Platform Sutra of the Dharma Jewel of the Sixth Patriarch

風旛報恩光孝禪寺住持嗣祖比丘宗寶編

Compiled and edited by the bhikshu Zongbao, abbot of the Fengfan Bao'en Guangxiao Chan Monastery and heir to the Dharma. (Zongbao was a monk of the Yuan dynasty, and the commonly circulated edition of the Platform Sutra was reedited by him.)

時，大師至寶林。韶州韋刺史(名璩)與官僚入山請師，出於城中大梵寺講堂，為眾開緣說法。師陞座次，刺史官僚三十餘人，儒宗學士三十餘人，僧尼道俗一千餘人，同時作禮，願聞法要。

At that time, the Master arrived at Baolin Monastery. Wei Qu, the prefect of Shaozhou, and his subordinate officials went into the mountains to invite the Master, and to the lecture hall of Dafan Monastery in the city to open the Dharma conditions and teach the Buddha's Dharma for the assembly. When the Master ascended the Dharma seat, the prefect and more than thirty officials, more than thirty Confucian scholars, and more than a thousand monks, nuns and lay followers all paid their respects at the same time, wishing to hear the essentials of the Dharma.

大師告眾曰：「善知識！菩提自性，本來清淨，但用此心，直了成佛。善知識！且聽惠能行由，得法事意。惠能嚴父，本貫範陽，左降流於嶺南，作新州百姓。此身不幸，父又早亡。老母孤遺，移來南海，艱辛貧乏，於市賣柴。時，有一客買柴，使令送至客店；客收去，惠能得錢，卻出門外，見一客誦經。惠能一聞經語，心即開悟，遂問：『客誦何經？』客曰：『《金剛經》。』復問：『從何所來，持此經典？』客云：『我從蘄州黃梅縣東禪寺來。其寺是五祖忍大師在彼主化，門人一千有餘；我到彼中禮拜，聽受此經。大師常勸僧俗，但持《金剛經》，即自見性，直了成佛。』惠能聞說，宿昔有緣，乃蒙一客，取銀十兩與惠能，令充老母衣糧，教便往黃梅參禮五祖。

The Master told the assembly: "Good friends! The enlightened self-nature is originally pure; if you simply use this mind, you can directly reach understanding and become a buddha. Good friends! Listen to how I, Huineng, obtained the Dharma and the causes behind it. My father was originally from Fanyang, but was demoted and exiled to Lingnan and became a commoner of Xinzhou. In this life I was unfortunate, and my father died early. My lonely old mother brought me to Nanhai, where life was hard and poor, and I sold firewood in the market. Once, a customer bought firewood and had me deliver it to an inn; the customer took the firewood, and I took the money and went out the door, and saw a guest reciting a sutra. As soon as I heard the words in the sutra, my mind awakened on the spot, and I asked: 'What sutra are you reciting, sir?' He said: 'The Diamond Sutra.' I asked again: 'Where do you come from, that you hold this scripture?' He said: 'I come from Dongchan Monastery in Huangmei County, Qizhou. That monastery is where the Fifth Patriarch, Master Hongren, serves as abbot and teaches, and he has over a thousand disciples; I went there to pay homage and received this scripture. The Master often urged monastics and laypeople that simply by upholding the Diamond Sutra, one can see one's own nature and directly reach understanding and become a buddha.' Hearing these words, I thought that I must have had a connection in a former life, and was fortunate that a guest took ten taels of silver and gave them to me to use for my old mother's clothing and food, and taught me to go at once to Huangmei to pay homage to the Fifth Patriarch."

「惠能安置母畢，即便辭違。不經三十餘日，便至黃梅，禮拜五祖。祖問曰：『汝何方人？欲求何物？』惠能對曰：『弟子是嶺南新州百姓，遠來禮師，惟求作佛，不求餘物。』祖言：『汝是嶺南人，又是獵獠，若為堪作佛？』惠能曰：『人雖有南北，佛性本無南北；獵獠身與和尚不同，佛性有何差別？』五祖更欲與語，且見徒眾總在左右，乃令隨眾作務。惠能曰：『惠能啟和尚，弟子自心，常生智慧，不離自性，即是福田。未審和尚教作何務？』祖云：『這獦獠根性大利！汝更勿言，著槽廠去。』惠能退至後院，有一行者，差惠能破柴踏碓。經八月餘，祖一日忽見惠能曰：『吾思汝之見可用，恐有惡人害汝，遂不與汝言。汝知之否？』惠能曰：『弟子亦知師意，不敢行至堂前，令人不覺。』

"After I had settled my mother, I took leave at once and set out. In little over thirty days I arrived at Huangmei and paid homage to the Fifth Patriarch. The Fifth Patriarch asked: 'Where are you from? What do you seek?' I answered: 'Your disciple is a commoner of Xinzhou in Lingnan, and I have come a long way to pay homage to the Master, seeking only to become a buddha and nothing else.' The Fifth Patriarch said: 'You are a man of Lingnan, and a Geliao (a contemptuous term then used for southern minorities); how can you become a buddha?' I said: 'Though people may be southern or northern, Buddha-nature originally has no south or north; this Geliao body is different from the Abbot's, but what difference is there in Buddha-nature?' The Fifth Patriarch wished to speak more with me, but seeing the disciples all around, he told me to go with the others and work. I said: 'Huineng reports to the Abbot: in my own heart wisdom constantly arises, and I do not depart from my own nature; this is the field of blessing. I do not know what work the Abbot wishes me to do?' The Fifth Patriarch said: 'This Geliao has very sharp faculties! Say no more, and go to the threshing room.' I withdrew to the rear courtyard, where a lay worker had me split firewood and tread the pestle. After more than eight months, one day the Fifth Patriarch suddenly saw me and said: 'I think your understanding is of use, but I feared evil people might harm you, so I never spoke to you. Did you know?' I said: 'Your disciple also knew the Master's intention, and so did not dare go to the front of the hall, lest people notice.'"

