1、Sutra Spoken by the Sixth Patriarch on the High Seat of The Treasure of the LawThe Sixth Patriarchs Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra六祖大师法宝坛经Recorded by Ven. Fa Hai ( Tang Dynasty)唐释门人法海录Chapter I Autobiography 行由品第一AutobiographyChapter 1: Action and Intention行由品第一When the patriarch had arrived at Treasur
2、e Forest Monastery ( Bao Lin), Governor Wei of Shaozhou and other officials went there to ask him to deliver public lectures on Buddhism in the great hall of Great Brahma ( Da Fan) Temple in the City in Guangzhou.At one time the Great Master arrived at Boe-larm. Magistrate Wei Chu of Sil-Tzau and ot
3、her local officials climbed the mountain and invited the Master to come into the city to the lecture hall of the Ta Fan Temple to speak the Dharma to the assembly.时大师至宝林。韶州韦刺史。 （名琚）与官僚入山。请师出于城中大梵寺讲堂。为众开缘说法。One thousand people gathered to hear the Patriarch speak including Da Fan, Governor Wei, Gover
4、nment officials and Confucian scholars, Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis, Taoists and laymen. After the Patriarch had taken the high seat, the assembly bowed in homage and asked him to speak on the fundamental laws of Buddhism. The Patriarch said:When the Master had taken his seat, the Magistrate and over th
5、irty other officials, more than thirty Confucian scholars, and more than one thousand Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Taoists, and laypeople, all made obeisance at the same time, wishing to hear the essentials of Dharma.师升座次，刺史官僚。三十余人。儒宗学士。三十余人。僧尼道俗。一千余人。同时作礼。愿闻法要。大师告众曰：Learned Audience, our True Nature (Bodh
6、i) is pure by nature, and by making use of this mind alone we can reach Buddhahood directly. Let me now tell you something about my own life and how I came to realize the teaching of the Chan ( Dhyana) School.The Great Master said to the assembly, “Good Knowing Advisors, the self-nature of Bodhi is
7、originally clear and pure. Simply use that mind, and you will straightway accomplish Buddhahood. Good Knowing Advisors, listen while I tell you about the actions and intentions by which Whai-Nung obtained the Dharma.”善知识。菩提自性。本来清净。但用此心。直了成佛。善知识。且听慧能行由。得法事意。My father, a native of Fan Yang, was dismis
8、sed from his official post and banished to be a commoner in Xinzhou in Guangdong. I was unlucky in that my father died when I was very young, leaving my mother poor and miserable. We moved to Guangzhou, living in very bad circumstances.“Whai-Nungs stern father was originally from Farn-Yerng. He was
9、banished to Sun-Tzau in Ling-Narm, where he became a commoner. Unfortunately, my father soon died, and my aging mother was left alone. We moved to Nan Hai and, poor and in bitter strait. 慧能严父，本贯范阳。左降流于岭南。做新州百姓。此身不幸。父又早亡。老母孤遗。移来南海。艰辛贫乏。I was selling firewood in the market one day, when one of my cust
10、omers ordered some to be brought to his shop. After making the delivery and receiving my money I ran into a man reciting a Sutra just outside the shop. As soon as I heard the text of this Sutra my mind opened. I asked the man the name of the book and was told that it was the Diamond Sutra ( Vajracch
11、edika or Diamond Cutter). I enquired as to where he came from and why he recited this particular Sutra. He said he came from Eastern Chan Monastery in the Huangmei District of Qizhou. The abbot in charge of this temple was Hong Ren, the Fifth Patriarch, who had about one thousand disciples studying
12、with him. Ha had traveled there to pay homage to the Patriarch and attend lectures on this Sutra. He also told me that the Patriarch encouraged the laity as well as the monks to recite this scripture, because by doing so they might realize their own true Nature and thereby reach Buddhahood directly.
