有一天 ，我到他家裡去，很奇怪的，關占海在我沒去之前就做了一個夢，做什麼夢呢？夢到我已經到他家裡去了，坐到他的炕上，他就跪到我面前，說是要求道，請我教他怎麼樣修道。在他夢中就覺得，我把他從頭上就這麼一剝，在他身上剝下一張皮來。這張皮用兩手這麼一扯，扯下來就放在地上，他一看，這張皮是什麼皮呢？原來是豬皮！他就說：「我身上怎麼有一張豬皮呢？」他就聽我說：「你不吃齋，你盡吃豬肉，將來就會有個豬皮披到身上了。」就這麼樣子，他就對他叔叔一講，說怎麼樣子夢到我給他剝下一張豬皮來，他跪到我面前來求道。他叔叔說：「喔！他是個有道的人哪，把道送到我們家裡來了！我們兩個人一定要向他求道。」這兩個人這麼互相你對我講一講，我對你講講，講完了，兩個人就到我坐的那房裡，把門關上，不讓他家裡人進來，兩個人到我面前就跪下，跪下就向我來求道。我說：「你不要發神經病了，你向我求什麼道？我和你是一樣的，我不懂道。」他說：「我知道你守孝。」因爲他叔叔知道我守孝，在我母親墓上修道，他想去見我，總也沒有時間見，但是他認識我，知道是我，就說：「這一回你到我們家裡給送道來了，我的姪子昨天晚間就作夢，夢見你給他剝下一張豬皮。」我說：「你盡胡說八道，我怎麼會給他剝下一張豬皮，他也不是個豬！」他說：「眞的！無論如何你要敎我們修行了。」我說：「我不會敎你們修行，你若想找師父呢，我可以幫忙你們找一個善知識。」他說：「我們各處找，找了三年，也沒有找著，到哪個地方，都是光」有個名，眞功夫沒有。」我說：「我可以帶你們去。」
他本來想拜我做師父，我也不知道他們是眞的，是假的，是眞相信我，是假相信我，是試驗我？我做事情也不是隨隨便便做的。就這麼樣子，我說：「我可以帶你們找師父去。」我就帶他們見常仁大師，見很多修行的高人，見著，一談話，覺得不滿意。我又帶他各處訪道，訪了兩年，他也不拜師父，叔姪兩個一定要拜我做師父。我那時候還是沙彌，我不想收徒弟，兩個人就跪到我面前不起來。以後我就叫關忠喜結雙跏趺坐，我說：「你不用講我有道沒有道，你先練習修雙踟趺坐，你把這個坐修好了，我再來敎你。」那麼他就天天練雙跏趺坐。他這個姪子可以坐，但是他因為骨頭老了，膝蓋上有一個大骨頭節，他坐著，這腿就不能貼到床上，這樣支起了一尺多高。他天天就用手這麼揉來揉去，等到七十多天吧，我到他家裡去。一看他，他以前是大骨頭節，現在卻比那個大骨頭節更大一倍了，也腫起來了。他就邁這麼一步，連車子壓的轍，他也都邁不過去，他不能走路了。
我一看 ，我說：「你不要練習雙跏趺坐了，你現在還有沒有坐啊？」他說：「我有坐啊，我就練習這個坐，把腿練得胖得這麼大，現在把腿也練胖了。」我說：「你不要練了，你腿這個樣子你會受不了的。」你猜他說什麼？「不要練！我就快死了，我若不練，那麼我死的時候怎麼辦哪？我現在寧可腿腫了，不論腿怎麼樣子，我都要練；除非死，那我就不管了，若不死，我就一定要練這個坐。」我說：「好了，那你就練囉！」我也走了。 |
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One day, I went to his home. Strange to say, before I went there, Gwan Jan-Hai had a dream. What did he dream? In his dream, I had already come to his home and was sitting on his brick bed. He knelt in front of me and begged me to teach him how to cultivate the Way. In the dream, he saw me peel a layer of skin from his body, starting at the head. After it was peeled, I used both hands to rip it off, and then put it on the floor. When he looked at the skin, he discovered it was the skin of a pig! He thought, "How could I have a layer of pig skin on my body?" In the dream, he heard me say, "You aren't a vegetarian, and you eat pork. In the future you will have a pig skin on your back." What kind of dream was this? He told his uncle that he had a dream in which I peeled a pig skin off his body, as he knelt before me seeking the Way. His uncle said, "Oh! He is a person with the Way, and he has brought the Way to our home! The two of us must certainly seek the Way from him." After talking, they went into the room where I was sitting, closed the door so that the rest of the family would not come in, and knelt before me to request the Way. "Have you both gone insane?" I said. "What do you want from me? I'm just the same as you. I don't understand the Way." "We know you cultivate filial piety," said the nephew. The uncle, who knew that I had shown my filial respect by cultivating beside my mother's grave, had wanted to meet me, but never found the time. He recognized me, however, and knew who I was. He said, "This time that you have come to our home; you have brought the Way, for my nephew had a dream last night. In the dream, you peeled a pig skin off his body." "You're confused," I said. "He's not a pig. How could I peel a pig skin off him?" "But it's for real," he said, "and no matter what, you have to teach us how to cultivate!" "I can't teach you to cultivate, but if you want to find a teacher, I can help you look for a Good and Wise Advisor." "We've been looking everywhere for three years," they said, "but we have not found one. Wherever we go it's always the same. They all have a big reputation, but no genuine skill." "I can take you around," I replied.
They had wanted to bow to me as their teacher, but I did not know if they were genuine or false. I did not know if they had true faith in me, or false faith. Were they just testing me? Since I never do anything casually, I told them, "I can take you to find a teacher." I took them to meet Great Master Chang Ren, and many other people, including some great cultivators. But after meeting and talking with them, they always felt dissatisfied. I took them around everywhere to seek instruction in the Way, and after searching, for two years, they still had not bowed to anyone as their teacher. The uncle and the nephew wanted me to be their teacher. At the time, I was still a novice monk, and did not want to take disciples. The two of them then knelt in front of me and refused to get up. Later I taught Gwan Jung-syi to sit in full-lotus. I said, "It's useless to talk about whether I have the Way or not. You should first learn to sit properly, and then I will teach you." They practiced sitting in full-lotus everyday. The nephew had no trouble, but the uncle's bones were old and he had big kneecaps which stuck up about fifteen inches in the air when he tried to sit cross-legged. Everyday, he would use his hands to bend his knees back and forth, pushing and straining... After seventy days, I went to his home again, and saw that his kneecaps had swollen to twice their original size. They were so sore, in fact, that he couldn't even step over a cart rut. He could not walk.
"You shouldn't sit in full lotus," I told him. "Are you still practicing?" "I am. My knees have become so swollen, but now I can sit in full-lotus," said the uncle. "Don't practice anymore. You will not be able to bear it with your legs this way," I told him. Guess what he said! "What do you mean?" said the uncle. "I'm about to die and if I don't practice now, what will I do when I have to die? I would rather take the swelling of my legs. No matter what happens to my legs, I'm going to practice meditation. If I die, that's another matter, but as long as I'm still alive, I'm going to practice." "Fine. Go ahead and practice then," I said, and left. |
