Blogger’s note
Chapter II: On Prajna
Chapter III: Questions and Answers
Chapter VI: On Repentance and Remorse
Chapter VII: On Mind-Capacity and Conditionality
Chapter VIII: On Sudden and Gradual
(Blogger’s note:Among Buddhist scriptures originally written in the Chinese language, the Platform Sutra no doubt enjoys especially high regard among the Chinese for various reasons. The blogger likes reading it for its succinctness in expounding some of the very profound Buddhist concepts, and for its practicality for laymen as well as members of the Buddhist sangha with respect to putting such concepts into practice. Nowadays, readers of its Chinese original have easy access to quite a number of versions of it in form of either hard copies or texts on the Internet. There are also a few versions of its English translations, but they do not appear to be really good translations both languagewise and contentwise speaking. Therefore, the blogger has decided to take up the task of translating the Sutra into English based on his understanding of the Chinese original. The task will be carried out chapter by chatper, with the hope that eventually he’ll be able to translate all chapters of the Sutra. It is hoped that by doing so those who are interested in knowing what the Platform Sutra is about yet cannot read Chinese and who happen to be visitors of this blog find one more channel to encounter the thoughts of Hui Neng via reading the blogger’s translation of the Platform Sutra. Readers are welcome to interpret what Hui Neng said on the basis of their own understanding of the text they are going to read. For Chinese readers’ reference, the Chinese original based on which the translation was done is provided at the end of the English translation. The blogger does not translate individual chapters of the Sutra in a sequential manner, and therefore readers may find certain chapters missing for the time being. The translation of individual chapters is published first on the main page of this blog. Therefore, for ease of reference, readers of this blog may choose to visit its main page to read the translation of individual chapters.)
Then the Master said again, “Learned Audience, everyone in the world already has this wisdom of bodhi prajnā. It is just because their minds are deluded that they cannot attain enlightenment on their own, and have to rely on great spiritual teachers to show and guide them in order to see the nature. You should know that the Buddha nature of the foolish and that of the wise are originally of no difference. It’s just that people’s extent of being deluded varies, and so some become foolish and some become wise. “Now I’ll explain to you the teaching of mahāprajnāpāramitā, so that you will all attain wisdom. Listen well to what I’ll be saying to you.
“Learned Audience, people of this world keep reciting prajnā, and yet they don’t understand the prajnā of self-nature. This is like talking about eating without satisfying hunger. Ultimately there won’t be any benefit if one merely talks about emptiness and yet never manages to see the nature. “Learned Audience, ‘mahāprajnāpāramitā’ is a Sanskrit word, which means ‘the great wisdom that ferries to the other shore.’ This requires to be done mentally, not by reciting it orally. It would be as illusive as dew or lightning if one merely recites it orally without practicing it in the mind. The mind and the mouth will correspond when one practices it mentally as well as reciting it orally. The root nature is buddha. There is no other buddha apart from this nature.
“What is ‘mahā’? Mahā means ‘great.’ Our mind’s scope of activities is as vast as the boundless space, to which concepts such as shapes, sizes, colours, directions, lengths, emotions, moral judgements, values and forms are all irrelevant. And all the buddhalands are identical to space. People’s wondrous nature is originally empty, unattainable by any dharma. So is emptiness of the self-nature.
“Learned Audience, don’t get attached to emptiness as soon as hearing me talk about emptiness. It’s most important not to become attached to emptiness. If you empty your mind and sit in quietude, you’ll become attached to neutral emptiness.
“Learned Audience, space can embrace within itself the forms and images of all things. Celestial bodies, forms of landscape, springs and streams, vegetations and forests, bad people and good people, bad dharmas and good dharmas, heavens, hells, oceans, mountains: all of these are in space. So is the emptiness of the nature of all people.
“Learned Audience, as self-nature can embody all dharmas, it is big. And all dharmas are embodied in all people’s nature. It’s like the mind, when seeing all people’s “goodness and badness”, remains like space, without grasping and rejecting, nor becoming tainted or attached”: this is called ‘big’, and is, therefore, called ‘mahā.’
“Learned Audience, a deluded person only talks, but a person with wisdom practices with his mind. Some deluded persons may claim themselves to be big by emptying their mind, sitting in quietude, and not thinking of anything. Given such false understanding, there is no point in talking to such kind of people.
“Learned Audience, our mind’s scope of activities is as vast as permeating all dharmadhātus, functioning to make clear distinctions and understanding of all things. It is prajna when the mind sees all as one and one as all, and can operate freely without obstruction.
“Learned Audience, don’t make it wrong: all prajnā wisdom comes from our self-nature, not from anywhere external. This is called ‘self-functioning of the true nature’. When one is true, all are true. Our minds work on big things, not in a trivial manner. Don’t just talk about emptiness all day and yet never practice it in your minds. This would be like an ordinary person who claims to be king. That’s never going to happen, and such a person can’t be a disciple of mine.
“Learned Audience, what is prajnā? Prajnā in Chinese is ‘zhihui‘ (智慧: wisdom). By prajna practice, it means keep practicing wisdom in all places, at all times, and in all moments of thought, without being foolish. A moment of foolishness means the cessation of prajnā, and a moment of wisdom means the generation of prajnā. Due to their foolishness and delusion, people do not see prajnā. Their mouths keep speaking of prajnā, but their minds are always foolish. They keep saying that they cultivate prajnā, and while they speak of emptiness every moment, they do not know what is true emptiness. Prajnā is without shape or characteristics. It is the mind of wisdom. With such an understanding is with the wisdom of prajnā.
“What is ‘pāramitā’? It is a foreign word. In Chinese, it is ‘dao bi an‘ (到彼岸: arriving at the other shore), meaning transcending samsara. Samara arises as a result of attachment to one’s sensory realms, like waves arising from water, and it is called ‘this shore’. Samsara won’t work if the water keeps running, and it be called the ‘other shore’. Therefore, it is said to be ‘pāramitā.’
“Learned Audience, when the deluded recite prajnā with their mouth, they do so with falsity and error. True nature is practicing prajnā in every moment of thought. Being enlightened to this Dharma constitutes the Dharma of prajnā, and cultivating this practice constitutes the practice of prajnā. If you don’t cultivate this, you are an ordinary person. At any moment when you cultivate this, you are equivalent to the Buddha at that moment.
“Learned Audience, ordinary people can be buddhas, and defilements can be bodhi. At a preceding moment, you are an ordinary person if your thoughts are deluded; at a later moment, you are a buddha if your thoughts are enlightened. At a preceding moment, you experience defilements if you are attached to your sensory realms; at a later moment, you experience bodhi if you transcend your sensory realms.
“Learned Audience, ‘mahāprajnāpāramitā’ is the most honored, the supreme, and the primary. It is non-abiding, non-going, and non-coming, from which all buddhas of the three periods of time emerge. One should use great wisdom to destroy the defilements and afflictions of the five skandhas. Those who cultivate in this way will definitely attain buddhahood and transform the three poisons into morality, meditation, and wisdom.
“Learned Audience, in this teaching of mine, one prajnā gives rise to eighty-four thousand wisdoms. Why so? Because we have eighty-four thousand afflictions. Once our afflictions are removed, our wisdom, without departing from our self-nature, would constantly manifest itself. Being enlightened to this Dharma means being without thought, without recollection, without attachment, not activating the false and deceptive, contemplating all dharmas with wisdom and self-suchness nature and at the same time without grasping or rejecting. This is seeing the nature and attaining buddhahood.
“Learned Audience, if we wish to enter into the profound dharmadhātu and the samādhi of prajnā, we must cultivate the practice of prajnā. If we recite the Diamond Sutra, we will see our nature. We should know that the merits of this sutra are immeasurable and unlimited. I can’t explain that fully here, but they are clearly praised in the sutra. This teaching is the Supreme Vehicle, which is preached to those with great wisdom and superior mental faculties. Doubts will generate within those with inferior mental faculties and small wisdom when they hear it. Why? Because it is like rain generated by the sky dragon pouring down onto Jambudvīpa, where all the cities, towns, and villages are washed away like floating leaves. But if the rain falls on the ocean, the ocean would neither increase nor decrease. Similarly, people of the Mahayana and Supreme Vehicles will have their mind open, enlightened, and doubts-removed upon hearing the Diamond Sutra. That’s because there is the wisdom of prajnā in our root nature itself, and such people constantly contemplate with wisdom, without relying on the written word. It’s like rainwater, which does not derive from heaven but instead is engendered by the dragon, and it enriches all living sentient beings and plants, i.e. all those with or without sentience. It’s also like hundreds of streams flowing into the ocean and becoming one. The wisdom of prajnā, which is the root nature of sentient beings, is also like this.
“Learned Audience, what’s it like when those with inferior mental faculties hear this teaching of sudden enlightenment? Let’s take plants for example. Those plants that have shallow roots will all collapse and can’t grow when they are beset by heavy rain. Similarly, people with inferior mental faculties are also like this. Why don’t they become enlightened upon hearing the Dharma, despite the fact that they originally possess the wisdom of prajnā exactly like those with superior mental faculties? The reason is that they are so blocked by false views and so affected by defilements that it’s like large clouds blocking the sun, and unless a wind blows them away, there won’t be any sunshine. Yet the wisdom of prajnā in all sentient beings does not differ in size. What differs is the extent of delusion and enlightenment in their own minds. There are people who are unenlightened to their self-nature and who, with a deluded mind, cultivate and seek the buddha from without. These are those with inferior mental faculties. If one understands the teaching of sudden enlightenment and doesn’t stick to cultivating from without but instead constantly activates correct views from within one’s own mind so that it’s never stained with defilements and afflictions, then that’s seeing the nature.
“Learned Audience, our mind should abide neither within nor without and instead be free in its movements without obstructions and rid of attachment. If we can cultivate this practice, then we are no different from practicing the Prajnā Sutra.
“Learned Audience, all sutras, their words, Mahayana, Hinayana, and the twelve divisions of the canon are there because of people, and they could not have been established if not for the wisdom nature. Without people of the world, all dharmas would have been nonexistent in the first place. Therefore, we know that all dharmas originally came about from people. All sutras and texts exist because they are preached by people. Among them, there are the foolish ones and the wise ones. The foolish ones make up the unimportant persons, while the wise ones make up those of importance. The foolish seek answers from the wise, and the wise preach the Dharma to the foolish. Once a foolish person suddenly becomes enlightened, he is no different from a wise person.
“Learned Audience, when we are unenlightened, we see all buddhas as sentient beings, and when we are enlightened, even just for a single moment, we see sentient beings as buddhas. Yet while we know that all dharmas are within our own mind, why can’t we right away see the root nature of suchness from within our own minds? The Sutra of the Bodhisattva Precepts says, ‘Within the self, its nature is originally clear and pure. As soon as we can see our nature with our own mind, we will all attain buddhahood’. And the Vimalakīrti Sutra says, ‘He suddenly attained realization and retrieved his root mind’.
“Learned Audience, when I was at Venerable Hongren’s place, once when I heard him speak I became enlightened and saw the root nature of suchness right away. Therefore, I’m now disseminating this teaching so that all path-seekers may become suddenly enlightened with bodhi and see their root nature themselves by contemplating their mind. Anyone who doesn’t become enlightened by himself would then need to seek a great spiritual master who understands the Dharma of the Supreme Vehicle to show him directly the right path, because the guidance, so to speak, of the spiritual master, with all his great background, will enable the unenlightened to see the nature, as all good dharmas get activated by great spiritual masters. All buddhas of the three periods of time and the twelve divisions of the canon are originally immanent within the nature of people, but if we cannot become enlightened on our own, we must seek help from a spiritual master in order to see it. On the other hand, anyone who can become enlightened on his own would not need any external help, and there won’t be any benefit if he insists on getting help from a spiritual master. Why so? Because his mind is capable of attaining enlightenment on its own. If false and deluded thoughts arise in our mind, then we won’t be saved even if there is guidance from some external spiritual master. If correct and true contemplation with prajnā arise in our mind, then in a single instant our deluded thoughts will all cease. If we recognize our self-nature, we will attain buddhahood with a single experience of enlightenment.
“Learned Audience, if we can contemplate with wisdom thoroughly within and without, then our consciousness will originate from our own mind. If our consciousness can originate from our own mind, then we will attain our own liberation. If we attain liberation, then that means attaining the samādhi of prajnā, which means ‘no-thought’. What is ‘no-thought’? ‘No-thought’ means that the mind doesn’t get stained or attached when seeing all dharmas, regardless of where it applies itself to. So, the samādhi of prajnā and autonomous liberation, namely, the practice of ‘No-thought’, is simply purifying our own mind to enable our six consciousnesses to emerge from our six sensory gates without staining or complicating the six gunas (translator’s note: qualities produced by the objects and organs of sense) and to arise and cease freely without impediment. If, for the sake of eradicating any thoughts, we do not think of anything, we fall into an extreme view, and this is bondage within the Dharma. Learned Audience, those who are enlightened to the teaching of no-thought understand all teachings; those who are enlightened to the teaching of no-thought see the realms of all buddhas; and those who are enlightened to the teaching of no-thought attains the stage of buddhahood.
“Learned Audience, anyone in our future generations who attains this teaching of mine will become a sage without regressing if he introduces this teaching of sudden enlightenment to those sharing with him the same views and same practice, and if he vows to uphold this teaching and to serve the Buddha as always. But such a person must transmit what has been silently transmitted to him from his master, and must not obscure the true Dharma. He must not transmit the teaching to those who do not share with him the same views and the same practice, so as not to do disservice to his predecessors, as this would be ultimately of no benefit to everyone. I said so out of the fear that foolish people may, out of misunderstanding, revile this teaching and thus severe their own seeds of buddhahood for as long as a hundred kalpas and a thousand lives.
“Learned Audience, I have here a formless verse for you. Each of you, whether you’re a laity or a monk, should listen carefully and practice in accordance with it. You won’t benefit from my words if you merely remember them and yet don’t practice them on your own. Now listen to my verse:
Penetrating expositions and intuitive knowledge of the minds
Are like the sun located in space.
I transmit only the nature-seeing Dharma,
which emerges in the world to destroy false teachings.
The Dharma is not divided into sudden or gradual,
But people are divided into those who are quick or slow in attaining enlightenment or remaining deluded;
It is only this nature-seeing teaching
That foolish people cannot comprehend.
Although there are myriads of teachings,
Eventually the reasonable one all revert to one;
Within the dark house of defilements,
The sun of wisdom is constantly needed.
While false views bring about defilements,
Right views eliminate them;
With neither false nor right views in operation,
The mind attains purity and eventually nirvana.
Bodhi is what originally our self-nature is,
Which becomes deluded when the mind is aroused;
Even though it may be amongst delusion, a pure mind
Would be just right and free from the three hindrances.
If people of this world cultivate the Way,
Nothing will hinder their practice;
Constantly seeing one’s own faults,
Corresponds well to the Way.
Forms of various categories have their own ways,
Which do not hinder or afflict each other;
If one deviates from the Way when seeking the Way,
One will never see the Way.
If one passes one’s life running hither and thither,
In the end one will be annoyed with oneself;
People desire to see the true Way,
Yet acting correct is the Way.
A person without aspiration for the Way,
Will practice in the dark and never see the Way;
If one is a to be a true cultivator of the Way,
One will not see the transgressions of the world.
In seeing other people’s faults,
We ourselves then commit a fault;
In considering others but not ourselves in fault,
Ourselves are automatically in fault.
As long as we eliminate any inclination to see faults,
Defilements will then be smashed, removed and destroyed;
With neither hatred nor graving bothering our mind,
We can rest in peace with both legs stretch out.
If we intend to convert others,
We need to have our expedient means;
By not arousing doubts in them,
Self-nature will then manifest.
The Dharma is in this world,
Thus enlightenment cannot be attained away from the world;
To seek bodhi elsewhere away from the world,
Is like searching for the horn of a rabbit.
The so-called “correct view” calls for withdrawal from the world,
Seeing those choosing to remain in the world false views;
Only when both false and “correct” views are completely destroyed,
The nature will be like bodhi.
Sudden teaching this verse is,
So it is called the great Dharma ferry;
In delusion, one listens to the sutras for kalpas,
To attain enlightenment it takes merely an instant.’”
The Master also said, “Now at this Dafan Monastery I have spoken on this teaching of sudden enlightenmet. I hope that all sentient beings throughout the dharmadhātu will, upon hearing my words, see the nature and attain buddhahood.”
Upon hearing what the Master said, Prefect Wei and everyone else all experienced enlightenment. Together they bowed and praised, “How wonderful! None would have anticipated that a buddha would appear in the southern part of China!”
