現在是打禪七（一九七七年十二月十五日）的時間，諸位時時刻刻要提起話頭，去參禪，去用功。修道人要自己修行，不要依賴他人，更不要依賴師父。我們是打禪七，不是打師父七，這一點要弄清楚。有人這樣想：「師父在萬佛聖城的時候，我就用功修行；師父離開萬佛聖城，我就不認真修行。」這種思想，實在要不得。無論師父在不在萬佛聖城，都要勇猛精進地修行，貫徹始終，才有成就。否則盡做表面的工作，那是自欺欺人的行為，永遠得不到解脫。

Now we are holding a Chan Session (December 15, 1977), and you should all be bringing up your meditation topic at every moment, as you investigate Chan and work at meditation. Cultivators of the Way practice on their own; they do not rely on other people, and even less should they rely on their teacher. We are holding a meditation retreat, not a "Teacher-retreat." Please be clear about this point. Someone is thinking: "The Venerable Master is here now at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, so I'll take my cultivation seriously. Once he leaves, however, I won't have to cultivate hard anymore." You should not think this way. Whether or not your teacher is at the City, you should cultivate with vigor. Finish what you've started, applying yourself with equal energy all the way through; only then can you succeed. Otherwise your work will always be superficial; you'll only be fooling yourself and fooling others, and you'll never get liberated.

參話頭就是參「念佛是誰？」念佛是誰？這要參是哪一個？說是：「我在念佛。」那麼我死了，這個「我」又跑到什麼地方去？根本那不是「我」。這樣說來，那是沒有「我」了。既然沒有「我」，那麼還活著的時候，就不需要修行了？這是不正確的想法。應該怎樣呢？就是要參本來的面目，父母未生以前的面目是什麼樣子？參明白了，就可開悟。

Investigating the meditation topic means asking, "Who is reciting the Buddha's name?" Look into it! Who is it? If you say, "I'm reciting!" then after you die, where has that "I" gone to? In fact, the reciter isn't "I" after all. As we investigate it, there is no "I" to be found. Since there's no "I," then while I'm still alive, there's no need to cultivate, is there? This is a case of incorrect thinking. How should we think then? We should investigate our basic identity. Who were we before our parents bore us? What did we look like then? When you understand the answer to that question, you can get enlightened.

念佛是哪一個？時時刻刻在追究，分分秒秒不放鬆。其實用這種功夫，就是以毒攻毒的方法。念佛是誰？雖然也是一個念，但是用一念控制一切念，用這個妄想停止一切妄想。制止到了極點的時候，水落石出，真相大白，便能開悟。

"Who is reciting the Buddha's name?" Pursue this question ceaselessly. Don't let up on it even for a moment. In fact, this technique is a way to use poison to counteract poison. Although the question, "Who is reciting the Buddha's name?" is also a thought, we use one thought to control all other thoughts. One idle thought puts a stop to all idle thoughts. When those thoughts have been brought to an ultimate end, "the tide recedes and the rocks show through." We clearly perceive the true appearance of things, and then we can get enlightened.

什麼是開悟？就是真真實實認識自己是怎麼回事，證得空理，知道一切是虛妄，這是真知道。知道「本來無一物，何處惹塵埃」這種的境界，也就是明心見性的境界。所謂「明心無難事，見性不知愁」，明心的人，什麼也不愁，所謂：

自古神仙無別法，
廣生歡喜不生愁。

這是修道人的座右銘。

What does it mean to get enlightened? It means you truly recognize what you're all about. You realize the principle of emptiness and you know that all things are false. This is truly knowing. You know the state called, "Originally there was not a single thing. Where could dust alight?" It's also called: "Understanding the mind and seeing the nature." It's said that, When you understand the mind, nothing is difficult any more. When you see the nature, all worries are gone. People who understand the mind don't worry about anything. As it is said:

The spirits and immortals of old had no special tricks; They were simply happy as could be, and they never worried.

This should be the benchmark of all cultivators of the Way.

修道人，無論遇到順或逆的境界，皆不動心。若能有這樣的定力，那就不會被境界所轉，而能轉境界，這才是修道人的真功夫。所謂

泰山崩前而不驚，
美色當前而不動。

Cultivators do not get upset no matter whether they encounter smooth or troublesome situations. With this kind of samadhi-power, instead of being influenced by circumstances, they can influence states. This is the true skill of a cultivator of the Way.

