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English Translation:
Just Sit (Shikantaza)
/Lecture by Dr. Hong Wen-Liang*
/Compiled by Liu Ying-Xiao
Original Text:
只管打坐
/洪文亮医师*主讲
/刘英孝整理
English Translation:
At night, the bright moon ascends the high peak; it turns out to be just this thief. Currently, many people are caught up in Buddhist knowledge, which has nothing to do with liberation. What the Buddha truly wants to point out is that the problem with sentient beings lies in the inability to get rid of this "thought" of "I am listening to the Dharma," "I am living," "I am practicing"; this is the root of affliction. Most people assume that if this "thought" were absent, there would be nothing at all, fearing to fall into emptiness with nothing to grasp. After a certain Chan master attained the Way, he said: "At night, the bright moon ascends the high peak; it turns out to be just this thief." This "thief" is the root of affliction. Greed, aversion, torpor, restlessness-and-regret, and doubt—the five hindrances—are like five fingers covering the eyes, preventing your native scenery from manifesting. Many people strive hard in their practice, using all sorts of methods—reciting the Buddha's name, chanting mantras, reciting sūtras, observing vegetarian fasts, upholding precepts—hoping to eliminate the five hindrances one by one and cultivate great purity. However, the five hindrances are not at all real, just like empty space; why would you still want to eliminate them? Moreover, even if the five hindrances are cultivated to be perfectly clean, fundamental ignorance is still there! Once fundamental ignorance falls away, the five hindrances are like rootless leaves; they cannot stay green and will naturally wither. The "thought" of wanting to cultivate away the five hindrances and afflictions is itself fundamental ignorance. Fundamental ignorance has no cause.
Original Text:
夜来明月上高峰，原来只是这个贼
现在很多人在佛学知识里打转，这与解脱无关。佛真正要指出来的是，众生的毛病在于
有一个「我在听法」、「我在活着」、「我在修行」的的这个「念」去不掉，这是烦恼的根源。
一般人都以为如果没有这个「念」，就什么都没有了，恐落空无捞摸处。有一位禅师证道了以
后，他说：「夜来明月上高峰，原来只是这个贼。」这个「贼」就是烦恼的根本。贪、瞋、昏
沉、掉悔、疑五盖好像五个手指一样，遮住眼睛，让你的本地风光不能显现。很多人拼命修
行，用尽各种办法，念佛、念咒、诵经、持斋、持戒，希望将五盖一个个除掉，修的很清净。
但是五盖一点都不实在，犹如虚空一样，你还要去掉它做什么？而且，即使将五盖修的干干
净净，还有一个根本无明在那里！根本无明脱落了，五盖就像没有根的树叶，无法长青，自
然枯萎。你想要将五盖、烦恼修掉的「念」，就是根本无明。根本无明是没有原因的。
Footnotes/Annotations:
- "Native scenery" (本地风光, běndì fēngguāng): A Chan term referring to one's original, true nature.
- Five hindrances (五蓋, wǔgài): In Buddhism, these are mental states that hinder progress in meditation and daily life. They are: sensual desire (kāmacchanda), ill will (vyāpāda), sloth and torpor (thīna-middha), restlessness and worry (uddhacca-kukkuc
1 ca), and doubt (vicikicchā). - Fundamental ignorance (根本無明, gēnběn wúmíng): Sanskrit: mūla-avidyā; the most basic or root ignorance that is the foundation of the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra).