Chapter III. Questions and Answers
One day, Prefect Wei (Translator’s note: “Wei” is a Chinese surname. “Prefect” is the title of a local official.) organised a vegetarian meal gathering for the Master. When the meal was over, Prefect Wei requested the Master to mount the pulpit, and he, together with the officials, scholars, and commoners, bowed reverently to the Master again.
“I have heard the profound Dharma preaching of your Holiness. Now there are a few doubts in me that I hope your Holiness would exercise your great compassion to clear them up for me.” Prefect Wei asked the Master.
“Feel free to voice any doubts. I’ll explain them to you,” the Master said.
“Isn’t what your Holiness preached also principles taught by Master Bodhidharma?” Mr Wei said.
“Yes,” replied the Master.
“I’ve heard that when Bodhidharma first met the Wu Emperor of Liang, the Emperor asked him, ‘For all my life I’ve built temples, allowed new monks to be ordained, given alms, and organized meals for monks. So what merits and virtues have I accumulated?’ and Bodhidharma replied, ‘No merit or virtue at all.’ I cannot understand the reason behind such an answer. Hope that your Holiness could explain it for me.” said Prefect Wei.
“Indeed there was no merit or virtue,” replied the Master. “Don’t doubt the words of our late sage. The Wu Emperor did not have a right mind, and did not understand the true Dharma. Building temples, allowing new monks to be ordained, giving alms and organizing meals for monks should be seen as seeking good fortune, which cannot be taken for merits and virtues. Merits and virtues are within the Dharmakaya and not in practicing for attaining good fortune.
“Realizing our true nature is gong (merit), and equality is de (virtue),” the Master continued. “Merits and virtues are acquired when we constantly see our true nature with no impediment of thoughts and when our mind is in the true state that functions in a sublime manner. It’s gong when we maintain a modest mind; it’s de when we behave in accordance with propriety. It’s gong when our self-nature manifests all phenomena, and it’s de when the mind is free from idle thoughts. It’s gong when one does not go astray from one’s true nature, and it’s de when the mind is not polluted when being used. In seeking the Dharmakaya of merits and virtues, one will achieve genuine merits and virtues if one seeks it this way. A person who practices to accumulate merits and virtues has a modest mind and treats others with respect on all occasions. It’s no gong when one has the habit of looking down upon others and constantly adheres to the notion of self. It’s no de when one’s true nature is false and illusory. Learned audience! It’s gong when our mental activity works without interruption, and it’s de when our mind functions in a straightforward manner. It’s gong when we do our own practice with our true nature, and it’s de when we do our own practice with our body. Learned Audience, merits and virtues are to be sought within our true nature, and not something to be sought from giving or almsgiving. These are the differences between felicities and merits and virtues. It’s the Wu Emperor who didn’t know the truth, not that our Patriarch was wrong.”
Prefect Wei then asked the next question, “I often see monks and laymen recite the name of Amitabha Buddha with the hope of being born in the West. (Translator’s note: The term “the West” in the English translation of Platform Sutra does not mean the Western world including Europe and America as it is used in the English language. It is a literal translation of the phrase “西方”, which Prefect Wei refers to the Pure Land of Utmost Bliss, a Buddhaland under the governance of the Amitabha Buddha and located somewhere in the western direction. It is generally taken by Buddhists, especially those of the Pure Land School of Mahayana Buddhism, as a place where one should strive to migrate to after death. In the forthcoming translation, I will keep the literal translation “the West”. Similarly, in Hui Neng’s response to this question, when the term “the East” appears, it refers to the secular world of all human beings, rather than the oriental portion of the world as the phrase is normally used in the English language.) Will your Holiness please tell me whether it’s possible to be born there? I hope you could clear up my doubts,” Prefect Wei asked again.
“Listen carefully to what I say to you, Sir,” the Master said. “When the Buddha was in Savatthi, he once talked about how to get to the West. The sutras state clearly that the West is not far from where we are. The distance is about a hundred thousand and eighty li’s. (Translators’ note: “li” is a Chinese unit of distance, equivalent to approximately half a kilometre.) That’s meant for people who are tainted with the ten evils (Translators’ note: They are: killing, stealing, adultery, lying, double-tongue, coarse language, filthy language, covetousness, anger and perverted views) and the eight improper practices (Translator’s note: as opposed to the proper practices constituting the Noble Eightfold Path). It’s far for some because they have inferior mental faculties, and near for some because they have superior wisdom. While the Dharma is unique, there are two kinds of people, who differ in terms of how far they are deluded or enlightened. The deluded people recite the name of the Buddha for the sake of being reborn in the West, while the enlightened ones works on purifying their own mind. Hence the Buddha’s remark: When one’s mind is pure, his Buddhaland is pure too.
“Even though you live in the East, you are sinless as long as your mind is pure. Yet even if you lived in the West, you are sinful if you have an impure mind. If a person living in the East can, by reciting the name of Amitabha Buddha, still seek to be reborn in the West after committing sins, then where can a person living in the West, by doing so, seek to reborn in after committing sins? The ordinary and ignorant people, unaware of the true nature nor the Pure Land within themselves, wish to be born in the East or the West, whereas to the enlightened ones, everywhere is the same. That’s why the Buddha said that one should be constantly content and happy regardless of where one happens to be. If your mind is free from evil, you’re not far from the West; if your mind is tainted with vice, it will be hard for you to be reborn in the West even if you recite the name of Amitabha Buddha.
“So now I’d like to urge you, my Learned Audience: first, do away with the ten evils, and you would have travelled towards the West for as far as a hundred thousand li’s. Then, do away with the eight improper practices, and you would have moved another eight thousand miles li’s. If you see true nature in every of your thoughts and constantly behave in a straightforward manner, you would reach the West and see the Amitabha Buddha in an instant.
“Well, if you do practise the ten good deeds, why would you need to be reborn in another place? On the other hand, if you do not get rid of the ‘ten evils’ in your mind, which Buddha would come to accept you to the Pure Land? If you understand the Non-arising Sudden-enlightenment doctrine, it would take you only an instant to see the West. If you do not understand it and merely recite the name of Amitabha Buddha, it’ll just be too far for you to be there.”
“Now, if I were to move the West to here in an instant, so that you can see it right in front of you, would you be willing to see it?” the Master asked the crowd.
“If we could see the Pure Land here, why would we need to desire to be reborn there any more? We hope that your Holiness would kindly show the West here so that everyone can see it,” replied the crowd in prostration.
“Everyone,” the Master said, “our physical body is a city. Our eyes, ears, nose and tongue are the gates. Externally, there are five gates. Internally, there is the gate of consciousness. The mind is the ground, and our true nature is the Lord. The Lord dwells in the mind ground. When the true nature is around, the Lord is around. When the true nature is gone, there will no longer be the Lord. Our body and our mind will exist as long as the true nature is there, and our body and mind will decay as soon as the true nature is gone. We seek the attainment of Buddhahood by working within our true nature, not from anywhere external to our body. A person with deluded true nature is an ordinary being. A person with enlightened true nature is a buddha. With loving-kindness and compassion, one becomes Avalokitesvara. With sympathetic joy and equanimity, one becomes Mahāsthāmaprāpta. Being pure is Sakyamuni, and being straightforward is Amitabha. Distinction between others and self is like Mount Sumeru, whereas desires are like the ocean. Klesas are like waves, and the poisons are like evil dragons. Falsehood is like ghosts, and wearisome defilements are like creatures in the ocean. Greed and hatred are like hell, and delusions are like beasts.
“Learned Audience, constantly practice the ten good deeds, and you’ll reach heaven. Get rid of the distinction between others and self, and Mount Sumeru will collapse. Discard desires, and the ocean will dry up. Eliminate klesas, and waves will disappear. Eradicate poisons, and evil sea creatures will die out.
“If we resort to enlightening our true nature Tatagatha on the mind ground and enable it to shine brightly and illuminate externally the six gates with purity, it can destroy the heavens of the six desires. When we reflect inwards with our true nature, it eliminates the three poisons immediately. All sins that would lead us to the hells will be eradicated in an instant, and we’ll be as enlightened within and without as we are in the West. How would we reach there if we do not practice this way?”
The crowd, after hearing what the Master had said, each saw his true nature clearly. They all made obeisance to him and expressed their praise by chanting, “May all sentient beings of this phenomena world who have heard this sermon understand it right away.”
“Learned Audience,” the Master said, “those who wish to practice the Dharma may also do so at home. It isn’t necessary for them to stay in monasteries. Those who practice at home are like natives of the East with a kind heart, and those who do not practice despite being in monasteries are like native of the West with a wicked mind. A person with a pure and clean mind means one whose true nature is that of the West”.
Prefect Wei asked again, “How should we practice at home? Will you please teach us?” “I will offer you a ‘formless’ gatha,” the Master replied. “If you follow it in your practice, you will always be in the same place as me. If you do not follow it in your practice, how will it benefit you in your path even if you have left home with your hair cut? The verse reads:
If one maintains a fair mind, observation of precepts becomes a non-issue; if one behaves in a straightforward manner, there is no need to practice Dhyana.
Feeling grateful, one will serve one’s parents filially; feeling the need to uphold righteousness, the senior and the junior will care about each other.
Willing to yield brings about harmony among the superior and the inferior; willing to tolerate ensures absence of argument in the midst of hostility.
If a flame can be made by persistently drilling a log, then red lotus will come out from sludge.
That which has a bitter taste must be is good medicine; that which sounds unpleasant to hear is definitely loyal advice.
By rectifying mistakes, we will grow wise; by defending faults, we have an unvirtuous mind.
It’s good we practice altruism in daily life, but achieving buddhahood is not by giving away money as charity.
Seek bodhi within our own mind, and why take the trouble of looking for the profundity from without?
Practice according to this after hearing, and the West will be right in front of you.
“Learned Audience,” the Master added, “to realize our true nature and attain buddhahood directly, we must constantly practice according to this gatha. Time does not wait for anyone. Let’s dismiss now, and I’m going back to Cao Xi. If you have any questions, go there to ask me.”
At that juncture Prefect Wei, the government officials and the followers at the assembly all attained their own enlightenment, with a determination to faithfully accept the teaching and put it into practice.
Chapter VI: On Repentance and Remorse
Once the Master saw that many gentry scholars and commoners from the Guangzhou and Shaozhou areas had gathered at the monastery to hear the Dharma, so he ascended the pulpit and said to the crowd, “Come, Learned Audience. It all begins with our self-nature. It won’t be a waste for you to come here, if at all times and at every moment of thought you purify your mind, cultivate and practice for yourselves, see your own dharmakāya, see the buddha within your mind, attain your own salvation and take your own precepts by ourselves. That we’re all interconnected can be seen from the fact that we all gather here from afar. Now everyone may sit in the Indian fashion (Translator’s note: right knee on the ground, left knee up), and I’ll transmit to you first the Five Dharmakāya Incenses of the self-nature, and then the Formless Repentance and Remorse.”
The crowd all sat down.The master said, “First is the Precepts Incense. It means having no wrongdoing, no evil, no jealousy, no greed, no anger and no harm within our own mind. This is called the Precepts Incense.
“Second is the Meditation Incense. It means keeping our mind unperturbed upon seeing the realms and characteristics of the various good and evil. This is called the Meditation Incense.
“Third is the Wisdom Incense. It refers to one’s mind being without hindrance and constantly contemplating on one’s self nature with wisdom, without committing various evils. Although one cultivates the various good deeds, one’s mind does not become attached. One respects one’s superiors and be considerate to our inferiors, sympathetic for the destitute and the poor. This is called Wisdom Incense.
“Fourth is the Liberation Incense. It means that our mind clings to nothing and makes no judgment on good and evil and thus is in a free state without hindrance. This is called the Liberation Incense.
“Fifth is the Liberated-understanding Incense. Now that our mind doesn’t cling to good or evil, we should avoid becoming immersed in emptiness and attached to tranquility. Rather, we should become knowledgeable by studying extensively, so that we recognize our own mind and understand various Buddhist doctrines. We would then become congenial to others when dealing with them, unaware of the distinction between self and other, thus proceeding to bodhi and to our unchanging true nature. This is called the Liberated-understanding Incense.
“Learned Audience, these incenses fumigates each of us from within, so let’s not seek them from without. Now I’ll transmit to you the Formless Repentance and Remorse for eradicating transgressions in the time of past, current and future lives and for purifying karmas of deeds, speech and thoughts. Learned Audience, please say after me the following together:
“‘May we the disciples not be tainted by foolishness and delusion in all our past, current and future thoughts. We repent of sins of all past bad karma due to foolishness and delusion. May all such sins be eradicated at once and never arise again.
“‘May we the disciples not be tainted by arrogance and dishonesty in all our past, current and future thoughts. We repent of sins of all past bad karma due to arrogance and dishonesty. May all such sins be eradicated at once and never arise again.
“‘May we the disciples not be tainted by grudge and jealousy in all our past, current and future thoughts. We repent of sins of all past bad karma due to grudge and jealousy. May all such sins be eradicated at once and never arise again.’
“Learned Audience, such are the Formless Repentance and Remorse. So what does it mean by ‘to repent’ (chan) and ‘to have remorse’ (hui)? To repent is to repent of one’s past faults, i.e. to repent of all bad karma, namely, all sins of foolishness, delusion, arrogance, dishonesty, grudge and jealousy, so that they will never arise again. That’s what ‘to repent’ means. To have remorse is to have remorse for future misdeeds, willing that from now on one has become enlightened to the extent of not committing any bad karma, namely, all sins of foolishness, delusion, arrogance, dishonesty, grudge and jealousy. That’s what is ‘to have remorse’ means. Therefore, together they are called ‘repentance and remorse (chanhui). Ordinary people, out of foolishness and delusion, only repent of their past faults but fail to have remorse for their future misdeeds. Because they have no such remorse, they commit future misdeeds while their past faults are yet to eradicate. So how can one call it repentance and remorse if future misdeeds arise at the time when past faults are yet to be eradicated?
“Learned Audience, now that we have done the repentance and remorse, let’s take the Four Grand Vows. Listen carefully: I vow to ferry the innumerable number of sentient beings of my mind to enlightenment; I vow to eradicate the limitless defilements in my mind; I vow to learn the inexhaustible teaching of my self-nature; I vow to attain the supreme buddhahood of my self-nature.
“Learned Audience, didn’t you all say that you vow to ferry the innumerable number of sentient beings to enlightenment? But how? Well, I’m not the one to do the ferrying. Learned Audience, the sentient beings of our mind refer to our deluded mind, our arrogant mind, our unkind mind, our jealous mind, our wicked mind, and the like. Each of them needs to undergo the self-ferrying of its self-nature. This is called genuine ferrying. What does it mean by “undergoing the self-ferrying of its self-nature”? It is to ferry the sentient beings of wrong views, defilements and delusions in our mind with the right views. Equipped with the right views, the sentient beings of foolishness and delusion will each ferry on its own by destroying itself with prajna wisdom. So by ferrying wrong with right, delusion with enlightenment, foolishness with wisdom, evil with good, it is then genuine ferrying.
“And, by vowing to eradicate the limitless defilements, it means removing our illusive and unreliable thoughts with the prajna wisdom of our self-nature.
“And, by vowing to learn the inexhaustible teaching, it means the need of seeing the nature on our own and constantly practicing the authentic Dharma. We can call that “true learning”.
“And, by vowing to attain the supreme buddhahood, it means constantly practicing the true and correct with a humble mind, transcending delusion and enlightenment, constantly arousing prajna, and eradicating the true and the false. By doing so, one sees the buddha-nature immediately. In other words, one attains buddhahood. The important way to achieve this vow is to be constantly mindful of cultivation and practicing.
“Learned Audience, now that we have taken the Four Grand Vows, I’ll transmit the Formless Precept of Triple Refuge. Take refuge in enlightenment, which is the most-honored among men and devas (Translator’s note: literally: two-foot-most honored, which means a buddha in human form. Here it is translated into “the most-honored among men and devas” because men and devas are two-footed). Take refuge in orthodoxy, which is most useful in getting rid of desire. Take refuge in purity, which is the noblest quality among mankind. From now on, be a disciple of enlightenment, and don’t take refuge in the heretical paths any more. Instead, constantly ascertain yourselves with the three gems of self-nature. I exhort you, Learned Audience, to take refuge in the three gems of self-nature: the Buddha, which stands for enlightenment, the Dharma, which stands for orthodoxy, and the Sangha, which stands for purity.
