..續本文上一頁 go, I won”t have to worry about it any further."

　　方丈和尚一想，這話很有道理，便說：「好吧！答應你的要求，滿你的願。」從此之後，每逢打禅七，晚上每人可得兩個包子吃。

　　The Abbot thought it over and decided that his request was reasonable. He replied, "Okay! I”ll grant your request." Thereafter, every time they held a Chan meditation session, every participant got two steamed dumplings to eat in the evening.

　　這位維那師父問方丈和尚：「我應到何處？」方丈說：「你到四川去，到那裏去建道場，因爲那地方的護法和你有緣。」于是他用神足力來到四川，看見有一個地方有兩棵大桂樹，枝葉長得非常茂盛，于是在樹下打坐。後來被當地的護法居士發現，認爲他是老修行，是有德行的高僧，于是便在桂樹下建一所寺院，命名爲「雙桂堂」。他就在此堂傳法授徒，後來有很多參禅者開悟，他也成爲開山的祖師。

　　The Ceremony Master asked the Abbot, "Where should I go

　　" The Abbot said, "Go to Sichuan Province and set up a temple. The Dharma-protectors there have affinities with you." The Ceremony Master used his power of spiritual travel to go to Sichuan. Upon arriving, he saw two tall cassia trees. The leaves and branches were lush and abundant. He sat beneath the two trees to meditate. The Dharma-protectors and lay-people of Sichuan discovered him sitting beneath the tree and assumed he was an adept cultivator, a superior monk with real virtue. So they built a temple beneath the twin cassia trees and called it Xuanggui (Twin Cassia) Temple. That”s where he transmitted the Dharma and took disciples. Afterwards, many Chan meditators got enlightened there and he became known as the founding patriarch.

　　參禅，好像人飲水一樣，冷暖自己知道，用功有上路自己知道，用功沒有上路自己也知道。用功上路的人，應該繼續努力；沒有上路的人，更不可懶惰。在打禅七的時候，要把一切放下，所謂「提得起，放得下。」提得起什麼？提得起「念佛是誰？」放得下什麼？放下所有的妄想。能把所有的妄想放下，智慧便生出來；若是放不下妄想，所用的功就不會相應。

　　When we meditate, it”s just like drinking water. Only you yourself know whether the water is hot or cold. When you”ve made some progress in cultivation, you yourself know. If your cultivation hasn”t progressed, you also know. People who”ve made progress should continue to work hard. Those who haven”t made progress shouldn”t be lazy. In this period of Chan meditation, we should put down everything. That is to say, "Be able to pick this up, and be able to put that down." What do we want to pick up

　　 We want to pick up the meditation topic, "Who is mindful of the Buddha

　　" What do we want to put down

　　 We want to put down all our idle thoughts. If we can put down all of our idle thinking, then our wisdom will come forth. But if we can”t put down our idle thoughts, then there won”t be any response to our efforts.

　　在這七天之中，應該勇猛精進，不生絲毫懶惰的心，不生絲毫懷疑的心。大衆一起用功，用功用到無人無我的境界時，便會得到自在。若能用功到非空非色，就和如來合而爲一；若是沒有明白非空非色的境界，應當生大慚愧心。爲什麼我用功得不到相應？這是無量劫的習氣太深的緣故，所以心中想向菩提路上走，事實上卻不願意向前走，總想向後轉。要知道習氣重、業障深，更應該把妄想放下。放下妄想，並不困難，只要把自己忘了，便沒有妄想。就因爲有了自己，才忘不了自己。

　　Within this seven-day meditation retreat, you should be vigorous and courageous. Don”t be the least bit lazy, and don”t entertain even a shadow of a doubt. Let”s work hard together and arrive at the point where there are no thoughts of self or others left. Right at that point, we can become free. If we can bring our skill to the point of realizing "no emptiness and no form," then we can unite with the Tathagatas. If we still haven”t realized the state of no emptiness or form, then we should be truly ashamed. Why hasn”t our skill elicited any response

　　 Because our bad habits gathered from measureless eons in the past are simply too heavy. In our minds, we think we want to proceed on the road of Bodhi, but in reality, we don”t really want to advance, and we”re always retreating. We should recognize that since our habits are heavy and our karmic obstacles are deeply established, even more should we want to put down our idle thinking. It”s not that difficult to put down our idle thinking. All we need to do is forget ourselves, and then our idle thoughts will be gone. It”s just because we hang onto a self that we find the self so difficult to forget.

　　在禅堂裏，用功修行，修到上不知有天，中不知有人，下不知有地。天地人都沒有了，東西南北也忘了，這時候，一念不生，就全體現；全體大用，你都會得到。整天打妄想的話，功夫就不會相應。所以，要用功用到一念不生，行…

《魔是來幫助你修道 Demons Help You Cultivate》全文未完，請進入下頁繼續閱讀…