迷時師度，悟時自度

　　Confused, You Are Saved by a Teacher. Awakened, You Save Yourself.

　　要相信自己的智慧，不要相信自己的愚癡，這一點是非常重要的。

　　You should trust in your own wisdom, not your own stupidity. This is a very important distinction!

　　現在是打禅七(一九七七年十二月十五日)的時間，諸位時時刻刻要提起話頭，去參禅，去用功。修道人要自己修行，不要依賴他人，更不要依賴師父。我們是打禅七，不是打師父七，這一點要弄清楚。有人這樣想：「師父在萬佛聖城的時候，我就用功修行；師父離開萬佛聖城，我就不認真修行。」這種思想，實在要不得。無論師父在不在萬佛聖城，都要勇猛精進地修行，貫徹始終，才有成就。否則盡做表面的工作，那是自欺欺人的行爲，永遠得不到解脫。

　　Now we are holding a Chan Session (December 15, 1977), and you should all be bringing up your meditation topic at every moment, as you investigate Chan and work at meditation. Cultivators of the Way practice on their own; they do not rely on other people, and even less should they rely on their teacher. We are holding a meditation retreat, not a "Teacher-retreat." Please be clear about this point. Someone is thinking: "The Venerable Master is here now at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, so I”ll take my cultivation seriously. Once he leaves, however, I won”t have to cultivate hard anymore." You should not think this way. Whether or not your teacher is at the City, you should cultivate with vigor. Finish what you”ve started, applying yourself with equal energy all the way through; only then can you succeed. Otherwise your work will always be superficial; you”ll only be fooling yourself and fooling others, and you”ll never get liberated.

　　參話頭就是參「念佛是誰？」念佛是誰？這要參是哪一個？說是：「我在念佛。」那麼我死了，這個「我」又跑到什麼地方去？根本那不是「我」。這樣說來，那是沒有「我」了。既然沒有「我」，那麼還活著的時候，就不需要修行了？這是不正確的想法。應該怎樣呢？就是要參本來的面目，父母未生以前的面目是什麼樣子？參明白了，就可開悟。

　　Investigating the meditation topic means asking, "Who is reciting the Buddha”s name

　　" Look into it! Who is it

　　 If you say, "I”m reciting!" then after you die, where has that "I" gone to

　　 In fact, the reciter isn”t "I" after all. As we investigate it, there is no "I" to be found. Since there”s no "I," then while I”m still alive, there”s no need to cultivate, is there

　　 This is a case of incorrect thinking. How should we think then

　　 We should investigate our basic identity. Who were we before our parents bore us

　　 What did we look like then

　　 When you understand the answer to that question, you can get enlightened.

　　念佛是哪一個？時時刻刻在追究，分分秒秒不放松。其實用這種功夫，就是以毒攻毒的方法。念佛是誰？雖然也是一個念，但是用一念控製一切念，用這個妄想停止一切妄想。製止到了極點的時候，水落石出，真相大白，便能開悟。

　　"Who is reciting the Buddha”s name

　　" Pursue this question ceaselessly. Don”t let up on it even for a moment. In fact, this technique is a way to use poison to counteract poison. Although the question, "Who is reciting the Buddha”s name

　　" is also a thought, we use one thought to control all other thoughts. One idle thought puts a stop to all idle thoughts. When those thoughts have been brought to an ultimate end, "the tide recedes and the rocks show through." We clearly perceive the true appearance of things, and then we can get enlightened.

　　什麼是開悟？就是真真實實認識自己是怎麼回事，證得空理，知道一切是虛妄，這是真知道。知道「本來無一物，何處惹塵埃」這種的境界，也就是明心見性的境界。所謂「明心無難事，見性不知愁」，明心的人，什麼也不愁，所謂：

　　自古神仙無別法，

　　廣生歡喜不生愁。

　　這是修道人的座右銘。

　　What does it mean to get enlightened

　　 It means you truly recognize what you”re all about. You realize the principle of emptiness and you know that all things are false. This is truly knowing. You know the state called, "Originally there was not a single thing. Where could dust alight

　　" It”s also called: "Understanding the mind and seeing the nature." It”s said that, When you understand the mind, nothing is difficult any more. When you see the nature, all worries are gone. People who understand the mind don”t worry about anything. As it is said:

　　The spirits and immortals of old had no special tricks; They were simply happy as could be, and they never worried.

　　This should be the benchmark of all cultivators of the Way.

　　修道人，無論遇到順或逆的境界，皆不動心。若能有這樣的定力，那就不會被境界所轉，而能轉境界，這才是修道人的真功夫。所謂

　　泰山崩前而不驚，

　　美色當前而不動。

　　Cultivators do not get upset no matter whether they encount…

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