English Translation:
The various discriminations of sages are all not separate from the Dharmakāya. Our mind's capacity is originally very vast, its applications inexhaustible. The six sense faculties: corresponding to the eye, seeing forms; corresponding to the ear, hearing sounds; corresponding to the nose, smelling odors; corresponding to the tongue, knowing tastes; corresponding to the body, knowing touch; corresponding to the mind, knowing dharmas—all activities and movements are the Dharmakāya. The six sense faculties are originally without any hindrance, without love or hate, equanimously arising and ceasing according to conditions, naturally liberated. The reason we perceive objects and the existence of things is because of the presence of "I." A Chan master who has attained the Way says, "Before the eyes, there is not a single thing." He also sees things, but he does not have the deluded thought of "I see." The "I" is produced by deluded thought. If this deluded thought falls away, we will very clearly understand what kind of state "before the eyes, there is not a single thing" is. Only with the deluded thought of "I" does one see independently existing objects; that is "before the eyes, there is one thing." Upon realizing no-self, everything is the Dharmakāya. Seeing you, seeing a flower, hearing a sound—all are the Dharmakāya. They manifest upon encountering conditions, instantly arising and ceasing, changing without obstruction; therefore, they are empty. We regard the body and mind of the five aggregates as very real. Learning Buddhism with this attitude, wanting to use an "I" to transform the physical body (rūpakāya) and realize the Dharmakāya, then "if the causal ground is not true, the fruition will be tortuous"—one has taken the wrong path from the very beginning.
Original Text:
圣人种种分别，皆不离法身
我们的心量本来是很广大的，应用无穷。六根应眼见色，应耳闻声 ，应鼻嗅香，应舌知
味，应身知触，应意知法，一切施为运动，皆是法身。六根本来毫无挂碍，无爱无憎，平等
平等地随缘生灭，自然解脱。我们之所以感觉有对象、有东西存在，是因为有「我」在。证
道的禅师讲「眼前无一物」，他也看到东西，但是他没有「我看到」这种妄想。「我」是妄想
出来的，如果这个妄想脱落了，我们会非常清楚「眼前无一物」是什么境界。有「我」的妄
念，才会看到独立存在的对象，那就是「眼前有一物」。证入无我，一切都是法身。看到你、
看到花、听到声音，都是法身，遇缘则显，即生即灭，变化无碍，所以是空。我们把五蕴的
身心看得很实在，用这个态度学佛，想要用「我」去转色身、证法身，「因地不真，果招迂曲」，
一开始就走错路了。
Footnotes/Annotations:
- Dharmakāya (法身): One of the three bodies (trikāya) of a Buddha, representing the ultimate truth, the unmanifested, and the source of all phenomena.
- Six sense faculties (六根, liùgēn): Eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
- No-self (無我, wúwǒ): Sanskrit: anātman; the doctrine that there is no permanent, independent self or soul.
- Five aggregates (五蘊, wǔyùn): Sanskrit: pañca-skandha; the five components that constitute a sentient being: form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saṃjñā), mental formations (saṃskāra), and consciousness (vijñāna).
- Rūpakāya (色身): Form body, the physical body of a Buddha.
- "If the causal ground is not true, the fruition will be tortuous" (因地不真，果招迂曲, yīndì bù zhēn, guǒ zhāo yūqū): A Buddhist maxim emphasizing that a flawed motivation or understanding at the beginning of one's practice will lead to a distorted or delayed result.
English Translation:
The Awesome Deportment of a Practicing Buddha
Original Text:
行佛威仪
English Translation:
Body and mind are not as small as we imagine; in reality, they are boundless and limitless, an existence of infinite possibilities. We mistakenly identify this fleshly body as "I," desperately trying to make this body as majestic as a Buddha's. The Japanese Zen Master Dōgen has a work, Gyōbutsu Igi (Awesome Deportment of a Practicing Buddha), which points out this error. Now, let's cite a passage to explain:
Original Text:
身心不是我们想象的那么渺小，实际上无边无际，是无限可能的存在。我们认错皮肉身
躯是我，拚命想将这个身躯弄得像佛一样庄严，日本道元禅师有一篇著作《行佛威仪》就是
指出这个错误。现在举一段来说明：
Footnotes/Annotations:
- Dōgen (道元, Dàoyuán): Dōgen Kigen (1200–1253), a Japanese Buddhist priest, writer, poet, philosopher, and founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan.
