..續本文上一頁 decisively cut off and, transcendent, you”ve nothing to do—this is called “burning the scriptures and images.”

　　“Virtuous monks, reach such understanding as this, and you”ll be free from the hindrances of names [like] “secular” and “sacred”.

　　“Yet a single thought in your mind is doing nothing but Conceiving an empty fist or a [pointing] finger to be real; Senselessly conjuring up apparitions from among the dharmas of the sense-fields.

　　You belittle yourselves and modestly withdraw, saying, “We are but commoners; he is a sage.” Bald idiots! What”s the frantic hurry to wrap yourselves in lions” skins while you”re yapping like jackals!

　　“Resolute fellows [though you are], you do not draw the breath of the resolute. Unwilling to believe in what you have in your own house, you do nothing but seek outside, go clambering after the worthless sayings of the men of old, rely upon yin and depend upon yang and are unable to achieve [by yourselves]. On meeting [outer] circumstances, you establish relationship with them; on meeting [sense-]dusts you cling to them; wherever you are doubts arise, and you yourselves have no standard of judgment.

　　“Followers of the Way, don”t accept what I state. Why

　　 Statements have no proof. They are pictures temporarily drawn in the empty sky, as in the metaphor of the painted figures.

　　“Followers of the Way, don”t take the Buddha to be the ultimate. As I see it, he is just like a privy hole. Both bodhisattvahood and arhatship are cangues and chains that bind one. This is why Manjuśrī tried to kill Gautama with his sword, and why Aṅgulimāla attempted to slay Śākyamuni with his dagger.

　　“Followers of the Way, there is no buddha to be obtained. Even the doctrines [including those] of the Three Vehicles, the five natures, and complete and immediate enlightenment—all these are but provisional medicines for the treatment of symptoms. In no sense do any real dharmas exist. Even if they were to exist, they would all be nothing but imitations, publicly displayed proclamations, arrangements of letters stated that way just for the time being.

　　“Followers of the Way, there”re a bunch of shavepates who try to seek a transcendental dharma by directing their efforts inward. A great mistake! If you seek buddha you lose buddha, if you seek the Way you lose the Way, if you seek the patriarchs you lose the patriarchs.

　　“Virtuous monks, make no mistake. I don”t care whether you understand the sutras and śāstras, whether you”re a king or a high minister, whether you”re as eloquent as a rushing torrent, or whether you”re clever or wise. I only want you to have true insight.

　　“Followers of the Way, even if you should master a hundred sutras and śāstras, you”re not as good as a teacher with nothing to do. If you do master them, you”ll regard others with contempt. Asura-like conflict and egotistical ignorance increase the karma that leads to hell. Such was the case of Sunakṣātra bhikku—though he understood the twelve pisions of the teachings, he fell alive into hell. The great earth had no place for him. It”s better to do nothing and take it easy.

　　When hunger comes I eat my rice;

　　When sleep comes I close my eyes.

　　Fools laugh at me, but

　　The wise man understands.

　　“Followers of the Way, don”t seek within words, for when the mind is stirred you become wearied, and there”s no benefit in gulping icy air. It”s better, by the single thought that causal relations are [fundamentally] birthless, to surpass the bodhisattvas who depend upon the provisional teaching of the Three Vehicles.

　　“Virtuous monks, don”t spend your days drifting along. In the past when I had as yet no understanding, all about me was utter darkness. But I wasn”t one to waste time, so with a burning belly and a turbulent mind, I ran aroun…

《鎮州臨濟慧照禅師語錄 The Recorded Sayings of Chan Master Linji Huizhao of Zhenzhou》全文未完，請進入下頁繼續閱讀…