First it shows my face, then the room, then the gardens and mountains beyond the room, and even the sun, moon, wind, clouds, and all worlds. |
| 镜中森罗万象，无非是空，无非是色。即镜子与照，亦何曾离空离色。同在即空即色之中。 | The innumerable appearances in the mirror are none other than emptiness and none other than form. The mirror itself and its reflecting have never departed from emptiness and form; all are within form itself as emptiness and emptiness itself as form. |
| 惟凡夫执有，牢不可破，故言“色不异空”以破之；四果偏空，不知偏空即落于有，空亦不离乎色，故言“空不异色”以破之；权乘菩萨，于色空二义，尚立二见，未融不二法门，故言“色即是空，空即是色”以破之。 | Ordinary beings alone cling to existence, so firmly that it cannot be broken; therefore, “form is not different from emptiness” is spoken to break this attachment. Those of the four fruits cling one-sidedly to emptiness, not knowing that such one-sided emptiness falls into existence, and that emptiness too does not depart from form; therefore, “emptiness is not different from form” is spoken to break this attachment. Bodhisattvas of the provisional vehicles still establish two views concerning form and emptiness and have not integrated the Dharma gate of nonduality; therefore, “form is emptiness; emptiness is form” is spoken to break this attachment. |
| 言不异者，尚有对待相似之义，此则直接痛快，毫不犹豫，迳说即是同一不二，非极有力量之甚深般若，安能通法界一如之义，显此一合相哉！世间万有，都属微细流转生灭，故有人执之为断；但轮转不已，如草木每年逢春必茂，入秋而枯，枯而复荣，年年如是，世人又执为常；实则因缘和合，非断非常。 | To say “not different” still carries the sense of a relation between two opposing terms. Here, however, the statement is direct and forceful, without the least hesitation: it plainly says that they are identical and nondual. Without extremely powerful and profoundly deep prajñā, how could one comprehend the meaning that the dharma realm is one suchness and reveal this single unified mark? All things in the world belong to a subtle, continuous process of arising and ceasing, and some therefore cling to them as annihilated. Yet the cycle never stops: just as grasses and trees flourish each spring, wither in autumn, and flourish again after withering, year after year, others cling to them as permanent. In truth, they arise through the coming together of causes and conditions; they are neither annihilated nor permanent. |
| 世间一切都属缘合相对，以相对之不可得，终必归到绝对。如明空义：则五蕴者，色如聚沫，受喻浮泡，想同阳焰，行类芭蕉，识犹幻事，乃三性中由依他起性入遍计执也。原是三无性，故空。即圆成实性，亦名为空。 | Everything in the world consists of appearances that arise through conditions and in relation to one another. Since what is relative cannot be obtained, it must ultimately return to the absolute. To explain the meaning of emptiness: the five aggregates are such that form is like a mass of foam, feeling like a bubble, perception like a mirage, formations like a plantain tree, and consciousness like an illusion. Among the three natures, this is the movement from the nature of dependence on others into the nature of pervasive discrimination and attachment. They are originally the three non-natures, and therefore empty. Even the nature of absolute reality and perfection is also called empty. |
| 实则三性非空非不空，对有者破执，总说为空。此言空五蕴者，但空比量之遍计所执性，非对依他起性、圆成实性都无所有之为空也。佛说一切皆空者，只因一切皆无自性耳。 | In truth, the three natures are neither empty nor not empty. To counter those attached to existence, they are collectively said to be empty. Thus, when it is said to empty the five aggregates, it means only to empty the nature of pervasive discrimination and attachment created by comparative calculation; it does not mean that the nature of dependence on others and the nature of absolute reality and perfection have nothing at all. When the Buddha says that all is empty, it is only because all things lack inherent nature. |
| 至于“苦厄”，根本由惑而起。五蕴之绵绵不断，惑也，由惑而业而苦。八苦之外，复有三苦义：一苦苦。苦楚难受，名苦苦；二坏苦。世间诸乐，不久即变坏，因坏成忧，是名坏苦；三行苦。诸有漏法，自然迁流，逼迫不安，是名行苦。又三灾八难等，皆名为苦。及修至我执能忘，法执亦破，慧照不惑，因果分明，苦又从何附庸哉。 | As for “suffering and affliction,” they fundamentally arise from delusion. The unbroken continuity of the five aggregates is delusion; from delusion come karma and suffering. Beyond the eight sufferings, there are also the three kinds of suffering. First is the suffering of suffering: painful distress that is hard to bear is called the suffering of suffering. Second is the suffering of change: all worldly pleasures soon deteriorate and pass away, and because they decay, sorrow arises; this is called the suffering of change. Third is the suffering inherent in conditioned existence: all defiled dharmas naturally flow and change, pressing upon one without peace; this is called the suffering inherent in conditioned existence. The three calamities, eight difficulties, and so forth are all called suffering. But when one practices to the point that attachment to self can be forgotten, attachment to dharmas is also destroyed, wisdom-illumination is no longer deluded, and cause and effect are clearly understood, what could suffering then attach itself to? |
| “舍利子”，在小乘中，智慧第一，其母名舍利，且能辩，故呼为舍利子。会中呼其名而告之，即普告大众也。 | “Śāriputra” was foremost in wisdom among the Hīnayāna disciples. His mother was named Śāri and was also eloquent in debate, so he was called Śāriputra, the son of Śāri. To call his name in the assembly and instruct him was, in fact, to address the entire congregation. |