- Gyōbutsu Igi (行佛威儀): A work by Dōgen emphasizing that practice itself is enlightenment, and that the daily activities of a practitioner are the Buddha's awesome deportment.
English Translation:
All Buddhas unfailingly fulfill awesome deportment; this is the practicing Buddha. The practicing Buddha is not the Sambhogakāya Buddha, not the Nirmāṇakāya Buddha, not the svabhāva-kāya Buddha [Buddha of self-nature], not the parabhāva-kāya Buddha [Buddha of other-nature], not actualized gnosis, not primordial gnosis; it is neither the nature of awareness, nor non-awareness. Such Buddhas as these cannot be on par with the practicing Buddha. Therefore, for all Buddhas to tread the Buddha Path, they do not wait for awakening. Only the practicing Buddha can thoroughly traverse the path leading upward to Buddhahood. As for the svabhāva Buddha [Buddha of self-nature] and the like, they haven't even appeared in a dream.
Original Text:
诸佛必定行足威仪，此行佛也。行佛非是报身佛，非是化身佛，非是自性身佛，非是
他性身佛，非是始觉，非是本觉，既非性觉，又非无觉。如是等佛，不得与行佛齐肩。
因之，诸佛之行佛道，不待觉。唯有行佛能于佛向上之道通达行履。自性佛等，梦也
未见在也。
Footnotes/Annotations:
- Practicing Buddha (行佛, xíngfó): A Buddha engaged in active practice, embodying the Dharma in every action.
- Sambhogakāya Buddha (報身佛, bàoshēnfó): The "Enjoyment Body" or "Reward Body" of a Buddha, a subtle body of light experienced by advanced bodhisattvas.
- Nirmāṇakāya Buddha (化身佛, huàshēnfó): The "Transformation Body" or "Emanation Body" of a Buddha, the physical form a Buddha takes to appear in the world and teach beings.
- Svabhāva-kāya Buddha (自性身佛, zìxìngshēnfó): Buddha of self-nature body.
- Parabhāva-kāya Buddha (他性身佛, tāxìngshēnfó): Buddha of other-nature body.
- Actualized gnosis (始覺, shǐjué): Enlightenment or awareness that is newly realized or manifested through practice.
- Primordial gnosis (本覺, běnjué): Inherent, original enlightenment or awareness, fundamentally present in all beings.
- Nature of awareness (性覺, xìngjué): The inherent nature of awareness itself.
- Non-awareness (無覺, wújué): The state of lacking awareness or being unenlightened.
English Translation:
Now, when everyone sees "awesome deportment," they immediately have thoughts, believing that awesome deportment should be a certain way. For example, they'd say a scantily clad woman is not majestic enough, or that being so tired one stumbles about, dozing off, having sore legs, or crying out in pain, is not the Buddha's awesome deportment. Such judgments of good and bad are all human discriminations. In Japan, there was a Zen Master Sugimoto who attained awakening upon farting; is this not the awesome deportment of a practicing Buddha? All movements and stillness are manifestations of the Dharmakāya, neither increasing nor decreasing; all are the awesome deportment of a practicing Buddha. Cockroaches crawling, birds flying, fish swimming—all are the awesome deportment of a practicing Buddha. Sentient beings in hell are not saved only by leaping out of hell; rather, without changing the state of hell, they are liberated right where they are. Everything is Buddha. Zen Master Dōgen said: Sambhogakāya Buddha, Nirmāṇakāya Buddha, svabhāva-kāya Buddha, parabhāva-kāya Buddha, actualized gnosis, primordial gnosis, nature of awareness, non-awareness—all these are inseparable from human views. Memorizing a heap of Buddhist terminology and characteristics are all human discriminations. To have an "I" that is going to become a Buddha, waiting for awakening, is all fundamental ignorance. Regarding the practicing Buddha, the true reality of all dharmas, one hasn't even seen them in a dream.