「祖一日喚諸門人總來：『吾向汝說，世人生死事大，汝等終日只求福田，不求出離生死苦海；自性若迷，福何可救？汝等各去，自看智慧，取自本心般若之性，各作一偈，來呈吾看。若悟大意，付汝衣法，為第六代祖。火急速去，不得遲滯，思量即不中用；見性之人，言下須見。若如此者，輪刀上陣，亦得見之。』(喻利根者)眾得處分，退而遞相謂曰：『我等眾人，不須澄心用意作偈，將呈和尚，有何所益？神秀上座，現為教授師，必是他得。我輩謾作偈頌，枉用心力。』餘人聞語，總皆息心，鹹言：『我等已後依止秀師，何煩作偈？』神秀思惟：『諸人不呈偈者，為我與他為教授師；我須作偈，將呈和尚，若不呈偈，和尚如何知我心中見解深淺？我呈偈意，求法即善，覓祖即惡，卻同凡心，奪其聖位奚別？若不呈偈，終不得法。大難！大難！』

"One day the Fifth Patriarch called all his disciples: 'I tell you, birth and death are a great matter for people of the world; all day long you seek only fields of blessing and do not seek to escape the sea of suffering of birth and death; if your self-nature is deluded, how can blessings save you? Each of you go back and observe your own wisdom, take the nature of prajna in your own original mind, and each compose a verse to present to me. If you comprehend the great meaning, I will pass the robe and Dharma to him to be the Sixth Patriarch. Go quickly, no delay; to ponder with the mind is of no use, and one who sees his nature should see it at a single word. Such a person, even charging into battle swinging a sword, will see it all the same.' (This is a simile for people of sharp capacity.) The assembly, having received the instruction, withdrew and said to one another: 'We need not clear our minds and strain to compose a verse; what use is it to present one to the Abbot? Senior Shenxiu is now the teaching master, and surely it is he who will obtain the Dharma. If we compose verses carelessly, it will be wasted effort.' The others, hearing this, all put their minds at rest, and all said: 'From now on we will rely on Master Shenxiu; why bother composing verses?' Shenxiu thought: 'The others do not present verses because I am their teaching master; I must compose a verse and present it to the Abbot; if I do not present one, how will the Abbot know how deep or shallow my understanding is? My purpose in presenting the verse, if it is to seek the Dharma, is good, but if it is to seek the patriarch's seat, it is bad, and then it would be the same as the mind of an ordinary person, no different from seizing the sacred seat. But if I do not present a verse, I will never obtain the Dharma. How hard! How hard!'"

「五祖堂前，有步廊三間，擬請供奉盧珍，畫楞伽經變相，及五祖血脈圖，流傳供養。神秀作偈成已，數度欲呈，行至堂前，心中恍惚，遍身汗流，擬呈不得；前後經四日，一十三度呈偈不得。秀乃思惟：『不如向廊下書著，從他和尚看見，忽若道好，即出禮拜，雲是秀作；若道不堪，枉向山中數年，受人禮拜，更修何道？』是夜三更，不使人知，自執燈，書偈於南廊壁間，呈心所見。偈曰：

"In front of the Fifth Patriarch's hall there were three corridors, and he had meant to invite the court painter Lu Zhen to paint scenes from the Lankavatara Sutra and the lineage chart of the Fifth Patriarch's line, to be handed down and venerated. After Shenxiu composed his verse, several times he wished to go present it, but on reaching the front of the hall his mind went blank and sweat poured over his whole body, and though he wanted to present it he could not; over four days, thirteen times, he could not present it. Shenxiu then thought: 'It would be better to write it in the corridor and let the Abbot see it; if he says it is good, I will come out and bow, and say I wrote it; if he says it will not do, then I have wasted years cultivating in the mountains and receiving people's homage, and what Way is left to cultivate?' That night at the third watch, without letting anyone know, he took a lamp himself and wrote the verse on the wall of the south corridor, revealing what he saw in his mind. The verse said:"

「身是菩提樹，心如明鏡臺，

The body is the bodhi tree, the mind is like a bright mirror stand,

時時勤拂拭，勿使惹塵埃。

Constantly and diligently wipe it clean, and let no dust alight."

「秀書偈了，便卻歸房，人總不知。秀復思惟：『五祖明日見偈歡喜，即我與法有緣；若言不堪，自是我迷，宿業障重，不合得法。』聖意難測，房中思想，坐臥不安，直至五更。祖已知神秀入門未得，不見自性。

"After writing the verse, Shenxiu went back to his room, and no one else knew. He thought again: 'If the Fifth Patriarch is pleased with the verse tomorrow, it means I have a connection with the Dharma; if he says it will not do, then it is I who am deluded, my karmic obstacles from past lives are heavy, and I should not obtain the Dharma.' The mind of a sage is hard to fathom; in his room he pondered it over and over, unable to sit or lie at ease, until the fifth watch. The Fifth Patriarch in fact already knew that Shenxiu had not yet entered the gate and had not seen his own nature."

「天明，祖喚盧供奉來，向南廊壁間，繪畫圖相，忽見其偈，報言：『供奉卻不用畫，勞爾遠來。經云：「凡所有相，皆是虛妄。」但留此偈，與人誦持。依此偈修，免墮惡道；依此偈修，有大利益。』令門人炷香禮敬，盡誦此偈，即得見性。門人誦偈，皆歎善哉。

"At dawn, the Fifth Patriarch called for Court Painter Lu to paint on the wall of the south corridor, and suddenly saw the verse, and said to him: 'Court Painter, there is no need to paint, though I have troubled you to come from afar. The sutra says: "All that has form is illusory." Leave only this verse for people to recite and hold. Practicing according to this verse, one can avoid falling into evil realms; practicing according to this verse, there is great benefit.' He also had his disciples light incense and pay respects, and all recite this verse, so that they could see their nature. The disciples recited the verse and all praised it as good."

「祖，三更喚秀入堂，問曰：『偈是汝作否？』秀言：『實是秀作，不敢妄求祖位，望和尚慈悲，看弟子有少智慧否？』祖曰：『汝作此偈，未見本性，只到門外，未入門內。如此見解，覓無上菩提，了不可得；無上菩提，須得言下識自本心，見自本性不生不滅；於一切時中，念念自見萬法無滯，一真一切真，萬境自如如。如如之心，即是真實。若如是見，即是無上菩提之自性也。汝且去，一兩日思惟，更作一偈，將來吾看；汝偈若入得門，付汝衣法。』神秀作禮而出。又經數日，作偈不成，心中恍惚，神思不安，猶如夢中，行坐不樂。

"At the third watch the Fifth Patriarch summoned Shenxiu into the hall and asked: 'Did you compose the verse?' Shenxiu said: 'I truly did, and I dare not wrongly seek the patriarch's seat; I only hope that the Abbot in his compassion will see whether your disciple has a little wisdom.' The Fifth Patriarch said: 'In composing this verse you have not yet seen your original nature; you have only reached outside the gate and have not entered. With such understanding to seek unsurpassed bodhi, it is utterly impossible to attain; unsurpassed bodhi requires recognizing your own original mind at a word, and seeing that your own nature neither arises nor perishes; at all times, in every thought, you yourself see that the myriad dharmas are without hindrance; when one thing is true, all things are true, and the myriad realms are naturally just as they are. This mind of suchness, unmoving, is the truth. If you can see in this way, that is the self-nature of unsurpassed bodhi. Go back for now, think for a day or two, and compose another verse to bring me; if your verse can enter the gate, I will pass the robe and Dharma to you.' Shenxiu bowed and withdrew. Several more days passed, and he could not compose a verse; his mind was blank and his spirit unsettled, as though in a dream, and walking, sitting and lying down he was never at ease."

