Buddhism Seems to Be in China,

　　Yet It Really Is Not

　　中國佛法　似有似無

　　At that time, the Buddhadharma seemed to exist in China, but it really did not. It was as if it were and yet weren”t there. That is because the work being done was superficial. There were few who recited Sutras, investigated the Sutra texts, or explained the Sutras, and virtually no one bowed repentance ceremonies. Ordinary scholars regarded Buddhism as a field of study and engaged in debates and discussions about it. But the principles in the Sutras should be cultivated! However, nobody was cultivating. Why not

　　當時中國的佛法似有似無，好像有佛法，又好像沒有佛法。爲什麼這麼說？因爲當時雖有佛法，但只是在那兒做表面工作，誦經呀、研究經典呀、講經呀，甚至于連拜忏都沒有；當時一般的學者就這麼拿著佛法當學問來討論研究。但是經典所說的道理是應該修行的，可是沒什麼人修行。爲什麼沒有人修行？

　　People were afraid of suffering. No one truly meditated. Well, there was Venerable Patriarch Zhi, who practiced meditation and attained the Five Eyes. But most people feared suffering and didn”t cultivate. No one seriously investigated Chan and sat in meditation, just like you people now who sit in meditation for a while until your legs begin to hurt. When their legs began to ache, they would wince and fidget and then gently unbend and rub them. People are just people and everyone avoids suffering as much as possible. That”s the way it was then; that”s the way it is now. That”s called Buddhadharma seeming to be there but not really being there.

　　就因爲都怕苦；沒有什麼人真正打坐。除了當時有一位志公祖師是參禅打坐的，也是得五眼的外；一般人都怕苦，不修行，沒有認真去參禅打坐。也就好像現在你們一樣，坐在那兒，等一等腿痛了，就想把腿伸開搖搖晃晃地磨擦一下。因爲人都是人嘛！都怕吃苦，當時就有這種情形，和現在差不多。這叫似有佛法而沒有佛法，似有似無。