Original Text:
现在大家看到「威仪」，就动了念头，认为威仪应该是如何。例如说辣妹就不够庄严，累
得东倒西歪、打瞌睡、腿酸、叫痛，就不是佛的威仪。这种好坏的判断，都是人类的分别。
日本有一个杉本禅师是因放屁而开悟的，难道这不是行佛威仪吗？一切动静，都是法身的显
现，不增不减，都是行佛威仪。蟑螂爬、小鸟飞、鱼儿游都是行佛威仪。地狱的众生不是跳
出地狱才得救，而是不改地狱的境界，当处解脱。一切都是佛。道元禅师讲：报身佛、化身
佛、自性身佛、他性身佛、始觉、本觉、性觉、无觉，都离不开人类的见解，佛学名相记了
一大堆，都是人类的分别。有一个「我」要去成佛、待觉，都是根本无明。对于行佛、诸法
实相，梦也未见在。
Footnotes/Annotations:
- Zen Master Sugimoto (杉本禪師): This refers to Sugimoto Sonken (杉本尊敬), a Sōtō Zen monk. The anecdote of his awakening through farting is a known Zen story illustrating the immanence of enlightenment in everyday, mundane occurrences.
- True reality of all dharmas (諸法實相, zhūfǎ shíxiàng): The ultimate nature of all phenomena, often equated with emptiness (śūnyatā) or thusness (tathatā).
English Translation:
Body and Mind Dropped Off, Just Sit
Original Text:
身心脱落，只管打坐
English Translation:
The awesome deportment of a practicing Buddha is precisely "just sitting" (shikantaza). What is "just sitting"? Let us first look at an account of Zen Master Dōgen's awakening:
Original Text:
行佛威仪，就是只管打坐。什么是只管打坐？让我们先看一段道元禅师开悟的故事：
Footnotes/Annotations:
- Just sitting (只管打坐, zhǐguǎn dǎzuò): Japanese: shikantaza. A form of Zen meditation emphasized by Dōgen, involving purely and attentively sitting without striving for any particular goal or state of mind.
English Translation:
The Master (Rujing), upon entering the hall, admonished a monk who was dozing off while sitting, saying: "For those who practice Chan, body and mind are dropped off! What's the use of just dozing off?" I (Dōgen) heard these words and was suddenly greatly awakened. I went straight to the abbot's quarters, burned incense, and prostrated. The Master said: "What is this prostration about?" I said: "Body and mind have dropped off." The Master said: "Body and mind dropped off, dropped off body and mind!" I said: "This is a temporary display of skill; Abbot, do not randomly seal [my understanding]." The Master said: "I do not randomly seal." I said: "What is it that is not a random seal?" The Master said: "Dropped off, dropped off!" I then desisted.
Original Text:
师因入堂，惩衲子坐睡云：「夫参禅者身心脱落，只管打睡作么？」予闻此语豁然大悟。
径上方丈烧香礼拜。师云：「礼拜事作么生？」予云：「身心脱落来。」师云：「身心脱
落，脱落身心！」予云：「这个是暂时伎俩，和尚莫乱印。」师云：「我不乱印。」予
云：「如何是不乱印底事？」师云：「脱落脱落。」予乃休。
Footnotes/Annotations:
- This passage recounts Dōgen's enlightenment experience under his teacher Tiantong Rujing (天童如淨, Tendō Nyojō) in China. "Body and mind dropped off" (身心脫落, shēnxīn tuōluò; Japanese: shinjin datsuraku) is a key phrase expressing Dōgen's realization.
- Seal (印, yìn): Refers to inka shōmei (印可証明), the seal of approval or authentication of a student's enlightenment by a Zen master.