13、Whai-Nung sold wood in the market place. Once a customer bought firewood and ordered it delivered to his shop. When the delivery had been made, and Whai-Nung had received the money, he went outside the gate, where he noticed a customer reciting a Sutra. Upon once hearing the words of this Sutra: “On
14、e should produce that thought which is nowhere supported.” Whai-Nungs mind immediately opened to enlightenment. Thereupon he asked the customer what Sutra he was reciting. The customer replied, “The Diamond Sutra.” Then again he asked, “where do you come from, and why do you recite this Sutra?” the
15、customer said, “I come from Tung Chan Monastery in Tarm-Tzau, Worng-Mooid Province. There the Fifth Patriarch, the Great Master Hung Jen dwells, teaching over one thousand disciples. I went there to make obeisance and heard and received this Sutra. The Great Master constantly exhorts the Sangha and
16、laity only to uphold The Diamond Sutra. Then, they may see their own nature and straightway achieve Buddhahood.”于市卖柴。时又一客买柴。使令送至客店。客收去。慧能得钱。却出门外。见一客诵经。慧能一闻经语。心即开悟。遂问客诵何经。客曰。金刚经。复问从何所来。持此经典。 客云。我从蕲州黄梅县东禅寺来。其寺是五祖忍大师。在彼主化。门人一千有余。我到彼中礼拜。听受此经。大师常劝僧俗。但持金刚经。即自见性。直了成佛。It must be due to my good karma in past
17、 lives that I heard about this and was given ten taels for the maintenance of my mother by a man who advised me to go to Huangmei to interview the Fifth Patriarch. After arrangements had been made for my mother, I left for Huangmei, which took me less than thirty days to reach.From past lives there
18、were karmic conditions which led another man to give Whai-Nung a pound of silver, so that he could provide clothing and food for his aging mother, the man instructed him further to go to Worng-Mooid to call upon and bow to the Fifth Patriarch. After Whai-Nung had made arrangements for his mothers we
19、lfare, he took his leave. In less than thirty days he arrived at Worng-Wooid and made obeisance to the Fifth Patriarch, who asked him, “where are you from and what do you seek?” Whai-Nung replied, “ your disciple is a commoner from Sun-Tzau in Ling-Narm and comes from afar to bow to the Master, seek
20、ing only to be a Buddha, and nothing else.慧能闻说。宿昔有缘。乃蒙一客取银十两。与慧能。令充老母衣粮。教便往黄梅。 参礼五祖。慧能安置母毕。即便辞远。不经三十余日。便至黄梅。I then went to pay hamage to the Patriarch. He asked where I came from and what I expected to get from him. I replied, “ I am a commoner from Xinzhou of Guangdong. I have traveled far to pay m
21、y respects and ask for nothing but Buddhahood.”礼拜五祖。祖问曰：“汝何方人。欲求何物。慧能对曰： “弟子是岭南新州百姓。远来礼师。惟求作佛”“You are a native of Guangdong, a barbarian? How can you expect to be a Buddha?” Asked the Patriarch.The Patriarch said, “ You are from Ling-Narm and are therefore a barbarian, so how can you become a Buddh
22、a?”祖言：“汝是岭南人。又是獦獠。若为堪作佛。 ”I replied: “Although people may be from the north and south, north and south make no difference to their Buddha-nature. A barbarian may be different from the Patriarch physically, but there is no difference in our Buddha-nature.”Whai-Nung said, “Although there are people fr
23、om the north and people from the south, there is ultimately no north or south in the Buddha nature. The body of the barbarian and that of the High Master are not the same, but what distinction is there in the Buddha nature?”慧能曰：“人虽有南北，佛性本无南北。獦獠身与和尚不同。佛性有何差别。 ”He was going to speak further to me, but
24、 the presence of other disciples made him stop short. He then ordered me to join the others to work.五祖更欲与语。且见徒众总在左右。 乃令随众作务。“May I tell your holiness,” said I, “ that Prajna ( transcendental Wisdom) often rises in my mind. When one does not go astray from ones own True Nature, one may be called a “f
25、ield of merits.” ( A title of honor given to monks, as they afford the best opportunities to others to sow the “seed” of merits.慧能启和尚。弟子自心，常生智慧。不离自性。即是福田。“I do not know what work Your Holiness would ask me to do?”“未审和尚教作何务？”“This barbarian is too bright,” he remarked. “go to the stable and speak no
26、more.” I then went to the rear of the monastery and was told by a lay brother to split firewood and pound rice.祖云：“这獦獠根性大利。汝更勿言。著槽厂去。慧能退至后院。有一行者。差慧能破柴踏錐（错字，不用打，石字旁的）More than eight months later the Patriarch saw me one day and said, “ I know your knowledge of Buddhism is very sound, but I have to re
27、frain from speaking to you, lest evil doers should do you harm. Do you understand?”经八月余。祖一日忽见慧能曰：“吾思汝之见可用。恐有恶人害汝。遂不与汝言。汝知之否。“ Yes, Sir, I do. To avoid people taking notice of me, I dare not go near your hall.”慧能曰。弟子亦知师意。不敢行至堂前。令人不觉。One day, the Patriarch assembled all his disciples and said to them,
28、 “ the question of incessant rebirth is a momentous one. Day after day, instead of trying to free yourselves from this bitter sea of life and death, you seem to go after nothing but tainted merits ( i.e. merits which will cause rebirth). Yet merits will be of no help, if your True Nature is obscured