| “诸法”，即一切法。“空相”，即空义，不可执“相”字解，因空亦有相，空杯空壶，以水满之，空相即无。此言“空”者，以一切法缘合始有，心生则法生，心灭则法灭。心本不法，法于何立，心境双空，诸法亦空。 | “All dharmas” means all phenomena. “The mark of emptiness” means the meaning of emptiness; one must not cling to the character xiang, “mark,” in interpreting it. For emptiness, too, has a mark: an empty cup or pot, when filled with water, no longer has the mark of emptiness. Here, “empty” means that all dharmas arise only through the conjunction of causes and conditions: when mind arises, dharmas arise; when mind ceases, dharmas cease. Mind is originally not a dharma; on what, then, could dharmas be established? When mind and objects are both empty, all dharmas are likewise empty. |
| 以不见其生处，不见其灭处，既“不生不灭”为总因，所以“垢净”、“增减”、来去、一异、是非，种种对象，皆不成立。 | Since their place of arising cannot be seen and their place of cessation cannot be seen, and since “neither arising nor ceasing” is the fundamental reason, then defilement and purity, increase and decrease, coming and going, sameness and difference, right and wrong, and all such opposites cannot be established. |
| “是故空中无色……”，言菩萨于观空之中，彻了诸法本空，则色亦不立，五蕴、十二入、十八界、十二因缘、四谛法，一切都不立。“无”者，不著、不执、不立之谓也，非断灭不有，死执为无之谓也。 | “Therefore, in emptiness there is no form …” means that when a bodhisattva contemplates emptiness and thoroughly realizes that all dharmas are originally empty, form likewise cannot be established; nor can the five aggregates, the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen realms, the twelve links of dependent origination, or the dharmas of the Four Noble Truths. None of them can be established. “No” means not clinging, not grasping, and not establishing; it does not mean annihilation or nonexistence, nor does it mean stubbornly clinging to “nothingness.” |
| 学者于此迷去，其流弊乃至拨无因果，倒行逆施，至可惜也。智者不独一切不立，並此不立亦不立，是名曰“尽”，不独无无明，言无无明亦无也。即前云以剑斩见，更以剑斩剑，得无所斩，斯名曰“尽”。 | Students go astray at this point, and the harmful consequence may extend even to denying cause and effect and acting perversely and contrary to principle. This is most regrettable. The wise do not merely establish nothing at all; they do not even establish this non-establishment. This is called “exhaustion.” It is not merely that there is no ignorance; even the statement that there is no ignorance is itself absent. As said earlier, use a sword to cut off views, and then use the sword to cut off the sword; when there is nothing left to cut, this is called “exhaustion.” |
| 到此意境，言语道断，心行处灭，实无有少法可得。说智即非智，说得即不得，故言”无智亦无得”，以毕竟无所得故。至五蕴、十二入、十八界、十二因缘、四谛五种法，为三乘所通修。 | Upon reaching this state, the path of words is cut off and the activity of mind comes to rest; in truth, not even the slightest dharma can be obtained. To speak of wisdom is not wisdom; to speak of obtaining is not obtaining. Thus it says, “no wisdom and also no attainment,” because ultimately there is nothing to attain. The five categories of dharmas—the five aggregates, the twelve sense-fields, the eighteen realms, the twelve links of dependent origination, and the Four Noble Truths—are practices common to the three vehicles. |
| 二乘法执未亡，尚执此五种为实有，今破实有而说为无，以其体义俱空寂故。惟方便善巧，令修此五法，破其我法二执，渐令入真。盖五蕴十二处等五法，同是有为法，毕竟如梦幻泡影耳。 | Practitioners of the two vehicles have not yet relinquished attachment to dharmas; they still take these five categories to be truly existent. Now their true existence is refuted and they are said to be absent, because in their essence and meaning they are all empty and quiescent. Yet, as skillful means, practitioners are taught to cultivate these five dharmas in order to break the two attachments to self and dharmas, gradually enabling them to enter reality. For the five aggregates, the twelve sense-fields, and the like are all conditioned dharmas, ultimately no more than dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows. |
| “菩提萨埵”，即是菩萨，此言觉有情。其自修功夫，亦必依般若法门而渡彼岸，至“无挂碍”时，即是“究竟涅槃”，即已超登佛位。挂碍无，即一切苦厄断。 | “Bodhisattva” means an awakened sentient being. In their own cultivation, bodhisattvas too must rely on the prajñā dharma gate to cross to the other shore. When they reach the state of “no hindrance,” this is “ultimate nirvāṇa”; they have already transcended to the Buddha stage. When hindrances are absent, all suffering and adversity cease. |
| 十法界中，惟佛不称众生，余自菩萨至地狱，九界均称众生，因众生乃烦恼之别称。上至菩萨，下至地狱，均有挂碍，只是多寡粗细之别。 | Among the ten dharma realms, only Buddhas are not called sentient beings. The remaining nine realms, from bodhisattvas down to hell beings, are all called sentient beings, because “sentient beings” is another name for afflictions. From bodhisattvas above to hell beings below, all have hindrances; the difference lies only in their number and in whether they are coarse or subtle. |
