学佛并没有困难，因为一切众生都具有如来智慧德相，都有佛性。只是大家不识，追逐外境执取色相，忘记自己本来面目而造业受报，沉沦六道。只要我们醒悟，回光返照，不趋外境，不着外相，回头就是。

佛性的功能，表现得最明显的例子就是我们看外境并不是眼睛看，现代科学家也讲，单凭眼睛看不见，之所以能见，是大脑的作用。但是这还没有说到根本，因为大脑神经只如电线电网，眼睛比如是灯泡，电网拉好、灯泡接好，电不通还是不起作用。这电是什么呢？电就是我们的真心，我们能嗅能尝，能说能动，那都是佛性的功能。

只要明白这一点，不着外相，时时回光返照，就成功了。所以学佛并没有什么难处。

Practicing the Buddha Dharma is not difficult, for all sentient beings inherently possess the Tathāgata’s wisdom and virtuous attributes; all have Buddha-nature. Yet because they fail to recognize it, they pursue external conditions, grasp at appearances, forget their original face, create karma, undergo its retributions, and sink through the six realms of rebirth. As long as we awaken, turn the light inward, cease pursuing external phenomena, and stop clinging to outward appearances, we need only turn back—it is right there.

The most obvious example of the functioning of Buddha-nature is the way we perceive the external world. It is not the eyes alone that see. Modern science likewise explains that sight does not depend on the eyes alone, but involves the brain. Yet even this does not reach the root. The cranial nerves are merely like wires and an electrical grid, while the eyes are like lightbulbs: even if the grid is laid out and the bulbs are connected, they will not function if the electricity is not flowing. What is this electricity? It is our true mind. Our capacities to smell, taste, speak, and move are all functions of Buddha-nature.

Once we understand this point, cease clinging to external appearances, and constantly turn the light inward, we will succeed. Thus, practicing the Buddha Dharma is not difficult.

憨山大师说：“修般若之所以成功迅速者，以人人本具此心光也……”一切众生都本具此心光，不是从外追求得来的。诸佛不迷了，证到这个心光，能起神通妙用；众生迷而不觉，就六道轮回，颠倒受苦。

假如能够明白我们本具这个心光，回光返照，一念薰修，就是在一念未起前着力，念头一起就看见它，不要跟念头跑，用智慧光把我们八识田里的执著种子都薰光，这样做功夫，就不难成就。

Master Hanshan once said, “The reason the cultivation of prajñā (wisdom) can succeed so swiftly is that everyone is inherently endowed with this light of mind.” All sentient beings possess this light of mind; it is not acquired through outward seeking. The Buddhas, no longer deluded, have realized this light and can manifest spiritual powers and wondrous functions. Sentient beings, deluded and unaware, wander through the six realms of reincarnation, and suffer in their upside-down perceptions.

If we can recognize this inherent light of mind and turn the light inward, apply this cultivation thought after thought, then we apply our effort before a thought arises. The instant a thought arises, we become aware of it and do not follow it. Using the light of wisdom, we gradually purify away all the seeds of attachment stored in the field of the eighth consciousness (ālāyavijñāna). If we practice in this way, attainment will not be difficult.

心地法门是诞生王子，将来必定能够成佛。如果用其他什么法，修什么通，那只是外围功勋位。功夫再好，神通再大，也只能俯首称臣，不能做皇帝——成佛。所以要在心地上修，这是最根本的法。

其实一切法都是多余的，《金刚经》说：“法如筏喻者。”临济祖师被黄檗祖师三打之后，他悟道了，说：“原来黄檗佛法无多子。”没有什么玄妙与复杂，我们大家执著玄妙反而复杂了。六祖大师说佛性本来具足一切神通妙用，就是说，人人都有神通，现在不能发现，就是我们的妄想颠倒执著作怪，盖覆了我们的光明，我们能时时回光返照，不着外相，把执著的乌云驱散，那就恢复光明了。

The Mind-Ground Dharma Gate gives birth to a prince who will surely become a Buddha. If one instead cultivates other methods or pursues extraordinary powers, they amount only to peripheral accomplishments. No matter how profound one's practice or how great one's supernatural powers, one can only bow as a minister and can never become the emperor—that is, attain Buddhahood. Therefore, we must cultivate at the mind-ground; this is the most fundamental Dharma.

In fact, all dharmas are ultimately expedient. The Diamond Sūtra uses the simile of the Dharma as a raft. After Master Linji was struck three times by Master Huangbo, he awakened and declared, “After all, there is not much to Huangbo’s Buddhadharma!” There is nothing mysterious or complicated about it; our attachment to mystery is what makes it complicated.

The Sixth Patriarch likewise taught that Buddha-nature is inherently endowed with all spiritual powers and wondrous functions. In other words, everyone possesses them. They do not manifest now because deluded thoughts, inverted views, and attachments obscure our inner innate luminosity. If we can constantly turn the light around and illuminate within, remain unattached to outward appearances, and disperse the dark clouds of attachment, our original luminosity will shine forth again.

《心经》第一句“观自在菩萨”，“观自在”就是叫我们做功夫。“观”是观照，时时看着念头的起处，不动摇；“自”是自己。什么是自己呢，我们大家错认色身是自己，我这身体要享受，要吃得好、穿得好，贪得无厌，这就造业受报了。这色身不是我，这色身是我们所住的房子。里面有个真人，这真人才是我。这真人就是现在六根门头放光的这个东西——能见能闻的功能。我们在当下一念不生，前念已断，后念不起，当中没有念头的时候，此时虽一念不起，但非木石无知，而是了了分明，视而不见，听而不闻，能见所见，能闻所闻，都不可得，能所双亡，这就是我们的本性，这就是自己。

圭峰禅师说：“莫认色身，以空寂为体。”我们的本性像虚空一样，虚空就是我，我就是虚空。假如我之外有一个虚空，还有一个空在，那也不是了，我们不要向外面去求取，放下就是。莫求真，但歇妄。不要求啊！你本来就是佛嘛，还求什么佛呢？歇下妄心就是菩提。菩提者，就是正觉，就是觉悟。

The first phrase of the Heart Sutra is “Guānzìzài Bodhisattva”—Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. The words ‘Guānzìzài’ instruct us how to practice. 'Guan' means contemplative awareness: constantly observing the point from which thoughts arise without being shaken by them. 'Zi' means oneself. But what is our true self? We mistakenly take the physical body to be ourselves. We demand pleasure for it, along with good food, fine clothing. Our greed then becomes insatiable, causing us to create karma and undergo its retribution. Yet the physical body is not the self. It is merely the house in which we dwell.

Within is a True Person, and this True Person is the real self. It is precisely what now shines through the gateways of the six sense faculties—the capacity to see and hear. In the present moment, when not a single thought arises—the preceding thought has already ceased, and the subsequent thought has not yet arisen—there is no thought in between. At this time, although not a single thought arises, it is not insentient like wood or stone; rather, it is vividly clear and luminous. There is seeing, yet no object is grasped; hearing, yet no sound is grasped. The seer and the seen, the hearer and the heard, are all unobtainable: subject and object both fall away. This is our true nature; this is the self.

Chan Master Guifeng said, “Do not mistake the physical body for the self; take emptiness and quiescence as its essence.” Our true nature is like empty space: empty space is me, and I am empty space. If there were an empty space outside me and another emptiness apart from me, that would not be it. Do not seek outwardly; simply let go. Do not seek the true—only put delusion to rest. You are originally a Buddha to begin with, so what Buddha is there to seek? When the deluded mind comes to rest, that itself is bodhi. Bodhi means right awakening—that is, enlightenment.

我们观这个自己，在刚开始只是明白了道理，心还捉不住，要跟境界跑，需要做功夫看住它，观照这本性在不在本位上。功夫做熟了，进一步就观也不要了。观是有功之用，再要进到无功之用。无为法，一切不可得，观也不要了。但是要注意：功夫到这一步，才能不要观；功夫没有到，你把观放掉，便流浪了。有人说一切时做功夫是住着，开始时需要住着，你不住着功夫上，你就跟境跑了。心中心法也是这个道理，一上来叫你观住不动，没有定力做不到，所以给你住着个法，把别的东西就丢掉了，这是转换法门，就像念佛一样，也是转换法门。我们念佛时，心念佛，佛就是心。念佛、法、僧，就不念贪、瞋、痴。但是一上来不念做不到，因为多生历劫，习气深重，还是要有个法来修。

When we contemplate ourselves like this, at the very beginning we have only grasped the underlying principle. The mind remains unmastered and still runs after external circumstances. It requires dedicated cultivation to guard it, contemplating whether our intrinsic nature remains in its original state.

When cultivation reaches maturity, one advances further by relinquishing even contemplation. At first, contemplation is a deliberate practice; later, one must enter into effortless functioning. Within the unconditioned Dharma (asaṁskṛta), all things are ungraspable, and thus contemplation itself is rendered unnecessary. However, take caution: only when mastery reaches this exact stage can contemplation be abandoned. If you discard contemplation before reaching this stage, you will inevitably drift.