「復兩日，有一童子於碓坊過，唱誦其偈；惠能一聞，便知此偈未見本性，雖未蒙教授，早識大意。遂問童子曰：『誦者何偈？』童子曰：『爾這獵獠不知，大師言：「世人生死事大，欲得傳付衣法，令門人作偈來看。若悟大意，即付衣法為第六祖。」神秀上座，於南廊壁上，書無相偈，大師令人皆誦，依此偈修，免墮惡道；依此偈修，有大利益。』惠能曰：『(一本有我亦要誦此，結來生緣)上人！我此踏碓，八箇餘月，未曾行到堂前。望上人引至偈前禮拜。』童子引至偈前禮拜，惠能曰：『惠能不識字，請上人為讀。』時，有江州別駕，姓張名日用，便高聲讀。惠能聞已，遂言：『亦有一偈，望別駕為書。』別駕言：『汝亦作偈？其事希有。』惠能向別駕言：『欲學無上菩提，不得輕於初學。下下人有上上智，上上人有沒意智。若輕人，即有無量無邊罪。』別駕言：『汝但誦偈，吾為汝書。汝若得法，先須度吾。勿忘此言。』惠能偈曰：

"Two more days passed, and a boy passing the threshing room recited that verse all along the way; as soon as I heard it, I knew the verse had not yet seen the nature. Though I had received no instruction, I already knew the great meaning. I asked the boy: 'What verse are you reciting?' The boy said: 'You Geliao do not know; the Master said: "Birth and death are a great matter for people of the world; I wish to pass on the robe and Dharma, and have my disciples compose verses to show me. If one comprehends the great meaning, I will pass the robe and Dharma to him to be the Sixth Patriarch." Senior Shenxiu wrote a verse of no-form on the south corridor wall, and the Master told everyone to recite it; practicing according to this verse, one can avoid falling into evil realms; practicing according to it, there is great benefit.' I said: '(Some editions add here the line "I too will recite this verse, to form a connection for the next life.") Sir! I have been treading the pestle here for more than eight months and have never gone to the front of the hall. Please take me to the verse to pay homage.' The boy led me to the verse and I bowed, and I said: 'Huineng cannot read; please, sir, read it for me.' At that time there was a deputy governor of Jiangzhou, surnamed Zhang and named Riyong, who read it aloud. When I had heard it, I said: 'I also have a verse; please, Deputy Governor, write it down for me.' The deputy governor said: 'You can compose verses too? That is remarkable.' I said to the deputy governor: 'If you wish to study unsurpassed bodhi, you must not look down on beginners. The lowest of people may have the highest wisdom, and the highest of people may bury their wisdom. If you look down on others, you commit immeasurable, boundless faults.' The deputy governor said: 'Just recite your verse, and I will write it for you. If you obtain the Dharma, you must liberate me first. Do not forget these words.' My verse was:"

「菩提本無樹，明鏡亦非臺；

Bodhi originally has no tree, nor is the bright mirror any stand;

本來無一物，何處惹塵埃？

Originally there is not a single thing; where could dust alight?"

「書此偈已，徒眾總驚，無不嗟訝，各相謂言：『奇哉！不得以貌取人，何得多時使他肉身菩薩。』祖見眾人驚怪，恐人損害，遂將鞋擦了偈，曰：『亦未見性。』眾以為然。

"When this verse was written, the assembly was stunned, and everyone was astonished, saying to one another: 'Strange! One truly cannot judge a person by appearance; how did he become a living Bodhisattva in so short a time?' The Fifth Patriarch, seeing the assembly's astonishment, feared someone might harm me, and wiped out the verse with his shoe, saying: 'He has not seen his nature either.' The assembly then took it to be so."

「次日，祖潛至碓坊，見能腰石舂米，語曰：『求道之人，為法忘軀，當如是乎！』乃問曰：『米熟也未？』惠能曰：『米熟久矣，猶欠篩在。』祖以杖擊碓三下而去。惠能即會祖意，三鼓入室；祖以袈裟遮圍，不令人見，為說《金剛經》。至『應無所住而生其心』，惠能言下大悟，一切萬法，不離自性。遂啟祖言：『何期自性，本自清淨；何期自性，本不生滅；何期自性，本自具足；何期自性，本無動搖；何期自性，能生萬法。』祖知悟本性，謂惠能曰：『不識本心，學法無益；若識自本心，見自本性，即名丈夫、天人師、佛。』三更受法，人盡不知，便傳頓教及衣缽，云：『汝為第六代祖，善自護念，廣度有情，流佈將來，無令斷絕。聽吾偈曰：

"The next day, the Fifth Patriarch quietly came to the threshing room, and seeing me with a stone tied to my waist pounding rice, said: 'One who seeks the Way and forgets himself for the Dharma should be like this!' Then he asked: 'Is the rice ripe yet?' I said: 'The rice has long been ripe; it only lacks sifting.' The Fifth Patriarch struck the pestle three times with his staff and left. I immediately understood the Fifth Patriarch's meaning, and at the third watch went into his room; the Fifth Patriarch screened me with his robe so that no one could see, and taught me the Diamond Sutra. When he came to 'One should give rise to a mind that abides nowhere,' I was greatly and thoroughly awakened at those words: all the myriad dharmas are never apart from self-nature. Then I reported to the Fifth Patriarch: 'I never thought that self-nature is originally pure; I never thought that self-nature originally neither arises nor perishes; I never thought that self-nature is originally complete in itself; I never thought that self-nature originally has no wavering; I never thought that self-nature can give rise to the myriad dharmas.' The Fifth Patriarch knew I had realized my original nature, and said to me: 'If you do not recognize your original mind, studying the Dharma is of no use; if you recognize your own original mind and see your own nature, you are called a great man, teacher of gods and humans, a buddha.' I received the Dharma at the third watch, and no one knew; the Fifth Patriarch then passed the Sudden Teaching and the robe and bowl to me, saying: 'You are the Sixth Patriarch; take good care of yourself, liberate beings widely, and pass on the Dharma, and do not let it be cut off. Listen to my verse:"

「『有情來下種，因地果還生，

Sentient beings come and sow the seed; from this causal ground the fruit naturally arises;

無情既無種，無性亦無生。』

Insentient things, since no seed can be sown, have no Buddha-nature and so no growth.'"

