p. 274 p. 275

　　Chapter VI

　　Dialogues Suggested by Various Temperaments and Circumstances

　　UPON THE PATRIARCH”S RETURN to the village of Tso-hau in Shiu-chow from Wong-mui, where the Dharma had been transmitted to him, he was an unknown man. At that time, it was a Confucian scholar, named Liu Chi-luk, who first gave him a warm welcome and appreciation. It came about in this manner. Chi-luk had an aunt, named Wu Chun-chong who was a Buddhist nun, who was in the habit of reciting the Maha Parinirvana Sutra. One day the Patriarch heard her reciting it, and after listening for only a short time, grasped the profound meaning of the Sutra, and began to explain it to her, whereupon she brought the book and asked him the meaning of certain passages.

　　"I am not very well educated," he replied, "but if you wish to understand the purport of the book, I will do the best I can." "How can you understand the meaning of the text," she rejoined, "if you do not know the words

　　" To this he replied: "The profound teaching of the various Buddhas, has nothing to do with the written language."

　　This answer surprised her very much, and recognising that he was no ordinary man, she spoke of him freely to the pious elders of the village, saying: "He is a sage. We should get his permission to supply him with food and lodgings, and urge him to remain with us.

　　p. 276

　　Whereupon a descendant of Marquis Wu of the Ai Dynasty, named, Tso Shuk-leung, came one afternoon with other villagers to offer homage to the Patriarch. At that time the historic Po-lam Monastery, which had been devastated by war at the end of the Chu Dynasty, was reduced to a heap of ruins. The villagers rebuilt it on the old site, and asked the Patriarch to make it his home. Afterwards it became a very famous temple.

　　*

　　THE MONK, FAT-HOI, a native of Hook-kong in Shui-chow, in his first interview with the Patriarch, asked the meaning of the well-known saying, "That which Mind is, Buddha is." The Patriarch replied, "Let not a vagrant thought rise up again, is ”Mind.” Let not a coming thought be repulsed, is ”Buddha.” To manifest all kind of phenomena, is ”Mind.” To be free from all form, is Buddha. If I were to give you a full explanation, it would take the full time of a kalpa. But listen to this stanza:

　　"Prajna is ”That which mind is”;

　　Samadhi is ”what Buddha is.”

　　In practising Prajna and Samadhi, let each keep pace with the other,

　　Then our thoughts will be pure.

　　This teaching can be understood

　　Only through the ”habit of practice.”

　　Samadhi functions, but inherently it is not.

　　The orthodox teaching is, to practice Prajna as well as Samadhi."

　　* * *

　　p. 277

　　After considering what the Patriarch had said, Fat-hoi was enlightened and he praised the Patriarch in the following stanza:

　　"That which mind is, Buddha is; how true it is, indeed!

　　I put myself to shame by not understanding it.

　　Now I understand the principle of Prajna and Samadhi,

　　Both of which I shall practice to set myself free from all confining forms."

　　*

　　THE MONK FAT-TAT, a native of Hung-chow, who joined the order at the early age of seven, used to recite the Lotus of the Good Law Sutra. When he came to offer homage to the Patriarch, he failed in offering due respect to him, for which the Patriarch reproved him, saying, If you object to offer due respect, would it not be better to omit the salutation entirely

　　 There must be something in your mind that makes you feel that way. Please tell me what you do in your daily religious exercise

　　"I recite the Lotus of the Good Law (Saddharma Pundarika) Sutra," replied Fat-tat; I have read the whole text three thousand times."

　　"If you had fully understood the meaning of the Sutra," remarked the Patriarch, "You would not have assumed such a lofty bearing, even if you had read i…

《Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch - Chapter VI· Dialogues Suggested by Various Temperaments and Circumstances》全文未完，請進入下頁繼續閱讀…