Some say that practicing at all times is itself an attachment. At the beginning, however, you need to stay with the practice; otherwise, you will follow external conditions. The Heart-of-Heart Dharma works in the same way. From the outset, it asks you to observe, remain steady, and not move. Without meditative stability, that is impossible. Therefore, it gives you one Dharma to hold so that you can drop everything else. This is a method of redirecting and transforming the mind —just like chanting the Buddha's name, which is also a transformative method. When we chant the Buddha's name, the mind is the Buddha, and the Buddha is the mind. By recollecting the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, we cease dwelling on greed, anger, and ignorance. Yet, going without any focus from the very start is impossible; because of deeply ingrained habits built up over countless eons, we still need a method to cultivate.

密宗的起用法门很多，很多人修行为了得神通、求发财，不知道修心中心法是叫你修大道成大器。现在用什么法得到点小神通，非但没有用，还要闯祸，因为心未空。有的得了天眼通，见到一些可怕形象，吓得发了精神病。

Esoteric Buddhism employs many functional methods. Many people practice in pursuit of spiritual powers or wealth, not realizing that the Heart-of-Heart Dharma trains one in the Great Way and develops great capacity. To obtain a minor psychic ability through some method is not merely useless; it may also bring trouble, because the mind is not yet empty. Some people develop the so-called Divine Eye, see frightening images, and become mentally disturbed by them.

外道执相修法，出神也不是好事，叫你将来着魔。但是人都喜欢这一套，求这一套就不能成大器，不能出六道轮回。还是要把心炼空，一切无住，发挥我本性所具的神通。虽然发了，等于没有神通，就像现在我们能够穿衣吃饭一样，寻常得很，没有什么玄妙奇特。因为一切众生都本具这功能，暂时没有发出来是因为被这妄念颠倒执著所盖覆了。我们人为什么比动物聪明，就是因为人的盖障比动物少、轻，动物的盖障重、沉，所以比人愚笨得多。我们能够拿掉这盖障就好了。

Non-Buddhist practitioners may cling to appearances in their cultivation. Even projecting the spirit outside the body is not beneficial and may lead one into deviant states. Yet people are fascinated by such experiences. If one pursues them, one cannot become a great vessel for the Dharma or transcend the six realms of rebirth.

What is needed is to refine the mind until it is empty, abide nowhere, and allow the spiritual powers inherent in our own nature to function. Even when they manifest, it is as though there were no powers at all—just as dressing and eating are entirely ordinary, with nothing mysterious or extraordinary about them. It is because all sentient beings inherently possess these functions. They are not manifest at present because deluded thoughts, inverted views, and attachments obscure them. Human beings are generally more intelligent than animals because their obscurations are lighter and fewer, whereas those of animals are heavier and denser. We need only remove these obscurations.

《心经》说“观自在”是要我们做功夫，观照自己在本位上不动摇。“自在”，就是我这本性时时在。而我们平时就不在，跟境界跑了。圆悟勤祖师说：“一刻不在，便同死人。”就是行尸走肉。要时时“在”。“在”熟了呢，“自”也不要了，有“自”还是做作。

In the Heart Sūtra, 'Guānzìzài' (Avalokiteśvara) calls us to engage in actual practice—contemplate and observe ourselves, remaining unwavering in our original state. ‘Zizai’ means that our true nature is always present. Ordinarily, however, we are not present; we run after external circumstances. Chan Master Yuanwu Keqin said, “If you are absent for even a moment, you are no different from a dead person”—merely a walking corpse. We must remain present at all times. Once this presence is thoroughly familiar, even the “self” (zì) must be let go; as long as there is still a “self,” there remains contrivance.

《圆觉经》讲：“居一切时不起妄念，于诸妄心亦不息灭，住妄想境不加了知，于无了知不辨真实。”妄心不要灭掉，因为妄心就是真心，波浪就是水，把波浪去掉，水就没有了，所以妄心起来亦不压灭它。只要转，不跟它跑即是。念佛、念咒即是活泼泼地转妄念的最好方法，心摆在佛上、咒上，妄念就转化了。

“住妄想境不加了知”，就是自己不要执著自己，时时刻刻认着自己。到此时，知就不要了，只有“在”在。“于无了知不辩真实”，一切都不可得，真即假，假即真，更无圣凡之别，一切一切都融归自己，无在无不在，“在”也没有了。一切经文讲的经义都是这些。《心经》是一部成佛的法，不是念念就行了。一切众生能观自在，就是《心经》所说的菩萨；你不能，那么你就是众生了。

The Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment states:

At all times, do not give rise to deluded thoughts. Yet, with regard to deluded mind, do not seek to extinguish it. Dwelling amid the realm of delusion, do not superimpose any further knowing. And in the absence of such knowing, do not discern what is the ultimate reality.

There is no need to extinguish the delusional mind, because the delusional mind is itself the true mind—waves are none other than water; if you remove the waves, no water remains. Thus, when a delusional thought arises, do not suppress or extinguish it. Simply transform it—refraining from pursuing it is enough. Chanting the Buddha's name or reciting mantras is the most lively and effective way to transform delusional thoughts: by anchoring the mind on the Buddha or the mantra, delusional thoughts are naturally transformed.

"Dwelling amid the realm of delusion, do not superimpose any further knowing." means that one should not cling to oneself, but continuously abide in one's true nature at every moment. At this point, even "knowing" is no longer needed; only sheer presence remains. "In the absence of such knowing, do not discern what is the ultimate reality" means that nothing whatsoever can be attained. The true is the false and the false is the true; the distinction between the sacred and the ordinary vanishes entirely. Everything merges back into oneself—neither present nor absent, until even "presence" itself is gone.

The essential meaning of all the sūtras points here. The Heart Sūtra is a teaching for attaining Buddhahood, not something to be merely recited. Any sentient being who can practice ‘Guānzìzài’—contemplating one’s true nature and abiding freely in its presence—is the Bodhisattva spoken of in the Heart Sutra. If you cannot do so, you remain an ordinary sentient being.

修心中心法用印、咒、观三密加持，把你的妄心消了，根尘脱落，人、事相、世界、虚空、一切都消殒，大地平沉，虚空粉碎，叫你亲自证见一回，这就是佛性的显现。

但大家都疑惑不定：“恐怕不是吧？为什么没有发神通呢？显然不是！”其实这就是啊，实实在在的是啊！暂时不能发神通，是你的执著习气还在，还没有除尽。

Practicing the Heart-of-Heart Dharma utilizes the empowerment of the Three Esoteric Practices—mudra, mantra, and contemplation—to dissolve your delusional mind. The sense faculties and their objects fall away; people, phenomena, the world, space, and all things vanish. The vast earth sinks away and empty space shatters, allowing you to personally experience and realize this truth firsthand—this is none other than the manifestation of Buddha-nature.

Yet many people still doubt: “Surely this cannot be it. Why have no spiritual powers appeared? Then this clearly cannot be it!” In fact, this is precisely it—genuine and real. Spiritual powers do not yet manifest because the habitual tendencies of attachment remain and have not been exhausted.

圭峰宗密禅师说：“真理虽然顿达，此情难以卒除，须长觉察，损之又损。”

我们明白了道理，但是旷劫以来在六道轮回中转来转去，习气深厚，非常执著，不能马上除掉，需要时时刻刻觉察，在境界上锻炼，损之又损。

圭峰宗密禅师说得很好：识冰池而全水，藉阳气以消融。悟凡夫而即佛，资法力以薰修。冰融则水流润，方呈溉涤之功。妄尽则心灵通，始发通光之用。

Chan Master Guifeng Zongmi said, “Although the truth is suddenly realized, these habitual deluded tendencies are difficult to eliminate immediately. One must continuously maintain mindful awareness, diminishing them again and again.”

We may understand the principle, yet habits accumulated through countless eons of wandering in the six realms are deep and tenacious. They cannot be removed immediately. We must remain aware at every moment, train amid circumstances, and diminish them again and again.

Chan Master Guifeng Zongmi put it well:

“Recognize that the frozen pond is entirely water, yet it must rely on the warmth of the sun to melt. Awaken to the fact that an ordinary being is none other than Buddha, yet one must rely on the power of the Dharma for gradual cultivation. Only when the ice melts does the water flow and nourish, revealing its ability to irrigate and cleanse. Only when deluded thoughts are exhausted does the mind become spiritually unobstructed, and only then do its spiritual powers and radiance begin to manifest.”

我们修心中心法，借这法渡过河，不能执著法。骧陆先师说修心中心法一千座可以了，很多人就为这一千座迷惑，认为一千座修不好就没有用处，不用再修了。其实不是这个说法，一千座是说我们这个法有这么大的作用，能打开本来，见到本性。见到了之后呢，就不要再执法了。我们打坐的人有体会，前四五百座时有些痛苦，手痛、脚麻、胸闷，因为平时像猴子跳惯了，要他不跳不行，他要跳，你不准他跳，所以就难过了。五六百座之后，心定了，就舒服了。

When we practice the Heart-of-Heart Dharma, we use it as a raft to cross the river; we must not become attached to the Dharma itself. The late Master Xianglu said that one thousand sittings in this practice could be sufficient. Many people become confused by the number, thinking that if they do not succeed within one thousand sittings, the practice is useless and should be abandoned.