English Translation:
Zen Master Dōgen became a monk at a very young age and studied many sūtras, vinaya, and śāstras. His conclusion was singular: "Fundamentally, original Dharma-nature; naturally, self-nature body." Since everything is primordial gnosis, why do we need to practice? This question troubled Zen Master Dōgen. He went to China, found Chan Master Rujing, and resolved this issue. One day, while Dōgen was sitting in meditation, a fellow practitioner next to him was scolded by Chan Master Rujing for dozing off. Dōgen, listening nearby, was suddenly greatly awakened. Afterward, he went to the abbot's room and reported to Chan Master Rujing: "Body and mind have dropped off!" Chan Master Rujing, truly a clear-eyed Chan master, perceived that Dōgen still had a subtle attachment to the notion of "body and mind dropped off." He immediately said to Dōgen: "What body and mind dropped off? Body and mind are originally dropped off!" At this point, Dōgen shed his final attachment to dharmas (conceptualizations). However, Dōgen was still not entirely clear about the great function [of this realization]. Chan Master Rujing then told him: "Dropped off, also dropped off." Dōgen then desisted. This is "just sitting" (shikantaza).
Original Text:
道元禅师很小就出家，研究了很多经、律、论，他的结论只有一个：「本来本法性，天然
自性身。」既然一切都是本觉，我们为什么要修行？这个问题困扰了道元禅师，他到中国找
到了如净禅师，解决了这个问题。有一天道元在打坐，他隔壁的道友因为打瞌睡被如净禅师
一骂，道元在旁边听了，豁然大悟。随后他就到方丈室跟如净禅师报告：「身心脱落了！」如
净禅师不愧是明眼的禅师，看出道元还有身心脱落这么一回事的微细执着，立刻跟道元说：「什
么身心脱落，本来脱落的身心啊！」道元至此乃脱去最后的法执。而道元对大用的地方还不
太明白，如净禅师再跟他说：「脱落也脱落。」道元乃休。这就是只管打坐。
Footnotes/Annotations:
- Sūtras (經, jīng), Vinaya (律, lǜ), Śāstras (論, lùn): The three "baskets" (Tripiṭaka) of the Buddhist canon.
- "Fundamentally, original Dharma-nature; naturally, self-nature body" (本来本法性，天然自性身, běnlái běn fǎxìng, tiānrán zìxìng shēn): A phrase encapsulating the idea of inherent Buddha-nature.
- Chan Master Rujing (如淨禪師, Rújìng Chánshī): Tiantong Rujing (1163–1228), Dōgen's primary teacher in China.
- Attachment to dharmas (法執, fǎzhí): Grasping at phenomena or concepts, including the teachings themselves, as ultimately real.
- Great function (大用, dàyòng): The dynamic, unimpeded application of enlightened understanding in daily life.
- "Dropped off, also dropped off" (脱落也脱落, tuōluò yě tuōluò): This signifies the dropping of even the concept or experience of "dropping off".
English Translation:
"Just sitting" is not sitting there thinking of using contemplation on impurity (aśubha-bhāvanā), contemplation on loving-kindness (maitrī-bhāvanā), or contemplation on dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda-bhāvanā) to counteract greed, aversion, and delusion, with the desire to become a Buddha. Those are merely the Buddha's skillful means (upāya); do not cling tightly to them, mistakenly thinking that they are the Buddhadharma. If one clings to "just sitting" and gives rise to the thought of "not wanting" to recite the Buddha's name, recite sūtras, observe vegetarian fasts, or uphold precepts, one is already "managing" so many things—is that "just managing" (shikantaza, "just sitting")? Therefore, "just sitting" means: "just" is also not "just," and "sitting" is also not "sitting." Seeing is just seeing, hearing is just hearing, smelling is just smelling, tasting is just tasting, touching is just touching, knowing is just knowing. If the deluded thought of the illusory self has not fallen away, and one listens to this Dharma and then acts unscrupulously as one pleases, wouldn't this Dharma then become a poison?
