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人物誌

Biographies

【 佛祖道影白話解 】

Lives of the Patriarchs

四十七世天童宏智禪師 (續)
Patriarchs of the Forty-seventh Generation
Dhyana Master Hong Zhi of Tiantong
(continued)

宣公上人講於一九八四年四月八日 Lectured by the Venerable Master on April 8, 1984
國際譯經學院記錄翻譯 Translated by the International Translation Institute
修訂版 Revised Version

贊曰
丹霞一拂 泥丸拋棄
超空劫外 摸自家鼻
三更不借 失錢遭罪
太白峰孤 法流大地

「丹霞一拂」:這是說這位禪師經過丹霞祖師打這一拂塵,打得是開悟了。「泥丸拋棄」:泥丸,道教叫泥丸宮,就是我們每一個小孩子出生,頭上那不有一塊軟的地方可以呼吸氣?那麼道教的人在這兒修,要修出小人,能在這兒出去了又回來,這叫「出玄入牝」。從這個泥丸宮出去又回來,修這個法門。他因為以前大約執著這個屍神,在那兒想做一個守屍鬼;可是這個丹霞這一拂塵給他一打,把他那種功夫給打丟了,他就不用那種功了,知道那種功是在屍神身上用的功夫。

「超空劫外」:在空劫以前那是什麼時候?是不可考的事,沒有什麼證據,沒有什麼文字留下。超空劫,就是什麼也沒有留下,成住壞空,空了。「摸自家鼻」:摸,是摸到,沒有看到但是摸到。就是摸到自己本來面目了,知道自己鼻孔究竟是朝上、還是朝下?那麼你若問我,說鼻孔究竟是朝上、還是朝下?我也不知道,你自己去研究去!

「三更不借」:三更還是黑暗的時候,他不用夜明珠,也不用夜明簾、不用燈光、不用月光,自然就光明的。所以他說「失錢遭罪」:失機也就是失錢,就好像丟錢的事,沒有價值。這個招罪,並不一定是有罪,就是當面錯過,話不投機,機鋒沒有打好。

「太白峰孤」:太白山的這個山峰是孤立的,沒有什麼可以和它比的。也就譬如這位宏智禪師開悟了之後,他這個法是出乎其類、拔乎其粹,很高超的。「法流大地」:他這種家風,這種孤高不群的高風亮節,普遍到大地每一個角落去,一般人都受他影響發菩提心,當然不在少數。

或說偈曰

稚齡捨俗入淨明
毅然割愛淡親情
井底蛤蟆難吞月
空中鵬鳥任飛騰
擬議即乖第一諦
分別自違路千重
天童法主超今古
丹霞拂下悟真經

對不對?錯了沒有?沒有啊?有要告訴我。不是笑你們,你可以背得出嗎?有人背得出嗎?不會?不會不行的,現在的學生一點也不用功。

「稚齡捨俗入淨明」:這是說這個宏智禪師很年輕就出家,十四歲就受戒了。當然他出家,或者十二歲、或者十一歲不一定的,所以叫稚齡;稚齡又叫幼稚。就把俗家不要了,到淨明寺,在淨明寺得度。「毅然割愛淡親情」:他毅然決然把這個情情愛愛都割斷了,他把一切六親眷屬這個情感都看淡了。

「井底蛤蟆難吞月」:那個井底的蛤蟆根本就不能吞月,他怎麼能吞月呢?不能辦到的。「空中鵬鳥任飛騰」:可是在空中的大鵬金翅鳥,牠願意往哪兒飛就往哪兒飛,沒有人敢管牠,自由自在。你要真正明白了,你就好像大鵬金翅鳥一樣的自由;牠餓了就吃龍,渴了就喝水,願意上天就飛到天上去玩一玩,你看多自在!

