Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, Volume Twenty-Seven
因僧看經
Because a monk was reading the sutras.
今人看古教。不免心中鬧。欲免心中鬧。但知看古教。
People today read the ancient teachings; inevitably there is clamor in the mind. If you wish to avoid clamor in the mind, just know how to read the ancient teachings.
問僧雲。會麼。對不會
He asked the monk, saying: “Do you understand?” The reply: “I do not understand.”
會與不會。與汝面對。若也面對。真箇不會。
Understanding and not understanding: I face you directly. If you also face directly, truly you do not understand.
庭柏盆蓮
Courtyard cypress and potted lotus.
一朵菡萏蓮。兩株青瘦柏。長向僧家庭。何勞問高格。
One blossom of a lotus flower; two stalks of green, thin cypress. They long face the monks' courtyard; why trouble to ask of lofty rank?
正月偶示
A chance instruction in the first month.
正月春順時節。情有無皆含悅。君要知得誰力。更問誰教誰決。
In the first month, spring follows the season. Whether feeling exists or not, all contains delight. If you wish to know, whose power is it? Ask further whom, and have whom decide?
寄鍾陵光僧正
Sent to the Vinaya Master Guang of Zhongling.
西山巍巍兮聳碧。漳水澄澄兮練色。對現分明有何極。
The western mountains are towering, rising in azure; the Zhang River is clear and limpid, of silk-like hue. Facing manifestation so distinct—what limit is there?
白居易八漸偈(並序)
Bai Juyi's Eight Gradual Verses (with preface)
唐貞元十九年秋八月。有大師曰凝公。遷化於東都聖善寺缽塔院。越明年春二月有東來客白居易。作八漸偈。偈六句。句四言贊之。初居易嘗求心要於師。師賜我言焉。曰觀。曰覺。曰定。曰慧。曰明。曰通。曰濟。曰捨。繇是入於耳貫於心。嗚呼今師之報身則化。師之八言不化。至哉八言實無生忍觀之漸門也。故自觀至捨。次而贊之。廣一言為一偈。謂之八漸偈。蓋欲以發揮師之心教。且明居易不敢失墜也。既而升於堂禮於床。跪而唱泣而去。偈曰。
In the autumn, the eighth month of the nineteenth year of Zhenyuan of the Tang, there was a great master named Ninggong, who passed away at the Bowl Stupa Court of Shengshan Temple in the Eastern Capital. In the spring, the second month of the following year, a guest from the east, Bai Juyi, composed the Eight Gradual Verses. Each verse has six lines, each line four words, in praise of them. Earlier, Juyi had sought the essentials of mind from the master. The master bestowed words upon me, saying: Contemplation; Awakening; Samadhi; Wisdom; Clarity; Penetration; Salvation; Renunciation. From this they entered my ear and penetrated my mind. Alas, now the master's reward-body has transformed, but the master's eight words do not transform. How supreme are the eight words! Truly they are the gradual gate of the contemplation of the acceptance of non-arising. Therefore, from Contemplation to Renunciation, I praise them in order. Expanding one word into one verse, I call them the Eight Gradual Verses. This is because I wish to make manifest the master's mind-teaching, and also to make clear that Juyi does not dare to let it fall away. Afterward, ascending the hall, bowing at the couch, kneeling and chanting, weeping and departing. The verses say:
觀
Contemplation
以心中眼觀心外相。從何而有從何而喪。觀之又觀則辨真妄。
With the eye within the mind, contemplate the marks outside the mind. From what do they arise? From what do they perish? Contemplate and again contemplate; then one discerns the true and the false.
覺
Awakening
惟真常在為妄所蒙。真妄苟辨覺生其中。不離妄有而得真空。
Only the true is constantly present, yet it is obscured by the false. If true and false are discerned, awakening arises within them. Not departing from the false, one attains true emptiness.
定
Samadhi
真若不滅。妄即不起。六根之源。湛如止水。是為禪定。乃脫生死。
If the true is not extinguished, the false does not arise. The source of the six senses is clear as still water. This is Chan samadhi; thereby one escapes birth and death.
慧
Wisdom
專之以定。定猶有繫。濟之以慧。慧則無滯。如珠在盤。盤定珠慧。
Devote it to samadhi; samadhi still has ties. Assist it with wisdom; wisdom then has no obstruction. Like a pearl on a plate: the plate is samadhi, the pearl is wisdom.