| 如地狱，挂碍于多分之贪嗔痴；鬼道挂碍于多分之贪；畜道挂碍于多分之痴；魔道挂碍于多分之嗔；人道挂碍于少分之贪嗔痴；天道挂碍于少分之贪；声闻乘挂碍于四谛法；缘觉乘挂碍于十二因缘；菩萨挂碍于六度万行，及至十地等觉，尚有极微细之挂碍，以尚有众生可度，尚有佛可成也。 | For example, hell beings are hindered by a greater portion of greed, anger, and ignorance; hungry ghosts by a greater portion of greed; animals by a greater portion of ignorance; māras by a greater portion of anger; humans by a lesser portion of greed, anger, and ignorance; devas by a lesser portion of greed; śrāvakas by the dharmas of the Four Noble Truths; pratyekabuddhas by the twelve links of dependent origination; and bodhisattvas by the six perfections and myriad practices. Even at the tenth bhūmi and equal enlightenment, there remain extremely subtle hindrances, for there are still sentient beings to liberate and a Buddhahood to attain. |
| 以挂碍故，即有人我得失之分，恐怖自然而起，求利心、求名心、重视性命心，亦油然而生。凡夫恐怖约有五种。 | Because of hindrances, there arise distinctions of self and other, gain and loss; fear naturally follows. The desire for profit, the desire for fame, and attachment to one’s own life likewise arise spontaneously. Ordinary beings have approximately five kinds of fear. |
| 云何谓五：一者不活恐怖，如生活之维持等等；二者畏得恶名恐怖；三者死亡之恐怖；四者入恶道恐怖；五者怯众畏恐怖。怯众者，言所修或不如人，恐堕落也。此虽圣人未必有，而微细之恐怖难除。故有恐怖，即有颠倒。 | What are the five? First, fear of not being able to live, such as anxiety over maintaining one’s livelihood; second, fear of acquiring a bad reputation; third, fear of death; fourth, fear of entering the lower realms; fifth, fear of being inferior to others. This last means fearing that one’s cultivation may not equal that of others and that one may fall back. Although sages may not necessarily have these fears, subtle fears are difficult to remove. Thus, where there is fear, there are inverted views. |
| 颠倒约有六：如视无常反为常，一也；苦反为乐，二也；不净反为净，三也；无我反为执我，四也；邪反为正，五也；非是反执为是，六也，是皆名心倒。颠倒为因，梦想为果，如何而能涅槃乎？ | There are approximately six kinds of inversion: taking impermanence to be permanence, the first; taking suffering to be happiness, the second; taking impurity to be purity, the third; taking no-self to be a self to which one clings, the fourth; taking what is false to be right, the fifth; and taking what is not so to be so, the sixth. All these are called inversions of mind. Inversion is the cause, and delusive thoughts and dreams are the result. How, then, can one attain nirvāṇa? |
| “涅”者圆也，“槃”者寂也，圆即圆遍，寂乃湛寂。设有微细颠倒，即不名“究竟”。必心无挂碍，方超佛地。心无则挂碍无，心空则一切空。心且不可得，余更不必谈矣。以得此不可得之心，方是证得。 | Ni means completeness, and pan means quiescence. Completeness means all-pervasiveness, while quiescence means profound stillness. If even the subtlest inversion remains, it cannot be called “ultimate.” Only when the mind is without hindrance can one transcend to the Buddha stage. When mind is absent, hindrances are absent; when mind is empty, all is empty. If even mind cannot be obtained, there is no need to speak of anything else. Only by obtaining this unobtainable mind does one attain realization. |
| 证得阿耨多罗三藐三菩提耳。“阿耨多罗三藐三菩提”者，即无生之净菩提心门也，欲证得此无生心，亦必依般若法门，是名“诸佛”，不独过去佛如是，即现在佛、未来佛、无量百千万亿佛，无不依此门而如是，大矣哉巍矣哉。不可得而思议者，其唯般若乎？ | One thereby realizes anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. “Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi” is the gate of the pure bodhicitta of the unborn. To realize this unborn mind, one must likewise rely on the prajñā dharma gate. This is what is meant by “all Buddhas”: not only have the Buddhas of the past done so, but the Buddhas of the present and future, and immeasurable hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddhas, without exception rely on this gate in the same way. How vast and lofty it is! What cannot be conceived or discussed—could it be anything but prajñā? |
| 以上是显说。言尚可以言说形容也，至此直无以名之矣。荡荡乎，民无能名也，学者“可使由之，不可使知之”矣，此知乃自己之证知，非他人可得指示使知者也。 | What has been explained above is the exoteric teaching. It can still be described in words; but at this point there is simply no name for it. Vast indeed—none can name it. For students, it may be possible to lead them along it, but not to make them know it. This knowing is one’s own realized knowing; it cannot be pointed out by another so as to make one know it. |
| 以下皆密说，遂名曰咒。以不可言说，唯有赞叹之，曰“是大神咒……”等等。此“是”四字，直指心源，不稍假借，不稍犹豫，决定不疑之谓也。全经气势，如百川汇海，至此而极。 | What follows is all esoteric teaching and is therefore called a mantra. Because it cannot be spoken, it can only be praised: “This is the great spiritual mantra …,” and so forth. These four words, “This is the,” directly point to the source of mind, without the slightest reservation or hesitation; they signify certainty without doubt. The momentum of the whole sūtra is like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, reaching its culmination here. |
| 不独文气如是，意境亦实实如是，未见实相者，安能测知其深妙焉哉。 | Not only is the literary momentum so; the experiential realm is truly so as well. How could those who have not seen the true aspect know or fathom its profundity and wonder? |
| 至大神大明……等义，则以无所不周之为“大”，无所不通之为“神”，无所不照之为“明”，无比拟之为“无上”，无相对之为“无等等”，总赞般若之德而已，最后总括一句曰“真实不虚”。忽若转而入于有为。 | As for the meanings of “great,” “spiritual,” “bright,” and so forth: “great” means all-encompassing; “spiritual” means universally penetrating; “bright” means illuminating all without exception; “unsurpassed” means without comparison; and “unequaled” means without counterpart. They are all praises of the virtues of prajñā, summed up in the final phrase: “true and not false.” It then suddenly seems to turn toward the conditioned. |