“With our own mind taking refuge in enlightenment, it won’t generate wickedness and delusion. We’ll be content, and have little desire, and so can stay away from wealth and lust. This is called the most-honored among men and devas.
“With our own mind taking refuge in orthodoxy, it won’t have any wrong views in all its thoughts. Without wrong views, there will be no egotism, arrogance, greed or attachment. This is called the most useful in getting rid of desire.
“With our own mind taking refuge in purity, it will naturally be immune from all wearisome sense-objects, craving and desire. This is called the noblest quality among mankind.
“Only by cultivating this practice is one taking refuge on one’s own. Ordinary people take the Precept of Triple Refuge from morning to night without understanding this. When they say ‘take refuge in the Buddha’, do they know where the Buddha is? If they don’t see the Buddha, how can they take refuge in him? In that case what they say would become false words.
Learned Audience, let’s each examine this for ourselves and not make it wrong. The sutras clearly say that one should take refuge in the Buddha within oneself. They do not say take refuge in some other buddha. There’s nowhere to rely on if one doesn’t take refuge in the Buddha within oneself. Now that you’re self-enlightened, each of you should take refuge in the three gems within your own mind, which means regulating your mind and nature from within, and respecting others from without.
“Learned Audience, now that we have taken refuge in the three gems within us, let each of us focus our mind, and I’ll explain to you what is meant by the “Three-kaya body of the Buddha of self-nature”, so as to enable you to see the three bodies of the Buddha and understand what self-enlightenment and self-nature are. Now everyone please say after me, ‘With my physical body, I take refuge in the clear and pure dharmakāya Buddha; with my physical body, I take refuge in the perfect and complete sambhogakāya Buddha; with my physical body, I take refuge in the billions of nirmānakāya buddhas.’
“Learned Audience, our physical body is just a house for abode, and there is no way that we can take refuge in it. Universal to everyone in the world, the trikaya buddhas have always been within our self-nature. It is only because when our mind becomes deluded we do not see our inner nature, and we seek the trikaya Tathāgata from without instead of seeing it from within. Please listen to what I’ll be saying, which will enable you to see that within your self-nature there are the trikaya buddhas. These trikaya buddhas are generated from self-nature, not attained from the external.
“What is clear and pure dharmakāya buddha? Originally, people’s nature is clear and pure, and the myriad of dharmas are generated from the self-nature. Evil deeds are generated when one thinks of all the evil things, and good deeds are generated when one thinks of all the good things. In this sense, in self-nature, the myriad of dharmas are constantly as clear and pure as the sky, and as bright as the Sun and the Moon, only that they are covered by floating clouds, thus resulting in a situation in which the sky is bright on its upper part and dark on its lower part. When suddenly there is wind and the clouds get blown away, then both the lower and the upper parts of the sky become bright, and everything manifests itself. People’s nature floats and wanders constantly, like clouds in the sky. Learned Audience, understanding is like the Sun, and wisdom is like the Moon. Understanding and wisdom are always bright, but they lose their brightness when we become attached externally to sensory realms, and our self nature becomes covered by the floating clouds of wrong thoughts. When we see a spiritual master and hear the true Dharma from him, and subsequently eradicate our delusion and falsity within ourselves and become clear both within and without, then the myriad dharmas within our self-nature will manifest. The same occurs to those who see the nature. This is called the clear and pure dharmakāya buddha.
“Learned Audience, taking refuge in the true buddha occurs when we take refuge in our self-nature from within. Taking refuge from within means eradicating states of mind such as wickedness, jealousy, flattering, selfishness, deceit, falsehood, snobbishness, arrogance, pride and all unwholesome deeds that exist in our self-nature. Taking refuge means to be constantly aware of our faults, and never speak of other people’s good or bad points. We should be constantly humble and respectful to everyone, in which case we will see the nature penetratingly without any hindrance.
“What is perfect and complete sambhogakāya? While a single lamp can end darkness that has been there for a long, long time, a moment of wisdom can eliminate foolishness that has existed for even a longer time. Let’s not think back, as all that has happened cannot be reverted. By constantly thinking ahead and maintaining all our thoughts perfect and clear, we’ll naturally see our self-nature. While good and evil are different, there is no duality in our root nature. Non-dualistic nature is called solid nature, which, unstained with good or evil, is the perfect and complete sambhogakāya. When a single thought of evil arises in our self-nature, numerous kalpas of good causes get eradicated. When a single thought of goodness arises in our self-nature, sins as plenty as sands of the Ganges River get eliminated and supreme bodhi is attained. Sambhogakāya is when we see our self without losing the fundamental thought.
“What are the billions of nirmānakāya? Our nature remains void as long as we dwell no thought on the dharmas. Once we do so, transformation takes place. When we dwell our mind on evil things, hell arises. When we dwell our mind on good things, heaven arises. Dragons and snakes are transformation of venomous hatred, and bodhisattvas are personifications of compassion. Wisdom crystallizes into the upper realms, and foolishness brings about the lower realms. Self-nature can have numerous transformations, and yet the deluded fail to realize this. Their thoughts keep activating wickedness and they acts keep doing evil. Despite so, as soon as a thought of goodness arises in them, wisdom is generated. This is called the nirmānakāya buddha of the self-nature.
“Learned Audience, the dharmakāya is intrinsically within us. We are the sambhogakāya buddha if we see our own self-nature in every moment of thought. And by dwelling our mind on the sambhogakāya, the nirmānakāya Buddha arises. Genuine refuge-taking occurs when we attain enlightenment on our own and practice the merits of self-nature. Our skin and flesh constitute the physical body, which is merely a house for abode, and there is no way that we can take refuge in it. But we get to know the Buddha of self-nature as soon as we understand the three bodies of the self-nature. Here I have a formless verse. If you can recite and practice it, the delusions and sins that you have accumulated over millions of kalpas will be eradicated at once. The verse goes:
Deluded people accumulate merits but do not practice the Path, Saying that merit-accumulating is the Path; While alms giving and offering bring about infinite merits, the ultimate source of sins is the three poisons within our mind.
‘They want to eradicate their sins through accumulating merits, Yet the sins will still be there in future lives despite obtaining merits; Why not eradicate the cause of sins within the mind, by really repenting and having remorse within the self-nature?
‘He who suddenly realizes the Mahayana teaching and truly repents, Become sinless immediately when removing wickedness and doing the right things; He who studies the Path constantly contemplates on his self-nature, Will immediately be in the same group as various buddhas.
‘Our patriarchs have transmitted only this sudden teaching, May all of you see the one-ness of the nature; If you came to seek the dharmakāya, Transcend and wash away the characteristics of the dharmas within your mind.
‘Work hard to see the nature yourselves and relax not, And bear in mind that death may come to put an abrupt end to life; He who desires to understand the Mahayana teaching and to see the nature, Should reverently hold his palms together and earnestly seek so.’”
The master then concluded, “Learned Audience, take this verse away, recite it and practice in accordance with it. If you see the nature through hearing these words, then it’ll be like you’re beside me all the time even though you are far away from me. If you do not become enlightened through these words, then it’ll be like we’re miles apart even if we are physically face to face, and in that case, why bother to come from afar? Now take care, and goodbye.”
After hearing the teaching, everyone became enlightened and joyfully undertook the practice.
(Translated from Chinese original of 六祖壇經 by Justin Lam)
After attaining the Dharma in Huangmei, the Master returned to the Cao Hou village of Shao Zhou, where no one knew him. At the time Liu Zhilue, a Confucian scholar, treated him with great respect. Zhilue had an aunt who was a Buddhist nun. Her name was Wu Jin Cang. She frequently recited the Mahaparinirvana Sutra. The Master immediately comprehended its profound meaning and explained it to her just by listening to the reciting for a short time. The nun then held the scroll and asked about a few characters.
“I don’t know the characters. If you want to ask about the meaning, please do so,” said the Master.
“If you don’t know even the characters, how would you be able to tell the meaning?” said the nun.
“The sublime meaning of the Buddhas has nothing to do with written texts,” said the Master.
The reply amazed the nun, and she spread her words among all old wise men in the village, saying, “Here is someone who has found the Way. We’d better ask him for his consent to be offered food and dwelling”. Many people then rushed to pay the Master respect, including the residents of the village and Cao Shuliang, the great-great grandson of the Marquis Wu of the Wei Dynasty.
At the time, the ancient Baolin monastery had been abandoned due to wars at the end of the Sui Dynasty. People in the region rebuilt the halls and dwellings on its original base and they invited the Master to reside in it. Very soon the monastery became a revered place. After residing there for a bit more than nine months, his whereabouts was known to the evil men who were pursuing him. For that reason the Master hid himself in the hills in front of the monastery. When the evil men came and set fire on the place, the Master escaped the disaster by squeezing himself into a rock. Up to now, the rock still shows imprints of the Master sitting in the lotus position and those of his clothing, and therefore it is called the “Stone of Refuge”. Remembering the advice of the Fifth Patriarch that he should hide himself in Huai and Hui, the Master went to conceal himself in the two places.
***
Once there was a monk called Fa Hai, who was a native of Qu Jiang of Shao Zhou. When he visited the Master for the first time, he said, “I’d be grateful if your Holiness would advise me on what is the mind and what is the Buddha.”
“When a previous thought doesn’t arise, it is mind; when a coming thought does not get annihilated, it is the Buddha,” replied the Master, “When all characteristics are manifested, it is mind; when all characteristics are detached from, it is the Buddha. If I’m to talk about this in detail, this talk will last longer than the current kalpa. Just listen to a gatha of mine:
‘The mind is prajna,
And the Buddha is samadhi;
With prajna and samadhi upheld equally,
Our thoughts will be pure and clean.
To understand this teaching,
Your nature of practice is required;
Functions are originally non-arising,
And the right way is to practice both prajna and samadhi.’”
Upon hearing that, Fa Hai was greatly enlightened, and he praised with a gatha:
‘The mind is originally the Buddha,
I hindered myself by being unenlightened;
Now I know the cause of samadhi and prajna,
It is by practicing both of them and be detached from all phenomena.”
***
Once there was a monk called Fa Da. He was a native of Hong Zhou. He renunciated at the age of seven, and frequently recited the Lotus Sutra. One day, he came to pay tribute to the Master, but his head did not touch the ground when he bowed to him. The Master reproved him, “You’d better not bow if you bow without letting your head touch the ground. There must be something on your mind. What do you practice often?”
“I recite the Lotus Sutra,” said Fa Da, “and I’ve done so up to three thousand times”. The Master said, “If, after reciting the sutra ten thousand times and getting its meaning, you still don’t take it as a great achievement, then you are on the same path with me. Now you’ve failed to do so, and you still don’t realize your fault. Listen to my gatha:
‘Rituals are there to curb one’s arrogance,
So why did you not bow your head to the ground?
Sins arise when you have the sense of self;
Forget your attainments,
and you’ll attain incomparable merits.’”
“What’s your name?” the Master continued.
“My name is Fa Da.”
“Your name is Fa Da, but you don’t seem to have attained the Dharma,” said the Master, who continued with another gatha,
“Now your name is Fa Da,
Who recites the sutra diligently without rest.
It would be empty reciting if you do so just by making the sound,
Only can you be called a bodhisattva when your mind is enlightened.
Now since you possess the conditionality required,
I’ll explain to you:
As long as you believe that the Buddha doesn’t rely on words,
What comes out of your mouth will all be like lotus.”
Upon hearing the gatha, Fa Da thanked the Master with remorse, “From now on I’ll be humble on all occasions. Although I recite the Lotus Sutra, I don’t understand its meaning, and have always had doubts on my mind. Your Holiness possesses great wisdom, and I hope you would explain a bit the meaning inside the sutra.”
“As far as Fa (lit.: Dharma) and Da (lit.: penetrating) are concerned,” the Master said, “the Dharma is very penetrating, while your mind isn’t. There is nothing to doubt about in the sutra; it’s in your mind that doubts arise. What is the theme of the sutra that you recite?”
“I’m a learner with inferior capacity,” Fa Da replied, “I’ve always recited what’s in the text, and how would I know its theme?”
“I can’t read characters,” said the Master, “How about you get the sutra to recite it once, and I’ll explain it to you?”
So Fa Da recited the sutra in a loud voice. When he came to the Chapter on Parables, the Master said, “Stop. The theme of this sutra is the reason for the Buddha to appear in this world. While there are various parables, none of them is beyond this theme. So what is that reason? The sutra says, ‘All buddhas appear in this world for the reason of one important issue.’ The important issue is the Buddha-like knowledge and vision. People in this world are deluded in that they are attached to objects from without and to emptiness from within. They will not be deluded from within or from without if they can be detached from objects when abiding in objects, and from emptiness when abiding in emptiness. If they understand this doctrine, in an instant their mind will become open, i.e. open to Buddha-like knowledge and vision. Buddha-like means being enlightened, and is divided into four approaches: being open to the enlightened knowledge and vision, showing the enlightened knowledge and vision, understanding the enlightened knowledge and vision, and getting firmly established in the enlightened knowledge and vision . If a person can understand and get firmly established, i.e. become enlightened to the knowledge and vision, upon being open and shown to it, then his original true nature will get to manifest itself. You must be careful not to interpret the meaning of the sutra wrongly, and, upon seeing that it was the Buddha who mentioned about ‘being open’, ‘being shown’, ‘understanding’ and ‘getting firmly established’, think that it was the Buddha’s knowledge and vision and has nothing to do with us. Interpreting it this way would amount to slandering the sutras and defaming the Buddha. Since the Buddha is already the Buddha, and already possesses the knowledge and vision, what need is there for him to become open? “Now you should believe that Buddha-like knowledge and vision has to do with your own mind only, not any other Buddha. It’s merely because all sentient beings blind themselves from brightness with greed and craving for sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thought. They enjoy being driven by external conditions and internal vexations. For such reasons the Buddha had to rise from his samadhi to exhort sentient beings with various unpalatable advices. To be like the Buddha is by settling down to rest and not to seek from without. This is called being open to the enlightened knowledge and vision.
“I’d like to exhort everyone to constantly open their heart to Buddha-like knowledge and vision. People in the world, with a perverted mind, commit sins out of delusion and foolishness. They say good things but their mind is evil, infiltrated with greed, hatred, jealousy, flattery, selfishness and arrogance, and so their mind is open to sentient beings’ knowledge and vision. If they can constantly activate the right mind, with which they contemplate with wisdom, avoid the evil and practice the good, then they are open to the Buddha’s knowledge and vision. You should be open to the Buddha’s knowledge and vision thought by thought, and never be open to the sentient beings’ knowledge and vision. By being open to the Buddha’s knowledge and vision, you’ll be supra-mundane. By being open to sentient beings knowledge and vision, you’ll remain worldly. If you merely stay attached to thoughts and do so as daily practices, then in what way will it differ from a yak being obsessed with its own tail?”
“In that case,” Fa Da said, “does it mean that there is no point in reciting the sutra as soon as one understands its meaning?”
“What’s wrong in the sutra that would hinder your thoughts?” the Master said, “People either suffer or benefit themselves depending on whether they are deluded or enlightened. You’ll be in control of the sutras if you recite them with your mouth and at the same time practice them in your mind; you’ll be controlled by the sutras if you recite them with your mouth but do not practice them in your mind. Listen to my gatha:
‘When the mind is deluded, the Lotus Sutra will be in control;
When the mind is enlightened, it will control the Lotus Sutra.
Not understanding the sutra after reciting it for a long time,
Means you go against its meaning.
It is a right thought if it is not attached to any thought,
It is a wrong thought if it is attached to another thought.
He whose mind transcends Being and Non-being,
Rides permanently in the Buddha’s Vehicle.’”
Upon hearing the gatha, Fa Da unwittingly sobbed with grief. Greatly enlightened, he said to the Master, “Indeed I have never controlled the Lotus Sutra, and have always been controlled by it.”
“In the sutra,” Fa Da said to the Master again, “it says, ‘None of the bodhisattvas nor the great Arahats is able to comprehend the Buddha’s wisdom despite their combined efforts.’ Now your Holiness told me that as soon as an ordinary person understands his own mind he can be said to have the Buddha’s knowledge and vision. Since I’m not of superior capacity, it’s inevitable that I have doubts about what you said. Also, the sutra talks about the three carts. How do we distinguish the Cart of White Buffalos from that of Goats and of Deers. I hope your Holiness would advise me on that.”