「祖復曰：『昔達磨大師，初來此土，人未之信，故傳此衣，以為信體，代代相承；法則以心傳心，皆令自悟自解。自古，佛佛惟傳本體，師師密付本心；衣為爭端，止汝勿傳。若傳此衣，命如懸絲。汝須速去，恐人害汝。』惠能啟曰：『向甚處去？』祖云：『逢懷則止，遇會則藏。』惠能三更領得衣缽，云：『能本是南中人，素不知此山路，如何出得江口？』五祖言：『汝不須憂，吾自送汝。』祖相送，直至九江驛。祖令上船，五祖把艣自搖。惠能言：『請和尚坐。弟子合搖艣。』祖云：『合是吾渡汝。』惠能云：『迷時師度，悟了自度；度名雖一，用處不同。惠能生在邊方，語音不正，蒙師傳法，今已得悟，只合自性自度。』祖云：『如是，如是！以後佛法，由汝大行。汝去三年，吾方逝世。汝今好去，努力向南。不宜速說，佛法難起。』

"The Fifth Patriarch said further: 'In the past, when Master Bodhidharma first came to this land, people did not believe him, so this robe was handed down as a token of faith, passed on from generation to generation; as for the Dharma, it is passed from mind to mind, and everyone must awaken to it and understand it for himself. From ancient times, buddha to buddha has only passed on this original substance, and teacher to teacher has silently entrusted this original mind. The robe is the source of strife and misfortune; stop passing it on with you. If this robe is passed on again, your life will hang as by a thread. You must leave quickly, for I fear someone may harm you.' I asked: 'Where should I go?' The Fifth Patriarch said: 'When you meet "Huai," stop; when you meet "Hui," hide.' At the third watch I received the robe and bowl, and said: 'Huineng is a southerner, and has never known the mountain paths here; how can I get out to the river mouth?' The Fifth Patriarch said: 'Do not worry; I will see you off myself.' The Fifth Patriarch saw me off all the way to the Jiujiang post station. The Fifth Patriarch told me to board the boat, and himself took the oar and rowed. I said: 'Please sit down, Abbot; it should be your disciple who rows.' The Fifth Patriarch said: 'It is I who should carry you across.' I said: 'When deluded, it is the teacher who carries one across; when awakened, one carries oneself across; though both are called crossing, their use is not the same. Huineng was born in a remote place and my accent is not correct, yet I have received the Dharma from my teacher, and now that I have awakened, I should cross by my own nature.' The Fifth Patriarch said: 'Just so, just so! In the future the Buddha-Dharma will rely on you to flourish greatly. I will pass away three years after you leave. Go well now, and strive to go south. Do not be in a hurry to teach the Dharma, for the Buddha-Dharma is hard to raise up.'"

「惠能辭違祖已，發足南行。兩月中間，至大庾嶺(五祖歸，數日不上堂。眾疑，詣問曰：『和尚少病少惱否？』曰：『病即無。衣法已南矣。』問：『誰人傳授？』曰：『能者得之。』眾乃知焉)。逐後數百人來，欲奪衣缽。一僧俗姓陳，名惠明，先是四品將軍，性行麁慥，極意參尋。為眾人先，趁及惠能。惠能擲下衣缽於石上，云：『此衣表信，可力爭耶？』能隱草莽中。惠明至，提掇不動，乃喚云：『行者！行者！我為法來，不為衣來。』惠能遂出，坐盤石上。惠明作禮云：『望行者為我說法。』惠能云：『汝既為法而來，可屏息諸緣，勿生一念。吾為汝說。』明良久。惠能云：『不思善，不思惡，正與麼時，那箇是明上座本來面目？』惠明言下大悟。復問云：『上來密語密意外，還更有密意否？』惠能云：『與汝說者，即非密也。汝若返照，密在汝邊。』明曰：『惠明雖在黃梅，實未省自己面目。今蒙指示，如人飲水，冷暖自知。今行者即惠明師也。』惠能曰：『汝若如是，吾與汝同師黃梅，善自護持。』明又問：『惠明今後向甚處去？』惠能曰：『逢袁則止，遇蒙則居。』明禮辭(明回至嶺下，謂趁眾曰：『向陟崔嵬，竟無蹤跡，當別道尋之。』趁眾鹹以為然。惠明後改道明，避師上字)。

"After taking leave of the Fifth Patriarch, I set out southward. Within two months I reached Dayu Ridge. (After the Fifth Patriarch returned, he did not take the hall for several days. The assembly grew suspicious and went to ask: 'Abbot, are you ill, or troubled?' The Fifth Patriarch said: 'Not ill. The robe and Dharma have gone south.' They asked: 'Who was it passed to?' He answered: 'The one named Neng has obtained it.' Only then did the assembly understand.) Several hundred people chased after me, wishing to seize the robe and bowl. A monk whose lay surname was Chen and whose name was Huiming, formerly a general of the fourth rank, rough by nature, was bent on the pursuit and ran ahead of the others, and caught up with me. I threw the robe and bowl down on a rock and said: 'This robe is a token of faith; can it be fought over by force?' Saying this, I hid myself in the grass. Huiming arrived and tried to lift the robe and bowl but could not move them, and called out: 'Lay worker! Lay worker! I came for the Dharma, not for the robe.' Then I came out and sat on a flat rock. Huiming bowed and said: 'I hope the lay worker will teach me the Dharma.' I said: 'Since you have come for the Dharma, you should put aside all outer conditions and not give rise to a single thought. I will explain it to you.' Huiming was silent for a long time. I said: 'Not thinking of good, not thinking of evil, at just this moment, what is your original face, Senior Ming?' Huiming was greatly awakened on the spot. He asked again: 'Besides the secret words and secret meaning just now, is there any other secret meaning?' I said: 'What can be spoken to you is not secret. If you turn the light around and look back, the secret is in you yourself.' Huiming said: 'Though Huiming was at Huangmei, I never in fact saw my own original face. Today, receiving your instruction, it is like a person drinking water, knowing for himself whether it is cold or warm. Now you, lay worker, are Huiming's teacher.' I said: 'If you say so, then you and I take Huangmei as our teacher together; take good care of it.' Huiming asked again: 'Where should Huiming go from here?' I said: 'When you meet "Yuan," stop; when you meet "Meng," settle.' Huiming bowed and took leave. (Huiming returned to the foot of the ridge and told the crowd that had come after: 'I searched the high steep mountains up there and there was no trace; you should look by another road.' The pursuers all thought so. Huiming later changed his name to Daoming, to avoid the first character of his teacher's name.)"

「惠能後至曹溪，又被惡人尋逐。乃於四會，避難獵人隊中，凡經一十五載，時與獵人隨宜說法。獵人常令守網，每見生命，盡放之。每至飯時，以菜寄煮肉鍋。或問，則對曰：『但吃肉邊菜。』

"Later I arrived at Caoxi, and was again hunted by evil people. So I took refuge around Sihui, mixing among a group of hunters, for fifteen years in all, from time to time teaching the Dharma to the hunters as occasion allowed. The hunters often had me watch the nets, and every time I saw a living creature I set it free. At every mealtime I put vegetables into the pot where meat was boiling and cooked them alongside it. If anyone asked, I answered: 'I only eat the vegetables beside the meat.'"