| 弥勒菩萨云：非有为，非离有为，诸如来涅槃之境也。“如来是真语者、实语者、如语者、不诳语者、不异语者。如来所得法，此法无实无虚。” | Maitreya Bodhisattva said: “It is not conditioned, nor separate from the conditioned; it is the realm of the nirvāṇa of all Tathāgatas.” “The Tathāgata is one who speaks truth, speaks reality, speaks according to what is, does not deceive, and does not speak otherwise. The Dharma realized by the Tathāgata is neither real nor unreal.” |
| 《心经》前半部言无实，后半部又言无虚。世人当以般若活照，勿执文字死解，其眼目处，我且为诸君点明之。一部《心经》，字虽不多，层次转折却不少，总言般若之深妙。 | The first half of the Heart Sūtra speaks of no real existence; the latter half again speaks of no unreality. People should illumine matters with living prajñā and must not cling to words in a dead interpretation. I shall point out its essential purport for you all. Though the Heart Sūtra has few words, it contains many levels and turns; throughout, it expounds the profundity and wonder of prajñā. |
| 最首标明菩萨之大自在，所行般若，为深的般若，能度一切苦厄，在照见皆空。此段“深”字、“一切”字与“皆”字，皆相呼应。盖凡夫不知五蕴，故不知照，以不照，故不空，而苦则永永不度。 | At the very beginning, it sets forth the bodhisattva’s great freedom. The prajñā practiced is profound prajñā, capable of crossing beyond all suffering and adversity by seeing that all is empty. In this passage, the words “profound,” “all,” and “all” mutually correspond. Ordinary beings do not understand the five aggregates and therefore do not know how to contemplate them. Because they do not contemplate them, they are not empty, and their suffering is never crossed beyond. |
| 四果已知五蕴而照之矣，第偏执于空，厌恶五蕴，趋于断灭，虽空而仍不空，其苦终不名度。菩萨照见五蕴已空，唯能所未忘，五蕴虽空，照见未空，即此刹那照见，仍属五蕴流转，能所若在，未及空空，不得名“皆空”也。 | Those who have attained the four fruits already know the five aggregates and contemplate them. Yet they cling one-sidedly to emptiness, abhor the five aggregates, and tend toward annihilation. Though empty, they are still not empty, and their suffering cannot ultimately be called transcended. Bodhisattvas see that the five aggregates are already empty, but they have not yet forgotten the subject and object. Although the five aggregates are empty, the act of seeing them as empty has not itself become empty. In that very instant of seeing, the five aggregates are still in flux. So long as subject and object remain, one has not reached the emptiness of emptiness and cannot call it “all empty.” |
| 唯佛则无能照之我，与所照之五蕴，中间更无空不空之见，三轮具空，一切净尽，故名“皆空”。至此方达色空不二之义。诸法不生之义，不即一切，不离一切，自在处证，故视五蕴十二入十八界十二因缘四谛法，皆属于空。 | Only a Buddha has neither a self that contemplates nor five aggregates that are contemplated, and there is no view in between of emptiness or nonemptiness. The three wheels are completely empty and everything is utterly purified; hence it is called “all empty.” Only then does one reach the meaning that form and emptiness are nondual. One realizes, with freedom, the meaning that all dharmas do not arise, neither identical with all things nor separate from all things. Thus the five aggregates, twelve sense-fields, eighteen realms, twelve links of dependent origination, and dharmas of the Four Noble Truths are all seen as belonging to emptiness. |
| 更空其所空，名之曰“尽”。而总归证一句，曰“以无所得故”。若果无所得者，则能挂碍者何物？所挂碍者又何物乎？如此非究竟涅槃而何？下文又妙在得此无得之得，此无得之得，即是阿耨菩提。 | To empty even what has been emptied is called “exhaustion.” This is all brought back to and confirmed in one statement: “because there is nothing to attain.” If there is truly nothing to attain, what is there that can be hindered? And what is there to be hindered? If this is not ultimate nirvāṇa, what is it? What follows is further wonderful: attaining this attainment of no attainment. This attainment of no attainment is precisely anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. |
| 以菩提本体空寂，正无生花开，本性佛见时也。经文又处处顾到般若法门，言菩萨如是。佛尚如是，岂凡夫越此法门而可修证者哉？世之妄冀神通以求证者，应知所悟矣。 | Because the fundamental essence of bodhi is empty and quiescent, this is precisely when the flower of the unborn opens and one sees the Buddha of one’s intrinsic nature. The sūtra repeatedly returns to the prajñā dharma gate, saying that bodhisattvas are thus. Even Buddhas are thus; how could ordinary beings cultivate and realize attainment by going beyond this dharma gate? Those in the world who vainly hope to attain realization through spiritual powers should understand this. |
| 且此功夫，全在自己，不关师资，求法而不求己，实实自误。故点到“知”字为极大关键。此“知”，乃自修自得自证之知，冷暖自知，无可言说，却似无实。而一切苦厄，毕竟除去，则又无虚。全文由有翻空，由空翻有，实证非空非有，无以名之，名之曰“观自在”耳。诸君且道，哪个是观自在？明白了这个，方许读《心经》去。 | Moreover, this work lies entirely with oneself and has nothing to do with teachers or patrons. Seeking the Dharma without seeking oneself is truly to mislead oneself. Thus the word “know” is singled out as the crucial key. This knowing is the knowing of one’s own cultivation, attainment, and realization. One knows for oneself, as one knows warmth and cold; it cannot be expressed in words and seems to have no reality. Yet when all suffering and adversity are ultimately removed, it is not unreal. The whole text turns from existence to emptiness, and from emptiness to existence, directly realizing neither emptiness nor existence. It has no name; it is called only “Avalokiteśvara.” Tell me, then: which is Avalokiteśvara? Only upon understanding this may one be permitted to read the Heart Sūtra. |
