参禅是开悟的方法
Chan Meditation Is the Method for Attaining Enlightenment
参话头的功夫，需要经过长时间，才能有所成就。
To reach success with the method of investigating the meditation topic, we must work at it for a long time.
佛教传到中国之后，演变成五宗，就是禅、教、律、净、密。禅是禅定，教是教理，律是戒律，净是净土，密是持咒。现在是打禅七期间，只讲禅的道理，其他四宗，暂且不谈。
When Buddhism spread to China, it developed into the Five Schools: the Chan School, the Teachings School, the Vinaya School, the Pure Land School, and the Secret School. The Chan School investigates Chan samadhi (meditative concentration); the Teachings School studies the doctrines; the Vinaya School studies the moral precepts; the Pure Land School practices Buddha recitation; and the Secret School recites mantras. We are now holding a Chan session, so for the time being, we discuss only the principles of Chan meditation and not the other four schools.
禅那，译为「思惟修」，就是常想这件事。什么事？就是话头。研究「念佛是谁？」这句话，这叫参禅。其实参话头也是妄想，不过这是以妄制妄，以毒攻毒的办法，用一个妄想来消灭多个妄想。参话头的功夫，需要经过长时间才能有所成就，所谓「久参有禅」。
Chan translates as "thought-cultivation," because one is always contemplating the matter of meditation. What matter is that
It is simply the meditation topic one is investigating. We look into the question, "Who is reciting the Buddha”s name
" This single sentence is the topic in our investigation of Chan. In fact, investigating this topic is another kind of idle thinking. This method is known as "fighting fire with fire." We set one idle thought in action to wipe out many idle thoughts. To reach success with this method, we must work at it for a long time. A saying goes, "After long-term cultivation, there will be Chan."
「参」好像用锥子来锥木头一样，不透不停止，不可半途而废，否则就前功尽弃了。参禅，第一要忍耐，忍耐到最高峰，就能一念不生。一念不生，就能开悟，所谓「百尺竿头，更进一步」，在百尺竿头上，再向前迈进一步，这时十方世界现全身。可是这个法门，要念兹在兹才有效，不能放松，不能放逸。在《证道歌》上说：
顿觉了，如来禅，
六度万行体中圆；
梦里明明有六趣，
觉后空空无大千。
"Investigation" is similar to drilling wood: you don”t stop until the drill bit makes a hole all the way through the wood. If you stop halfway, then your earlier efforts will all have been in vain. The first priority in Chan meditation is patience. When you can be patient to the extreme point, then you can reach a state of "not even one thought arising." When not even one thought arises, you can get enlightened. As the saying goes, "Take one more step from the top of the hundred-foot pole." At that time, when you can take yet another step from the very top of a hundred-foot pole, "the worlds throughout the ten directions manifest in their entirety." To gain success, however, you must apply yourself constantly, in thought after thought, without any laziness or slacking off. A verse in the Song of Enlightenment says:
When you suddenly awaken to the Chan of the Tathagatas, Then the Six Paramitas and the Myriad Practices are complete within your substance.
In a dream, very clearly, you perceive all the Six Realms of Rebirth.
When you awaken, then you see all as empty and void, and not one bit of the universe exists at all.
顿，就是立刻觉悟一个理，所谓「理可顿悟，事须渐修。」在「事」上要一步一步修，在「理」上要立刻就明白。顿悟的时候，知道井在那里，可以去取水。没有顿悟的时候，常听辘轳(汲水的工具)响，但不知井在何处？这个譬喻，是说明佛性从什么地方来的？怎能证得佛性？证佛性别无二法，唯一的方法，就是参禅打坐。
"Suddenly" here means that you immediately understand a principle. As it”s said, "We may awaken to the truth of a principle suddenly, but we must cultivate the specifics gradually." The specifics must be cultivated one step at a time, yet the principle may be awakened to all of a sudden. For instance, after enlightenment, we know there is a well nearby from which we can draw water. Before our enlightenment, we may have heard the sound of the wellpulley and rope for a long time, and yet not have known where the well was located. This analogy explains where the Buddha-nature comes from. How do we realize this Buddha-nature
There is no other method to realize it: it can only be realized through Chan meditation.
六度，是菩萨修行的法门。布施…
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