Original Text:
只管打坐不是坐在那里想用不净观、慈悲观、缘起观把贪、瞋、痴对治掉，想要成佛。
那只是佛的方便，不要紧抓着不放，以为那个就是佛法。如果执着「只管打坐」，起了「不要」
念佛、诵经、持斋、持戒的念头，已经「管」了那么多，那是「只管」吗？所以只管打坐就
是：只管也没有只管，打坐也没有打坐。看就只是看，听就只是听，闻就只是闻，尝就只是
尝，触就只是触，知就只是知。如果假我的妄想没有脱落，听了这个法而为所欲为，那么这
个法岂不是成了毒药？
Footnotes/Annotations:
- Contemplation on impurity (不淨觀, bùjìngguān; Skt: aśubha-bhāvanā): Meditation on the unattractive aspects of the body to counteract lust.
- Contemplation on loving-kindness (慈悲觀, cíbēiguān; Skt: maitrī-bhāvanā): Meditation to cultivate universal love and compassion.
- Contemplation on dependent origination (緣起觀, yuánqǐguān; Skt: pratītyasamutpāda-bhāvanā): Meditation on the interconnectedness and conditioned arising of all phenomena.
- Skillful means (方便, fāngbiàn; Skt: upāya): Methods used by the Buddha to guide beings to awakening, adapted to their various capacities.
- Illusory self (假我, jiǎwǒ): The false sense of a permanent, independent "I."
English Translation:
All Dharmas Come to Attest to No-Self
Original Text:
万法来证明无我
English Translation:
Zen Master Dōgen once said: "To study Buddhism is just to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self." To study the self means not to seek outwardly; one's own precious body and mind are the Way-place (bodhimaṇḍa). And in forgetting the self, one must absolutely not use a "self" to forget the self. So, how does one practice? Do not give rise to thoughts to practice some supreme Dharma, or to use an "I" to seek realization of all dharmas. Eye-seeing, ear-hearing, nose-smelling, tongue-tasting, body-touching, mind-knowing—these are all dharmas. All dharmas are constantly changing, without a trace, as if existing yet not existing. Body and mind are not hindered in the slightest. Where is the need for an "I" to direct and judge in order for there to be seeing, hearing, awareness, and knowing? Use all dharmas to kill off the "I," to kill off this "thief"—this is the Dharma-gate of great peace and joy!
Original Text:
道元禅师曾说：学佛只是学自己，学自己是忘自己。学自己就是不向外求，自己宝贵的
身心就是道场。忘自己又千万不可用「自己」忘自己。那么，怎么修行呢？不要起心动念去
修什么殊胜的法，或者以我去求证万法。眼见、耳闻、鼻嗅、舌尝、身触、意知，这些就是
万法。万法不断的变化，毫无痕迹，有若无，身心一点都不挂碍，哪里需要「我」来指挥、
判断才能见闻觉知呢？以万法来将「我」杀掉，将这个「贼」杀掉，这是大安乐法门啊！
Footnotes/Annotations:
- "To study the self is to forget the self": A famous saying from Dōgen's Genjōkōan (現成公案) .
- Way-place (道場, dàochǎng; Skt: bodhimaṇḍa): A place where enlightenment is attained; here, it refers to one's own being as the locus of practice.
- Dharma-gate (法門, fǎmén): A method or approach to practicing the Dharma.
English Translation:
A Drop from Caoxi
Original Text:
曹溪一滴
Footnotes/Annotations:
- Caoxi (曹溪): The place where Huineng (慧能), the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, taught. "A Drop from Caoxi" signifies a taste or essence of his teaching.