「一日思惟：『時當弘法，不可終遯。』遂出至廣州法性寺，值印宗法師講《涅槃經》。時有風吹旛動，一僧曰：『風動。』一僧曰：『旛動。』議論不已。惠能進曰：『不是風動，不是旛動，仁者心動。』一眾駭然。印宗延至上席，徵詰奧義。見惠能言簡理當，不由文字，宗云：『行者定非常人。久聞黃梅衣法南來，莫是行者否？』惠能曰：『不敢。』宗於是作禮，告請傳來衣缽出示大眾。宗復問曰：『黃梅付囑，如何指授？』惠能曰：『指授即無；惟論見性，不論禪定解脫。』宗曰：『何不論禪定解脫？』能曰：『為是二法，不是佛法。佛法是不二之法。』宗又問：『如何是佛法不二之法？』惠能曰：『法師講《涅槃經》，明佛性，是佛法不二之法。如高貴德王菩薩白佛言：「犯四重禁、作五逆罪，及一闡提等，當斷善根佛性否？」佛言：「善根有二：一者常，二者無常，佛性非常非無常，是故不斷，名為不二。一者善，二者不善，佛性非善非不善，是名不二。蘊之與界，凡夫見二，智者了達其性無二，無二之性即是佛性。」』印宗聞說，歡喜合掌，言：『某甲講經，猶如瓦礫；仁者論義，猶如真金。』於是為惠能剃髮，願事為師。惠能遂於菩提樹下，開東山法門。

"One day I thought: 'The time has come to spread the Dharma, and I cannot hide away forever.' So I came out to Faxing Monastery in Guangzhou, just as Dharma Master Yinzong was lecturing on the Nirvana Sutra. At that time wind was blowing the banner, and one monk said: 'The wind is moving.' Another said: 'The banner is moving.' They argued without end. I stepped forward and said: 'It is not the wind moving, it is not the banner moving; it is your minds that are moving.' Everyone present was astonished. Yinzong invited me to the upper seat and pressed me about the profound meaning. Seeing that my words were brief and the principle apt, not relying on writings, he said: 'The lay worker must be no ordinary person. I have long heard that the robe and Dharma of Huangmei had come south; might it be you?' I said: 'I do not dare claim it.' Yinzong then bowed and asked me to bring out the transmitted robe and bowl to show the assembly. Yinzong asked again: 'When Huangmei passed it on, how did he instruct and transmit?' I said: 'There was no instruction or transmission; he only spoke of seeing one's nature, and did not speak of meditation or liberation.' Yinzong said: 'Why did he not speak of meditation and liberation?' I said: 'Because those are two dharmas, and not the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma is the non-dual Dharma.' Yinzong asked again: 'What is the non-dual Dharma of the Buddha-Dharma?' I said: 'The Dharma Master lectures on the Nirvana Sutra and expounds Buddha-nature, which is itself the non-dual Dharma of the Buddha-Dharma. For example, the Bodhisattva Noble Virtue King asked the Buddha: "If one has violated the four grave prohibitions, committed the five heinous crimes, or is an icchantika and so on, will the roots of goodness and Buddha-nature be cut off?" The Buddha said: "There are two kinds of roots of goodness: one is constant, one is impermanent; Buddha-nature is neither constant nor impermanent, so it is not cut off, and this is called non-dual. One is good and one is not good; Buddha-nature is neither good nor not good, and this is called non-dual. The five aggregates and the eighteen realms, ordinary people see as two, but the wise understand their nature to be not two, and that non-dual nature is Buddha-nature."' Yinzong, hearing this, joyfully joined his palms and said: 'My lecturing on sutras is like rubble; the Venerable's discussion of meaning is like true gold.' Then he shaved my head, willing to take me as his teacher. And so beneath the bodhi tree I began to expound the Dharma Gate of East Mountain."

「惠能於東山得法，辛苦受盡，命似懸絲。今日得與使君、官僚、僧尼、道俗同此一會，莫非累劫之緣，亦是過去生中供養諸佛，同種善根，方始得聞如上頓教得法之因。教是先聖所傳，不是惠能自智。願聞先聖教者，各令淨心，聞了各自除疑，如先代聖人無別。」

"When I obtained the Dharma at Dongshan, I endured every hardship, and my life hung as if by a thread. That today I can gather in this assembly with the Prefect, the officials, monks, nuns, and laypeople is nothing but the result of causes and conditions through many kalpas, and also because in past lives we made offerings to the Buddhas and together planted good roots, so that we can hear the above account of how the sudden teaching was received. This teaching was transmitted by the sages of earlier generations; it is not Huineng's own cleverness. Those who wish to hear the teaching of the former sages, please each quiet your mind; after hearing it, each of you remove your doubts, and you will be no different from the sages of former times."

一眾聞法，歡喜作禮而退。

The whole assembly, having heard the Dharma, rejoiced, bowed, and withdrew.

次日，韋使君請益。師陞座，告大眾曰：「總淨心念摩訶般若波羅蜜多。」復云：「善知識！菩提般若之智，世人本自有之；只緣心迷，不能自悟，須假大善知識，示導見性。當知愚人智人，佛性本無差別，只緣迷悟不同，所以有愚有智。吾今為說摩訶般若波羅蜜法，使汝等各得智慧。志心諦聽！吾為汝說。善知識！世人終日口唸般若，不識自性般若，猶如說食不飽。口但說空，萬劫不得見性，終無有益。善知識！摩訶般若波羅蜜是梵語，此言大智慧到彼岸。此須心行，不在口唸。口唸心不行，如幻、如化、如露、如電；口唸心行，則心口相應，本性是佛，離性無別佛。何名摩訶？摩訶是大。心量廣大，猶如虛空，無有邊畔，亦無方圓大小，亦非青黃赤白，亦無上下長短，亦無瞋無喜，無是無非，無善無惡，無有頭尾。諸佛剎土，盡同虛空。世人妙性本空，無有一法可得。自性真空，亦復如是。善知識！莫聞吾說空，便即著空。第一莫著空，若空心靜坐，即著無記空。善知識！世界虛空，能含萬物色像，日月星宿，山河大地，泉源谿澗，草木叢林，惡人善人，惡法善法，天堂地獄，一切大海，須彌諸山，總在空中。世人性空，亦復如是。善知識！自性能含萬法是大，萬法在諸人性中。若見一切人、惡之與善，盡皆不取不捨亦不染著，心如虛空，名之為大，故曰摩訶。善知識！迷人口說，智者心行。又有迷人，空心靜坐，百無所思，自稱為大。此一輩人，不可與語，為邪見故。善知識！心量廣大，遍周法界，用即了了分明，應用便知一切。一切即一，一即一切。去來自由，心體無滯，即是般若。善知識！一切般若智，皆從自性而生，不從外入。莫錯用意，名為真性自用，一真一切真。心量大事，不行小道。口莫終日說空，心中不修此行，恰似凡人自稱國王，終不可得，非吾弟子。