That is not what he meant. “One thousand sittings” indicates the strength of this Dharma: it can open what is original and allow us to see our true nature. Once true nature has been seen, we should no longer cling to the method.

Those who meditate know this from experience. During the first four or five hundred sittings, there may be discomfort: aching hands, numb legs, and tightness in the chest. The mind is like a monkey long accustomed to jumping about. It wants to jump, yet you do not permit it, so discomfort arises. After five or six hundred sittings, the mind settles and practice becomes comfortable.

四禅定讲的渐次法理：二禅喜，三禅乐。因为这时身体起了变化，气血流转通畅，这乐趣就自然而来了。打坐有空、乐、明三种境界。空——化空了。乐——快乐无比。有人说怕吃苦不修法，他错了。修法不是吃苦，是享受，其乐无穷，是大乐，不是世间的快乐所能比的。明——是光明，心一空就放大光明。但是这空、乐、明都不能住，住乐就不能出欲界，乐还有欲望在；住明不能出色界，色界的相细微光明，不像欲界粗浊；住空不能出空界，出不了四空天。所以骧陆先师说的一千座之后不要坐，就是指不要执法。因为法也不可得，是借来用用的。这点不要误会。用功夫实际是在座下，座上是磨刀，把刀磨快；下座用刀，看看我这把刀快不快，这恋情切得断吗？

     The Four Dhyānas are described as a gradual progression: the second dhyāna brings joy, and the third brings bliss. At this point the body changes, qi and blood circulate freely, and a sense of bliss naturally arises. Three meditative experiences may appear in sitting: emptiness, bliss, and luminosity. Emptiness means that body and mind dissolve into emptiness; bliss is incomparable joy.

Some people avoid Dharma practice because they fear hardship, but this is a mistake. Dharma practice is not suffering—it is enjoyment, and its bliss is inexhaustible. Luminosity means that when the mind becomes empty, great radiance shines forth. Yet none of the three—emptiness, bliss, or luminosity—may be grasped. Grasping bliss prevents transcendence of the desire realm, because subtle desire remains. Grasping luminosity prevents transcendence of the form realm, whose forms are subtle and luminous rather than coarse and turbid. Grasping emptiness prevents transcendence of the formless realm and the four formless heavens.

Thus, when the late Master Xianglu said not to sit after one thousand sittings, he meant not to cling to the method. Even the Dharma cannot be grasped; it is borrowed for practical use. Do not misunderstand this point. The actual work is done off the meditation cushion. Sitting is for sharpening the blade; after rising, we use it and test its edge: can it cut through emotional attachment?

《楞严经》讲人有两大坏处：一是情，一是想。这情最坏，因为情随爱生起，相爱的人要别离，眼泪水就来了；看到好吃的东西，口水就自然来了；这爱能生水，而水性是朝下流，故情生即向下流。修净土宗的人，这情斩不断，不能生西方世界。西方世界是上界，你不能向上飞就向下流。憨山大师、紫柏大师都说到，念佛的人得不得力就看你佛号这把宝剑快不快，能不能斩断情丝。能斩断情丝才能生西；斩不断，藕断丝连，只能呆在娑婆世界。为什么走不了呢？因为这情念重了，就如“抱桩摇橹”，岸边的木桩把船上的缆绳系牢了，这船就开不动。想呢？就是想发财，想爱人，想这些不行。

The Śūraṅgama Sūtra teaches that human beings have two major impediments: emotional attachment and conceptual thought. Emotional attachment is the more troublesome because it arises with affection. When loved ones part, tears flow; when delicious food appears, saliva flows. Affection gives rise to water, and water flows downward; therefore, when emotional attachment arises, it draws one downward.

Pure Land practitioners who cannot sever emotional attachment cannot be reborn in the Western Land. The Western Land is described here as a higher realm: if one cannot rise, one flows downward.

Masters Hanshan and Zibo both taught that the effectiveness of Buddha-recitation depends on whether the sword of the Buddha’s name is sharp enough to cut through the threads of attachment. If those threads are severed, one can be reborn in the West. If they remain like fibres clinging to a broken lotus root, one stays in the Sahā world.

Why can one not leave? Because emotional attachment has become heavy. It is like rowing a boat still tied to a post on the shore: the boat cannot move. Conceptual thought, meanwhile, includes thoughts of wealth, loved ones, and worldly pursuits; such thinking will not work.

《楞严经》讲：“纯想即飞。”我们想西方极乐世界、想阿弥陀佛，这样地想是纯想，就能飞起来了。我们修行做功夫，就是断这个情见，时时刻刻观照。

我本性是一丝不挂、一尘不染的，无可恋。这身体也无可恋，任何人也免不了生老病死，还有什么身外之物！所以我们要有大智慧，明白了，这一切自然放下了。能放下、不执著，就成道了，光明一天天地升起来。初放光明的时候，如同刚升的太阳，鱼肚白色。慢慢地亮起来，放大光，但当中还有黑点，边上亮。为什么？因为这无明还在，中阴身救度法所讲的人在临命终时死光发现也是如此。其实也就是与我们修法过程一样，把无明消了，这黑没有了，就亮了。

The Śūraṅgama Sūtra says, “Pure thought brings flight.” If we direct our thoughts toward the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss and Amitābha Buddha, such pure thought enables us to rise. The work of spiritual practice is to cut through emotional attachment and fixed views while maintaining contemplative awareness at every moment.

My true nature is utterly bare and unstained by a speck of dust; there is nothing to love or cling to. Nor is this body worth clinging to: no one escapes birth, aging, illness, and death. What, then, of possessions outside the body?

We must therefore possess great wisdom. Once we understand, all these things are naturally released. To let go without attachment is to realize the Way, and the radiance grows day by day. When it first appears, it resembles the pale, fish-belly glow of dawn. Gradually it brightens and emits great light, yet a dark spot remains at the centre while the edges shine. Why? Because ignorance is still present.

The teaching on liberation in the intermediate state describes the light that appears at the moment of death in the same way. This is actually no different from the process of our Dharma practice: when ignorance is dissolved, the darkness disappears, leaving only pure radiance.

我们做功夫要懂诀窍，这诀窍就是识得一念不生时，了了分明的灵知就是我人的真性，从而绵密保任，圆证佛果。千万不要求神奇，着玄妙，须知一丝不可得的平常心方是我人成道的妙体。

In our practice, we must understand the essential key. This key is to recognize that when not a single thought arises, the clear, luminous knowing is our true nature—and from there, to continuously and seamlessly preserve it until we fully realize Buddhahood.

Never seek the miraculous or cling to the mysterious. Know that the ordinary mind, in which not even the finest thread can be found, is the wondrous essence through which we realize the Way.

保护分几个阶段。初悟的时候，等于刚降生的婴儿，要好好抚养保护，不然的话便夭折，死在襁褓之中。很多人以为一悟就明白本性，了不起，放狂了，那就坏了。因为习气还在，成了悟后迷，很危险！

所以初悟时要严加保护，在行住坐卧中，不可稍有懈怠。但也不能抓得太紧，太紧要气闷头涨，就像乐器的弦太紧了要断，太松又不成声。宽紧适度要善于调，紧的时候松一点，松的时候紧一点。

Safeguarding realization unfolds in several stages. Initial awakening is like a newborn infant that must be carefully nurtured and protected; otherwise, it may perish in its swaddling clothes. Many people think that once they awaken to true nature, they have attained something extraordinary, and so they begin to behave recklessly. That is where things go wrong. Because their habitual tendencies still remain, they may fall into delusion after awakening—a very dangerous state.

Therefore, after initial awakening, realization must be carefully safeguarded while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, without the slightest negligence. Yet one must not hold it too tightly. Excessive tension may cause tightness in the chest and pressure in the head. Like the string of a musical instrument, if it is too tight it will snap; if too loose, it will not sound. Learn to tune the practice, loosening when too tight and tightening when too loose.

要时时保护也很不容易，因为我们执著的习气重，在事情上一滚就忘记掉了，又回复了老样子。这时要抓，一忘记就赶快拉回来。真正保熟了，保就不需要了。但这时又不容易离开保、忘记保，因为保熟了，等于换了习气，原来执著事物的习气换了执法的习气，还要经过一段时间才能离开保。

再进一步，到真能离开保，还有个不需要保在，这功夫过程很细密，要把这个离开保也去掉，忘光了，到这一步就安住无为本位了。这时，神通不求自来。因为你上面的盖障拿掉，本性功能发挥，神通自然来了，那才是本性显发出来的神通。那些依靠一个法，依靠一个咒，再下等的是依靠鬼神精灵之类，都是依通，不是本性显得的神通。

Constantly safeguarding realization is not easy. Because our habits of attachment are strong, once we become caught up in affairs we forget and return to our old ways. At this stage we must take hold of awareness and, the moment we forget, bring it back. Once safeguarding becomes thoroughly mature, deliberate safeguarding is no longer needed. Yet it is then difficult to leave it behind, because the old habit of clinging to things has been replaced by a habit of clinging to the Dharma. It therefore takes another period of time before one can finally leave this deliberate safeguarding behind.