English Translation:
Huairang asked Huineng about the Dharma. Huineng asked him: "Where do you come from?" Huairang replied: "I come from Mount Song." Huineng asked again: "What is it, that thus comes?" Huairang could not answer. After eight years, Huairang attained the Way and only then answered Huineng: "To say it is like any thing is to miss the mark." Dōgen mentioned this matter, saying:
Original Text:
怀让问法于慧能，慧能问他：「什么处来？」怀让回答：「嵩山来。」慧能又问：「是什麽
物，恁么来？」怀让回答不出来。经过了八年，怀让证道了，才向慧能回答：「说似一物即不
中。」道元提到这件事，他说：
Footnotes/Annotations:
- Huineng (慧能, 638–713): The Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism in China, a pivotal figure in Chan history.
- Nanyue Huairang (南嶽懷讓, Nányuè Huáiràng, 677–744): An eminent disciple of Huineng. Mount Song (嵩山) is one of China's sacred mountains, known for the Shaolin Monastery.
- "What is it, that thus comes?" (是什麼物，恁麼來？ shì shénme wù, rènme lái?): A famous kōan-like question challenging the practitioner to directly realize their true nature.
- "To say it is like any thing is to miss the mark" (說似一物即不中, shuō sì yī wù jí bù zhòng): Huairang's answer indicating that true nature is beyond conceptualization and description.
English Translation:
Śākyamuni proclaimed: "All are sentient beings, all possess Buddha-nature." What is its essential tenet? This precisely is the teaching of "What is it, that thus comes?" What Śākyamuni Buddha transmitted to Kāśyapa, what Kāśyapa transmitted down through Huineng, and then to Rujing, Dōgen, and even today to Zen Master Harada Sekkei of the Japanese Sōtō school, is precisely this. The only thing to be taught is how to depart from human views. This most fundamental "thought" of an existing "I" is very difficult to detect. Ordinary people all live according to this "thought," and practice according to this "thought." Sentient beings are consistently unwilling and afraid to let go of this deluded thought of "I," believing that if they let go, there will be nothing left. The Chan master says: "At night, the bright moon ascends the high peak." Using the method of "just sitting," letting the six sense faculties be, one enters the selfless state of no knower and no known. One day, encountering a condition, suddenly old habitual tendencies and deluded thoughts arise—one reflects! Ah! "It turns out to be just this thief."
Original Text:
释尊道：一切即众生，悉有即佛性。其宗旨为何？此即是「是什么物，恁么来」的言教。
释迦牟尼佛传给迦叶，迦叶传下来一直到慧能，直到如净、道元，以及今天日本曹洞宗
的原田雪溪禅师，传的就是这个。唯一要讲的就是如何离开人的见解。这个最根本的、有我
存在的「念」，很不容易发现。一般人都是依这个「念」而活，依这个「念」而修行。有情众
生一直不愿意、不敢放下这个妄我的念，以为放下就什么都没有了。禅师讲：「夜来明月上高
峰」，以「只管打坐」的方法，放任六根，进入无能知、所知的忘我境界，有一天遇到一个缘，
忽然间旧有的习气妄念上来了，一照！啊！「原来只是这个贼」。
Footnotes/Annotations:
- Śākyamuni (釋尊, Shìzūn): The historical Buddha.
- Buddha-nature (佛性, fóxìng): The inherent potential for Buddhahood within all sentient beings.
- Kāśyapa (迦葉, Jiāshè): Mahākāśyapa, one of the principal disciples of the Buddha, considered the first patriarch of Chan in India.
- Harada Sekkei (原田雪溪禪師, Yuántián Xuěxī Chánshī): Harada Sekkei Roshi (1926–2018), a prominent contemporary Sōtō Zen master. (Note: The text mentions "today", but Harada Roshi passed away in 2018. The lecture was likely given before then.)
- No knower and no known (無能知、所知, wú néng zhī, suǒ zhī): A state transcending the subject-object duality.
- "One reflects!" (一照！, yī zhào!): A moment of direct insight or illumination, seeing through the delusion.
- "It turns out to be just this thief" (原来只是这个贼, yuánlái zhǐshì zhège zéi): The "thief" refers to the fundamental ignorance or the delusion of a self that obscures true nature.