「擬議即乖第一諦」:人問你話,你要是不能當機立斷,不能即刻迎刃而解,你要想一想才答覆,那就離開這個第一諦,落二落三了。「分別自違路千重」:你要是有一種分別心,就越跑越遠、越跑越遠,永遠都回不了家。

「天童法主超今古」:這位天童的方丈和尚,他有大智慧,一般人不能比的。「丹霞拂下悟真經」:可是他是在丹霞那個拂塵下邊打出來的,他明白了真正經典的道理了。

A verse in praise says:

Dan Xia wielded his whisk,
And the Master gave up his practice of the "clay pill" technique.
He went beyond the beginning of the cosmos
And managed to feel his own nose.

At the third watch of the night, there was no need to borrow a light,
But he lost his money and incurred blame.
From the solitary summit of Taibai Mountain,
His Dharma spread over the great earth.

Commentary:
Dan Xia wielded his whisk
and hit him lightly, this Dhyana Master became enlighted. And the Master gave up his practice of the “clay pill” technique. This is the Taoist technique of sending out a little man from the top of one’s head. Before, the Master was attached to his “conscious spirit” and tried to gain immortality. This is still the state of a “corpse-guarding ghost.” However, after Master Dan Xia struck him with the whisk, he gave up his former pursuits, realizing that the technique was still caught up within the realm of the conscious spirit.

He went beyond the beginning of the cosmos. What era was that? There’s no way to date this period. This is the stage of the kalpa of emptiness before anything came to be. And managed to feel his own nose: he was able to recognize his “original face.” He knew whether his nostrils pointed up or down. If you ask me, “Do my nostrils point up or down?” I won’t be able to tell you. You have to find out for yourself.

At the third watch of the night, at midnight, there was no need to borrow a light. It’s not necessary to borrow a light from a lamp or from the mind. One’s nature is inherently bright. But he lost his money and incurred blame. He lost his opportunity—this is like losing money. Here “incurring blame” does not mean creating an offense. It means missing one’s opportunity. The potentials did not mesh.

From the solitary summit of Taibai Mountain. Just as this peak stands alone, unrivalled, so, too, after Dhyana Master Hong Zhi became enlightened, he stood out unrivalled and surpassed his peers. His Dharma spreads over the great earth. His lofty and high-minded integrity spread throughout the great earth. Many people were influenced by his example to make the resolve for Bodhi.

Another verse says:

In his youth he renounced the mundane life and entered Jingming Monastery
Resolutely he cut off the bonds of love and looked lightly upon family ties.
A frog at the bottom of the well finds it hard to swallow the moon,
But the garuda bird soars freely in space.

Trying to figure out an answer is contrary to the foremost meaning.
Discrimination leads to contradictions, and the path becomes diversified a thousandfold.
The Dharma host of Tiantong transcends those of the present and past,
Under Dan Xia’s whisk, he enlightened to the True Sutra.

Commentary:
In his youth he renounced the mundane life and entered
Jingming Monastery. When he was still very young, he renounced the householder’s life. He was ordained at age fourteen. Of course he left home earlier than that time, probably at the age of twelve or thereabouts. Resolutely he cut off the bonds of love and looked lightly upon family ties. He looked lightly upon the affection shared among the six kinds of close relatives. A frog at the bottom of the well finds it hard to swallow the moon. Such a frog would certainly not be able to swallow the moon. But the garuda bird soars freely in space. Nobody can tell the garuda bird what to do. It flies and roams freely in space. If you understand, you can be as free as the garuda bird. The garuda bird eats dragons when it is hungry and drinks water when it’s thirsty. It can fly up into the sky to frolic as it pleases. Look how free and unconfined it is!

Trying to figure out an answer is contrary to the foremost meaning. When asked a question, if you cannot come up with a direct answer, but have to deliberate over a reply, then you have missed the foremost meaning. You have fallen into the secondary or third periphery meanings. Discrimination leads to contradiction, and the path becomes diversified a thousandfold. Once you start to make discriminations with your conscious mind, then the more you discriminate, the further you will stray from the truth.

The Dharma host of the Tiantong transcends those of the present and past. Because of his great wisdom, most people could not compare with him. Under Dan Xia’s whisk, having undergone that kind of beating, he emerged, enlightened to the True Sutra. He understood the meaning of the True Sutra.

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