Advancing further, one reaches the point where safeguarding can truly be left behind. Yet a subtle sense that “safeguarding is no longer needed” still remains. The process is extremely fine. Even this notion of having left safeguarding behind must be removed and completely forgotten. Only then does one settle into the original ground of non-action. At this point, spiritual powers arrive on their own without you ever seeking them. Because the covering and obstructions above have been removed, the inherent functions of one's true nature manifest freely, and these spiritual powers appear spontaneously. Such powers are the natural expression of one's intrinsic nature. By contrast, powers that depend upon a particular method, a mantra, or—at an even lower level—upon ghosts, spirits, or other subtle beings are merely dependent powers. They are not the spiritual powers revealed by the True Nature.

    真到这个无为境界，无为也不可得，无所谓无为。“绝学无为闲道人”，大智若愚，就像痴子傻子一样。但人都好聪明，这世智才聪是着相的聪明，不是真聪明。做功夫到像痴子傻子一样，还没有真到家。还要进步，要浑化相忘，光明大放，朗照大千，诸佛入我之身，我入诸佛之身，《华严经》比做十面镜子，互照互摄无碍，到这一步功夫还没有到家。到最后是无法可说，没话可讲了。

When one truly reaches the state of non-action (wuwei), even 'non-action' is unattainable—there is no longer any concept of non-action. “A carefree person of the Way, beyond learning and free of contrivance.” Great wisdom may appear foolish, like a simpleton. Yet people prize cleverness. Worldly intelligence and cleverness cling to appearances; they are not true wisdom.

Even when practice makes one appear simple or foolish, the journey is not complete. One must advance until all distinctions merge away in mutual forgetfulness. Then great radiance shines forth and illumines the entire cosmos: all Buddhas enter my body, and I enter the bodies of all Buddhas. The Avataṃsaka Sūtra compares this to ten mirrors mutually reflecting and containing one another without obstruction. Yet even this is not the end. Ultimately, there is no Dharma to explain and nothing to say.

讲个公案：有僧问曹山：“朗月当头时如何？”曹山说：“犹是阶下汉！”僧说：“请师接上阶。”曹山说：“月落时相见。”月亮落了怎么相见？浑化相忘，忘记所以啊！做功夫到这时就等于我们一天到晚在空气当中，而不知道是空气。这时候就无法开口，“嗨！”一甩手就回方丈了。

Consider this Chan encounter:

A monk asked Caoshan, “What is it like when the bright moon is directly overhead?”

Caoshan replied, “You are still a person below the steps.”

The monk said, “Master, please lead me up the steps.”

Caoshan answered, “We shall meet when the moon has set.”

But how can they meet once the moon has set?

All is seamlessly transformed and mutually forgotten—even the reason for forgetting is forgotten. Practice at this stage is like living in air all day without being conscious of the air. At such a moment, nothing can be put into words. “Hai!”—with a sweep of his sleeve, the master returns to his quarters.

心中心法是非空非有。说空，它有个印咒在；说有，印咒无意义可讲，没有思想可动。教你一心持咒，挟着你往前，心空到适当地步，就如烧饭到了火候，自然爆炸，打开来了。

日本人比喻得很好，说修法就像是往罐子里放火药，今天放一点，明天放一点，放到了饱和点，“轰！”爆炸起来了。我们修法切忌追求，求入定、求开悟、求神通，这样坏了，你定也不定，要开悟也开不开，更不能发神通。

有的人还说修法没有大好处，我说这个大宝贝给你，你没福消受，你坐在那里打妄想嘛！所以我们用功要痛切，不能一面持咒一面打妄想，要一切放下。

The Heart-of-Heart Dharma is neither empty nor existent. If one calls it empty, it still employs mudrā and mantra. If one calls it existent, the mudrā and mantra offer no conceptual meaning on which discursive thought can move. Single-minded mantra recitation carries the practitioner forward. When the mind empties to the appropriate degree—like rice reaching the proper point of cooking—it naturally breaks open.

A Japanese analogy puts it well: practice is like adding gunpowder to a container, a little today and a little tomorrow. At the point of saturation, it suddenly explodes. In practicing the Dharma, we must strictly avoid seeking—seeking to enter samādhi, seeking enlightenment, or seeking supernatural powers. This ruins the practice: you will not achieve samādhi, you will fail to realize enlightenment, and you certainly will not manifest supernatural powers.

Some people say that practice has brought them no great benefit. I say: this great treasure has been given to you, but you lack the blessing to make use of it because you sit there indulging in wandering thoughts. Our practice must therefore be earnest and wholehearted. We cannot recite a mantra while entertaining deluded thoughts; we must put everything down.

昨天一位居士说得很好，他说：“我生病，痛得不得了，怎么办呢？下决心——好，就死吧！这一下倒好，一坐之后定了，身体也没有了，什么痛也没有了。”禅宗也说不可将心待悟。我们用功不可有心追求，就像平平常常没有事情一样。

神通是我们自己所遮盖，我们有财色名食睡五盖，发财心并不可得，但人都想发财，尤其是一些华侨、香港人学佛，要求教财神法，发点财。密宗有九层次第：密三层、内三层、外三层。内三层的第一层事业法，就有息灾增益，有黄财神、黑财神、白财神等等，人们都想这些法。香港一位小和尚讲：“有人说今天要灌财神法的灌顶，大家都来了，一下子几千人来求灌顶。”趋之若鹜啊！

密宗这个法是过渡法，是“先以欲勾牵，后令入佛智”。先满足众生的欲望，引众生入门。入门之后呢，叫你开智慧。有了佛智，明白一切都不可得。修财神法得了财之后很危险，要闯祸。

Yesterday, a lay practitioner made an excellent point. He said, “I was ill and in unbearable pain. What could I do? I made a firm resolve: so be it—even death no longer mattered. Once I completely let go and sat down, the mind became settled. The body disappeared, and so did the pain.” Chan also teaches that we must not wait for awakening with an expectant mind. In practice, do not seek anything; proceed as naturally and ordinarily as though nothing special were happening.

Our inherent spiritual powers are obscured by ourselves. We are covered by the five hindrances of wealth, sensual desire, fame, food, and sleep. The very mind that seeks wealth is itself ungraspable, yet everyone wants to become rich. Some overseas Chinese and Hong Kong Buddhist practitioners, in particular, ask to be taught a wealth-deity practice in the hope of becoming rich.

Esoteric Buddhism is described here as having nine levels: three secret, three inner, and three outer. The first of the inner three is called the ritual activity practice and includes pacifying calamities and increasing benefit, with practices of the Yellow, Black, and White Jambhalas, among others. These are the methods people desire. A young monk in Hong Kong once said, “When people heard that a Wealth Deity empowerment would be given, several thousand arrived at once to receive it.” They flocked to it.

Such esoteric practices are transitional methods: “First draw beings in through desire; later lead them into Buddha-wisdom.” They initially accommodate the wishes of sentient beings in order to bring them through the gate. Once inside, practitioners are taught to open wisdom. With Buddha-wisdom, they understand that nothing can be attained. Acquiring wealth through a Wealth Deity practice may, however, be dangerous and bring trouble.

我们真正用功修法，要死心塌地。因为根本一切都不可得，空空而来，空空而去。与其将来临终不得不放，不如现在开智慧早点放，倒可成道、了生死了。你不放，最后一点带不走，那是愚痴。

贪瞋痴三毒，痴是最根本。不痴有智慧，就不贪求，也就不瞋，六道轮回也就是在贪瞋痴上看，贪是饿鬼道，瞋是修罗道，痴是畜生道，三样都俱全的是地狱道。

In genuine Dharma practice, we must commit ourselves completely, for fundamentally nothing can be attained. We come empty-handed and leave empty-handed. Rather than being forced to let go at the end of life, it is better to awaken wisdom and release things now; then we may realize the Way and be free of birth and death. Refusing to let go when nothing can ultimately be taken with us is ignorance.

Of the Three Poisons—greed, anger, and ignorance—ignorance is the root. With wisdom instead of ignorance, one no longer craves and therefore no longer gives rise to anger.

The six realms of rebirth may be understood in terms of greed, anger, and ignorance:

·        Greed corresponds to the realm of hungry ghosts.

·        Anger corresponds to the realm of asuras.

·        Ignorance corresponds to the animal realm.

·        When all three are fully present, this corresponds to the hell realm.

