Recalling the Tofu Debts of Many Years Past

　　多年豆腐帳可追

　　In the past, there was an old cultivator who, after his enlightenment, wanted to find out who he really was in the past. What kind of person was he in the past

　　 I bet none of you know. He was a tofu seller. In the past, he came to a Chan hall while selling tofu and happily sat in meditation like the others in the hall. While sitting, he was able to recall all his tofu debts.

　　以前有一個老修行開悟後，就前觀後觀，要看一看自己是誰。哦！原來以前他是個什麼人呢？你們誰也猜不著，他是個賣豆腐的。他賣豆腐來到禅堂，隨喜坐一下，把多年的豆腐帳都想起來了，就說了一首偈頌：「難怪禅堂各找誰，萬劫欠債歲複歲；我今只坐半小時，多年豆腐賬可追。」說的雖然不妙，但也不太粗；一個賣豆腐的人會說偈頌，這不是開悟了，怎麼會說呢？

　　He composed a verse, which goes like this:

　　No wonder everyone in the Chan hall is looking for the “who

　　”

　　The debts of ten thousand eons have accumulated over the years.I sit for only half an hour,And my many years of tofu debts can be traced.

　　This verse, though not profound, is not too bad either. If this tofu seller were not enlightened, how could he come up with such a verse

　　He said, “How wonderful it is to investigate Chan! As a tofu seller, I came to the Chan hall to sell tofu. While waiting for the monk to get money from the storeroom, I looked and thought, “What are these people doing here

　　” They were all saying “Who

　　 Who

　　 Who

　　” Seeing this, the tofu seller sat down and start to look for that “Who – Who still owes me money for the tofu I sold them

　　 Five or six years ago, Wang Ma Zi purchased ten pieces of tofu and has not paid for it. Four or five years ago, Mr. Li purchased five pieces of tofu and also has not paid for it. Investigating Chan is really good. If I did not sit here and search for that “who,” how could I have possibly recalled all these tofu debts

　　 This is truly inconceivable.”

　　他說，參禅真是妙！我是個賣豆腐的，到一個禅堂裏賣豆腐。和尚到庫房去拿錢，我就在禅堂裏等著。我看這些人都在幹什麼？這些和尚都說：「誰？誰？誰──？」他一看，他也坐著想了：「誰──？誰欠我豆腐賬？五、六年以前，王麻子買了我十塊豆腐，沒有給我錢；四、五年以前，李瘸子他買五塊豆腐，也沒有給錢。參禅真是好，我如果不是在這兒坐一坐，參禅找誰，這個豆腐賬怎能想得起來呢？這真是妙不可言。」

　　Therefore the verse says: No wonder everyone in the Chan hall is looking for the “who

　　” No wonder everyone there is searching for the “who

　　” I have come to know this wonderful practice. The debts of ten thousand eons have accumulated over the years. Ten thousand eons have since passed, and one cannot recall who still owes money. Now they sit in the Chan hall to “Namo” themselves (to ask themselves): “Who is it

　　 Who still owes me money

　　 Who owes me

　　” They were all looking for their creditors. “And I now sit for only half an hour, and I manage to recall my many years” of tofu debts.” The tofu seller did not just stop there after saying the verse, he investigated Chan everyday thereafter and recalled all his tofu debts. He also investigated, “Who owes me tofu debts from the last life and the life before that.” He planted vajra seeds. As a result of those vajra seeds, he came to the Chan hall, not to trace his tofu debts, but to investigate Chan. This time the conditions had ripened and he managed to awaken: “Oh! My original self is like this.”

　　所以偈頌說：「難怪禅堂各找誰」，真難怪他們在這兒各找誰──誰──？我到現在才知道這個妙訣；「萬劫欠債歲複歲」，一年又一年，到萬劫那麼久，也想不起來是誰欠他們的債？現在他們坐在禅堂裏，南無自己(自己問自己)：「哎！是誰？誰欠我錢呢？有誰欠我東西沒還？」他們都在找欠自己債的人；「我今只坐半小時，多年豆腐賬可追。」這個賣豆腐的不是說了一首偈頌就算數，以後他天天去參禅；參得沒有豆腐賬了，他又參：「前生誰欠我豆腐賬？再前生又有誰欠我豆腐賬？」參得種下了一個金剛種子。因爲有這個種子，所以今生他又到禅堂；不是追豆腐賬，是去參禅。他這次機緣成熟，參得豁然大悟：「哦！原來我是這麼一回事。」

　　So what about your original self

　　 If you open the five eyes, you can take a look. Who is my mother

　　 Who is my father

　　 Who are my close relatives

　　 How come I have ended up here—sitting and walking, walking or sitting. “Oh! This was my father in the past, that was my mother in the past, that was my elder brother in the past and that was my younger brother in the past.” You can understand all of the debts of these causes and effects from past lives. If you want to know the causes and effects and relationships you”ve had in life after life from beginningless eons in the past to the present, you should work hard at your cultivation. Once you become awakened, you will know, “Oh! In the past I made vows to assist my Teacher to propagate Buddhism in the United States.”

　　你們各位究竟是怎麼一回事？你若開了五眼，也可以看一看、找一找：誰是我的媽媽？誰是我的爸爸？誰是我的至親骨肉？我們現在怎麼搞得跑到這兒，在一起坐坐又跑跑，跑跑又坐坐？「哦！原來這個是我以前的爸爸，那個是我以前的媽媽，那是我以前的哥哥，那是我以前的弟弟……。」這些宿世的因果賬都會明白。你們想知道無量劫到現在，生生世世因果循環的關系，就要好好用功；開悟了，就知道：「哦！我原來發願要幫著師父到美國弘揚佛法的，原來如此哎！」

《多年豆腐帳可追 Recalling the Tofu Debts of Many Years Past》全文閱讀結束。