..续本文上一页 years, I participated in several Chan sessions in a variety of places, but never once was I hit by the hall monitor”s stick. Why not

　　 Because I never slept during the entire session. I sat in meditation during the day, and I also meditated through the night. I sat in the Chan hall twenty-four hours a day. The words "rest" and "sleep" were not part of my vocabulary. Without wasting a single moment, I worked relentlessly at my investigation, constantly applying my efforts to it.

　　你们各位都是善根深厚的人，都是聪明有智慧的人，应该把这事情看重了，不可敷衍了事。尤其今年的禅七，一定要有人开悟；如果没有人开悟，等打完禅七，每个人要打一百个香板。你们觉得能受得了一百个香板的话，就不要开悟；要是觉得受不了，那么就要开悟。若是有人害怕被打香板，现在还没有开始打禅七，可以退出。既然参加，一定要有始有终，不可以退出。禅堂的规矩是已经告了生死假，就是有人死了，只能将尸体放在坐单底下，不许往外抬。况且又没有人死，那更不可以随便退出去。

　　All of you have abundant and deep good roots. You are all clever and wise. You should give this matter serious consideration and not be casual in the least. In this year”s Chan Session, there has to be someone who attains enlightenment. If no one is enlightened by the end of the session, then each of you will be dealt one hundred blows with the stick. If you feel you can take a hundred blows, then you don”t have to get enlightened. If you feel that you can”t endure such a beating, then you”d better get enlightened. If you fear the taste of the stick, you can still run away before the session begins. Once it begins, you must stay until the end. You can”t withdraw early. According to the rules of the Chan hall, you”ve already said good-bye to birth and death. Even if someone dies during the session, we can only toss his corpse under the bench. No one is allowed to remove the corpse from the hall. And if nobody dies, then even less can you quit and skip out as you please.

　　我们在这里要立生死的门庭，不是生就是死，不是死就是生。

　　We”ve built a "life and death" threshold to cross. If you don”t live, then you”ll die. If you don”t die, then you”ll live.

　　舍不了死，就换不了生；

　　舍不了假，就成不了真。

　　If you can”t renounce death,

　　then you won”t experience real life.

　　If you can”t renounce what”s false,

　　you”ll never accomplish anything true.

　　这是金山圣寺的门庭。所以今年的禅七，大家要努力再努力，无论如何，要认清自己的本来面目。如果不认识自己的本来面目，那么谁也不要想走出金山圣寺的大门，就把你关在监牢里。这是今年大概的规定，希望大家遵守规矩。

　　This is Gold Mountain Monastery”s threshold. And in this year”s Chan Session, you all must be extra-vigorous. At all costs, you must recognize your original face. If you don”t clearly recognize your original face, then you shouldn”t dream of slipping out the front door of the monastery. If you try that, we might lock you up in jail instead. That sums up this year”s rules, and I hope everyone will honor them.

　　一九七四年一月六日开示于

　　旧金山金山圣寺

　　A talk given on January 6, 1974,

　　at Gold Mountain Monastery, San Francisco

《禅七的规矩 The Rules of the Chan Session》全文阅读结束。