| 上来《心经随说》竟。 | Here concludes Informal Remarks on the Heart Sūtra. |
| 更有所告： | There is something further to say: |
| 世人与《心经》，特具因缘。千百年来，不问内道外道，老幼男女，或儒或释，无不喜读《心经》，足知震旦人般若根器之深厚。惜乎不曾起得《心经》之用，枉劳读诵，苦厄依旧。 | People of this land have a special affinity with the Heart Sūtra. For thousands of years, whether Buddhist or non-Buddhist, old or young, men or women, Confucian or Buddhist, none have failed to delight in reading the Heart Sūtra. This is sufficient to show the deep prajñā capacity of the people of China. Sadly, they have never put the Heart Sūtra into practice; their reading and recitation are vain exertions, and suffering and adversity remain as before. |
| 《心经》者，教汝明白心地，开佛知见，破除众生知见之唯一法门也，目的地则到断苦得自在为止。但观照五蕴本空，非般若不可，而般若本体人人具足，如何启发，实一问题。 | The Heart Sūtra is the sole dharma gate that teaches you to understand the mind-ground, open the Buddha’s knowledge and vision, and eliminate the knowledge and views of sentient beings. Its destination is the cessation of suffering and the attainment of freedom. Yet to contemplate the five aggregates as originally empty requires prajñā. Since everyone possesses the fundamental essence of prajñā in full, the question is how to awaken it. |
| 余初曾求前辈指示问：“如何谓之般若行？又如何照见？”彼云：“此是菩萨事，不是我辈凡夫事，我既不配说，君亦不配问，只要多读，自然能开”云云。 | I once sought instruction from an elder and asked, “What is meant by practicing prajñā? And how does one see that all is empty?” He said, “This is the work of bodhisattvas, not the work of ordinary people like us. Since I am unfit to speak of it, you are also unfit to ask about it. You need only read more, and naturally you will awaken,” and so on. |
| 余受此打击，几坐误十年，因思受此一语之害者，不知凡几，实为痛心。继思无量百千法门，无一门不可证三昧、见实相，无一处不是般若妙用，但不修，断不能证到。诸君切勿自弃，当为略说修证三昧法门也。 | This rebuff nearly caused me to lose ten years. I reflected on how many people must have been harmed by such words, and it truly pained me. I then considered that among the immeasurable hundreds of thousands of dharma gates, there is not one through which samādhi cannot be realized and the true aspect seen; nowhere is there not the wondrous functioning of prajñā. Yet without practice, one can never realize it. You must not abandon yourselves. I shall therefore give a brief account of dharma gates for cultivating and realizing samādhi. |
| 凡夫和圣人，只是迷觉之别。不辨五蕴，不能转识成智，皆因尘妄所隔，所谓隔阴之迷。故不修则不了自性，其觉在后。 | Ordinary beings and sages differ only in delusion and awakening. Because they do not discern the five aggregates, they cannot transform consciousness into wisdom; all this is due to being obscured by sensory objects and delusion—what is called the delusion of being separated by the aggregates. Therefore, without practice one cannot understand one’s intrinsic nature, and awakening comes only afterward. |
| 如造十恶之人，其初如烟雾迷矇，不明所以，及恶业成就，已犯法律，觉知其非，悔已不及，是名“觉在后”。凡觉在后者，念念有前后，心失其主，忽东忽西，忽此忽彼，外境现前，即被流转，此为生死之根。 | Take, for example, a person who commits the ten evil deeds. At first, it is like being shrouded in a mist, not knowing why. Once the evil karma has come to fruition and the law has been broken, one realizes that it was wrong, but repentance is already too late. This is called “awareness coming afterward.” Whenever awareness comes afterward, each thought has a before and after; the mind loses its master, now suddenly east, now west, now here, now there. When external circumstances appear, one is swept along by them. This is the root of birth and death. |
| 圣人觉在前，即是照在前，事事因果分明，念念不失其主，心无所移，念无前后，中间更无阻隔，又何物而可流转？以三昧力，证一切空，打成一片矣，故由凡夫入圣。 | For sages, awareness comes first; that is, illumination comes first. In every matter, cause and effect are clearly discerned; in every thought, the mind does not lose its master. The mind is not shifted, thoughts have no before or after, and there is no interruption between them. What, then, could cause one to be swept along? Through the power of samādhi, one realizes that all is empty and becomes continuous and undivided. Thus one passes from an ordinary being into sagehood. |
| 当先入正修行路，以般若利用起观照，见一切空而苦自破，但非修证三昧，一切都无下手处。修证之法不出二途：一、持名法，二、观相法。 | One must first enter the proper path of cultivation, employing prajñā to initiate contemplation. Seeing all things as empty, suffering is naturally dissolved. Yet without cultivating and realizing samādhi, there is no way to begin. The methods of cultivation and realization do not go beyond two approaches: first, the practice of holding a name; second, the practice of contemplating appearances. |
| 此二法同一用意，先借一以破万，万法归一，归一力充足，此一念即是无念，一相即是无相矣。观相者，亦正摄万念归一也，故曰同一用意。 | These two methods have the same intent: first use the one to break through the many. The myriad dharmas return to the One; when the power of returning to the One is sufficient, this single thought is no thought, and this single appearance is no appearance. Those who contemplate appearances likewise gather the myriad thoughts into one; thus it is said that they share the same intent. |