The next day, Prefect Wei asked the Master to give further instruction. The Master ascended the seat and told the great assembly: "Everyone quiet your minds and recite 'Maha Prajna Paramita.'" He continued: "Good friends! The wisdom of bodhi and prajna is originally possessed by people of the world; it is only because the mind is deluded that they cannot awaken by themselves, and so they need the instruction and guidance of a great good teacher to see their nature. You should know that for the foolish and the wise, Buddha nature is originally not different; it is only because of the difference between delusion and awakening that there are the foolish and the wise. Today I will explain to you the Maha Prajna Paramita Dharma, so that each of you may obtain wisdom. Listen attentively! I will speak for you. Good friends! People of the world recite prajna all day long with their mouths, yet do not recognize the prajna in their own nature, just as merely speaking of food will not fill the stomach. Merely speaking of emptiness with the mouth, one will not see one's nature in ten thousand kalpas, and in the end there is no benefit. Good friends! 'Maha Prajna Paramita' is Sanskrit, and in Chinese it means 'great wisdom to reach the other shore.' This must be practiced with the mind, and not recited with the mouth. If recited with the mouth but not practiced in the mind, it is like an illusion, like a magical transformation, like dew, like lightning; if recited with the mouth and also practiced in the mind, then mind and mouth correspond, and one's original nature is the Buddha; apart from one's nature there is no other Buddha. What is 'Maha'? Maha means great. The capacity of the mind is vast and great, like space, without limit, and without squareness, roundness, size, blue, yellow, red, or white, without above or below, long or short, without anger or joy, without right or wrong, without good or evil, without head or tail. The lands of all the Buddhas are the same as space. The wondrous nature of people of the world is originally empty, with not a single dharma to be attained. The true emptiness of the self-nature is also like this. Good friends! Do not, on hearing me speak of emptiness, immediately cling to emptiness. The most important thing is not to cling to emptiness: if one sits in meditation with an empty mind, one falls into 'blank emptiness.' Good friends! The space of the world can contain the forms and images of the myriad things: the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, great earth, springs, streams, grasses, trees, forests, evil people and good people, evil dharmas and good dharmas, heaven and hell, all the great seas, Mount Sumeru and all mountains, all are within space. The emptiness of people's nature is also like this. Good friends! Only when one's own nature can contain the myriad dharmas is it called great; the myriad dharmas are all within each person's own nature. If one sees all people, whether evil or good, and neither takes nor rejects them nor is stained by them, with a mind like space, this is called great, and therefore it is called Maha. Good friends! The deluded speak only with the mouth, while the wise practice in the mind. There is also a kind of deluded person who sits quietly with an empty mind, thinking of nothing, and calls this great. One must not speak with such people, because they have fallen into wrong views. Good friends! The capacity of the mind is vast and great, pervading the entire Dharma realm; when used, it is utterly clear and distinct, and applied everywhere it knows everything. All is one and one is all. Coming and going freely, with the substance of the mind unobstructed, this is prajna. Good friends! All prajna wisdom arises from one's own nature and does not come in from outside. Do not misuse your thoughts; this is called the true nature's own functioning, and if one is true, all is true. The capacity of the mind is a great matter; do not walk the small paths. Do not talk about emptiness all day with the mouth while in the mind not cultivating this practice; that is like an ordinary man calling himself king, which will never come to be, and such a person is not my disciple."

「善知識！何名般若？般若者，唐言智慧也。一切處所，一切時中，念念不愚，常行智慧，即是般若行。一念愚即般若絕，一念智即般若生。世人愚迷，不見般若，口說般若，心中常愚。常自言：『我修般若。』念念說空，不識真空。般若無形相，智慧心即是。若作如是解，即名般若智。何名波羅蜜？此是西國語，唐言到彼岸，解義離生滅。著境生滅起，如水有波浪，即名為此岸；離境無生滅，如水常通流，即名為彼岸，故號波羅蜜。善知識！迷人口唸，當念之時，有妄有非。念念若行，是名真性。悟此法者，是般若法；修此行者，是般若行。不修即凡；一念修行，自身等佛。善知識！凡夫即佛，煩惱即菩提。前念迷即凡夫，後念悟即佛。前念著境即煩惱，後念離境即菩提。

"Good friends! What is prajna? Prajna, in Chinese, is wisdom. In all places and at all times, being unconfused in every thought and constantly practicing wisdom is the practice of prajna. When one thought is foolish, prajna is cut off; when one thought is wise, prajna arises. Foolish and deluded people of the world cannot see prajna, and say prajna with their mouths while their minds are constantly foolish. They often say of themselves: 'I am cultivating prajna.' In every thought they speak of emptiness, yet they do not recognize true emptiness. Prajna has no form or mark; the mind that has wisdom is it. If one can understand this way, it is called prajna wisdom. What is paramita? This is a Western word; in Chinese it is 'to reach the other shore,' and to explain its meaning it is to be apart from birth and death. When one clings to external objects, birth and death arise, like water having waves; this is called this shore. When one is apart from external objects there is no birth and death, like water that always flows freely; this is called the other shore, and so it is called paramita. Good friends! The deluded recite only with the mouth, and at the moment of right mindfulness there is still falsity and fault. If one can practice in every thought, this is called true nature. One who awakens to this Dharma is the prajna Dharma; one who practices this practice is the prajna practice. Not practicing makes one an ordinary person; with one thought of practice, one's own self is equal to the Buddha. Good friends! Ordinary people are Buddhas, and afflictions are bodhi. A previous thought of delusion is an ordinary person; a following thought of awakening is a Buddha. A previous thought of attachment to external objects is affliction; a following thought of leaving external objects is bodhi.

