..續本文上一頁id your state come from your imagination or was it real

　　 If it”s merely false thinking about wanting to see a certain state, then it”s phony. If you weren”t having false thinking, if basically you weren”t thinking at all, then it”s true. If you have the thought beforehand, "Oh! I want to see lotus flowers" and then a flower shows up, then that”s phony. Or you think, "Ah! I want to see a Buddha" and, wow! A Buddha appears. That”s also phony. If you first want to see anything and then you see it, that is phony. But if you had no thought of wanting to see and you saw, then that”s true. If you haven”t had a prior false thought--before such a thought ever comes up--then if you see some state you didn”t think of beforehand, then in most cases the state will be true. Of course sometimes even then it”s just an illusion. What is most important is that no thought of it has come up beforehand. Then, if you have some state, there may be something to it.

　　However, in investigating Chan, one shouldn”t want states to arise. We don”t want there to be anything, only emptiness--not even emptiness. It means having even emptiness be empty, and yet being without fear and without joy. If you experience a kind of fear, then you will be open to attacks by demons. If you experience a kind of happiness, then a demon of happiness will come. Look at the Fifty Skandha-demons discussed in the Shurangama Sutra. All of those states could be encountered when meditating. If you are clear about those states, you will not be turned by any state that you may see. There is a saying, "If the Buddha comes, smash him. If a demon comes, beat him away." If a Buddha comes, don”t become attached to that Buddha. If a demon comes, don”t become attracted to that demon. Do not have any attachments. Don”t think: "Wow! A Buddha has come!" and be overjoyed about it, because then you will not act properly. If you are under the influence of passion, fear, or fond regard, you will also be incorrect in your conduct. Therefore, you must be able to remain "thus thus unmoving" in stillness; you must remain unmoved no matter what state you encounter so that you do not give rise to discriminations about it and you do not pursue it.

　　If a state appears, let it be. If no state appears, don”t look for any. If you perceive a state, don”t be turned by it. From limitless kalpas past until the present, we have accumulated all kinds of states of mind within the field of our eighth consciousness. Sitting quietly allows these states to come forth. By analogy, if you keep stirring muddy water, it will not be clear. But if you put the water some place and don”t disturb it, then all the mud and sediment will sink to the bottom and the water will become clear. It”s the same with you. Once you sit quietly, your mind will become clear.

　　"The mind”s clarity is like that of water in which the moon can reflect." Your mind”s clarity will be like the clarity of water that allows the moon to reflect in it. "The intellect in samadhi is like a cloudless sky." If the mind is in samadhi, if you can enter samadhi, then that”s like a clear day without any clouds. And so pay no attention to whether a state of mind is true or false. Working hard is true. On the other hand, you also shouldn”t go to the other extreme when a state comes up. Many people don”t understand what”s happening, and so they say, "Ah! This is not good. You are possessed by a demon." In fact it is because you”ve worked hard that you encounter such a state. If you hadn”t worked hard, nothing at all would have happened. And so do not be afraid. True understanding is not being attached to anything. Don”t be attached to anything at all.

《佛來佛斬，魔來魔斬 If the Buddha Comes, Smash Him; If A Demon Comes, Beat Him Away· 》全文閱讀結束。