If Mount Tai were to collapse before them,
   it wouldn't make them blink.
If a ravishing beauty were to pass before them,
   they wouldn't be affected in the slightest.

男人見到西施那樣美的女人，當做骷髏觀，自然不動其心；女人見到潘安那樣英俊的男人，當做白骨觀，自然不動其心。否則，見到美女或俊男，就心猿意馬，七上八下，不知如何是好！若是這樣沒有定力，那就會失去道業，這是多麼可惜！

If you are a man and you see a woman as beautiful as the legendary maiden Xi Shi, simply use "the contemplation of a skeleton" to view her, and naturally your mind will hold steady. If you are a woman and you see a man as handsome as the famous hero Pan An, use the "bare-bones contemplation" to view him, and very naturally, your mind will hold steady. Otherwise, the sight of a beautiful young woman or a handsome young man will turn you upside-down. The monkey-mind and stallion-instinct will run away with you, until you won't know how to cope with it. If you lack samadhi-power to this extent, you will lose ground in cultivation. What a pity!

今天我們聽了三步一拜兩位行者的來信，曉得他們有這樣不可思議的境界，有護法善神的保佑。所謂「感應道交」，他們誠心地拜，真心地念，於是乎感動了天龍八部，時刻在他們的身邊，處處逢凶化吉，遇難呈祥。我們要將他們兩位做為借鏡，照照自己是怎麼回事？要迴光返照，看看自己是不是這樣地清淨？這樣地光明？這樣有智慧？這樣不打妄想？

Today we read a letter from the monks on the bowing pilgrimage, and know that they've experienced some inconceivable states in which Dharma-protecting spirits have come to protect them. This is called "a response in the Way." Because they've been bowing and reciting sincerely, they've moved the gods, dragons, and the rest of the eight divisions to stay constantly at their side. Therefore, no matter what trouble comes up, it always turns out smoothly. We should take their example to reflect upon ourselves: has this happened to us? We should reflect within to see if we have this kind of purity, light, wisdom, and lack of idle thinking.

各位！聽經聞法，要自性自悟，自悟自度。不要依賴師父！要依賴自己，所謂「師父領進門，修行在個人。」要相信自己的智慧，不要相信自己的愚癡，這一點是非常重要的。我們打禪七的目的，就是自性自度。六祖大師曾經說過：「迷時師度，悟時自度。」

All of you! As we hear the Sutras and the Dharma, we should awaken in our own nature and, having awakened, take ourselves across. Don't rely upon your teacher. Rely on yourself instead! As it's said, "The teacher leads you to the door, but cultivation depends on the individual." You should trust in your own wisdom, not your own stupidity. This is a very important distinction! The purpose of holding a meditation retreat is to let your nature take itself across. The Great Master the Sixth Patriarch once said,

When one is still confused,
   his teacher saves him.
After one is awakened, he saves himself.

我們現在參禪，應該分秒必爭，不可把寶貴的時光空過。所以在打禪七的時間，佛也不拜，過堂也不念供。為什麼？就是給大家專一用功的機會。多一分鐘參禪，便多一分鐘開悟。哪有時間去打閒岔、去充殼子、去開小會？若三三五五，講是講非，講些無意義的話，把開悟的時光輕易放過，尚不自知，這樣參禪，就是參八萬大劫，也沒有希望。在打禪七的期間，一定要老老實實去參！參「念佛是誰？」參「父母未生以前的本來面目？」這是開智慧的鑰匙。

We are now investigating Chan, and we should make the most of every minute. Don't let the precious time pass by in vain. Thus, when we hold our Chan Session, we neither bow to the Buddhas nor perform the meal offering ceremony. Why not? It's to give everyone a chance to concentrate single-mindedly on his meditation. One minute longer of meditation brings one minute more of enlightenment. Who can find time to interrupt the work, or to shoot the breeze, or to gather a small meeting? If you stand around shooting the bull, gossiping over trivia, talking lots of nonsense, then you'll carelessly waste time in which you could be getting enlightened, and you won't even realize it. Meditating in this way, you can investigate for 80,000 great eons, but you have no hope of success. While holding a retreat, you certainly must do honest work and really look into the matter. Which matter? Investigate, "Who is mindful of the Buddha?" Investigate, "What was my basic identity before my parents gave birth to me?" These are the keys to enlightenment.