The Master said, “It’s you who’s being deluded and ignorant, while the sutra is clear with its meaning. The Sravakas, Pratyeka Buddhas and Bodhisattvas failed to comprehend the Buddha’s wisdom because they speculated on it. Even if they exhaust their thinking in speculating with joint efforts, they would just get farther from the truth. In the first place, the Buddha preached this sutra to ordinary people, not to other buddhas. Those who do not believe in this doctrine are free to leave the assembly. Such people do not know that they are already riding on the Cart of White Buffalos, and still go outside to look for the three Carts. Moreover, the sutra texts clearly state to you that there is only the Buddha Vehicle and no other Vehicles. The mentioning of two or three or innumerable vehicles, together with various skillful means, explanations, parables and words, are all for this single Buddha Vehicle. Why would you not understand this? The saying of “Three Carts” is a falsification, and was for past purposes, whereas the saying of “One Vehicle” is true, and for current purposes. I must make you discard the falsification and resort to the true. Upon resorting to the true, even the true is nameless. Bear in mind that all treasures belong to you and are for your utilization. There is no point in thinking that they’re for the father’s use, or for the son’s use, nor in thinking about its use. This is the way to uphold the Lotus Sutra. Keep holding the Lotus Sutra from kalpa to kalpa, from day to night, and don’t forget for a single moment to recite it.”
Inspired, Fa Da became high-spirited and joyous, and praised the Master with a gatha,
“Reciting three thousand volumes of sutras,
Is not as good as hearing a sentence of the Master of Cao Xi;
Before understanding the aim of the Buddha’s coming to this world,
How would I be able to suppress the wild passions accumulated in many lives? ‘Goats’,
‘Deers’ and ‘Buffalos’ are constructs for expedience purposes,
And the stages of preliminary, intermediate and final are well laid out.
Who would know that inside the burning house,
There dwells the king of the Dharma!”
The Master said, “From now on you can be called the ‘Sutra-Reciting Monk’”.
Since then, Fa Da understood the profound meaning of the sutras, and yet he kept reciting them.
***
Once there was a monk called Zhi Tong, who was a native of An Feng in Shou Zhou. He read the Lankavatara Sutra for more than a thousand times, but still could not comprehend the meaning of “three bodies” and “four wisdoms”. So he came to request the Master to explain their meaning to him.
“This is what ‘three bodies’ means,” the Master said, “the pure Dharmakaya is your nature; the consummate Sambhogakaya is your wisdom; and the myriad Nirmanakayas are your volitions. It would be ‘bodies without wisdom’ if one talks about Trikaya with no connection to the primordial nature. If would be four wisdoms of bodhi if one understands that Trikaya are without self nature. Listen to my gatha:
‘The self nature possesses the three bodies,
Its manifestation becomes the four wisdoms.
Without abandoning the conditions of seeing and hearing,
One may transcend them and attain buddhahood.
Now that I have spoken to you,
Believe firmly and never get deluded.
Follow not those who rush in their truth-seeking,
And who talk about bodhi all the time.’”
“May I hear your Holiness explain the meaning of four wisdoms?” Zhi Tong asked again.
“You’ll understand the four wisdoms as soon as you comprehend the three bodies. Why still ask?” the Master said, “It would be ‘wisdom without bodies’ if one talks about the four wisdoms with no connection to the Trikaya. That would become no wisdom”. He once again said a gatha:
“The Grand Round-Mirror Wisdom is pure by nature;
The Equal-Nature Wisdom renders the mind illness-free.
The Sublime Discerning Wisdom sees without efforts,
The All-Performing Wisdom is like the Round-Mirror Wisdom.
Transmutations of the Fifth, Eighth, Sixth, Seventh Consciousnesses, Results, and Causes,
Are all described in words and possess no intrinsic nature.
If one can be free from attachment to sense-objects at transmutations,
One will forever abide in naga-samadhi.”
Upon hearing, Zhi Tong instantly realized the Equal-Nature Wisdom, and he submitted a gatha:
“The Trikaya are originally my body,
The Four Wisdoms are indeed the enlightened mind.
When the bodies and the wisdoms integrate without hindrances,
They respond to matters regardless of their forms.
My initiation and cultivation have both been reckless acts,
And my holding and abiding are not the true spirits.
It’s because of the Master that I now know the subtle principles,
And at last I am able to get rid of the name of stain.
***
Once there was a monk called Zhi Chang, who was a native of Gui Xi of Xin Zhou. He joined the Order in his childhood, and had the ambition of seeing his own nature. Once day he came to salute to the Master.
The Master asked, “Where are you from? What do you want from me?”
“Recently I went to pay a visit to his Holiness Da Tong in Bai Feng Mountain of Hong Zhou and was taught the meaning of ‘seeing the nature and becoming a Buddha’,” said Zhi Chang, “I still have some doubts to clear, and so here I am from afar in hoping that your Holiness would offer some advices.”
“What did he say? Tell me some of his words,” the Master said.
“I wasn’t given any teaching for three months since I had been there. As I was keen on learning the Dharma, I went into the Abbot’s room alone one night, and asked him, ‘May I ask, what does it mean by someone’s root mind and root nature?’ Venerable Da Tong said, ‘Do you see any void’? I replied, ‘I do’. He said, ‘Does void have any appearance?’ ‘Since void is shapeless, what appearance would it have?’ He said, ‘Your root nature is like void, with nothing to be seen. Understanding that not a single thing can be seen is a right understanding, and knowing that not a single thing can be known is true knowledge. By seeing no colours nor lengths but only the purity of its origins and realizing its perfection and clarity, it is seeing the nature and becoming a Buddha, and can also be called the knowledge of the Tatagatha.’ Despite hearing such teaching, I still haven’t understood everything. I’d be grateful if you Holiness would teach me.”
The Master said, “There still remain the notions of views and knowledge in what your Master said to you. Now let me show you a gatha:
‘Seeing that not a single thing can be seen and yet retain to the notion of non-seeing,
Is like the face of the Sun overcast by floating clouds;
Knowing that not a single thing can be known and yet stick to the notion of non-knowing,
Is like the clear sky disfigured by a lightning flash.
With such views and knowledge arising quickly,
You have understood it wrongly and how can that be explained as expediency?
Should you in a moment of thought know the error yourself,
Your own spiritual light will shine forth constantly.’”
Upon hearing the gatha, Zhi Chang’s suddenly felt enlightened, and he said a gatha:
‘With view and knowledge arising without cause,
And seeking bodhi with attachment to characteristics;
For a moment I harbored the thought of being enlightened,
It’s not better than when I was deluded in the past.
Self-nature is the origin of enlightenment,
Unnecessarily it has been moving and drifting in my sight.
Without entering the room of the Patriarch,
I would still be perplexed with which direction to go.’
One day, Zhi Chang asked the Master, “The Buddha taught the doctrines of the three Vehicles, and yet at the same time spoke about the Supreme Vehicle. I don’t quite understand that yet, and would be grateful if you could teach me.”
“Contemplate on your own unenlightened mind,” the Master said, “and don’t get attached to external characteristics of dharmas. The Dharma itself doesn’t have the four Vehicles, whereas the human mind differs from individual to individual. Those who see, hear and recite the sutras belong to the Small Vehicle. Those who realize the Dharma and understand its meaning are of the Middle Vehicle. Those who practice in compliance with the Dharma belong to the Large Vehicle. Those who thoroughly understand and are equipped with all the Dharma, free from all stains, unattached to various characteristics of dharmas, and possess not a single thing are of the Supreme Vehicle. The meaning of ‘yana’ (Vehicle) has to do with action and is not a matter of verbal debate. You should practice on your own, and not ask me questions. At all times, the self nature is like suchness.”
Zhi Chang thanked the Master politely and served the Master for the rest of latter’s life.
***
Once there was a monk called Zhi Dao, who was a native of Nan Hai in Guangdong. Once he asked, “I’ve read the Mahaparinirvana Sutra for more than ten years since renunciating, and still don’t understand its main ideas. I hope your Holiness would advise me on that.”
“Which part of it do you not understand?” the Master said. “The law of arising and ceasing tells that all things are impermanent. Upon the ceasing of arising and ceasing, such ceasing is bliss. This is where I have doubts.”
The Master asked, “Why do you have doubts?”
Zhi Dao said, “All sentient beings must have two bodies, namely, the physical body and the Dharma body. The physical body is impermanent, with arising and ceasing, and with no understanding and realization. The sutra says, ‘Upon the ceasing of arising and ceasing, such nirvana is bliss’. However, I can’t work out which body experiences ceasing and which experiences bliss. If it’s the physical body, then when it ceases, the four elements disintegrate, and that would definitely be suffering, and suffering can’t be said as bliss. If it’s the Dharma body that ceases, then it’s just like inanimate objects such as grass, trees, stones and in that case who would be experiencing bliss? Furthermore, Dharma-nature is the quintessence of arising and ceasing, whereas the five skandhas are the applications of arising and ceasing. Arising and ceasing are constant to the quintessence and the five applications. It is arising when the applications arise from the quintessence; it is ceasing when the applications are absorbed back to the quintessence. If there is rebirth, such as in the case of sentient beings, then there would be no discontinuity or ceasing. If there is no rebirth, then it would be eternally ceasing, as in the case of non-sentient beings. In that case all dharmas would be inhibited and restrained in the abode of nirvana, and if there is no arising in the first place, how would there be bliss?”
“You are a follower of the Sakyamuni Buddha,” said the Master, “how come you criticize the doctrine of the Supreme Vehicle with herectics’ wrong views of annihilation and eternalism? What you said implies that there is a Dharma body apart from the physical body, that nirvana is sought in isolation from arising and ceasing, that nirvana is eternal bliss. You also argued that there is a body that enjoys the eternal bliss of nirvana. Such ideas are stubborn attachment to the notions of life and death as well as indulgence in secular pleasures. You should now know that the Buddha came to this world for all the deluded persons, who identify the union of the five aggregates as their own ‘self’ and regard all other dharmas as external objects. They prefer staying alive and detest death and, with their thoughts drifting about, suffer from samsara without realizing the illusory and dream-like nature of their existence. They mistake the eternal bliss of nirvana for a form of suffering, and seek mundane pleasure all day. It is for this reason that the Buddha teaches the true bliss of nirvana.
“When nirvana manifests itself, in an instant there is no phenomenon of arising, nor of ceasing, nor is there the ceasing of arising and ceasing. And at the moment of manifestation, there is no such concept of ‘manifestation’, and that can be called ‘eternal bliss’. Eternal bliss has no perceiver, nor non-perceiver. How come is there the term ‘the quintessence and the five applications’? Not to say the saying that ‘nirvana inhibits and restrain all dharmas, making them never arise’, which is indeed slandering Buddha and blaspheming the Dharma. Now listen to my gatha:
‘The Supreme Maha-parinirvana
Is consummate and bright, always illuminating in calmness.
Ordinary and foolish people call it death,
While heretics hold it as annihilation.
Followers of the Sravaka Vehicle and the Pratyeka-Buddha Vehicle
Regard it as ‘Non-action’.
All such views are mere intellectual speculations,
And they form the basis of the sixty-two fallacious views.
Merely fictitious names invented,
How would they denote true and definite meaning?
Only those of super-eminent faculty
Can understand thoroughly without attachment or indifference.
They know that the dharma of five skandhas
And the ‘self’ in these skandhas, And all external objects and forms
With various sounds and characteristics,
Are equally as unreal as dreams and illusions.
They make no discrimination between sages and ordinary men.
Nor do they attempt to explain what Nirvana is.
They transcend two extremes and three times of past, present, and future.
They use various sense organs when situation requires,
And yet the concept of ‘use’ does not arise in them.
They make differentiations among all dharmas,
And yet the concept of ‘differentiation’ does not arise in them.
Whether it’s cataclysmic fire burning the ocean-beds,
Or it’s wind ferociously blowing at the mountains,
Being true, eternal, calm, ceased, and blissful,
Is what Nirvana is like.
Now I have tried to put things into words
In order to make you abandon your fallacious views.
Yet you must not interpret my words literally,
Then maybe you’ll get to know a bit about Nirvana!”
Zhi Dao was greatly enlightened upon hearing the gatha, and he bowed earnestly before leaving.
***
Once there was a Chan Master called Xing Si, who had been born to a Liu family in An Cheng of Ji Zhou. Hearing that the Dharma teacher in Cao Xi had enlightened a lot of people, he quickly came to pay respect to the Master and ask, “What should one make efforts on so that one would not retreat in one’s practicing stages?”
The Master asked, “What have you been working on?”
“I haven’t worked on even the Noble Truths.” The Master asked, “What stage have you retreated to?”
“If I don’t even work on the Noble Truths, what stages would there be for me to retreat?”
The Master considered Xing Si to be of great potential, and asked him to lead his disciples.
One day, the Master told Xing Si, “You should find a place to preach the Dharma to that region, so that it would not get discontinued.”
Upon attaining the Dharma, Xing Si returned to Qing Yuan Mountain of Ji Zhou, where he preached the Dharma and spread the Buddha’s teaching.
Upon his death, he was conferred the posthumous title “Chan Master Hong Ji”.
***
Chan Master Huai Rang was the son of a “Du” family in Jin Zhou. Initially he paid a visit to An, who was the National Teacher. An told him to go to Cao Xi to see the Master. When he arrived there, he saluted the Master, and the Master asked him, “Where’re you from?”
“Song Mountain.”
“What’s the thing? How did it come?” the Master asked.
“To say that it resembles something would be wrong.”
“Is it attainable through practicing?” asked the Master.
“Not unattainable as long as one practices, and not attainable once it’s stained.”
The Master said “It is this state of unstained that various buddhas have been taking care of. It is so for you, and so for me as well.”
In an instant Huai Rang realized intuitively, and he served as the Master’s attendant for fifteen years. Day by day his knowledge of Buddhism got deeper and deeper. Later on he went to Heng Mountain, where he spread widely the Chan teaching. He was conferred the posthumous title “Da Hui”.
***
Once there was a Chan Master Xuan Jue, who was the son of a Dai family in Yong Jia of Wen Zhou. He studied the sutras and commentaries since his young age, and was well-versed in teaching of Samantha and Vipasyana of the Tian Tai School. Through studying the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra he realized the mystery of his own mind. Once Xuan Ce, a disciple of the Master, visited him. Hearing what Xuan Jue said was in compliance with various Patriarchs, Xuan Ce asked, “Where did you learn the Dharma from?”
“I had different teachers teaching me various sutras and commentaries. Later on when I read the Vimalakirti Sutra, I realized what the Buddha mind was about, but yet I haven’t had anyone to verify that,” said Xuan Jue.
“That’s possible before the time of Bhismagarjitasvara-raja Buddha,” Xuan Ce remarked, “but since then all who attained enlightenment on their own without a teacher were all natural heretics.”
“Would you, Sir, verify for me?” asked Xuan Jue.
“My words carry little weight,” replied Xuan Ce, “but in Cao Xi there is the great Master Sixth Patriarch, who is visited by Dharma learners from all directions. I can go with you if you intend to go there.”
Xuan Jue then went to Cao Xi with Xuan Ce. He stood still after circumambulating the Patriarch three times, with his Buddhist staff in his hand.
“A Buddhist monk observes three thousand moral precepts and eighty thousand minor disciplinary rules. Where do you come from, that makes you so conceited?” the Master said.
“The issue of living and dying is a serious issue,” replied Xuan Jue, “and due to impermanence death may come as quickly as instantaneously.”
“Why not see it in the way that the body is ‘non-becoming’, and that cessation is speedless?” said the Master.
“The body is non-becoming, and cessation is in the first place speedless,” said Xuan Ce.
“That’s right. That’s right,” said the Master.
Until then did Xuan Jue made obeisance to the Master in full ceremony. After a short while he bid the Patriarch adieu.
“You are returning quickly, right?” asked the Patriarch.
“When intrinsically there is no motion, how can there be ‘quickness’?” he retorted.
“Who knows there is no motion?” asked the Master.
“The wise person will make the distinction themselves,” said Xuan Jue.
“You’ve quite grasped the meaning of ‘non-becoming’,” said the Master. “How would ‘non-becoming’ have meaning?” “Who is to make the distinction it hasn’t got any meaning?” asked the Master.
“Making distinction isn’t meaning.”
“Excellent! How about staying for a night?” asked the Master.
People at the time said that over that night Xuan Jue wrote a verse on ascertaining the Path, which circulated widely. He was conferred the posthumous titled “Grand Master Wu Xiang”, and people at the time said that it was because of his being enlightened.
***
Once there was a Chan practitioner called Zhi Huang. He considered himself having acquired the right teaching after consulting the Fifth Patriarch, and since then stayed in a temple for twenty years, sitting all the time. Xuan Ce, a disciple of the Master’s, traveled to the northern bank of Huang He and paid Zhi Huang a visit upon hearing about him. Arriving at the temple, Xuan Ce asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Entering the state of dhyāna,” said Zhi Huang.