心中心法是无相密，能打开本来直下见性。禅者，就是涅槃妙心，正法眼藏，也就是我们的本性。我们打开来了，见到本性，这就是禅，所以心中心密法以禅为体。

净土究竟讲来，土即心，心即土，心清净了，当下就是净土。心里没有杂念，没有烦恼，无所住着，无所要求，这样就是净土。我们的心清净了，娑婆世界就是西方极乐世界。与西方庄严之佛土、弥勒佛的兜率内院、东方琉璃世界一样无二无别，都是净土。

大愚师公怕我们这生修法不能成就，为我们示说了慈氏咒，用这咒和弥勒佛结缘，为我们将来往生兜率内院做准备。

The Heart-of-Heart Dharma is a formless esoteric practice that can uncover our original nature, enabling us to see it directly and immediately. Chan is the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa and the treasury of the True Dharma Eye—our own original nature. When what is original opens and true nature is seen, this is Chan. Thus, the Heart-of-Heart Dharma takes Chan as its essence.

Ultimately, Pure Land teaching says that land is mind and mind is land. When the mind is pure, that very moment is the Pure Land. A mind without scattered thoughts, afflictions, attachment, or seeking is itself the Pure Land. When our mind is pure, the Sahā world is the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. It is no different from the adorned Buddha-land of the West, Maitreya’s Inner Court of Tuṣita, or the Eastern Pure Lapis Lazuli World: all are Pure Lands.

Out of concern that we might not attain realization through our Dharma practice in this lifetime, Grandmaster Dayu taught us the Maitreya Mantra so that we could form an affinity with Maitreya Buddha and prepare for future rebirth in the Inner Court of Tuṣita.

《佛心经》中说心中心法第四印就是往生西方极乐世界的。结第四印，我们只要发愿往生西方极乐世界，就能生西方极乐世界，而且十方世界能随愿往生，因净土不光是西方净土，东南西北四维上下都是净土。

有的人认为只有念阿弥陀佛可以生西，这是修净土宗人的一个误解。学佛除了念佛外，诵经、持咒、做善事都一样的，阿弥陀佛非但放光照引我们修法学佛的人，就是不学佛的人，佛也放光接引，朗照众生。

The Buddha Heart Sūtra states that the fourth mudrā of the Heart-of-Heart Dharma is for attaining rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. By forming the fourth mudrā and resolving to be reborn there, one can attain rebirth in that land. Indeed, according to one’s vow, rebirth may occur in any of the worlds of the ten directions, for the Pure Land is not limited to the West: east, south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, and below are all Pure Lands.

Some people believe that only by reciting Amitābha Buddha’s name can one be reborn in the Western Pure Land. This is a misconception held by some Pure Land practitioners. In Buddhist practice, reciting sutras, chanting mantras, and performing good deeds can serve the same purpose as Buddha-recitation.

Amitābha Buddha radiates light not only to illuminate and guide those who practice and study the Dharma; he also radiates light to receive and guide those who do not practice Buddhism, shining brightly upon all sentient beings.

《中阴身救度法》说，佛放光照众生，阿弥陀佛放红光，观音菩萨放白光，大势至菩萨放青绿光，朗照众生，都接引。但众生障重者，见了光怕，往黑暗处跑，有的就跑到地狱里去了。

修心中心法欲生西方并不需在修法之外再念阿弥陀佛，但是要念阿弥陀佛也一样可以，因为都是转换我们的心力。有些修净土宗人错误地认为修净土只有念阿弥陀佛，修其他法门，如密宗等都不好。他不知念大悲咒、楞严咒、十小咒、往生咒等都是密法。他身在密法中不知道密法，说密宗不好，这等于在骂自己的祖宗，这样就遭罪。

The teaching on liberation in the intermediate state says that the Buddhas radiate light upon sentient beings: Amitābha Buddha radiates red light, Avalokiteśvara white light, and Mahāsthāmaprāpta blue-green light. Their radiance illuminates and receives all beings. Yet those with heavy obscurations become frightened by the light and flee toward darkness; some run into the hell realms.

Practitioners of the Heart-of-Heart Dharma who aspire to rebirth in the Western Pure Land need not add Amitābha-recitation as a separate practice. Yet they may certainly recite Amitābha’s name, since both methods redirect and transform the power of mind.

Some Pure Land practitioners mistakenly believe that Pure Land practice consists only of reciting Amitābha Buddha’s name and that other Dharma gates, such as Esoteric Buddhism, are inferior. They do not realize that the Great Compassion Mantra, Śūraṅgama Mantra, Ten Short Mantras, Rebirth Mantra, and similar recitations are themselves esoteric methods. They are within esoteric practice without recognizing it, yet they criticize Esoteric Buddhism. This is like reviling one’s own ancestors and thereby bringing consequences upon oneself.

我们不需要再重起炉灶修净土宗，否则就等于我们现在都是佛，但还向外去找佛、求佛。所以禅宗说我们大家坐在饭箩边饿死也不知道吃饭。

现在练气功的人是假法真修，气功也是很好的，可以强身长寿，只是他执著气，空不了，不究竟而已。但他能假法真修，我看到有人在电车上还在用功看着气，小周天通脉管通。我说你们真用功，而我们修真法反不这么用功，我们要在行住坐卧中观照修法，但是就忘记了。

修净土宗的也有真法假修，他在那里一面念阿弥陀佛，一面说张三长啊！李四短啊！这样杂乱地修，怎么能成就，反而不如做气功的人，这真是一桩遗憾的事情。

We need not abandon our present practice and begin Pure Land practice from scratch. To do so would be like already being Buddhas yet still searching and begging for a Buddha outside ourselves. Chan therefore says that we sit beside a basket of food and starve because we do not know to eat.

Many people today apply genuine effort to qigong, although it is only a provisional method. Qigong can be beneficial for physical health and longevity; its limitation is that practitioners may cling to qi and be unable to empty the mind or move beyond qi. It is therefore not ultimate.

Yet they practice this provisional method sincerely. I have seen people on streetcars still attending to the qi, circulating it through the Small Heavenly Circuit and opening the channels. I told them, “You are truly diligent.” By contrast, those of us who practice the true Dharma are often less diligent. We should maintain contemplative awareness while walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, yet we forget.

Some Pure Land practitioners receive a true Dharma but practice it superficially. They recite Amitābha’s name while gossiping about Zhang San’s good points and Li Si’s faults. How could such distracted practice lead to accomplishment? They are not even as earnest as the qigong practitioners. This is truly regrettable.

我们现在知道了入手处，就是时时观照，看住念头的起处，念头一来，把咒一提，或把佛号一提，这念头就转化掉了。看住，就是观照做功夫，不要放松，就会进步。

进步到什么程度自己考验：我还着相吗？心里还有东西吗？好的善的境界来了，我还喜欢、动摇吗？恶的不顺的境界来了，我还烦恼吗？要八风吹不动。如果还动，那就不行。

We now know where to begin: maintain contemplative awareness and watch the point from which thoughts arise. As soon as a thought appears, bring up the mantra or the Buddha’s name, and the thought is transformed. To watch closely is to apply contemplative effort. Do not relax it, and progress will follow.

How do we test our progress? Ask: Am I still attached to appearances? Is anything still lodged in the mind? When pleasant or wholesome circumstances arise, do I delight in them or become moved? When adverse circumstances appear, do afflictions arise? We must remain unmoved by the Eight Worldly Winds. If we are still shaken, the practice has not matured.

我们对坏的境界容易觉察，好的境界、快乐的时候就难以觉察。宗下有个公案：一个徒弟拜别师父外出行脚，师父关照他一路要小心谨慎，这徒弟说：“是的，我跟人说话要小心，我都给他们戴高帽子，他们就不反感，不会反对我。”师父说：“你真会想办法。”徒弟答：“是啊，人人都喜欢高帽子，就师父你不喜欢高帽子。”师父说：“我是不喜欢高帽子。” 这样，一顶高帽子已经给他戴上了。对善的好的事情不知不觉就粘上去了。

所以我们做功夫要绵密观照，绵长不断，密而不疏，时时注意，那些话头公案就是考验你是否时时心空，空灵无住。

We readily notice our reactions to adverse circumstances, but they are harder to detect when conditions are favorable and we feel happy.

There is a Chan koan about this:

A disciple took leave of his master to travel on pilgrimage. The master told him to be careful along the way. The disciple replied, “Yes. I am careful when speaking with people. I put a ‘high hat’ on them—I flatter them—so that they will not take offence or oppose me.” The master said, “You certainly know how to handle people.” The disciple answered, “Everyone likes to wear a high hat; only you, Master, do not.” The master replied, “Indeed, I do not like high hats.” At that very moment, however, a high hat had already been placed on his head. Without noticing, we become attached to favorable things.

Therefore, in our cultivation, we must maintain continuous and seamless contemplation—sustained continuously, tight without any lapse, and attentive at every moment. Those huatous and koans are precisely tests to see whether your mind remains empty at all times—luminous, empty, and non-abiding.