| 初念之人，非持念不能念，如念佛念至中途，忽闻声见色，即被流转引诱而去，非再回头执持不可，所谓非持念不能念也。 | For those beginning the practice of mindfulness, they cannot sustain mindfulness without holding to it. For example, when one recites the Buddha’s name and, midway through, suddenly hears a sound or sees a form, one is drawn away by it. One must turn back and hold to the practice again. This is what is meant by being unable to sustain mindfulness without holding to it. |
| 故必老实念佛，念至一念相应，既不被移转，不落前后念，当下一念，即是一心不乱，方是不持而念，是名实相念佛。以不持而可念者，已入如如不动之境，六根可以互用，不为尘境所移，此非亲证三昧者，难了此中意境也。 | Therefore, one must recite the Buddha’s name honestly and steadfastly. When one recites until a single thought accords with it, one is no longer shifted or led away and does not fall into preceding and succeeding thoughts. That very present thought is one-pointedness of mind without distraction. Only then is one reciting without holding to the recitation; this is called Buddha-recitation in terms of true reality. When one can recite without holding to it, one has entered the state of suchness, unmoving. The six sense faculties can function interchangeably and are not shifted by sensory objects. Unless one has directly realized samādhi, it is difficult to understand the meaning and state involved here. |
| 若念至打成一片，不落前后念，则一切现量中间不受隔阴之迷矣。观相法亦如是，念至一相摄一切相，一切相破除，方得一相现前，一相即是无相，斯名实相。 | If recitation becomes continuous and undivided, without falling into preceding and succeeding thoughts, then amid all direct perceptions one is not deluded by the interval obscuring rebirth. The practice of contemplating appearances is the same: when one thought encompasses all appearances, all appearances are removed, and only then can the one appearance appear before one. The one appearance is no appearance; this is called true reality. |
| 凡夫念念妄想相续，念念妄，念念隔，故落生死，如已证三昧，把觉翻到前面来，时时觉照，“翻身踏倒涅盘城，了知生死本来空”即此意也。 | The deluded thoughts of ordinary beings continue thought after thought; every thought is deluded, and every thought is separated. Thus they fall into birth and death. But once samādhi has been realized, turn awareness around so that it comes first, remaining constantly aware and illuminating. “Turn around and topple the city of nirvāṇa; know that birth and death are originally empty”—this is its meaning. |
| 圣凡之别在觉不觉，既觉矣，又在前后，以觉在后者，觉得既已流转而去，然比不觉已高出十倍。觉在前者可以转一切，以三昧力不动也，故云：“不怕念起，只怕觉迟。”动中不动，方证三昧。三昧者，正定也。无复修净修禅修密，不证得三昧，不得名“修”。 | The difference between sages and ordinary beings lies in awareness or lack of awareness. Once there is awareness, the further issue is whether it comes before or after. When awareness comes afterward, one notices only after one has already been swept along; nevertheless, this is ten times superior to being unaware. When awareness comes first, one can transform everything, for through the power of samādhi one remains unmoved. Hence it is said: “Do not fear the arising of thoughts; fear only that awareness comes too late.” To be unmoved amid movement is to realize samādhi. Samādhi is right concentration. Whether one cultivates Pure Land, Chan, or Esoteric Buddhism, without realizing samādhi it cannot be called “cultivation.” |
| 众生本来不颠倒，本来清净圆明，无贪嗔痴诸习，本来不生不灭，本来不动。论其色身，本来八万四千余岁，本来端正相好，以念为食，不需地肥米谷之类。论其化身，本来妙用恒沙，能生万法。 | Sentient beings are originally not inverted. They are originally pure, perfect, and luminous, without habitual tendencies of greed, anger, ignorance, and the like. Originally, they neither arise nor cease and are originally unmoving. Speaking of their physical bodies, they originally live for more than eighty-four thousand years, are originally upright and adorned with fine marks, and feed on thoughts, needing neither fertile soil nor rice and grain. Speaking of their transformation bodies, they originally possess wondrous functioning as countless as the sands of the Ganges and can give rise to all phenomena. |
| 本来神通具足，徒因无明所覆，不知自心实相，稍贪著地肥，由食味多少，色貌随异，是非争胜之心，犹此而生。杀盗淫妄等业，次第而起。 | Originally, they are fully endowed with spiritual powers. Only because they are covered by ignorance do they fail to know the true reality of their own minds. Once they become slightly attached to fertile soil, their bodily appearance changes according to the quantity and flavor of their food, and from this arise minds that contend over right and wrong and struggle for superiority. Karma such as killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and false speech then arises in succession. |
| 种种族姓，种种方俗，种种业习，成种种众生趣，造种种五蕴身，千条万绪，约为八万四千烦恼门，而以八万四千波罗密以为对治。 | The various clans and surnames, local customs, and karmic habits form the various destinies of sentient beings and produce various bodies of the five aggregates. These countless complexities may be summarized as the eighty-four thousand gates of affliction, for which the eighty-four thousand pāramitās serve as remedies. |
| 先以六波罗密，般若为之主；以十波罗密，亦以般若为纲；至八万四千法门，亦以般若为宗，总名曰“修”。良由众生不识自家宝藏，佛以方便引度。 | Among the six pāramitās, prajñā is the master; among the ten pāramitās, prajñā is likewise the guiding principle. Even among the eighty-four thousand dharma gates, prajñā is the principle. All this is collectively called “cultivation.” Because sentient beings do not recognize their own treasure, the Buddha guides and liberates them through skillful means. |