明
Clarity
定慧相合。合而後明。照彼萬物。物無遁形。如大圓鏡。有應無情。
Samadhi and wisdom unite; after uniting, then there is clarity. It illuminates the ten thousand things; things have no hidden forms. Like a great perfect mirror: it responds without emotion.
通
Penetration
慧至乃明。明則不昧。明至乃通。通則無礙。無礙者何。變化自在。
When wisdom arrives, then there is clarity. With clarity, one is not deluded. When clarity arrives, then there is penetration. With penetration, there is no obstruction. What is it that has no obstruction? Transformation at will.
濟
Ji
通力不常。應念而變。變相非有。隨求而見。是大慈悲。以一濟萬。
The power of penetration is not constant. It changes according to the thought. The transformed marks are not existent. They are seen according to the seeker. This is great compassion. With one, saving the myriad.
捨
She
眾苦既濟。大悲亦捨。苦既非真。悲亦是假。是故眾生。實無度者。
Once the multitude of sufferings is saved, great compassion is also relinquished. Since suffering is not real, compassion is also false. Therefore, among sentient beings, in truth there is no one to be saved.
同安察禪師十玄談(並序)
Chan Master Tong'an Cha's Ten Profound Discourses (with preface)
夫玄談妙句。逈出三乘。既不混緣。亦非獨立。當臺應用。如朗月以晶空。轉影泯機。似明珠而隱海。且學徒有等。妙理無窮。達事者稀。迷源者眾。森羅萬象物物上明。或即理事雙袪。名言俱喪。是以慇懃指月。莫錯端倪。不迷透水之針。可付開拳之寶。略序微言。以彰事理(卿公事苑雲。叢林所行十玄談皆無序引。愚曩遊廬阜。得其序於同安影堂。今錄之雲耳)。
Now, the profound discourse and wondrous phrases transcend the Three Vehicles. They neither mix with conditions nor stand alone. When applied on the platform, they are like the bright moon shining in the sky. Turning the shadow and erasing the mechanism, they are like a bright pearl hidden in the sea. Moreover, students have grades, and the wondrous principle is inexhaustible. Those who penetrate affairs are few; those who are deluded about the source are many. The myriad phenomena are each clearly understood on each thing. Or else both principle and phenomena are dispelled, and both names and words are lost. Therefore, earnestly pointing to the moon, do not mistake the tip. If not deluded by the needle piercing the water, one can entrust the treasure of the open fist. A brief preface of subtle words, to illuminate principle and phenomena. (According to Qinggong's Shiyuan: The Ten Profound Discourses practiced in the monastery all lack a preface. Previously, when I wandered in Mount Lu, I obtained its preface at the shadow hall of Tong'an. Now I record it thus.)
心印
Mind Seal
問君心印作何顏。心印何人敢授傳。歷劫坦然無異色。呼為心印早虛言。須知本自虛空性。將喻紅爐火裡蓮。莫謂無心雲是道。無心猶隔一重關。
I ask you, what countenance does the mind seal have? Who dares to transmit the mind seal? Through kalpas it is calm and without different color. Calling it the mind seal is already an empty word. You must know it is originally the nature of emptiness. It may be compared to a red lotus in a red furnace fire. Do not say that no-mind is the Way. No-mind still separates one by a barrier.
祖意
Patriarch's Meaning
祖意如空不是空。靈機爭墮有無功。三賢固未明斯旨。十聖那能達此宗。透網金鱗猶滯水。回途石馬出沙籠。慇懃為說西來意。莫問西來及與東。
The patriarch's meaning is like emptiness, yet it is not emptiness. How could the spiritual mechanism fall into the merit of existence or nonexistence? The three worthies certainly have not understood this purport. How could the ten sages reach this school? The golden fish that has escaped the net still lingers in the water. The stone horse returning on the road comes out of the sand cage. Earnestly I speak for you the meaning of the coming from the west. Do not ask about coming from the west or from the east.
玄機
Profound Mechanism
迢迢空劫勿能收。豈為塵機作繫留。妙體本來無處所。通身何更有蹤由。靈然一句超群象。逈出三乘不假修。撒手那邊千聖外。迴程堪作火中牛。
Far off in empty kalpas, it cannot be gathered. How could it be tethered by the dusty mechanism? The wondrous substance originally has no place. How could the whole body have any trace? One spiritually luminous phrase transcends the multitudinous images. It stands far beyond the Three Vehicles and does not depend on cultivation. Letting go on that side, beyond a thousand sages, the return journey can make one a fire ox.