学佛法是大丈夫事业，要慷慨豪放，敢于牺牲。气量狭窄的人，学佛很难相应，慷慨豪放的人容易入道。一切世法都是佛法，要时时刻刻警惕觉察，肯牺牲一切。

有人说：“我出家好还是在家好？”为这个问题犹豫不决，想出家又怕出家。其实一切都是我们心的妙用，只要无住，出家不出家都无碍。

Practicing the Buddha Dharma is the undertaking of a person of great resolve. It requires generosity, openness, and the willingness to relinquish everything. Those of narrow capacity find it difficult to accord with the Dharma, whereas those of expansive spirit enter the Way more readily. All worldly phenomena are themselves the Buddha-Dharma. We must remain vigilant and aware at every single moment, willing to sacrifice everything.

Some people ask, “Should I become a monastic or remain a lay practitioner?” They hesitate, wanting to leave home yet fearing to do so. In fact, everything is the wondrous functioning of mind. So long as the mind abides nowhere, whether monastic or lay poses no obstruction.

现在出家修行也很难，现在的寺庙大都搞经忏，有的打一趟水陆要几万元钱，为赚钱做佛事搞经忏，否则就没有收入来造佛堂、修钟楼等等。少数的寺庙不搞经忏，但先要去种田，不种没有吃。扬州的高旻寺是禅宗道场，难得搞一次经忏，这样的禅宗道场现在已经很少了。宁波的天童寺、杭州的灵隐寺、净慈寺都是禅宗道场，但是都没有参禅了。现在还是扬州高旻寺、镇江金山寺、西安卧龙寺有参禅。听一位小和尚说，一天疲劳下来，到了晚上一点精神也没有，坐着参禅光打瞌睡。这真是太可惜了！

Today, monastic practice is also difficult. Most monasteries perform sūtra recitations and repentance rituals; some charge tens of thousands of yuan for a single Water and Land Dharma Assembly. They conduct these services to generate income, without which they could not build Buddha halls, repair bell towers, and maintain the monastery.

A few monasteries do not conduct such rituals, but their monastics must then farm; without farming, they have nothing to eat.

Gaomin Monastery in Yangzhou is a Chan monastery and only rarely conducts repentance rituals; such Chan monasteries have become scarce. Tiantong Monastery in Ningbo and Lingyin and Jingci Monasteries in Hangzhou are also Chan monasteries, yet they no longer engage in Chan meditation. At present, Gaomin Monastery in Yangzhou, Jinshan Monastery in Zhenjiang, and Wolong Monastery in Xi’an still maintain Chan practice.

I heard a young monk say that after an exhausting day, he has no energy left by evening and merely dozes off whenever he sits in Chan meditation. What a great pity!

在家呢，有妻子儿女事情的烦恼。但这并不是说出家在家都不好修法了，不是！我们要在环境中锻炼，最重要的是先要明白自己，明白都是心的妙用无住，那出家不出家都行。我们要在环境当中锻炼，时时无住，明白能起作用的就是我的佛性。在这里下手观照，不一定要打坐。能观照就是入手处，如果在境界上观不起来，跟境界跑了，一点定力没有，还是需要抽时间打坐。

Lay practitioners face the troubles that arise from spouses, children, and family affairs. But this does not mean that Dharma practice is difficult for both monastics and laypeople—not at all! We must train ourselves amid the circumstances of daily life. Most important is first to recognize our true nature, understand that everything is the mind’s wondrous functioning, and remain non-abiding. Once this is understood, either monastic or lay life can serve as practice.

We must train amid circumstances, abiding nowhere at every moment and recognizing that the very capacity that functions is our Buddha-nature. Begin contemplative awareness here; seated meditation is not always necessary.

Being able to maintain contemplation is itself the point of entry. If, however, awareness cannot be sustained amid circumstances, the mind follows external conditions, and there is no meditative stability, one should still set aside time for seated meditation.

但最重要的是先要明白自己，如大鹏金翅鸟一翅能飞几十万里，它能飞这么远，就靠脚底下一点劲，脚不点地，就不能腾空起飞。不要小看认识本性，能够认识这一点，深信不疑，就是你们脚已经点地了，将来一定能够鹏飞万里。

临济祖师叫我们认识“赤肉团上有一无位真人，即今说法听法者是”。我们能听能讲的这个功能就是我们的本性，能够于此深信不疑，抓住这点，就在这一点上用功。

Most important is first to understand oneself. The great golden-winged Garuḍa can fly hundreds of thousands of miles with a single beat of its wings, yet it depends on one push from its feet. Without touching the ground, it cannot launch into the sky. Do not underestimate recognizing true nature. To recognize this point with unwavering confidence is to have placed your feet on the ground; in time, you will soar ten thousand miles like the Garuḍa.

Master Linji instructed us to recognize that “on this lump of red flesh is a True Person of No Rank, who is precisely the one now speaking and hearing the Dharma.” The capacity through which we hear and speak is our original nature. Have deep confidence in this, seize this point, and apply your practice right here.

我们这个法妙在是大势至菩萨和观音菩萨两位菩萨结合起来的用功方法。大势至菩萨教我们念佛要“都摄六根，净念相继”。把念头抓住叫“都摄六根”，都摄眼耳鼻舌身意六根。

“净念相继”，一般人以为静下来念佛、不生其他念头，只有佛号继续不断，那就是净念相继了。其实不然，因为有能念之心、所念之佛，能所相对，还有能所在，没有清净，不是净念。要能所双亡，能念之心、所念之佛一起脱落，空净了，才是净念。持咒也要持到能所双亡。一念相应一念佛，念念相应念念佛。就是这一念脱开来了，这一念清净就是佛，念念都如此，那念念是佛，要连续不断。

The wonder of our Dharma lies in how it combines the cultivation methods of both Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta and Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta teaches us that in Buddha-recitation, we must 'gather in all six sense faculties and sustain pure mindfulness in uninterrupted continuity.' Seizing control of our thoughts is what is meant by 'gathering in all six sense faculties'—bringing together the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

Most people take “pure mindfulness in uninterrupted continuity” to mean calming down, reciting the Buddha’s name without other thoughts, and allowing only the Buddha’s name to continue without a break—that this is pure mindfulness in uninterrupted continuity.

In fact, this is not yet so. As long as there is a mind that recites and a Buddha who is recited, subject and object remain opposed. Where subject and object remain, there is not yet purity; this is not pure mindfulness.

Only when subject and object both fall away—when the reciting mind and the Buddha recited drop away together, leaving empty purity—does it become pure mindfulness.

The same applies to mantra recitation: it must reach the point at which subject and object both fall away. When one thought accords, that thought is Buddha; when thought after thought accords, every thought is Buddha. When this single thought is released, its purity is Buddha. If every thought is so, then every thought is Buddha, continuously and without interruption.

能“净念相继”是很难的，今天能如此，明天脱不开，不一定能如此；今天打坐爆炸了，明天不来了，为什么？因为功夫生疏不熟。要相继，今天如此，明天如此，后天如此，天天如此，要狠做功夫，不是一天爆炸开来就成功的。

静中相继，打坐时能如此还不行，动中也要相继。一切动用中都是心空空的，与打坐境界一样，空净无住，要朝于斯，夕于斯，流连于斯，颠沛于斯，都是如此，没有两样，那才真正相继。真正相继是动静一如。

To maintain 'pure mindfulness in uninterrupted continuity' is exceedingly difficult. You may be able to do so today, yet tomorrow the thoughts may no longer fall away, and you may not be able to maintain it. Today during sitting meditation your mind may explode into awakening, but tomorrow the state does not return. Why is this? It is because your practice is still raw and unfamiliar. To achieve continuity, it must be so today, so tomorrow, and so the day after—thus every single day. One must apply intensive effort to the practice; it is not a matter of succeeding through a single, sudden explosion.

Maintaining this continuity in stillness—being able to do so during sitting meditation—is not enough; you must also maintain continuity in the midst of activity. In all dynamic actions and functions, the mind must remain completely empty, identical to the state of sitting meditation: empty, pure, and non-abiding. Whether in the morning or in the evening, whether in times of ease or in times of hardship, it must always be thus, without any difference; only then is it true continuity. True continuity is the oneness of movement and stillness.

这净土宗的功夫很深。一般人不用心修法，念了几句阿弥陀佛，认为就好了，不要紧了，阿弥陀佛发愿接引我们，临终带业往生，现在做点坏事也不要紧，阿弥陀佛会接引我。假如不接引我，那是佛说谎。其实他弄错了，带业往生，不是带这个业，知法犯法反而罪加一等，这业带不走，带的是我们执著的习气，这习气没有完全尽净。因为到等觉菩萨还有最后一分无明在，还没有空尽，这就是业。业就是心动，心念一动就是业。佛不是跑到你面前来接引你，佛是在你心中显出来的形象，就像月亮显在水里的影子一样，你的心不清净，显不出来，不是佛不来。

The cultivation of the Pure Land tradition is in fact very profound. Yet many people do not apply themselves wholeheartedly to the practice. They recite the name of Amitābha a few times and think that is enough. They say, "It doesn't matter. Amitābha Buddha has vowed to receive us. At the time of death, we can be reborn in the Pure Land while still carrying our karma. So it doesn't matter if I do a few bad deeds now—Amitābha Buddha will still receive me. If He does not receive me, then the Buddha would have spoken falsely."