「善知識！摩訶般若波羅蜜，最尊最上最第一，無住無往亦無來，三世諸佛從中出。當用大智慧，打破五蘊煩惱塵勞。如此修行，定成佛道，變三毒為戒定慧。善知識！我此法門，從一般若生八萬四千智慧。何以故？為世人有八萬四千塵勞。若無塵勞，智慧常現，不離自性。悟此法者，即是無念，無憶無著，不起誑妄。用自真如性，以智慧觀照，於一切法不取不捨，即是見性成佛道。善知識！若欲入甚深法界及般若三昧者，須修般若行，持誦《金剛般若經》，即得見性。當知此經功德無量無邊，經中分明讚歎，莫能具說。此法門是最上乘，為大智人說，為上根人說。小根小智人聞，心生不信。何以故？譬如大龍下雨於閻浮提，城邑聚落，悉皆漂流如漂棗葉。若雨大海，不增不減。若大乘人，若最上乘人，聞說《金剛經》，心開悟解。故知本性自有般若之智，自用智慧，常觀照故，不假文字。譬如雨水，不從天有，元是龍能興致，令一切眾生、一切草木、有情無情，悉皆蒙潤。百川眾流，卻入大海，合為一體。眾生本性般若之智，亦復如是。善知識！小根之人，聞此頓教，猶如草木根性小者，若被大雨，悉皆自倒，不能增長。小根之人，亦復如是。元有般若之智，與大智人更無差別，因何聞法不自開悟？緣邪見障重、煩惱根深。猶如大雲覆蓋於日，不得風吹，日光不現。般若之智亦無大小，為一切眾生自心迷悟不同，迷心外見，修行覓佛；未悟自性，即是小根。若開悟頓教，不能外修，但於自心常起正見，煩惱塵勞常不能染，即是見性。善知識！內外不住，去來自由，能除執心，通達無礙。能修此行，與般若經本無差別。

"Good friends! Maha Prajna Paramita is the most honored, the highest, the foremost; it does not abide, does not go, and does not come, and the Buddhas of the three times all come forth from it. One should use great wisdom to break through the afflictions and defilements of the five aggregates. Cultivating in this way, one will surely accomplish the Buddha Way, and transform the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion into precepts, concentration, and wisdom. Good friends! In this Dharma gate of mine, from one prajna arise eighty-four thousand kinds of wisdom. Why? Because people of the world have eighty-four thousand kinds of defilement. If there were no defilements, wisdom would always be manifest and never leave one's nature. One who awakens to this Dharma has no-thought: no recollection, no attachment, and no arising of false deceptions and delusive thoughts. Using one's own true suchness nature and contemplating with wisdom, neither taking nor rejecting any dharma, this is the way of seeing nature and becoming a Buddha. Good friends! If you wish to enter the profound Dharma realm and the prajna samadhi, you must cultivate the prajna practice and hold and recite the Diamond Prajna Sutra, and you will see your nature. You should know that the merit of this sutra is immeasurable and boundless, as the sutra itself says clearly, and it cannot be fully told. This Dharma gate is the highest vehicle, spoken for those of great wisdom and for those of superior capacity. Those of small capacity and small wisdom do not believe it in their hearts on hearing it. Why? Suppose a great dragon sends rain over Jambudvipa: cities and villages are all washed away by the flood like floating date leaves; but if the rain falls on the great ocean, the sea neither increases nor decreases. If one is a person of the Great Vehicle or the highest vehicle, on hearing the Diamond Sutra expounded, the mind opens and understands. Thus one knows that one's own nature has its own wisdom of prajna, and one uses that wisdom to illuminate constantly, without needing to rely on written words. It is like the rainwater, which does not come out of nothing from the sky, but is originally something the dragon is able to raise, so that all beings, all grasses and trees, sentient and insentient, receive its moisture. The hundred rivers and streams flow back into the great ocean and merge into one body. The wisdom of prajna in the original nature of beings is like this. Good friends! When people of small capacity hear this sudden teaching, they are like grasses and trees of weak root, who, drenched by a heavy rain, all fall down and cannot grow. People of small capacity are like this. They originally have the wisdom of prajna and are no different from people of great wisdom; why then, on hearing the Dharma, can they not awaken by themselves? It is because the obstruction of wrong views is heavy and the roots of affliction are deep. It is like a great mass of dark clouds covering the sun; without wind to blow them away, the sunlight cannot appear. The wisdom of prajna itself has no big or small, only the delusion or awakening of each being's own mind differs: a deluded person looks outward and practices by seeking a Buddha, not yet awakened to his own nature, and this is small capacity. If one awakens to the sudden teaching, one does not practice outwardly but only constantly gives rise to right view in one's own mind, so that afflictions and defilements can never stain him; this is seeing the nature. Good friends! Neither inside nor outside clinging nor abiding, coming and going freely, able to remove the clinging mind, penetrating without obstruction: one who can practice this is not different at all from the Prajna Sutra."

「善知識！一切修多羅及諸文字，大小二乘，十二部經，皆因人置。因智慧性，方能建立。若無世人，一切萬法本自不有，故知萬法本自人興。一切經書，因人說有。緣其人中有愚有智，愚為小人，智為大人。愚者問於智人，智者與愚人說法。愚人忽然悟解心開，即與智人無別。善知識！不悟即佛是眾生，一念悟時眾生是佛，故知萬法盡在自心。何不從自心中，頓見真如本性？《菩薩戒經》云：『我本元自性清淨，若識自心見性，皆成佛道。』《淨名經》云：『即時豁然，還得本心。』善知識！我於忍和尚處，一聞言下便悟，頓見真如本性。是以將此教法流行，令學道者頓悟菩提。各自觀心，自見本性。若自不悟，須覓大善知識、解最上乘法者，直示正路。是善知識有大因緣，所謂化導令得見性。一切善法，因善知識能發起故。三世諸佛、十二部經，在人性中本自具有。不能自悟，須求善知識指示方見；若自悟者，不假外求。若一向執謂須他善知識方得解脫者，無有是處。何以故？自心內有知識自悟。若起邪迷、妄念顛倒，外善知識雖有教授，救不可得。若起正真般若觀照，一剎那間，妄念俱滅。若識自性，一悟即至佛地。善知識！智慧觀照，內外明徹，識自本心。若識本心，即本解脫。若得解脫，即是般若三昧，即是無念。何名無念？若見一切法，心不染著，是為無念。用即遍一切處，亦不著一切處。但淨本心，使六識出六門，於六塵中無染無雜，來去自由，通用無滯，即是般若三昧、自在解脫，名無念行。若百物不思，當令念絕，即是法縛，即名邊見。善知識！悟無念法者，萬法盡通；悟無念法者，見諸佛境界；悟無念法者，至佛地位。