| 喻如一富家子，自幼散失，久离父母，成为乞丐，数十年后，经父母资访实在，劝其回家，其子全然忘却，不敢承受，翻疑为恶意引诱。 | It is like the son of a wealthy family who becomes separated in childhood, remains long apart from his parents, and becomes a beggar. Decades later, after his parents have searched and verified that he is indeed their son, they urge him to return home. But the son has completely forgotten and does not dare accept; instead, he suspects that they are luring him with evil intentions. |
| 父母不得已，先雇为佣仆，引之入门，逐渐使之经营业务，日加青眼，再升为管事，更又引为亲近记室，然后徐徐说明：汝本我子，于某年散失，今始访到，恐汝疑怖，不得已而方便招来。 | Having no alternative, his parents first hire him as a servant and lead him through the gate. Gradually they have him manage the household affairs, show him increasing favor, promote him to steward, and then draw him into the position of a close secretary. Only afterward do they slowly explain: “You are originally our son. You were lost in a certain year, and only now have we found you. Fearing that you would be suspicious and afraid, we had no choice but to bring you here through skillful means.” |
| 今以全部家业付予，本是汝自家宝藏，毋庸再疑，其子乃痛哭拜受，如梦初醒。此佛出世一大事因缘也。世间唯一大事，乃在明心见性，开佛知见。学佛不难，难在信入。 | “Now we entrust the entire family estate to you. It is originally your own treasure; you need no longer doubt.” The son then weeps bitterly and accepts it with reverence, as if awakening from a dream. This is the one great cause and condition for which the Buddha appears in the world. The one great matter in this world is realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature, opening the Buddha’s knowledge and vision. Learning the Buddha’s teachings is not difficult; what is difficult is entering through faith. |
| 难信之法，即是自己信自己，本来是佛种，本来宝藏具足，因无明而忘失，自认为乞丐贫子。般若者，启其归元之路也。今日第一大事在寻病根，病根在惑业苦。首先当于“惑”字上痛下一针。 | The difficult-to-believe teaching is simply that one must have faith in oneself: one is originally a Buddha-seed, originally endowed with a complete treasure, but has forgotten it because of ignorance and regards oneself as a beggar or impoverished son. Prajñā opens the path of returning to one’s source. Today the first great task is to seek out the root of the illness; that root lies in delusion, karma, and suffering. First, one must drive the needle deeply into the word “delusion.” |
| 病有深浅，麻木亦有深浅，一针下去，感觉得快，其病即是易治。所云“八难”，第七难世智辨聪，为入道障碍之物。譬如玻璃上有尘垢，积厚至数寸，毫无光明，尚属易治。 | Illness has degrees of depth, and numbness likewise has degrees of depth. If, when the needle goes in, the sensation is keen, the illness is easy to treat. Among the so-called eight difficulties, the seventh is worldly intelligence and eloquence, which obstruct entry into the Way. It is like dust and grime on glass: even if accumulated several inches thick, so that no light comes through, it is still relatively easy to treat. |
| 如系油垢，蒙垢虽薄，最不易擦，越擦越昏，彼人误认为光明而自喜，即不肯前进，此五障中之所知障也。仍是惑根未除，业根不断，根本大烦恼。“疑”属第四，即无明诸惑之总根耳。 | But if it is oily grime, although the coating is thin, it is hardest to wipe away. The more it is wiped, the dimmer it becomes. Such a person mistakenly takes it for brightness and delights in it, refusing to advance. This is the obstruction of knowledge among the five obscurations. The root of delusion has still not been removed, the root of karma has not been cut off, and the fundamental great affliction remains. Doubt is the fourth [obscuration]; it is the overall root of all afflictions arising from ignorance. |
| 修行之目的地，人人皆知为佛，但有三个先决问题：一、为什么要学佛？二、拿什么来学佛？三、佛是什么东西？ | Everyone knows that the destination of practice is Buddhahood, but there are three preliminary questions: first, why should one study Buddhism? Second, with what does one study Buddhism? Third, what is a Buddha? |
| 现在诸君已明白学佛的宗旨了，不感痛苦，不肯回头。 | Now that you all understand the aim of studying Buddhism, if you do not feel suffering, you will not be willing to turn back. |
| 但是如何学法？即是以心制心，修到明白为止。 | But how should one practice the Dharma? It is to use the mind to discipline the mind, cultivating until one understands clearly. |
| 所谓“佛”者，不单是果佛，实是因佛，果佛与我实不相干。但不管果佛因佛，只是同一个觉心，我心若觉，等同诸佛。 | What is called “Buddha” is not merely the fruition Buddha; it is in fact the causal Buddha. The fruition Buddha has no real connection with us. Yet whether fruition Buddha or causal Buddha, it is only the same awakened mind. If my mind is awakened, it is equal to that of all Buddhas. |
| 简言之，以心修心，至圆满菩提为止，止于至善，总名“阿耨多罗三藐三菩提”，译言无上正等正觉，即是无生义。佛与菩萨比，是名无上；佛与二乘比，是名正等；与凡夫比，是名正觉。 | In brief, use the mind to cultivate the mind until perfect bodhi is attained; stop at the highest good. This is collectively called anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi, translated as unsurpassed, right, and equal awakening, which is the meaning of the unborn. In comparison with bodhisattvas, a Buddha is called unsurpassed; in comparison with the two vehicles, right and equal; and in comparison with ordinary beings, right awakening. |