In truth, they are entirely mistaken. Rebirth while carrying karma does not mean carrying this kind of karma. Committing offenses while knowing the law only doubles one's guilt; this type of karma cannot be carried away. what is carried are the residual habitual tendencies, which have not yet been completely purified. Even an Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattva still has one final trace of ignorance that has not been emptied out—and this is precisely what karma is. Karma is simply the stirring of the mind; the moment a thought stirs, it is karma. The Buddha does not physically run up to you to receive you; the Buddha is an image manifested within your own mind, just like the reflection of the moon appearing in water. If your mind is not pure, the reflection cannot appear. It is not that the Buddha fails to come.

我们心中心法也就是净土宗，能持咒的心和所持的咒一起脱落，当然就生西方极乐世界了，并不需要再另起炉灶修净土宗。很多人认为净土宗更靠得住，他错了，不知道修心中心法的妙用，它是以禅为体，以密为用，以净土为归的。

这个法是大愚师公吃大辛苦得来的，在藏密中不经二、三十年有相法的磨炼不传这个法，它是高深法，属于密三层最后一部法。诸位能够得到这样的法，真是无上福报，要晓得珍惜、用功啊！

The Heart-of-Heart Dharma is itself Pure Land School. When the reciting mind and the mantra being recited fall away together, rebirth in the Western Pure Land naturally follows. There is absolutely no need to start anew by practicing another Pure Land method. Many people think that the Pure Land school is more reliable, but they are mistaken. They do not understand the wondrous function of the Heart-of-Heart Dharma. It takes Chan as its essence, Esoteric practice as its function, and the Pure Land as its ultimate destination.

This Dharma was obtained by Grandmaster Dayu only through immense hardship. In the Tibetan Esoteric tradition, this teaching is not transmitted until one has undergone twenty or thirty years of training in form-based esoteric practices. It is a profound and advanced Dharma, belonging to the final division of the Secret Three of Esoteric Buddhism. For all of you to be able to receive such a Dharma is truly an unsurpassed blessing; you must know to treasure it and cultivate diligently!

（1994年3月3日讲于杭州三台山）

(Delivered at Santai Mountain, Hangzhou, on March 3, 1994)

Glossary

佛学名相词汇

Entries are alphabetized by English headword. Definitions are contextual to this discourse; Chinese equivalents follow each entry.

A

Activity and stillness as one: Clear, non-abiding awareness maintained in both meditation and ordinary activity, so movement and stillness are no longer opposed. 动静一如

Afflictions: Mental disturbances such as greed, anger, ignorance, attachment, and aversion that obscure clarity and give rise to suffering. 烦恼

Ālaya consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna): In Yogācāra, the eighth or storehouse consciousness, which retains karmic seeds and habitual tendencies. 阿赖耶识；第八识

Amitābha Buddha: The Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life, central to Pure Land Buddhism and associated with the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. 阿弥陀佛

Attachment: Grasping at people, objects, appearances, views, practices, or meditative states as fixed and possessable. 执著

Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva (Guānzìzài): The bodhisattva embodying compassion. This discourse also parses the Chinese name Guānzìzài as contemplating, seeing body, mind, and world as unobtainable, and recognizing the clear knowing that remains. 观自在菩萨；观音菩萨

Avataṃsaka Sūtra: The Flower Adornment Sūtra, a major Mahāyāna scripture noted for its vision of the interpenetration of all phenomena and the vast path of the bodhisattva. 《华严经》

Awakening: Direct recognition of truth or one’s intrinsic nature; in Chan usage, the breakthrough that must subsequently be stabilized and matured. 觉悟；开悟

B

Bardo: The intermediate state between death and the next rebirth in Tibetan Buddhist teaching; also used for the being undergoing that state. 中阴；中阴身

Bodhi: Awakening or enlightenment; here, the right awakening revealed when the deluded mind comes to rest. 菩提；正觉

Bodhisattva: One who aspires to and practices toward buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings. 菩萨

Buddha-Dharma: The Buddha's teaching and the paths of study and practice grounded in it. 佛法

Buddha-nature: The intrinsic nature or capacity for awakening present in all sentient beings; here it is also known through the functions of seeing, hearing, knowing, and acting. 佛性

Buddha-recitation: Mindful recollection of a Buddha, especially recitation of Amitābha's name, used here to gather and transform the mind. 念佛

Buddha-wisdom: Awakened wisdom that sees the emptiness and non-attainability of phenomena without falling into confusion. 佛智

Buddha’s name: The name invoked in Buddha-recitation; in this discourse it usually refers to the name of Amitābha Buddha. 佛号

C

Chan: The Chinese Buddhist tradition emphasizing direct realization of mind and true nature, followed by the maturation of that realization in daily life. 禅；禅宗

Clear luminous knowing: The clear, directly knowing quality of mind that remains when discursive thought is absent; not a blank or insentient state. 了了分明的灵知；离念灵知

Contemplative awareness: Clear observation of mind and of the point from which thoughts arise, without following, suppressing, or grasping them. 观照

Continuous and seamless contemplation: Unbroken contemplative awareness maintained carefully, without gaps, in both favorable and unfavorable circumstances. 绵密观照

Cultivation: The practical work of training, observing, and transforming the mind; in Chan, it includes the post-awakening practice that matures initial realization. 修行；用功；做功夫

D

Deluded mind: Mind functioning through mistaken identification, discrimination, and attachment. The text cautions against forcibly extinguishing it. 妄心

Deluded thoughts: Wandering, discriminative, or grasping thoughts that arise and pass through the mind. 妄念；妄想

Dependent powers: Extraordinary abilities dependent on a technique, mantra, spirit, or other support, rather than arising naturally from unobscured true nature. 依通

Desire realm: The lowest of the three realms of cyclic existence, characterized by attachment to sensory desire. 欲界

Dharma: Depending on context, the Buddha’s teaching, a method of practice, the truth, or any phenomenon. 法

Dharma as a raft: The scriptural simile that a teaching is used to cross the river of suffering and is relinquished after reaching the farther shore, rather than carried as an attachment. 法如筏喻

Dharma attachment: Clinging to a teaching, method, or attainment after it has served its purpose; a subtler attachment that practice must eventually release. 法执；执法

Dharma gate: A particular approach or method through which one enters Buddhist understanding and practice. 法门

Dhyāna: Meditative absorption or collectedness. The Chinese word Chán derives historically from the Sanskrit dhyāna. 禅那；禅定

Diamond Sūtra: A major Prajñāpāramitā scripture teaching non-attachment, emptiness, and the relinquishment of fixation even upon the Dharma. 《金刚经》

E

Eight consciousnesses: In Yogācāra, the five sensory consciousnesses, mental consciousness, the defiled mental consciousness, and the storehouse consciousness. 八识

Eight Worldly Winds: The eight changing conditions of gain and loss, fame and disrepute, praise and blame, pleasure and pain. 八风

Emotional attachment and conceptual thought: The paired terms qíng and xiǎng as used here: affective attachment that weighs consciousness downward, and directed thought that carries it toward an object. 情；想

Emptiness, bliss, and luminosity: Three experiences that may arise in meditation. The discourse warns that attachment to any of them obstructs realization. 空、乐、明

Empty quiescence: The empty, still aspect of mind or true nature; it is not blank insentience, because clear knowing remains. 空寂

Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattva: A bodhisattva at the stage immediately preceding complete buddhahood in the East Asian Mahāyāna system. 等觉菩萨

Esoteric Buddhism: Buddhist traditions employing methods such as mantra, mudrā, visualization, empowerment, and ritual; the discourse sometimes refers specifically to Tibetan Esoteric Buddhism. 密宗；密法

F

Field of the eight consciousnesses: A figurative expression for the field of consciousness in which karmic seeds and habitual patterns are planted, retained, and transformed. 八识田

Five desires / five coverings (usage in this discourse): Wealth, sensual desire, fame, food, and sleep. The speaker calls these “five coverings”; this is a contextual list and differs from the standard canonical list of the Five Hindrances. 财、色、名、食、睡；五盖（本文用法）

Form realm: A realm of subtle form associated with refined meditative absorption and freedom from the coarse desires of the desire realm. 色界

Formless esoteric practice: An esoteric method that does not depend on elaborate visualization of forms; the Heart-of-Heart Dharma is described this way in the text. 无相密

Formless realm: The highest of the three realms of cyclic existence, associated with the four formless absorptions and the absence of material form. In this discourse, 空界 (kōngjiè) is the speaker's contextual usage for the formless realm, not a separate standard technical term. 无色界；空界

Four Dhyānas: Four progressively refined levels of meditative absorption in the form realm. 四禅

Four Formless Heavens: The four levels associated with the formless absorptions: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception. 四空天

Four postures: Walking, standing, sitting, and lying down; a traditional expression for maintaining practice throughout every aspect of daily life. 行、住、坐、卧

G

Garuḍa: The great golden-winged bird of Buddhist cosmology, used here as an image for the immense flight made possible by first gaining a firm point of departure. 大鹏金翅鸟

