Do Not Be Angry

　　不可以發脾氣

　　We used to sit on meditation benches and not on the ground. If you fall asleep on the meditation benches, the proctor will hit you on the shoulder with his incense board. In the meditation hall, no one may stretch out his or her legs. If you do, the proctor will hit your legs with the incense board. No mercy will be shown here. No matter who you are, even if you are the abbot, the proctor will still hit you, although he will do it while kneeling down. For others, he will not be kneeling and will instead hit you straightaway. It will hurt a lot and you will feel as if your shoulder is broken. You have to endure this and not become angry. You should not think of fighting because you have been hit. That would be wrong.

　　以前大家在一起打坐，都是在禅凳上坐著，沒有坐在地上的；如果在禅凳上睡覺，監香就拿香板朝你肩膀上打。在禅堂不可以把腿伸出來，你一伸腿就要挨打，一點都不客氣，無論你是誰都一樣要打，就是方丈和尚，監香一樣也要打，不過他是跪在那兒打，要是清衆就不需要跪，就這麼「啪」一下打下去，打的你痛得不得了，打的你肩膀幾乎都要斷了，這時你要忍，不能發脾氣說：「哦！你打我，我要和你打架。」那是不可以的。

　　The elder monk at Gaomin Monastery was famous for hitting people.All the monks there had been hit by him. He even broke someone”s shoulder once. The old monk would sit down without a smile like Guan Gong. Once he spoke, he would start scolding people. Everybody was afraid of him the way a mouse is afraid of a cat. We do things differently here. We are here every day happily giving and receiving teachings. Teaching all of you is like playing with a bunch of children. [Editor”s note: Although the Master mentions hitting, in Chan sessions held at the monasteries of Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, the proctor only taps people gently on the shoulder to help them regain their focus.]

　　像高旻寺的老和尚就是「打」得出名了，出家人到那兒都被他打過，甚至于膀子都給打斷。那個老和尚面無笑容地往那兒一坐，像關公似的，講起話來就罵人，一般的人就好像老鼠見了貓似的那麼樣的怕他；我們這兒不同，每天講開示都是歡歡喜喜，對你們好像哄小孩一樣的。