| 实则无上正等正觉亦是假名，经云“无智亦无得”，无得之得，斯名正得。无上正等正觉，即是无生义。“阿”字居梵文字母之首，即生不可得义，正冠一切之不可得也。 | In fact, unsurpassed, right, and equal awakening is also a provisional name. The sūtra says, “There is no wisdom and also no attainment.” Attainment without attainment is called true attainment. Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi is the meaning of the unborn. The syllable a stands at the beginning of the Sanskrit alphabet and means that arising is unobtainable; it rightly heads all that is unobtainable. |
| 行者修行，功行过程不可不有。凡夫原可顿入如来地，虽属顿法，其义在悟，悟属顿悟，事属渐修。悟有三：一理悟，二事悟，三证悟。 | Practitioners must necessarily have a course of practice. Ordinary beings can in principle enter directly into the ground of the Tathāgata. Although this is a sudden teaching, its meaning lies in awakening: awakening is sudden awakening, while practical matters require gradual cultivation. There are three kinds of awakening: awakening at the level of principle, awakening in practical matters, and awakening through realization. |
| 理悟者，深信心、佛、众生，三无差别，此生决可见性成佛也；事悟者，自己切实修持，悟有所实得也；证悟者，自己虽有所得，若无师印可，则所证不实，自己亦欠把持，中途疑退，不能精进。 | Awakening at the level of principle means deeply believing that mind, Buddha, and sentient beings are without difference, and that in this very life one can certainly see one’s true nature and attain Buddhahood. Awakening in practical matters means practicing earnestly oneself and awakening to something genuinely attained. Awakening through realization means that, even if one has gained something oneself, without a teacher’s confirmation one’s realization is not genuine; one also lacks steadiness, may become doubtful and retreat midway, and cannot advance diligently. |
| 行者当知苦乐法，了悟心地不明，为世间第一苦事，警悟长此沉沦之非计，亟求出离。行者当求善知识，开示自己佛性，完全无缺，徒因无始无明所覆，冤枉堕落。虽欲奋发有为，一时不能自拔，则由无始积习深染。 | Practitioners should understand the Dharma of suffering and happiness, and realize that an unclear mind-ground is the foremost suffering in the world. Awakening to the fact that it is no solution to remain submerged like this, they should urgently seek liberation. Practitioners should seek a good spiritual friend, who can reveal that their own Buddha-nature is wholly complete and flawless, and that they have fallen unjustly only because it has been covered by beginningless ignorance. Although they wish to exert themselves and accomplish something, they cannot immediately free themselves because beginningless habitual tendencies have deeply permeated them. |
| 故一生病根，全在心地。行者当明修之目的地，在学成佛，重在自求，不是求佛，不是求神通，不是外求。而唯一法门，乃在心地上之参究。行者当知自力不足，求加以助缘，求之善知识，付予正法，依法虔修，至自在地。行者当知修时应止观并进，定慧交资，时时觉照，精进勿退，则庶不负佛之广大慈悲矣。 | Therefore, the root of all illness in one life lies entirely in the mind-ground. Practitioners should understand that the destination of cultivation is learning to become a Buddha, with emphasis on seeking it within oneself—not seeking the Buddha, not seeking spiritual powers, and not seeking outside oneself. The sole dharma gate lies in investigating the mind-ground. Practitioners should recognize the insufficiency of their own strength and seek supportive conditions from a good spiritual friend, who transmits the true Dharma. They should cultivate reverently according to the Dharma until they reach the ground of freedom. Practitioners should know that, in cultivation, calmness and insight must advance together, samādhi and wisdom must support each other, awareness and illumination must be maintained at every moment, and diligent effort must not retreat. Then perhaps they will not fail the Buddha’s great compassion. |
| 前立圣凡体同用异表，用资对照。知圣凡本来不二，只因众生不能如实知自心，妄执四大为自身相，六尘缘影为自心相，五蕴不空为生死之根。今以般若慧剑，斩断生死路，超登觉岸，惟在行者自决。如何斩断？曰：惟照见。 | Previously, a chart was set forth comparing the identical essence but differing functions of sages and ordinary beings, for purposes of reference. Know that sages and ordinary beings are originally nondual. It is only because sentient beings cannot know their own minds as they truly are that they mistakenly grasp the four elements as the marks of their own bodies, the reflected shadows of conditions among the six sense objects as the marks of their own minds, and the five aggregates as not empty—the root of birth and death. Now, with the wisdom sword of prajñā, cut off the road of birth and death and ascend beyond to the shore of awakening. This depends solely on the practitioner’s own resolve. How is it cut off? By seeing clearly. |
| 虽然佛法非徒自了，在积极度众，处处回向众生，冀同精进而说咒曰：渡过去，渡过去，彼岸渡过去，彼岸大皆渡过去，速成就无上菩提。此般若波罗蜜多咒之大意也。若夫十八界、十二因缘、四谛法等等，关于文字解义者，阅各家《心经》注释可耳。 | Yet the Buddha Dharma is not merely for one’s own liberation; it actively liberates sentient beings. Dedicate merit everywhere to sentient beings, hoping that they too will advance diligently, and recite the mantra: “Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond to the other shore; swiftly accomplish unsurpassed bodhi.” This is the general meaning of the Prajñāpāramitā mantra. As for the eighteen realms, the twelve links of dependent origination, the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths, and the like, those seeking explanations of the words may consult the various commentaries on the Heart Sūtra. |
| （本文载《狮子吼佛学月刊》第一卷第12期1936年6月） | (This article appeared in Lion’s Roar Buddhist Monthly, vol. 1, no. 12, June 1936.) |