“By saying entering the state of dhyāna, did you do so with the mind, or without the mind? If you did so without the mind, then all non-sentient beings like grass, wood, clay, stone should also be able to enter the state of dhyāna. But if you did it with the mind, then all sentient beings with consciousness should also be able to enter the state of dhyāna.”
“When I’m in the state of dhyāna, I don’t see the mind that differentiates between existence and non-existence,” said Zhi Huang.
“It’s perpetual dhyāna if you don’t see the mind that differentiates between existence and non-existence, and in that case it’ll there is no entering or exiting. If it involves entering and exiting, then it’s not the great dhyāna,” said Xuan Ce.
Zhi Huang did not know how to respond, and after quite some time, he asked, “Could I know who your teacher is?”
“My teacher is the Sixth Patriarch in Cao Xi,” Xuan Ce replied.
“What is dhyāna according to the Sixth Patriarch?” asked Zhi Huang.
“According to my teacher,” Xuan Ce replied, “The Dharma is sublime, profound, consummate, and serene, with its substance and applications in the state of Suchness. The five aggregates are in the first place all empty, and the six qualities produced by the objects and organs of sense are non-existence. There is no entering nor exiting, and no dhyāna nor perturbation. Non-abiding is the nature of Samadhi, and so we should stay detached from the notion of abiding in the serenity of Samadhi. Non-arising is also the nature of Samadhi, and so we should stay detached from the thoughts of arising in Samadhi. The mind is like space, and doesn’t have the limits of space.”
Upon hearing that, Zhi Huang made a visit to the Master.
“Why are you here?” asked the Master.
Zhi Huang explained to the Master what happened.
“What Ce said is quite the case,” said the Master.
The Master had sympathy about Zhi Huang making a far visit, and so gave him some advice. Zhi Huang then was greatly enlightened, without being affected by what he had attained in the previous twenty-years. That night, officials and common people alike in He Bei heard a voice in the air proclaiming, “Chan Master Huang attained enlightenment today”.
Later on, Zhi Huang bid the Master adieu and returned to He Bei, where he preached the Dharma to all laity as well as monks and women as well as men.
***
Once there was a boy called “Shen Hui”, who was the son of a Gao family in Xiang Yang. At the age of twelve, he came to pay the Master a visit from Bai Yu Quan.
“You’ve made such a difficult long journey to here, have you brought along anything fundamental with you? If so, you would have known its master, right?” asked the Master, “If so, say a few words about it.”
“Non-abiding is the fundamental, and seeing is the master,” replied Shen Hui.
“What this novice monk said is of secondary level,” said the Master.
Shen Hui then asked, “Does your Holiness see or not see when meditating?”
The Master then stroke Shen Hui three times with a rod and asked, “Did you feel pain when I hit you?”
“I did, and I didn’t,” replied Shen Hui.
“I see, and I don’t see,” said the Master.
“What does it mean by seeing and not seeing?” asked Shen Hui.
“When I said ‘I see’,” said the Master, “I meant that I often see faults in my own mind, but not whether others are right or wrong, or whether they are good or evil. That’s what I meant by seeing and not seeing. And what about your saying ‘I felt pain and I didn’t’? If you did, then you’re like inanimate things. If you felt pain, then you’re no different from ordinary persons and resentment will arise in you. You notion of seeing and not seeing falls into duality, and the notion of hurting and not hurting is about arising and ceasing. You don’t even see your self nature, how dare you challenge other people?”
Shen Hui thanked the Master politely and remorsefully.
“If your mind is deluded and you don’t see your self-nature,” the Master said again, “you should consult those who are knowledgeable to find the ways. If your mind is enlightened, that means you see the nature on your own, and in that case you need only practice in accordance with the Dharma. Now you’re deluded and don’t see your own mind, and yet you came to ask me whether I see or not. I know what I see, and why would I wait because of your delusion? If you see it on your own, you would not wait because of my delusion either. So why not see and know on your own but instead ask me whether I see or not?”
Shen Hui bowed respectfully for more than a hundred times and requested that his mistakes be forgiven. Since then he stay close to the Master to serve him.
One day, the Master told everyone, “I’ve got a thing with me. It has no head, no tail, no name, no label, no back, and no face. Would any of you know what it is?”
Shen Hui stepped up to the front and said, “It’s the root-source of various Buddhas, and is my Buddha-nature.” The Master said, “I just told you that it has no name and no label, and yet you called it the root-source of Buddha-nature. Go and build a thatched hut over your head! You can only be one of those who know only to interpret and explain things.”
After the Patriarch had passed away, Shen Hui went to Luo Yang, where he preached the teachings of Hui Neng’s Sudden School, which became highly popular at the time, and he was known as the Chan Master He Ze.
***
One day, a monk asked the Master, “Who has mastered the key teachings of the Fifth Patriarch?”
“One who has understood the teaching of the Buddha,” said the Master.
“Has your Holiness mastered it?” asked the monk.
“I don’t know the teaching of the Buddha,” answered the Master.
***
One day, the Master wanted to wash the robe that he inherited, but there was no good spring around. So he went to a place about five lis behind the monastery, where the trees grew profusely and an air of good omen hovered around. The Master shook his stuff and struck it in the ground, and water immediately sprang out and formed a pond. The Master then knelt down on a rock to wash the robe. At that point a monk from Sichuan named “Fang Bian” called on the Master, and the Master said, “What’s your profession?”
“I’m good at making sculptures.”
“Try making one for me,” the Master said seriously.
Fang Bian felt perplexed, but a few days later, he made a sculpture of the Master’s real appearance. It was seven inches tall, and was an extremely fine product.
“You know well the nature of sculptural works, but you don’t understand Buddha-nature,” the Master laughed and said.
The Master then stretched forth his hand to offer Fang Bian blessings and declared that he would forever be a field of merit for human and celestial beings. He also gave his robe to Fang Bian as a reward for his work. Fang Bian divided the robe into three parts: one part to dress up the statute, one for his own use, and one for covering it up with palm leaves and then burying it in the ground. He took a vow: whoever gets to have this robe will be my reincarnation as the abbot of the monastery to renovate the shrine and the building. In 1063 CE, a monk called “Wei Xian” renovated the hall and dug the ground. He found the robe in the ground, and it was like new. The statue was in the Gao Quan Monastery, and it always responded to people’s prayers.
***
Once there was a monk who read out Chan Master Wo Lun’s gatha, which read:
‘Wo Lun possesses the skill
To stop all thoughts from arising in the mind;
If the mind does not react to circumstances,
Then the bodhi tree will grow day after day.’
Upon hearing that, the Master said, “This gatha does not understand the mind. It would add bondage to one who practices according to it.” So he showed people a gatha:
‘Hui Neng possesses no skill,
And so does not stop all thoughts from arising in the mind;
The mind frequently responds to circumstances,
And how can the bodhi tree grow?’”
At one time, when the Patriarch was residing at the Baolin Monastery in Cao Xi, Master Shen Xiu resided at the Yu Quan Monastery in Jing Nan. At that time, two schools flourished, with people referring to them as “Neng in the South” and “Xiu in the North”. While there was the distinction of “sudden” and “gradual” between the southern and northern schools, their followers did not really know the reason of such distinction.
The Master told his disciples, “While there are southern people and northern people, the Dharma has always been of one school; while some may take longer time to see it and some shorter, the Dharma is of one kind only. What is meant by “sudden” and “gradual”? The Dharma itself has no such distinction. Since some people are sharp and some are slow, that’s how the terms “sudden” and “gradual” came about.
However, Shen Xiu’s disciples often ridiculed the southern school patriarch of not having any skill, since he did not know a single word. Shen Xiu said to them, “I’m not as good as Hui Neng, because he has the wisdom that requires no aid from a teacher and deeply comprehends the doctrine of the supreme vehicle. Moreover, it wouldn’t have been for no good reason that my master, the Fifth Patriarch, passed on his robe and the Dharma to him in person. I wish I could take the long journey to meet him. Not doing so makes me unworthy of receiving the government’s patronage. You may all go to Cao Xi to pay Master Hui Neng a visit rather than staying here.” One day, Shen Xiu said to a disciple called Zhi Cheng, “Being clever and witty, you may go to Cao Xi to attend to Hui Neng’s Dharma preaching for me. Try your best to remember what you hear and come back to tell it to me.”
With this order in mind, Zhi Cheng arrived in Cao Xi and attended Hui Neng’s Dharma talk along with the others, without revealing his identity. At that time, the Patriarch said to the crowd, “Today we have someone here to steal the Dharma, hiding himself among the crowd.” Zhi Cheng went up to Hui Neng, bowed to him, and explained why he was there.
“Since you’re from Yu Quan, you must be a spy,” said the Master.
“No, I’m not,” replied Zhi Cheng.
“Why not?” asked the Master.
“I would have been a spy if I hadn’t revealed myself. Now that I’ve done so, I’m not a spy,” replied Zhi Cheng.
“What does your master teach you?” asked the Master.
Zhi Cheng replied, “He often teaches us to contemplate on purity with a still mind by sitting for a long time without lying down.”
The Master said, “Contemplating on purity with a still mind is sickness, not dhyana. Sitting for a long time would only restrain the body, and so what benefits can there be? Now listen to my verse: ‘By sitting and not lying down when alive, and By lying down and not sitting when dead, What would this skeleton of stinking bones, Be able to make any achievements?’”
Zhi Cheng bowed again, and said, “I have studied the Path for nine years at Master Shen Xiu’s place and yet not achieving enlightenment. Now just hearing your Holiness once I already know my original mind. To me it’s a matter of life and death. Your Holiness, please be compassionate enough to teach me further.”
The Master said, “I’ve heard that your master teaches his students the doctrine of morality, meditation and wisdom, but I don’t know how he defines morality, meditation and wisdom. Tell me.”
Chi Cheng said, “Master Shen Xiu said that morality is not committing any evil deeds, wisdom is upholding and practicing all good deeds, and meditation is purifying one’s thoughts. This is what he said. What Dharma would your Holiness teach people?”
“I would be cheating you if I said I had any Dharma to give people. Let me just borrow the term ‘samadhi’ for expedience sake,” the Master said. “What your master said about morality, meditation and wisdom is inconceivable, and is different from how I understand morality, meditation and wisdom.”
“There can be only one type of morality, meditation and wisdom. How can there be any difference?” said Zhi Cheng.
The Master said, “the morality, meditation and wisdom taught by your master guide the Great Vehicle people, whereas the morality, meditation and wisdom I teach guide those of the Supreme Vehicle. People differ in their understanding in terms of content and speed. Now you’ve heard what I said. Do you find it the same as what Shen Xiu said? The Dharma I preach never departs from self-nature. Self-nature will be constantly confused if one preaches the Dharma by deviating from the substance and talks about characteristics only. One should know that all Dharma doctrines become useful on the basis of self-nature, and such is the true Dharma of morality, meditation and wisdom. Now listen to my gāthā: ‘The mind is free from errors when the self-nature observes morality; the mind is free from delusion when the self-nature observes wisdom; the mind is free from confusion when the self-nature observes meditation. Being non-increasing and non-decreasing, it naturally is like diamond. Regardless of the coming and going of the body, it is originally in samadhi’.”
Upon hearing the gāthā, Zhi Cheng thanked the Master with remorse, and submitted a gāthā, which reads, “With the five aggregates constituting the illusory body, how illusory are they ultimately? By returning to true suchness, how would the Dharma be impure?”
Hearing that, the Master approved the gāthā and said to Zhi Cheng, “The morality, meditation and wisdom that your Master teaches work on people with wisdom of inferior faculty; the morality, meditation and wisdom that I teach work on people with wisdom of superior faculty. When our mind is enlightened to the self-nature, then no bodhi or nirvana needs to be in it; nor does the understanding and knowledge of liberation. All dharmas can be in the mind only when it doesn’t acquire any dharma. It is also called Buddha-body and bodhi-nirvana if one understands this meaning, and the understanding is named liberated understanding and knowledge. To those who see their self-nature, whether their mind acquire any dharma makes no difference to them, and they come and go freely, without hindrance or obstruction. They act in accordance with the function required, and they respond in accordance with what they hear. Upon seeing self-nature in all transformation bodies, they obtain the magical power of self-existent and get in and out of samadhi freely. This is seeing the nature.”
“What is the meaning of not acquiring?” Zhi Cheng further asked the Master.
“Self-nature is free from errors, delusion and confusion. If you contemplate with prajna with every of your thoughts, if your mind is constantly detached from characteristics of dharmas and functions freely in every direction, what is there to acquire?” the Master replied, “No dharma is acquired because it involves no sequence in self-realization of self-nature and in sudden enlightenment and practice. Since all dharmas are still and extinct, why would there be stages?”
Chi Zheng made obeisance. He offered to be the Master’s attendant and he did the job diligently all the time.
* * *
There was a monk called Zhi Che. He was a native of Jiangxi, and his original name was Zhang Xingchang. He was an itinerant warrior when he was young. At the time there were the Northern and the Southern Schools. While the masters of both Schools did not make the self-other distinction, followers of both schools kept harboring love and hatred among themselves. On their own, the followers of the Northern School named Master Shen Xiu as the Sixth Patriarch, and at the same time feared that the story about Master Hong Ren passing the robe to Hui Neng would become known to the public, and they instructed Xingchang to assassinate the Master. With his power of reading people’s mind, the Master knew about that in advance. So the Master placed ten taels of gold on his seat. At night, Xingchang entered the Master’s room to kill him. The Master stretched out his neck to meet Xingchang’s sword, which struck three times without being able to cause harm to the Master.
The Master said, “A righteous sword does no evil, and an evil sword does no righteous thing. I’ll give you gold only, not my life.”
Xingchang was so scared that he fainted onto the ground, and it took him quite a while to recover. He repented of his fault, begged for mercy, and vowed to renunciate. The Master then gave him the gold and told him, “Go now, in case my disciples took revenge on you. Find another day to come to me, with your appearance changed, and I’ll definitely accept you as my disciple.”
Xingchang followed the Master’s instruction and ran away. Later on he renunciated to become a monk’s disciple. He observed the precepts and practiced with diligence.
One day, remembering the Master’s words, he made a long journey to pay the Master a visit.
“I’ve thought about you for quite a while. What took you so long to come?” asked the Master.
“Sometime ago I was pardoned by your Holiness for my guilt. Now it’s hard for me to repay your kindness despite my renunciation and ascetic practices. May be the only way I could do to pass my life is to preach the Dharma? Yet I fail to understand the doctrine of permanence and impermanence despite reading the Mahaparinirvana Sutra often. I beg your Holiness to explain that to me,” said Xingchang.
The Master said, “What is impermanent is the Buddha nature, and what is permanent is a mind that discriminates all dharmas into good and evil ones.”
“What your Holiness said greatly violates the sutras,” said Xingchang.
“My job is to transmit the Buddha’s teachings. How would I dare to violate the sutras?” said the Master.
Xingchang said, “According to the sutras, the Buddha nature is permanent, and yet your Holiness said it’s impermanent; bodhicitta, as well as various dharmas, whether good or evil ones, are impermanent, and yet your Holiness said they are permanent. That’s how what you said violates the sutras, and it just perplexed me even more.”
“I began to expound the Mahaparinirvana Sutra after hearing Bhikshuni Wu Jin recite it once in the past, and not a single word of my exposition has violated the sutra. So is the case with what I said to you,” said the Master.
“My ability to understand is really poor. I hope your Holiness won’t mind further explaining it to me,” Xingchang said.
The Master said, “Did you know? If the Buddha nature was permanent, then what’s the point in talking about various dharmas of good or evil? And how come for ages not a single person has his bodhicitta aroused? Therefore, when I said it’s impermanent, I did so exactly the same way that the Buddha would have said about true permanence. Furthermore, if all dharmas are impermanent, then everything would have a self nature that is subject to birth and death, in which case there would be areas that true permanence fails to apply. Therefore, when I said it’s permanent, I did so exactly the same way that the Buddha would have said about impermanence. The Buddha saw that ordinary people and non-Buddhists clang to the wrong views of permanence, and that followers of the two Vehicles formed the eight perverted views out of their mistaking impermanence for permanence, and because of that the Buddha refuted their wrong views in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and explicitly taught us true permanence, true bliss, true self, and true purity. Now you contradict the meaning despite relying on the words, and you replace impermanence with annihilation and nullify permanence with definiteness, thus wrongly interpret the Buddha’s final, complete, wonderful and subtle words. By doing so, what benefits would there be even if you read the sutra a thousand times?”