English Translation:
Dr. Hong Wen-Liang
Education: Graduated from the Department of Medicine, National Taiwan University
Experience: Attending Surgeon, Department of Surgery, Kaohsiung Municipal Datong Hospital
Forensic Pathologist, Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office
Director, Hong Surgical Clinic, Kaohsiung
Original Text:
洪文亮医师
学历：国立台湾大学医学系毕业
经历：高雄市立大同医院外科主治医师
高雄地方法院检察署法医
高雄洪外科院长
Brief Explanation of Key Concepts and Choices:
This text, a lecture by Dr. Hong Wen-Liang, focuses on the Chan (Zen) Buddhist practice of "只管打坐" (zhǐguǎn dǎzuò), or shikantaza ("just sitting"), heavily drawing upon the teachings of the Japanese Zen Master Dōgen.
Key concepts elucidated include:
- Critique of Intellectualism: The lecture begins by cautioning against getting lost in mere Buddhist knowledge, emphasizing that liberation is not found in intellectual understanding alone but in addressing the fundamental "thought" of "I" (我, wǒ). This "I" is identified as the "thief" (贼, zéi), the root of affliction (烦恼, fánnǎo) and fundamental ignorance (根本無明, gēnběn wúmíng).
- The Nature of "Just Sitting" (Shikantaza): "Just sitting" is presented not as a technique to eliminate hindrances or achieve a goal, but as an embodiment of the "awesome deportment of a practicing Buddha" (行佛威仪, xíngfó wēiyí). It's about directly experiencing reality without the mediation of the conceptualizing "I." The lecture clarifies that shikantaza transcends even the idea of "just sitting"; it's the actualization of "in the seen only the seen, in the heard only the heard," etc., free from the proliferation of a seer and something seen.
- "Body and Mind Dropped Off" (身心脱落, shēnxīn tuōluò): Dōgen's enlightenment experience, "body and mind dropped off" (shinjin datsuraku), is central. This signifies the shedding of the false sense of self and the realization of the non-dual nature of reality. The commentary emphasizes dropping even the attachment to this realization.
- The Illusory Self and True Nature: The text repeatedly highlights that the "I" is a delusion (妄想, wàngxiǎng). True practice involves "forgetting the self" (忘自己, wàng zìjǐ), not by another "self," but by allowing all dharmas (萬法, wànfǎ) – all phenomena and experiences – to attest to no-self (無我, wúwǒ). When the "I" is "killed off," one realizes that everything is the Dharmakāya (法身).
- Immanence of the Dharma: The lecture stresses that the Dharma is not something external to be attained but is present in all activities and phenomena. Even seemingly undignified actions or difficult states can be the "awesome deportment of a practicing Buddha" if seen without the distortion of the "I." The example of the Zen master awakening upon farting underscores this.
- Lineage and Direct Experience: The reference to the transmission from Śākyamuni through Huineng to Dōgen emphasizes the continuity of direct, experiential insight over mere doctrinal adherence. The core teaching is "how to depart from human views" (离开人的见解, líkāi rén de jiànjiě) and realize the "what is it, that thus comes?" (是什么物，恁么来？).
Translation Choices:
- Terminology: Adherence to the provided list of specific Buddhist terms was prioritized (e.g., "primordial gnosis" for 本覺, "actualized gnosis" for 始覺, "awesome deportment" for 威儀 in the context of 行佛威儀).
- Dōgen's Quotes: Dōgen's words and related anecdotes were translated to reflect their directness and impact within Chan tradition. Book titles like Gyōbutsu Igi were kept in their common romanized form with English translation.
- Simplified Chinese: The original text was converted to Simplified Chinese as instructed.
- Tone: An instructive yet accessible tone was maintained, reflecting the lecture format.
- Footnotes: Added to clarify specific Buddhist terms, names, and cultural references for readers who may not be familiar with them.