Gather in the six sense faculties: To collect the six faculties inward so that attention no longer scatters outward after sense objects. 都摄六根

Great Compassion Mantra: A widely recited dhāraṇī associated in East Asian Buddhism with Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. 大悲咒

Great Way: The complete path of awakening rather than a pursuit of limited attainments or extraordinary experiences. 大道

H

Habitual tendencies: Deeply ingrained patterns of thought, emotion, and attachment accumulated through repeated action over time. 习气

Heart Sūtra: A concise Prajñāpāramitā scripture in which Avalokiteśvara teaches the emptiness of the five aggregates and the freedom arising from prajñā. 《心经》

Heart-of-Heart Dharma: The established English rendering in this document for Xīnzhōngxīn Fǎ, described here as a formless esoteric practice that takes Chan as its essence, esoteric methods as its function, and Pure Land as its destination. 心中心法

I

Ignorance: Fundamental non-knowing or misapprehension that obscures reality and underlies deluded thought, attachment, and cyclic existence. 无明

Inner Court of Tuṣita: The inner realm of Tuṣita Heaven in East Asian Buddhist tradition, where Maitreya Bodhisattva is said to dwell before appearing as the next Buddha. 兜率内院

Intermediate-state being: A being in the intermediate state between death and rebirth; equivalent to “bardo being” when the Tibetan framework is intended. 中阴身

Intrinsic luminosity: The mind's inherent clarity, said to become evident when delusion and attachment no longer obscure it. 心光；光明

K

Karma: Intentional activity and its consequences. The discourse especially emphasizes that the stirring and grasping movement of mind creates karma. 业；业报

Koan: A recorded Chan encounter, saying, or case used to expose conceptual fixation and test whether realization functions freely. 公案

M

Mahāsthāmaprāpta Bodhisattva: A principal Pure Land bodhisattva who teaches Buddha-recitation through gathering in the six sense faculties and sustaining pure mindfulness. 大势至菩萨

Maitreya Bodhisattva: The bodhisattva destined to become the next Buddha in this world, traditionally said to reside in the Inner Court of Tuṣita. 弥勒菩萨；慈氏

Mantra: A sacred formula recited aloud or mentally as a method of collecting and transforming the mind. 咒；真言

Mind-ground: The fundamental ground or field of mind upon which delusion, awakening, and all mental activity appear. 心地

Mind-Ground Dharma Gate: A method that works directly at the ground of mind and aims at realizing Buddha-nature rather than pursuing peripheral powers. 心地法门

Mudrā: A ritual hand gesture or seal used in esoteric Buddhist practice to embody and stabilize a particular aspect of the teaching. 印；手印

N

Ninefold esoteric classification (usage in this discourse): A source-specific division described here as the Secret Three, Inner Three, and Outer Three levels. The text does not identify their exact lineage terminology, so this glossary does not equate them with a standard Tibetan nine-vehicle system. 密宗九层次第；密三层、内三层、外三层

Nirvāṇa: Freedom from affliction and cyclic suffering. In Chan language, “the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa” points to the awakened mind itself. 涅槃

No-thought: Freedom from attachment to discursive thought, not blankness or the forced suppression of thought; clear knowing remains. 无念；一念不生

Non-abiding: Not fixing the mind on any object, appearance, view, identity, practice, or meditative state. 无住

Non-action: Effortless, uncontrived functioning free from deliberate grasping or self-centered effort; in some passages it also points to the unconditioned. 无为

Non-Buddhist path: A teaching or practitioner outside the Buddhist path. 外道

O

Obscurations: Delusions, attachments, and habitual patterns that cover the mind’s clarity and prevent its inherent capacities from manifesting. 盖障

Ordinary mind: The natural, uncontrived mind free from seeking and attachment to extraordinary states; not the ordinary deluded mind. 平常心

Original Face: A classic Chan expression for one's true nature before conceptual discrimination and attachment. 本来面目

Original ground: The natural ground or position of true nature, prior to outward pursuit and deliberate contrivance. 本位

Original nature: The intrinsic, unborn nature of mind, identified here with Buddha-nature and the capacity for clear knowing. 本性；真性

P

Prajñā: Penetrating or transcendent wisdom that directly sees reality and the emptiness of fixed self-nature. 般若

Pure Land: A purified buddha-field. In this discourse's Chan-inflected explanation, a mind free from defilement and attachment is itself Pure Land. 净土

Pure Land school: The Buddhist tradition centered on Amitābha Buddha, Buddha-recitation, aspiration, and rebirth in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. 净土宗

Pure mindfulness in uninterrupted continuity: Uninterrupted purity and continuity of Buddha-recollection. In this discourse, it culminates when the reciting subject and recited object fall away. 净念相继

Pure thought brings flight: A phrase from the Śūraṅgama Sūtra used in the discourse to describe pure, concentrated thought as giving an upward direction to consciousness. 纯想即飞

R

Realize one’s true nature: To directly recognize one’s intrinsic nature rather than understand it only as an idea. 见性

Realize the Way: To awaken to and embody the Buddhist path; a Chan-style rendering of attaining the Way. 成道；悟道

Rebirth in the Western Pure Land: Rebirth in Amitābha Buddha’s Land of Ultimate Bliss through aspiration, practice, and the purification or transformation of mind. 往生西方

Rebirth with karma: A Pure Land term for rebirth before all karmic residues have been exhausted. Here, what is carried means residual habitual tendencies, not intentional wrongdoing. 带业往生

S

Safeguarding realization: Sustaining and maturing an initial awakening through continuous, careful practice until it functions naturally. 保任；保护

Sahā world: The “world of endurance,” the present world-system in Buddhist cosmology, where beings undergo suffering and cultivate the path. 娑婆世界

Samādhi: Collected meditative stability or absorption in which the mind is unified and no longer scattered. 三摩地；定

Saṅgha: The Buddhist community; with the Buddha and Dharma, one of the Three Jewels. 僧；僧宝

Sense faculties and their objects fall away: A meditative expression for the dropping away of fixation on the six sense faculties and their corresponding objects, so they no longer stand in subject-object opposition. 根尘脱落

Sentient beings: Living beings endowed with consciousness who remain subject to delusion, karma, rebirth, and the possibility of awakening. 众生

Six realms of rebirth: The realms of hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, asuras, humans, and devas within cyclic existence. 六道；六道轮回

Six sense faculties: The faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind through which sensory and mental experience occurs. 六根

Spiritual powers: Extraordinary capacities traditionally associated with advanced cultivation; the discourse warns against seeking them and treats their natural manifestation as secondary. 神通

Subject and object both fall away: The falling away of duality between the knowing or reciting subject and the known or recited object. 能所双亡

Sukhāvatī: Amitābha Buddha’s Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, the principal destination of aspiration in Pure Land Buddhism. 西方极乐世界；西方净土

Śūraṅgama Sūtra: An influential East Asian Buddhist scripture that discusses the faculties, meditative realization, the contrast of emotion and thought, and the twenty-five methods of perfect penetration. 《楞严经》

Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment: An influential East Asian Mahāyāna scripture centered on inherent perfect enlightenment, delusion, and methods of cultivation. 《圆觉经》

T

Tathāgata: An epithet of a Buddha, commonly interpreted as “Thus-Come One” or “Thus-Gone One.” 如来

Three Esoteric Practices: The body, speech, and mind dimensions of esoteric practice; in this discourse, they are represented by mudrā, mantra, and contemplation. 三密；印、咒、观

Three Jewels: The Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, which serve as the central objects of refuge in Buddhism. 佛、法、僧三宝

Three Poisons: Greed, anger, and ignorance, the fundamental afflictive forces that sustain suffering and rebirth. 贪、瞋、痴三毒

Three Realms: The desire realm, form realm, and formless realm, which together encompass conditioned cyclic existence. 欲界、色界、无色界

Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: A Chan expression for the essence of authentic awakening and the direct transmission of the Buddha’s realization. 正法眼藏

True mind: Mind free from deluded identification and grasping; here, the living capacity that sees, hears, knows, and functions. 真心

True Person: A Chan expression for the living, aware reality that is not identical with the physical body or a conceptual self. 真人

True Person of No Rank: Linji’s expression for the one who is not defined by status, form, or conceptual identity and who is presently seeing, hearing, and responding. 无位真人

Turn the light inward: To redirect attention from outward pursuit back toward the source of awareness. 回光返照

Tuṣita Heaven: The celestial realm in which Maitreya Bodhisattva is traditionally said to reside before his future buddhahood. 兜率天

U

Unconditioned Dharma: A dharma not produced or destroyed through causes and conditions; in this discourse it is associated with non-action and freedom from deliberate construction. 无为法

W

Western Land of Ultimate Bliss: The English name used in the document for Sukhāvatī, Amitābha Buddha’s Western Pure Land. 西方极乐世界

Wondrous functioning: The responsive and unobstructed activity of awakened nature in perception, speech, conduct, and compassionate action. 妙用

Wondrous mind of nirvāṇa: A Chan expression for the awakened mind that is empty, luminous, and free from attachment. 涅槃妙心