Xingchang was suddenly enlightened, and spoke this gāthā: “To those whose mind was attached to impermanence, the Buddha talked about permanence. Those who don’t realize expedience, is like picking pebbles from a pond during Spring. Now without making efforts, I see the Buddha nature in front of me. If the Master didn’t teach me, I would have gained nothing.”
“Now that you understand (Translator’s note: the word in Chinese is ‘徹 [che]’), you should be named ‘Zhiche’,” said the Master.
Zhiche thanked the Master with respect and withdrew.
* * *
Once there was a boy called Shen Hui, who was the son of a Gao family in Xiangyang. At the age of thirteen, Shen Hui came from Yuquan to pay homage to the Master.
“Knowledgeable man, your long journey must have been a hard one. Did you come here with the original of you? If the original is with you, then it should know its owner well. How about a few words on that?”
Shen Hui said, “By taking non-abiding as the original, such a view is the owner.”
“This novice monk is not saying things seriously!” said the Master.
“When meditating, would your Holiness see the truth or not?” asked Shen Hui.
The Master hit Shen Hui three times with his staff and said, “Did it hurt when I hit you?”
“It did and it didn’t,” replied Shen Hui.
“Well, I see and I don’t see,” said the Master.
“What do you mean by seeing and not seeing?” asked Shen Hui.
“I meant I often see the mistakes in my mind, but not what’s right or wrong and what are the likes or dislikes in other people. So it’s seeing and not seeing. And what did you mean by hurting and not hurting? If it didn’t, then you’re like the lifeless wood or rock; if it did, then you’re just an ordinary person with anger and hatred. Your notion of seeing and not seeing falls on two extremes, and your notion of hurting and not hurting falls on arising and ceasing. You don’t even see your self nature. How dare you ridicule others!”
Shen Hui bowed to the Master with repentance and gratitude.
“If your mind is deluded and you don’t see the truth, then ask the knowledgeable ones in order to find the Path. If your mind is enlightened, then you’ll see self nature and should practice according to the Dharma,” the Master continued, “Now you are deluded, and don’t see your own mind, and yet you come to ask me whether I see the truth or not. I know what I see, but would that replace your delusion? Similarly, if you see the truth yourself, it won’t replace my delusion either. So why not see the truth yourself, instead of asking me whether I see it or not?”
Shen Hui bowed again for more than a hundred times and begged the Master to forgive his faults. Thereafter he always stayed by the side of the Master and served him with diligence.
One day, the Master told his followers, “I have a thing, which has no head, no tail, no name, no words, no back, and no face. Does any of you know what that it?”
Shen Hui stepped forward and answered, “It’s Shen Hui’s Buddha nature, the root source of various buddhas.”
The Master said, “I just told you that it had no name and no words, and yet you called it the root source of Buddha nature. Go and build a thatched hut for shelter. You’ll just be another follower who merely knows and explains things.”
After the Master had passed away, Shen Hui moved to Luoyang, where he propagated with great efforts the teaching of the Sudden School of Caoxi. His work Xian Zong Ji (A Record of the Explicit Schools) became a bestseller of the time.
* * *
Once, many disciples of other schools gathered around the Master to ask difficult questions, with evil intentions. Seeing that, the Master pitied them and said, “We who study the Path should eradicate all thoughts, whether good or evil. What can’t be named by any name is named self nature. Such nature of non-duality is named true nature. All my teaching is established upon this true nature, and despite my words you should see it for yourself.”
Upon hearing that, everyone made obeisance and asked to become a student of the Master.
Chinese original of the Platform Sutra:
般若品第二
次日，韋使君請益。師陞座，告大眾曰：「總淨心念摩訶般若波羅蜜多。」復云：「善知識！菩提般若之智，世人本自有之，只緣心迷，不能自悟，須假大善知識示導見性！當知愚人智人，佛性本無差別，只緣迷悟不同，所以有愚有智。吾今為說摩訶般若波羅蜜法，使汝等各得智慧。志心諦聽！吾為汝說。
「善知識！世人終日口念般若，不識自性般若，猶如說食不飽。口但說空，萬劫不得見性，終無有益。
「善知識！摩訶般若波羅蜜是梵語，此言大智慧到彼岸。此須心行，不在口念。口念心不行，如幻如化，如露如電；口念心行，則心口相應。本性是佛，離性無別佛。
「何名摩訶？摩訶是大。心量廣大，猶如虛空，無有邊畔，亦無方圓大小，亦非青黃赤白，亦無上下長短，亦無瞋無喜，無是無非，無善無惡，無有頭尾。諸佛剎土，盡同虛空。世人妙性本空，無有一法可得，自性真空亦復如是。
「善知識！莫聞吾說空，便即着空！第一莫着空！若空心靜坐，即着無記空。
「善知識！世界虛空，能含萬物色像。日月星宿，山河大地，泉源谿澗，草木叢林，惡人善人，惡法善法，天堂 地獄，一切大海，須彌諸山，總在空中。世人性空亦復如是。
「善知識！自性能含萬法是大，萬法在諸人性中。若見一切人『惡之與善』，盡皆不取不捨，亦不染着，心如虛空，名之為大，故曰摩訶。
「善知識！迷人口說，智者心行。又有迷人，空心靜坐，百無所思，自稱為大；此一輩人，不可與語，為邪見故。
「善知識！心量廣大，遍周法界，用即了了分明，應用便知一切。一切即一，一即一切，去來自由，心體無滯，即是般若。
「善知識！一切般若智，皆從自性而生，不從外入，莫錯用意！名為真性自用。一真一切真。心量大事，不行小道。口莫終日說空，心中不修此行，恰似凡人自稱國王，終不可得，非吾弟子！
「善知識！何名般若？般若者，唐言智慧也。一切處所，一切時中，念念不愚，常行智慧，即是般若行。一念愚即般若絕，一念智即般若生。世人愚迷，不見般若；口說般若，心中常愚。常自言我修般若，念念說空，不識真空。般若無形相，智慧心即是。若作如是解，即名般若智。
「何名波羅蜜？此是西國語，唐言到彼岸，解義離生滅。着境生滅起，如水有波浪，即名為此岸；離境無生滅，如水常通流，即名為彼岸；故號波羅蜜。
「善知識！迷人口念，當念之時，有妄有非。念念若行，是名真性。悟此法者，是般若法；修此行者，是般若行。不修，即凡；一念修行，自身等佛。
「善知識！凡夫即佛，煩惱即菩提。前念迷即凡夫，後念悟即佛；前念着境即煩惱，後念離境即菩提。
「善知識！摩訶般若波羅蜜，最尊最上最第一，無住無往亦無來，三世諸佛從中出。當用大智慧，打破五蘊煩惱塵勞。如此修行，定成佛道，變三毒為戒定慧。
「善知識！我此法門，從一般若生八萬四千智慧。何以故？為世人有八萬四千塵勞，若無塵勞，智慧常現，不離自性。悟此法者，即是無念、無憶、無着，不起誑妄，用自真如性，以智慧觀照，於一切法不取不捨，即是見性成佛道。
「善知識！若欲入甚深法界及般若三昧者，須修般若行。持誦《金剛般若經》，即得見性。當知此經功德，無量無邊，經中分明讚歎，莫能具說。此法門是最上乘，為大智人說，為上根人說。小根小智人聞，心生不信。何以故？譬如天龍下雨於閻浮提，城邑聚落，悉皆漂流，如漂棗葉。若雨大海，不增不減。若大乘人、若最上乘人，聞說《金剛經》，心開悟解，
「故知本性自有般若之智；自用智慧常觀照故，不假文字。譬如雨水，不從天有，原是龍能興致，令一切眾生、一切草木、有情無情，悉皆蒙潤。百川眾流卻入大海，合為一體。眾生本性般若之智亦復如是。
「善知識！小根之人聞此頓教，猶如草木，根性小者，若被大雨，悉皆自倒，不能增長，小根之人亦復如是，原有般若之智，與大智人更無差別，因何聞法不自開悟？緣邪見障重，煩惱根深，猶如大雲覆蓋於日，不得風吹，日光不現。般若之智亦無大小，為一切眾生自心迷悟不同。迷心外見，修行覓佛，未悟自性，即是小根。若開悟頓教，不執外修，但於自心常起正見，煩惱塵勞常不能染，即是見性。
「善知識！一切修多羅及諸文字，大小二乘，十二部經，皆因人置，因智慧性，方能建立。若無世人，一切萬法本自不有。故知萬法本自人興，一切經書因人說有。緣其人中有愚有智，愚為小人，智為大人。愚者問於智人，智者與愚人說法。愚人忽然悟解心開，即與智人無別。
「善知識！內外不住，去來自由，能除執心，通達無礙。能修此行，與般若經本無差別。善知識！不悟，即佛是眾生；一念悟時，眾生是佛。故知萬法盡在自心，何不從自心中頓見真如本性？《菩薩戒經》云：『我本原自性清淨，若識自心見性，皆成佛道。』《淨名經》云：『即時豁然，還得本心。』
「善知識！我於忍和尚處一聞，言下便悟，頓見真如本性。是以將此教法流行，令學道者頓悟菩提，各自觀心，自見本性。若自不悟，須覓大善知識，解最上乘法者，直示正路。是善知識有大因緣，所謂化導令得見性，一切善法因善知識能發起故。三世諸佛，十二部經，在人性中本自具有，不能自悟，須求善知識指示方見。若自悟者，不假外求；若一向執，謂須他善知識方得解脫者，無有是處。何以故？自心內有知識自悟。若起邪迷，妄念顛倒，外善知識雖有教授，救不可得。若起正真般若觀照，一剎那間，妄念俱滅；若識自性，一悟即至佛地。
「善知識！智慧觀照，內外明徹，識自本心。若識本心，即本解脫。若得解脫，即是般若三昧，即是『無念』。何名『無念』？若見一切法，心不染着，是為無念。用即遍一切處，亦不着一切處；但淨本心，使六識出六門，於六塵中無染無雜，來去自由，通用無滯，即是般若三昧，自在解脫，名無念行。若百物不思，當令念絕，即是法縛，即名邊見。善知識！悟無念法者，萬法盡通；悟無念法者，見諸佛境界；悟無念法者，至佛地位。
「善知識！後代得吾法者，將此頓教法門，於同見同行，發願受持，如事佛故，終身而不退，定入聖位。然須傳授從上來默傳分付，不得匿其正法。若不同見同行，在別法中，不得傳付，損彼前人，究竟無益。恐愚人不解，謗此法門，百劫千生，斷佛種性。