"Good friends! All the scriptures and all kinds of writings, the Great Vehicle and the Small Vehicle, the twelve divisions of the canon, are all established because of people. Because there is the nature of wisdom, they could be established. If there were no people in the world, the myriad dharmas would not originally exist, so one knows that the myriad dharmas are originally raised up by people. All the sutras and books exist because they were spoken for people. Because among people there are the foolish and the wise, the foolish are small people and the wise are great people. The foolish ask the wise, and the wise explain the Dharma for the foolish. When the foolish suddenly awaken and understand, and their mind opens up, they are no different from the wise. Good friends! When not awakened, the Buddha is a being; when awakened in a single thought, a being is the Buddha; therefore know that the myriad dharmas are all in one's own mind. Why not, from within one's own mind, directly see the true suchness nature? The Bodhisattva Precepts Sutra says: 'My original self-nature is pure; if one recognizes one's mind and sees one's nature, all can accomplish the Buddha Way.' The Vimalakirti Sutra says: 'Instantly and suddenly clear and open, one regains one's original mind.' Good friends! When I was with Master Hongren, I awakened at once on hearing his words, and in a flash saw the true suchness nature. Therefore I want to spread this teaching so that students of the Way suddenly awaken to bodhi. Let each contemplate their own mind and see their own nature. If you cannot awaken by yourself, you must seek a great good teacher, one who understands the highest vehicle Dharma, who will directly point out the correct road. Such a good teacher has great causes and conditions, in the sense that he teaches and guides so that people can see their nature. All good dharmas can be aroused only through good teachers. The Buddhas of the three times and the twelve divisions of the canon are originally complete within people's own nature. If you cannot awaken by yourself, you must seek a good teacher to point it out before you can see; if you can awaken by yourself, there is no need to seek outside. To cling to the idea that one must rely on another good teacher to attain liberation is impossible. Why? Because within one's own mind there is the knowledge that can awaken by itself. If one gives rise to wrongful delusion, false thoughts, and inversion, then even though outside good teachers give instruction, they cannot save you. If one can give rise to true prajna contemplation, in an instant false thoughts are all extinguished. If one recognizes one's nature, one awakens and reaches the Buddha ground. Good friends! Illuminating with wisdom, inside and outside clear and penetrating, one knows one's original mind. If one knows one's original mind, that is original liberation. If one gains liberation, that is prajna samadhi, that is no-thought. What is no-thought? If one sees all dharmas without the mind being stained or attached, that is no-thought. In its use it pervades all places yet is not attached to any place. One simply purifies the original mind and lets the six consciousnesses go out through the six gates, neither stained nor mixed among the six sense objects, coming and going freely, functioning without obstruction; this is prajna samadhi, free liberation, called the practice of no-thought. If one thinks of nothing and forcibly cuts off thoughts, that is being bound by a dharma, and is called a one-sided view. Good friends! One who awakens to the Dharma of no-thought penetrates all dharmas; one who awakens to the Dharma of no-thought sees the realm of the Buddhas; one who awakens to the Dharma of no-thought reaches the rank of a Buddha."

「善知識！後代得吾法者，將此頓教法門，於同見同行，發願受持。如事佛故，終身而不退者，定入聖位。然須傳授從上以來默傳分付，不得匿其正法。若不同見同行，在別法中，不得傳付。損彼前人，究竟無益。恐愚人不解，謗此法門，百劫千生，斷佛種性。善知識！吾有一無相頌，各須誦取，在家出家，但依此修。若不自修，惟記吾言，亦無有益。聽吾頌曰：

"Good friends! Those in later generations who obtain this Dharma of mine should, among those with the same view and the same practice, vow to receive and uphold this sudden teaching Dharma gate. Serving it as one serves the Buddha, those who do not retreat for life will surely enter the sage's rank. But one must transmit the entrustment silently handed down through the generations, and must not hide the right Dharma. If their views and practice differ and they are in other Dharma gates, do not transmit it to them. That would harm them and in the end bring no benefit. I fear only that the foolish will not understand and will slander this Dharma gate, cutting off the Buddha seed for a hundred kalpas and a thousand lives. Good friends! I have a 'Verse of Formlessness' that all of you should recite; lay people and monastics should practice by this alone. If you do not practice it yourself and merely remember my words, there is no use. Listen as I recite this verse:

「說通及心通，如日處虛空，

When the teaching is penetrating, the mind-ground also penetrates, like the sun hanging in space;

唯傳見性法，出世破邪宗。

Only the one Dharma of seeing nature is transmitted, appearing in the world to destroy heretical schools.

法即無頓漸，迷悟有遲疾，

The Dharma itself has no distinction of sudden or gradual; it is only that people's delusion and awakening are fast or slow;

只此見性門，愚人不可悉。

This one Dharma gate of seeing nature alone cannot be fully understood by the foolish.

說即雖萬般，合理還歸一，

Though teachings number thousands and myriads, in accord with principle they all return to one;

煩惱闇宅中，常須生慧日。

In the dark room of affliction, one must constantly raise the sun of wisdom.

邪來煩惱至，正來煩惱除，

When a wrong thought comes, affliction arrives; when a right thought comes, affliction is removed;

邪正俱不用，清淨至無餘。

When neither wrong nor right is any longer needed, purity reaches its extreme, with nothing left over.

菩提本自性，起心即是妄，

Bodhi is originally the self-nature, and stirring a thought to seek it is already falsity;

淨心在妄中，但正無三障。

The pure mind is within the false thoughts; if only one holds to the right, there are no obstacles of affliction, karma, and retribution.

世人若修道，一切盡不妨，

If people of the world truly cultivate the Way, nothing they do hinders it;

常自見己過，與道即相當。

Constantly seeing one's own faults, one is in accord with the Way.

色類自有道，各不相妨惱，

All beings with form each have their own way and do not hinder or disturb one another;

離道別覓道，終身不見道。

Leaving the Way of one's own body to look for another way, one will never see the Way in a lifetime.

波波度一生，到頭還自懊，

Hurrying and toiling through a lifetime, in the end one only regrets it oneself;

欲得見真道，行正即是道。

If you want to see the true Way, upright conduct is the Way.

自若無道心，闇行不見道，

If one has no heart for seeking the Way, one is walking blind in the dark and cannot see the Way;

若真修道人，不見世間過。

A person who truly cultivates the Way does not look at the faults of the world.

若見他人非，自非卻是左，

If one always looks at the wrongs of others, one's own "wrong" is what is crooked;

他非我不非，我非自有過。

If others are wrong, I do not follow them in being wrong; if I too am wrong, then I myself have a fault.

但自卻非心，打除煩惱破，

Only get rid of your own mind that loves to find fault, and affliction is broken;

憎愛不關心，長伸兩腳臥。

With neither hatred nor love hanging on the mind, you may stretch out both legs and lie down at ease.

欲擬化他人，自須有方便，

If you want to teach and transform others, you yourself must have skillful means;

勿令彼有疑，即是自性現。

Do not let the other person give rise to doubt, and then the self-nature is manifest.

佛法在世間，不離世間覺，

The Buddha Dharma is in the world, and awakening is not apart from the world;

離世覓菩提，恰如求兔角。

To leave the world and look for bodhi is like seeking horns on a rabbit's head.

正見名出世，邪見是世間，

Right view is called transcending the world, and wrong view is the world;

邪正盡打卻，菩提性宛然。

When wrong and right are both struck down, the nature of bodhi naturally appears clearly before you.

此頌是頓教，亦名大法船，

This verse is the sudden teaching, also called the great Dharma boat;