「善知識！吾有一無相頌，各須誦取，在家出家，但依此修。若不自修，惟記吾言，亦無有益。聽吾頌曰：
『說通及心通，如日處虛空；唯傳見性法，出世破邪宗。
法即無頓漸，迷悟有遲疾；只此見性門，愚人不可悉。
說即雖萬般，合理還歸一；煩惱暗宅中，常須生慧日。
邪來煩惱至，正來煩惱除；邪正俱不用，清淨至無餘。
菩提本自性，起心即是妄；淨心在妄中，但正無三障。
世人若修道，一切盡不妨；常自見己過，與道即相當。
色類自有道，各不相妨惱；離道別覓道，終身不見道。
波波度一生，到頭還自懊；欲得見真道，行正即是道。
自若無道心，闇行不見道；若真修道人，不見世間過。
若見他人非，自非卻是左；他非我不非，我非自有過。
但自卻非心，打除煩惱破；憎愛不關心，長伸兩腳臥。
欲擬化他人，自須有方便；勿令彼有疑，即是自性現。
佛法在世間，不離世間覺；離世覓菩提，恰如求兔角。
正見名出世，邪見是世間；邪正盡打卻，菩提性宛然。
此頌是頓教，亦名大法船；迷聞經累劫，悟則剎那間。』」
師復曰：「今於大梵寺說此頓教，普願法界眾生言下見性成佛。」
時韋使君與官僚道俗聞師所說，無不省悟。一時作禮，皆歎：「善哉！何期嶺南有佛出世！」
疑問第三
一日，韋刺史為師設大會齋。齋訖，刺史請師升座，同官僚士庶肅容再拜。問曰：「弟子聞和尚說法，實不可思議。今有少疑，願大慈悲，特為解說。」
師曰：「有疑即問，吾當為說。」
韋公曰：「和尚所說，可不是達磨大師宗旨乎？」
師曰：「是。」
公曰：「弟子聞，達磨初化梁武帝，帝問云：『朕一生造寺度僧，布施設齋，有何功德？』達磨言：『實無功德。』弟子未達此理，願和尚為說。」
師曰：「實無功德，勿疑先聖之言。武帝心邪，不知正法。造寺度僧、布施設齋，名為求福。不可將福便為功德。功德在法身中，不在修福。」
師又曰：「見性是功，平等是德。念念無滯，常見本性，真實妙用，名為功德。內心謙下是功，外行於禮是德。自性建立萬法是功，心體離念是德。不離自性是功，應用無染是德。若覓功德法身，但依此作，是真功德。若修功德之人，心即不輕，常行普敬。心常輕人，吾我不斷，即自無功。自性虛妄不實，即自無德，為吾我自大，常輕一切故。善知識！念念無間是功，心行平直是德。自修性是功，自修身是德。善知識！功德須自性內見，不是布施供養之所求也。是以福德與功德別。武帝不識真理，非我祖師有過。」
刺史又問曰：「弟子常見僧俗，念阿彌陀佛，願生西方。請和尚說，得生彼否？願為破疑。」
師言：「使君善聽，惠能與說。世尊在舍衛城中，說西方引化，經文分明，去此不遠。若論相說。里數有十萬八千。即身中十惡八邪，便是說遠。說遠為其下根，說近為其上智。人有兩種，法無兩般。迷悟有殊，見有遲疾。迷人念佛求生於彼，悟人自淨其心。所以佛言：隨其心淨即佛土淨。使君東方人，但心淨即無罪。雖西方人，心不淨亦有愆。東方人造罪，念佛求生西方；西方人造罪，念佛求生何國？凡愚不了自性，不識身中淨土，願東願西。悟人在處一般。所以佛言：隨所住處恆安樂。使君心地但無不善，西方去此不遙；若懷不善之心，念佛往生難到。
「今勸善知識：先除十惡，即行十萬；後除八邪，乃過八千；念念見性，常行平直，到如彈指，便睹彌陀。
「使君但行十善，何須更願往生？不斷十惡之心，何佛即來迎請？若悟無生頓法，見西方只在剎那；不悟念佛求生，路遙如何得達？惠能予諸人，移西方於剎那間，目前便見，各願見否？」
眾皆頂禮云：「若此處見，何須更願往生？願和尚慈悲，便現西方，普令得見。」
師言：「大眾！世人自色身是城，眼耳鼻舌是門。外有五門，內有意門。心是地，性是王。王居心地上，性在王在，性去王無。性在身心存，性去身壞。佛向性中作，莫向身外求。自性迷即是眾生，自性覺即是佛。慈悲即是觀音，喜捨名為勢至。能淨即釋迦，平直即彌陀。人我是須彌，貪欲是海水。煩惱是波浪，毒害是惡龍。虛妄是鬼神，塵勞是魚鱉。貪嗔是地獄，愚癡是畜生。
「善知識！常行十善，天堂便至。除人我，須彌倒。去貪欲，海水竭。煩惱無，波浪滅。毒害除，魚龍絕。
「自心地上覺性如來，放大光明，外照六門清淨，能破六欲諸天。自性內照，三毒即除。地獄等罪，一時銷滅。內外明徹，不異西方。不作此修，如何到彼？」
大眾聞說，了然見性。悉皆禮拜。俱嘆善哉。唱言：「普願法界眾生，聞者一時悟解。」
師言：「善知識！若欲修行，在家亦得，不由在寺。在家能行，如東方人心善；在寺不修，如西方人心惡。但心清淨，即是自性西方。」
韋公又問：「在家如何修行？願為教授。」
師言：「吾與大眾說無相頌。但依此修。常與吾同處無別。若不依此修。剃髮出家，於道何益？頌曰：
心平何勞持戒？行直何用修禪？
恩則孝養父母，義則上下相憐。
讓則尊卑和睦，忍則眾惡無諠。
若能鑽木出火，淤泥定生紅蓮。
苦口的是良藥，逆耳必是忠言。
改過必生智慧，護短心內非賢。
日用常行饒益，成道非由施錢。
菩提只向心覓，何勞向外求玄？
聽說依此修行，西方只在目前。」
師復曰：「善知識！總須依偈修行。見取自性。直成佛道。時不相待。眾人且散。吾歸曹溪。眾若有疑。卻來相問。」
時刺史官僚。在會善男信女。各得開悟。信受奉行。
懺悔品第六
時大師見廣韶洎四方士庶駢集山中聽法，於是陞座，告眾曰：「來，諸善知識！此事須從自性中起。於一切時，念念自淨其心，自修自行，見自己法身，見自心佛，自度自戒，始得不假到此。既從遠來，一會於此，皆共有緣。今可各各胡跪，先為傳自性五分法身香，次授無相懺悔。」
眾胡跪。
師曰：「一、戒香，即自心中無非無惡、無嫉妒、無貪瞋、無劫害，名戒香。
「二、定香，即睹諸善惡境相，自心不亂，名定香。
「三、慧香，自心無礙，常以智慧觀照自性，不造諸惡，雖修眾善，心不執著，敬上念下，矜恤孤貧，名慧香。
「四、解脫香，即自心無所攀緣，不思善，不思惡，自在無礙，名解脫香。
「五、解脫知見香，自心既無所攀緣善惡，不可沉空守寂，即須廣學多聞，識自本心，達諸佛理，和光接物，無我無人，直至菩提，真性不易，名解脫知見香。
「善知識！此香各自內熏，莫向外覓。今與汝等授無相懺悔，滅三世罪，令得三業清淨。善知識！各隨我語，一時道：
「『弟子等，從前念，今念及後念，念念不被愚迷染，從前所有惡業愚迷等罪，悉皆懺悔，願一時銷滅，永不復起。
「『弟子等，從前念、今念及後念，念念不被憍誑染，從前所有惡業憍誑等罪，悉皆懺悔，願一時銷滅，永不復起。
「『弟子等，從前念、今念及後念，念念不被嫉妒染，從前所有惡業嫉妒等罪，悉皆懺悔，願一時銷滅，永不復起。』
「善知識！以上是為無相懺悔。云何名懺？云何名悔？懺者，懺其前愆，從前所有惡業、愚迷、憍誑、嫉妒等罪，悉皆盡懺，永不復起，是名為懺。悔者，悔其後過，從今以後，所有惡業、愚迷、憍誑、嫉妒等罪，今已覺悟，悉皆永斷，更不復作，是名為悔。故稱懺悔。凡夫愚迷，只知懺其前愆，不知悔其後過。以不悔故，前愆不滅，後過又生。前愆既不滅，後過復又生，何名懺悔？
「善知識！既懺悔已，與善知識發四弘誓願，各須用心正聽：自心眾生無邊誓願度，自心煩惱無盡誓願斷，自性法門無量誓願學，自性佛道無上誓願成。
「善知識！大家豈不道眾生無邊誓願度？恁麼道，且不是惠能度。善知識！心中眾生，所謂邪迷心、誑妄心、不善心、嫉妒心、惡毒心，如是等心，盡是眾生，各須自性自度，是名真度。何名自性自度？即自心中邪見、煩惱、愚癡眾生，將正見度。既有正見，使般若智打破愚癡迷妄眾生，各各自度。邪來正度，迷來悟度，愚來智度，惡來善度，如是度者，名為真度。
「又煩惱無盡誓願斷，將自性般若智除卻虛妄思想心是也。
「又法門無量誓願學，須自見性，常行正法，是名真學。
「又佛道無上誓願成，既常能下心，行於真正，離迷離覺，常生般若，除真除妄，即見佛性，即言下佛道成。常念修行，是願力法。
「善知識！今發四弘願了，更與善知識授無相三歸依戒。
「善知識！歸依覺，兩足尊；歸依正，離欲尊；歸依淨，眾中尊。從今日去，稱覺為師，更不歸依邪魔外道。以自性三寶常自證明，勸善知識歸依自性三寶：佛者，覺也；法者，正也；僧者，淨也。
「自心歸依覺，邪迷不生，少欲知足，能離財色，名兩足尊。
「自心歸依正，念念無邪見，以無邪見故，即無人我貢高貪愛執著，名離欲尊。
「自心歸依淨，一切塵勞愛欲境界，自性皆不染著，名眾中尊。
若修此行，是自歸依。凡夫不會，從日至夜，受三歸戒；若言歸依佛，佛在何處？若不見佛，憑何所歸？言卻成妄。
「善知識！各自觀察，莫錯用心。經文分明言自歸依佛，不言歸依他佛。自佛不歸，無所依處。今既自悟，各須歸依自心三寶，內調心性，外敬他人，是自歸依也。
「善知識！既歸依自三寶竟，各各志心，吾與說『一體三身自性佛』，令汝等見三身，了然自悟自性。總隨我道：『於自色身歸依清淨法身佛，於自色身歸依圓滿報身佛，於自色身歸依千百億化身佛。』
「善知識！色身是舍宅，不可言歸。向者三身佛在自性中，世人總有。為自心迷，不見內性，外覓三身如來，不見自身中有三身佛。汝等聽說，令汝等於自身中見自性有三身佛。此三身佛從自性生，不從外得。
「何名清淨法身佛。世人性本清淨，萬法從自性生。思量一切惡事，即生惡行；思量一切善事，即生善行。如是諸法，在自性中，如天常清，日月常明，為浮雲蓋覆，上明下暗，忽遇風吹雲散，上下俱明，萬象皆現。世人性常浮游，如彼天雲。善知識！智如日，慧如月，智慧常明，於外著境，被妄念浮雲蓋覆自性，不得明朗。若遇善知識，聞真正法，自除迷妄，內外明徹，於自性中，萬法皆現。見性之人亦復如是。此名清淨法身佛。
「善知識！自心歸依自性，是歸依真佛。自歸依者，除卻自性中不善心、嫉妒心、諂曲心、吾我心、誑妄心、輕人心、慢他心、邪見心、貢高心，及一切時中不善之行，常自見己過，不說他人好惡，是自歸依；常須下心，普行恭敬，即是見性通達，更無滯礙，是自歸依。
「何名圓滿報身？譬如一燈能除千年暗，一智能滅萬年愚。莫思向前，已過不可得；常思於後，念念圓明，自見本性。善惡雖殊，本性無二；無二之性，名為實性。於實性中，不染善惡，此名圓滿報身佛。自性起一念惡，滅萬劫善因，自性起一念善，得恒沙惡盡，直至無上菩提，念念自見，不失本念，名為報身。
「何名千百億化身?若不思萬法，性本如空，一念思量，名為變化。思量惡事，化為地獄；思量善事，化為天堂；毒害，化為龍蛇；慈悲，化為菩薩；智慧，化為上界；愚癡，化為下方。自性變化甚多，迷人不能省覺，念念起惡，常行惡道，迴一念善，智慧即生，此名自性化身佛。
「善知識！法身本具，念念自性自見，即是報身佛。從報身思量，即是化身佛。自悟自修自性功德，是真歸依。皮肉是色身，色身是舍宅，不言歸依也。但悟自性三身，即識自性佛。吾有一無相頌，若能誦持，言下令汝積劫迷罪，一時銷滅。頌曰：
「『迷人修福不修道，只言修福便是道；布施供養福無邊，心中三惡元來造。
『擬將修福欲滅罪，後世得福罪還在；但向心中除罪緣，各自性中真懺悔。
『忽悟大乘真懺悔，除邪行正即無罪；學道常於自性觀，即與諸佛同一類。
『吾祖惟傳此頓法，普願見性同一體；若欲當來覓法身，離諸法相心中洗。
『努力自見莫悠悠，後念忽絕一世休；若悟大乘得見性，虔恭合掌至心求。』」
師言：「善知識！總須誦取，依此修行，言下見性，雖去吾千里，如常在吾邊；
於此言下不悟，即對面千里，何勤遠來？珍重，好去」
一眾聞法，靡不開悟，歡喜奉行。
機緣品第七
師自黃梅得法，回至韶州曹侯村，人無知者。 時，有儒士劉志略，禮遇甚厚。志略有姑為尼，名無盡藏，常誦大涅槃經。師暫聽，即知妙義，遂為解說；尼乃執卷問字。
師曰：「字即不識，義即請問。」
尼曰：「字尚不識，曷能會義？」
師曰：「諸佛妙理，非關文字。」
尼驚異之，遍告里中耆德云：「此是有道之士，宜請供養。」 有魏武侯玄孫曹叔良及居民，競來瞻禮。
時，寶林古寺，自隋末兵火已廢，遂於故基，重建梵宇，延師居之。俄成寶坊，師住九月餘日，又為惡黨尋逐。師乃遁於前山，被其縱火焚草木，師隱身挨入石中得免。石今有師趺坐膝痕及衣布之紋，因名避難石。師憶五祖懷會止藏之囑，遂行隱於二邑焉。
***
僧法海，韶州曲江人也。初參祖師，問曰：「即心即佛，願垂指諭。」
師曰：「前念不生即心，後念不滅即佛；成一切相即心，離一切相即佛。吾若具說，窮劫不盡，聽吾偈曰：『即心名慧，即佛乃定；定慧等持，意中清淨。悟此法門，由汝習性；用本無生，雙脩是正。』」
法海言下大悟，以偈讚曰：「即心元是佛，不悟而自屈，我知定慧因，雙脩離諸物。」
***
僧法達，洪洲人，七歲出家，常誦法華經，來禮祖師，頭不至地。 祖訶曰：「禮不投地，何如不禮。汝心中必有一物，蘊習何事耶？」
曰：「念法華經，己及三千部。」
祖曰：「汝若念至萬部，得其經意，不以為勝，則與吾偕行。汝今負此事業，都不知過。聽吾偈曰：『禮本折慢幢，頭奚不至地；有我罪即生，忘功福無比。』」
師又曰：「汝名什麼？」
曰：「名法達。」
師曰：「汝名法達，何曾達法？」復說偈曰： 「汝今名法達，勤誦未休歇，空誦但循聲，明心號菩薩；汝今有緣故，吾今為汝說，但信佛無言，蓮花從口發。」
達聞偈悔謝曰：「而今而後，當謙恭一切。弟子誦法華經，未解經義，心常有疑，和尚智慧廣大，願略說經中義理。」
師曰：「法達，法即甚達，汝心不達；經本無疑，汝心自疑。汝念此經，以何為宗？」
達曰：「學人根性暗鈍，從來但依文誦念，豈知宗趣？」
師曰：「吾不識文字，汝試取經誦之一遍，吾當為汝解說。」
法達即高聲念經，至譬喻品，師曰：「止！此經元來以因緣出世為宗，縱說多種譬喻，亦無越於此。何者因緣？經云：『諸佛世尊，唯以一大事因緣故，出現於世。』一大事者，佛之知見也。世人外迷着相，內迷着空；若能於相離相，於空離空，即是內外不迷。若悟此法，一念心開，是為開佛知見。佛，猶覺也，分為四門：開覺知見、示覺知見、悟覺知見、入覺知見。若聞開示便能悟入，即覺知見，本來真性，而得出現。汝慎勿錯解經意，見他道開示悟入，自是佛之知見，我輩無分。若作此解，乃是謗經毀佛也。彼既是佛，已具知見，何用更開？ 「汝今當信佛知見者，只汝自心，更無別佛。蓋為一切眾生，自蔽光明，貪愛塵境，外緣內擾，甘受驅馳，便勞他世尊從三昧起，種種苦口，勸令寢息，莫向外求，與佛無二；故云開佛知見。 「吾亦勸一切人，於自心中，常開佛之知見；世人心邪，愚迷造罪，口善心惡，貪瞋嫉妒諂佞我慢，侵入害物，自開眾生知見。若能正心常生，智慧觀照，自心止惡行善，是自開佛之知見。汝須念念開佛知見，勿開眾生知見。開佛知見，即是出世；開眾生知見，即是世間，汝若但勞勞執念，以為功課者，何異犛牛愛尾？」
達曰：「若然者，但得解義，不勞誦經耶？」
師曰：「經有何過，豈障汝念？只為迷悟在人，損益由己。口誦心行，即是轉經；口誦心不行，即是被經轉。聽吾偈曰： 『心迷法華轉，心悟轉法華，誦經久不明，與義作讎家；無念念即正，有念念成邪，有無俱不計，長御白牛車。』」
達聞偈，不覺悲泣，言下大悟，而告師曰：「法達從昔已來，實未曾轉法華，乃被法華轉。」再啟曰：「經云：『諸大聲聞乃至菩薩，皆盡思共度量，不能測佛智。』今令凡夫但悟自心，便名佛之知見，自非上根，未免疑謗。又經說三車，羊鹿之車與白牛之車，如何區利？願和尚再垂開示。」
師曰：「經意分明，汝自迷背。諸三乘人，不能測佛智者，患在度量也，鐃伊盡思共推，轉加懸遠。佛本為凡夫說，不為佛說，此理若不肯信者，從他退席，殊不知坐卻白牛車，更於門外覓三車。況經文明向汝道，唯一佛乘，無有餘乘。若二若三乃至無數，方便種種因緣譬喻言詞，是法皆為一佛乘故。汝何不省？三車是假，為昔時故；一乘是實，為今時故。只教汝去假歸真，歸真之後，真亦無名。應知所有珍財，盡屬於汝，由汝受用，更不作父想，亦不作子想，亦無用想；是名持法華經。從劫至劫，手不釋卷，從晝至夜，無不念時也。」
達蒙啟發，踴躍歡喜，以偈讚曰： 「經誦三千部，曹溪一句亡，未明出世旨，寧歇累生狂；羊鹿牛權設，初中後善揚，誰知火宅內，元是法中王。」
師曰：「汝今後才可名念經僧也。」達從此領玄旨，亦不輟誦經。
***
僧智通，壽州安豐人，初看楞伽經約千餘遍，而不會三身四智，禮師求解其義。
師曰：「三身者：清淨法身：汝之性也；圓滿報身，汝之智也；千百億化身，汝之行也。若離本性，別說三身，即名有身無智；若悟三身無有自性，即名四智菩提。聽吾偈曰： 『自性具三身，發明成四智，不離見聞緣，超然登佛地；吾今為汝說，諦信永無迷，莫學馳求者，終日說菩提。』」
通再啟曰：「四智之義，可得聞乎？」
師曰：「既會三身，便明四智，何更問耶？若離三身，別談四智，此名有智無身。即此有智，還成無智。」復偈曰： 「大圓鏡智性清淨，平等性智心無病，妙觀察智見非功，成所作智同圓鏡；五八六七果因轉，但用名言無實性，若於轉處不留情，繁興永處那伽定。」
通頓悟性智，遂呈偈曰： 「三身元我體，四智本心明；身智融無礙，應物任隨形。起脩皆妄動，守住匪真精；妙旨因師曉，終亡染污名。」
***
僧智常，信州貴谿人，髫年出家，志求見性；一日參禮。 師問曰：「汝從何來？欲求何事？」
曰：「學人近往洪州白峰山禮大通和尚，蒙示見性成佛之義，未決狐疑，遠來投禮，伏望和尚指示。」
師曰：「彼有何言句，汝試舉看。」
曰：「智常到彼，凡經三月，未蒙示誨。為法切故，一夕，獨入丈室，請問如何是某甲本心本性？ 大通乃曰：『汝見虛空否？』 對日：『見』。 彼曰：『汝見虛空有相貌否？』 對曰：『虛空無形，有何相貌？』 彼曰：『汝之本性，猶如虛空，了無一物可見，是名正見；無一物可知，是名真知。無有青黃長短，但見本源清淨，覺體圓明，即名見性成佛，亦名如來知見。』 學人雖聞此說，猶未決了，乞和尚開示。」
師曰：「彼師所說，猶存見知，故今汝未了。吾今示汝一偈： 『不見一法存無見，大似浮雲遮日面，不知一法守空知，還如太虛生閃電；此之知見瞥然興，錯認何曾解方便，汝當一念自知非，自己靈光常顯現。』」
常聞偈己，心意豁然，乃述偈曰： 「無端起知見，着相求菩提，情存一念悟，寧越昔時迷；自性覺源體，隨照枉遷流，不入祖師室，茫然趣兩頭。」
智常一日問師曰：「佛說三乘法，又言最上乘，弟子未解，願為教授。」
師曰：「汝觀自未心，莫著外法相，法無四乘，人心自有等差。見聞轉誦，是小乘；悟法解義，是中乘；依法修行，是大乘。萬法盡通，萬法俱備，一切不染，離諸法相，一無所得，名最上乘。乘是行義，不在口爭，汝須自修，莫問吾也，一切時中，自性自如。」
常禮謝執侍，終師之世。
***
僧志道，廣州南海人也，請益曰：「學人自出家，覽涅槃經，十載有餘，未明大意，願和尚垂誨。」
師曰：「汝何處未明？」
曰：「諸行無常，是生滅法，生滅滅已，nirvana為樂；於此疑惑。」
師曰：「汝作麼生疑？」
曰：「一切眾生，當有二身；謂色身、法身也。色身無常，有生有滅；法身有常，無知無覺。經云：『生滅滅已，寂滅為樂』者，不審何身寂滅？何身受樂？若色身者，色身滅時，四大分散，全然是苦，苦不可言樂。若法身寂滅，即同草木瓦石，誰當受樂？又，法性是生滅之體，五蘊是生滅之用；一體五用，生滅是常；生則從體起用，滅則攝用歸體。若聽更生，即有情之類，不斷不滅；若不聽更生，則永歸寂滅，同於無情之物。如是則一切諸法被涅槃之所禁伏，尚不得生，何樂之有？」
師曰：「汝是釋子，何習外道斷常邪見，而議最上乘法？據汝所說，即色身外別有法身，離生滅求於寂滅；又推涅槃常樂，言有身受用，斯乃執吝生死，耽著世樂。 汝今當知，佛為一切迷人，認五蘊和合為自體相；分別一切法為外塵相。好生惡死，念念遷流，不知夢幻虛假，枉受輪迴，以常樂涅槃，翻為苦相，終日馳求；佛愍此故，乃示涅槃真樂。 「剎那無有生相，剎那無有滅相，更無生滅可滅，是則寂滅現前，當現前時，亦無現前之量，乃謂常樂。此樂無有受者，亦無不受者，豈有一體五用之名？何況更言涅槃禁伏諸法，令永不生，斯乃謗佛毀法。聽吾偈曰：『 無上大涅槃，圓明常寂照，凡愚謂之死，外道執為斷。諸求二乘人，目以為無作，盡屬情所計，六十二見本。妄立虛假名，何為真實義？惟有過量人，通達無取捨。以知五蘊法，及以蘊中我，外現眾色像，一一音聲相。平等如夢幻，不起凡聖見，不作涅槃解，二邊三際斷。常應諸根用，而不起用想，分別一切法，不起分別想。劫火燒海底，風鼓山相擊，真常寂滅樂，涅槃相如是。吾今強言說，令汝捨邪見，汝勿隨言解，許汝知少分。』」
志道聞偈大悟，踴躍作禮而退。
***
行思禪師，生吉州安城劉氏，聞曹溪法席盛化，徑來參禮，遂問曰：「當何所務，即不落階級？」
師曰：「汝曾作什麼來？」
曰：「聖諦亦不為。」
師曰：「落何階級？」
曰：「聖諦尚不為，何階級之有？」
師深器之，令師首眾。
一日，師謂曰：「汝當分化一方，無令斷絕。」 思既得法，遂回吉州青原山，弘法紹化，諡號弘濟禪師。
***
懷讓禪師，金州杜氏子也。初謁嵩山安國師，安發之曹溪參扣。讓至，禮拜，師曰：「甚處來？」
曰：「嵩山。」
師曰：「什麼物，怎麼來？」
曰：「說似一物即不中。」
師曰：「還可修證否？」
曰：「修證即不無，污染即不得。」
師曰：「只此不污染，諸佛之所護念；汝既如是，吾亦如是。」
讓豁然契會，遂執侍左右一十五載，日臻玄奧；後往南嶽，大闡禪宗，敕諡大慧禪師。
***
永嘉玄覺禪師，溫州戴氏子。少習經論，精天臺止觀法門，因看維摩經，發明心地。偶師弟子玄策相訪，與其劇談，出言暗合諸祖。
策云：「仁者得法師誰？」
曰：「我聽方等經論，各有師承；後於維摩經，悟佛心宗，未有證明者。」
策云：「威音王已前即得，威音王已後，無師自悟，盡是天然外道。」
云：「願仁者為我證據。」
策云：「我言輕，曹溪有六祖大師，四方雲集，並是受法者，若去，則與偕行。」
覺遂同策來參，遶師三匝，振鍚而立。
師曰：「夫沙門者，具二千成儀，八萬細行；大德自何方而來，生大我慢？」
覺曰：「生死事大，無常迅速。」
師曰：「何不體取無生，了無速乎？」
曰：「體即無生，了本無速。」
師曰：「如是，如是！」
玄覺方具威儀禮拜。 須臾告辭，師曰：「返大速乎？」
曰：「本自非動，豈有速耶？」
師曰：「誰知非動？」
曰：「仁者自生分別。」
師曰：「汝甚得無生之意。」
曰：「無生豈有意耶？」
師曰：「無意誰當分別？」
曰：「分別亦非意。」
師曰：「善哉！少留一宿。」
時謂一宿覺，後著證道歌，盛行于世；謚曰無相大師，時稱為其覺焉。
***
禪者智隍，初參五祖，自謂已得正受，庵居長坐，積二十年。師弟子玄策游方至河朔，聞隍之名，造庵問云：「汝在此作什麼？」
隍曰：「入定。」
策云：「汝云入定，為有心入耶？無心入耶？若無心入者，一切無情草木瓦石，應合得定；若有心入者，一切有情含識之流，亦應得定。」
隍曰：「我正入定時，不見有有無之心。」
策云：「不見有有無之心，即是常定，何有出入？若有出入，即非大定。」
隍無對，良久，問曰：「師嗣誰耶？」
策云：「我師曹溪六祖。」
隍云：「六祖以何為禪定？」
策云：「我師所說，妙湛圓寂，體用如如；五陰本空，六塵非有；不出不入，不定不亂；禪性無住，離住禪寂；禪性無生，離生禪想；心如虛空，亦無虛空之量。」 隍聞是說，徑來謁師。
師問云：「仁者何來？」 隍具述前緣。
師云：「誠如所言。」
師憫其遠來，遂垂開決。隍於是大悟，二十年所得心都無影響。其夜、河北士庶，聞空中有聲云：「隍禪師今日得道。」
隍後禮辭，復歸河北，開化四眾。
***
有一童子，名神會，襄陽高氏子，年十二，白玉泉來參禮。
師曰：「知識遠來艱辛，還將得本來否？若有本則合識主，試說看。」
會曰：「以無住為本，見即是主。」
師曰：「這沙彌爭合取次語。」
會乃問曰：「和尚坐禪，還見不見？」
師以柱打三下云：「吾打汝是痛不痛？」
對曰：「亦痛，亦不痛。」
師曰：「吾亦見，亦不見。」
神會問：「如何是亦見，亦不見？」
師云：「吾之所見，常見自心過愆，不見他人是非好惡；是以亦見亦不見。汝言亦痛亦不痛，如何？汝若不痛，同其木石；若痛，則同凡夫，即起恚恨。汝向前見不見，是二邊；痛不痛，是生滅。汝自性且不見，敢爾弄人？」
神會禮拜悔謝。 師又曰：「汝若心迷不見，問善知識覓路；汝若心悟，即自見性，依法修行。汝自迷不見自心，卻來問吾見與不見。吾見自知，豈待汝迷？汝若自見，亦不待吾迷，何不自知自見，乃問吾見與不見？」
神會再禮百餘拜，求謝過愆，服勤給侍，不離左右。
一日，師告眾曰：「吾有一物，無頭無尾，無名無字，無背無面，諸人還識否？」 神會出曰：「是諸佛之本源，神會之佛性。」
師曰：「向汝道無名無字，汝便喚作本源佛性。汝向去有把茆蓋頭，也只成箇知解宗徒。」
祖師滅後，會入京洛，大弘曹溪頓教，著顯宗記，盛行于世；是謂荷澤禪師。
***
一僧問師曰：「黃梅意旨，甚麼人得？」
師云：「會佛法人得。」
僧云：「和尚還得否？」
師云：「我不會佛法。」
***
師一日欲濯所授之衣，而無美泉；因至寺後五里許，見山林鬱茂，瑞氣盤旋；師振鍚卓地，泉應手而山，積以為池，乃跪膝浣衣石上。 有蜀僧方辯謁師，師曰：「上人攻何事業？」
曰：「善塑。」
師正色曰：「汝試塑看。」
辯罔措。過數日，塑就真相，可高七寸，曲盡其妙。 師笑曰：「汝善塑性，不解佛性。」
即為摩頂授記，永與人天為福田，仍以衣酬之。辯取衣分為三：一披塑像，一自留，一用繌裹痊地中。誓曰：「後得此衣，乃吾出世，住持於此，重建殿宇。」
宋嘉祐八年，有僧惟先，修殿掘地，得衣如新。像在高泉寺，祈禱輒應。
***
有僧舉臥輪禪師偈云： 「臥輪有伎倆，能斷百思想，對境心不起，菩提日日長。」 師聞之曰：「此偈未明心地，若依而行之，是加繫縛。」
因示一偈曰： 「惠能沒伎倆，不斷百思想，對境心數起，菩提作麼長。」
頓漸品第八
時，祖師居曹溪寶林；神秀大師在荊南玉泉寺。于時兩宗盛化，人皆稱南能北秀；故有南北二宗頓漸之分，而學者莫知宗趣。
師謂眾曰：「法本一宗，人有南北，法即一種，見有遲疾。何名頓漸？法無頓漸，人有利鈍，故名頓漸。」
然秀之徒眾，往往譏南宗祖師，「不識一字，有何所長？」秀曰：「他得無師之智，深悟上乘，吾不如也。且吾師五祖，親傅衣法，豈徒然哉！吾恨不能遠去親近，虛受國恩。汝等諸人，毋滯於此，可往曹溪參決。」一日，命門人志誠曰：「汝聰明多智，可為吾到曹溪聽法。若有所聞，盡心記取，還為吾說。」
志誠稟命至曹溪，隨眾參請，不言來處。時，祖師告眾曰：「今有盜法之人，潛在此會。」志誠即出禮拜，具陳其事。
師曰：「汝從玉泉來，應是細作。」
對曰：「不是！」
師曰：「何得不是？」
對曰：「未說即是，說了不是。」
師曰：「汝師若為示眾？」
對曰：「常指誨大眾，住心觀淨，長坐不臥。」
師曰：「住心觀淨，是病非禪。長坐拘身，於理何益？聽吾偈曰：『生來坐不臥，死去臥不坐，元是臭骨頭，何為立功過。』」
志誠再拜曰：「弟子在秀大師處學道九年，不得契悟；今聞和尚一說，便契本心。弟子生死事大，和尚大慈，更為教示！」
師曰：「吾聞汝師教示學人戒定慧法，未審汝師說戒定慧行相如何。與吾說看。」
誠曰：「秀大師說，諸惡莫作名為戒，諸善奉行名為慧，自淨其意名為定。彼說如此，未審和尚以何法誨人？」
師曰：「吾若言有法與人，即為誑汝。但且隨才解縛，假名三昧。如汝師所說戒定慧，實不可思議，吾所見戒定慧又別。」
志誠曰：「戒定慧只合一種，如何更別？」
師曰：「汝師戒定慧，接大乘人；吾戒定慧，接最上乘人。悟解不同，見有遲疾；汝聽吾說，與彼同否？吾所說法，不離自性；離體說法，名為相說，自性常迷。須知一切萬法，皆從自性起用，是真戒定慧法。聽吾偈曰：『心地無非自性戒，心地無癡自性慧，心地無亂自性定，不增不減自金剛，身去身來本三昧。』」
誠聞偈悔謝，乃呈一偈：「五蘊幻身，幻何究竟？迴趣真如，法還不淨？」
師然之。復語誠曰：「汝師戒定慧，勸小根智人；吾戒定慧，勸大根智人。若悟自性，亦不立菩提涅槃，亦不立解脫知見。無一法可得，才能建立萬法；若解此意，亦名佛身，亦名菩提涅槃，亦名解脫知見。見性之人，立亦得，不立亦得，去來自由，無滯無礙；應用隨作，應語隨答；普見化身，不離自性，即得自在神通，游戲三昧；是名見性。」
志誠再啟師曰：「如何是不立義？」
師曰：「自性無非、無癡、無亂。念念般若觀照，常離法相，自由自在，縱橫盡得，有何可立？自性自悟，頓悟頓脩，亦無漸次，所以不立一切法。諸法寂滅，有何次第？」
志誠禮拜，願為執侍，朝夕不懈。
* * *
一僧志徹，江西人，本姓張，名行昌，少任仗；自南北分化，二宗主雖亡彼我，而徒侶競起愛憎。時，北宗門人，自立秀師為第六祖，而忌祖師傳衣為天下聞，乃囑行昌來剌師。師心通，預知其事，即置金十兩於座間。時，夜暮，行昌入祖室，將欲加害，師舒頸就之。行昌揮刃者三，悉無所損。
師曰：「正劍不邪，邪劍不正；只負汝金，不負汝命。」
行昌驚仆，久而方蘇，求哀悔過，即願出家。師遂與金，言：「汝且去，恐徒眾翻害於汝，汝可他日易形而來，吾當攝受。」
行昌稟旨宵遁，後投僧出家，具戒精進。一日，憶師之言，遠來禮覲。
師曰：「吾久念汝，汝何來晚？」
曰：「昨蒙和尚捨罪，今雖出家苦行，終難報德，其惟傳法度生乎？弟子常覽涅槃經，未曉常無常義，乞和尚慈悲，略為解說。」
師曰：「無常者，即佛性也；有常者，即一切善惡諸法分別心也。」
曰：「和尚所說，大違經文。」
師曰：「吾傳佛心印，安敢違於佛經？」
曰：「經說佛性是常，和尚卻言無常；善惡諸法，乃至菩提心，皆是無常，和尚卻言是常；此即相違，令學人轉加疑惑。」
師曰：「涅槃經，吾昔聽尼無盡藏讀誦一遍，便為講說，無一宇一義不合經文，乃至為汝，終無二說。」
曰：「學人識量淺昧，願和尚委曲開示。」
師曰：「汝知否？佛性若常，更說什麼善惡諸法，乃至窮劫，無有一人發菩提心者，故吾說無常，正是佛說真常之道也。又一切諸法若無常者，即物物皆有自性，客受生死，而真常性有不遍之處，故吾說常者，正是佛說真無常義。佛比為凡夫外道，執於邪常；諸二乘人，於常計無常，共成八倒故，於涅槃了義教中，破彼偏見，而顯說真常、真樂、真我、真淨。汝今依言背義，以斷滅無常，及確定死常，而錯解佛之圓妙最後微言，縱覽千遍，有何所益？」
行昌忽然大悟，說偈云：「因守無常心，佛說有常性，不知方便者，猶春池拾礫；我今不施功，佛性而現前，非師相授與，我亦無所得。」 師曰：「汝今徹也，宜名志徹。」 徹禮謝而退。
* * *
有一童子，名神會，襄陽高氏子。年十三，自玉泉來參禮，師曰：「知識遠來艱辛，還將得本來否？若有本，則合識主，試說看。」
會曰：「以無住為本，見即是主。」
師曰：「這沙彌爭合取次語！」
會乃問曰：「和尚坐禪還見不見？」
師以拄杖打三下，云：「吾打汝，痛不痛？」
對曰：「亦痛亦不痛。」
師曰：「吾亦見亦不見。」
神會問：「如何是亦見亦不見？」
師云：「吾之所見，常見自心過愆，不見他人是非好惡，是以亦見亦不見。汝言亦痛亦不痛，如何？汝若不痛，同其木石；若痛，則同凡夫，即起恚恨。汝向前見不見是二邊，痛不痛是生滅。汝自性且不見，敢爾弄人。」
神會禮拜悔謝。
師又曰：「汝若心迷不見，問善知識覓路；汝若心悟，即自見性，依法修行。汝自迷不見自心，卻來問吾見與不見。吾見自知，豈代汝迷？汝若自見，亦不代吾迷。何不自知自見，乃問吾見與不見？」
神會再禮百餘拜，求謝過愆，服勤給侍，不離左右。
一日，師告眾曰：「吾有一物，無頭無尾，無名無字，無背無面，諸人還識否？」
神會出曰：「是諸佛之本源，神會之佛性。」
師曰：「向汝道無名無字，汝便喚作本源佛性。汝向去有把茆蓋頭，也只成個知解宗徒。」
祖師滅後，會入京洛，大弘曹溪頓教。著《顯宗記》，盛行于世。
* * *
師見諸宗難問，咸起惡心，多集座下，愍而謂曰：「學道之人，一切善念惡念，應當盡除；無名可名，名於自性；無二之性，是名實性，於實性上，建立一切教門，言下便須自見。」
諸人聞說，總皆作禮，請事為師。