29、. Go and seek for the Prajna ( wisdom) in your mind and then write me a stanza ( gatha) about it. The person who understands his True Nature will be given the robe, and I shall make him the Sixthe Patriarch. Go quickly! Delay not in writing the stanze, as deliberation is quite unnecessary and of no
30、use. The person who has realized his True Nature can speak of it at once, as soon as he is spoken to about it. He cannot lose sight of it, even when engaged in battle.”祖一日唤诸门人总来。 吾向汝说。世人生死事大。汝等终日只求福田。 不求出离生死苦海。自性若迷。福何可救。汝等各自自看智慧。取自本心般若之性。各作一偈。来呈吾看。若悟大意。付汝衣法。为第六代祖。火急速去。不得迟滞。思量即不中用。见性之人。言下须见。若如此者。轮刀上阵
31、。亦得见之。 （喻利根者）Having received this instruction, the disciples withdrew and said to one another, “ It is of no use for us to concentrate our mind to write the stanza and submit it to the Patriarch, since the Patriarch is bound to be won by Shen Xiu, our instructor. If we presume to write a stanza, it
32、will only be a waste of energy.” Upon hearing this ,all of them made up their minds not to write and said, “Why should we take the trouble? Hereafter, we will simply follow our instructor, Shen Xiu, wherever he goes, and look to him to guidance.”众得处分。退而互相谓曰。我等众人。不须澄心用意作偈。将呈和尚。有何所益。神秀上座。先为教授师。必是他得。我辈
33、谩作偈颂。枉用心力。诸人开悟。总皆息心。咸言我等己后。依止秀师。何烦作偈。Meanwhile, Shen Xiu was thinking to himself, “ considering that I am their teacher, none of them will take part in the competition. I wonder whether I should write a stanza and submit it to the Patriarch. If I do not, how can the Patriarch know how deep or superf
34、icial my knowledge is? If my objective is to get the Dharma, my motive is good. If I were after the Patriarchate, then it would be bad. In that case, my mind would be that of a worldling and my action would amount to stealing the Patriarchs holy seat. But if I do not submit the stanza, I shall never
35、 have a chance of getting the Dharma. A very difficult decision, indeed!”神秀思维。诸人不呈偈者。为我与他为教授师。我须作偈。将呈和尚。若不呈偈。和尚如何知我心中见解深浅。我呈偈意。求法即善。觅祖即恶。却同凡心。夺其圣位奚别。若不呈偈。终不得法。大难大难。In front of the Patriarchs hall there were three corridors.五祖堂前，有步廊三间。The walls were to be painted by the court artist, named Lu Zhen, w
36、ith pictures from the Lankavatara( Sutra) depicting the conversion of the assembly, and with scenes showing the genealogy of the five Patriarchs for the information and veneration of the public.拟（？）请供奉卢珍。书楞伽经变相。及五祖血脉图。流传供养。After Shen Xiu had composed his stanza he made several attempts to submit it
37、to the Patriarch but as soon as he went near the hall his mind was so perturbed that he sweated all over. He could not screw up enough courage to submit it, although in the course of four days he made altogether thirteen attempts to do so.神秀作偈成已。数度欲呈。行一十三度呈偈不得。Then he said to himself, “ it would be
38、better for me to write it on the wall of the corridor and let the Patriarch see it for himself. If he approves, I shall come out to pay homage, and tell him that it is done by me. If he disapproves, then I shall have wasted several years on this mountain receiving homage from other, which I by no me
39、ans deserved! In that case, what progress have I made in learning Buddhism?” 秀乃思维。不如向廊下书著。从他和尚看见。忽若道好。即出礼拜。云是秀作。若道不堪。枉向山中数年。受人礼拜。更修何道。At 12 O Clock that night he went secretly with a lamp to write the stanza on the wall of the south corridor, so that the Patriarch might know what spiritual insight h
40、e had attained.是夜三更。不使人知。自执灯书偈于南廊壁间。呈心所见。The Stanza read:偈曰：Body is the Bodhi-tree,身是菩提树Mind is a clear mirror stand心如明镜台Carefully we wipe them constantly时时勤拂拭And let no dust alight勿使惹尘埃As soon as he had written it he returned to his room, so nobody would know what he had done. Again he began ponder
41、ing his situation, “ when the Patriarch sees my stanza tomorrow and is pleased with it, I shall be ready for the Dharma, but if he says that it is poorly done, it will mean that I am unfit for the Dharma, due to misdeeds done in previous lives which thickly cloud my mind. It is difficult to know wha
42、t the Patriarch will say about it!” in this vein he kept thinking until dawn, as he could neither sleep nor sit at ease.秀书偈了。便却归房。人总不知。秀复思维。五祖明见。见偈欢喜。即我与法有缘。若言不堪。自是我迷。宿业障重。不合得法。圣意难测。房中思想。坐卧不安。直至五更。But the Patriarch knew already that Shen Xiu had not even entered the gate of enlightenment, let alone
43、seen his true Nature.祖已知神秀入门未得。不见自性。In the morning, he sent for Mr. Lu, the court artist, and went him to the south corridor where the murals were to be painted. By chance, he saw the stanza. “ I am sorry to have troubled you to come so far,” he said to the artist. “The walls need not be painted now
44、, as the Sutra says, “ All forms or phenomena are transient and illusive. It will be better to leave the stanza here, so that people may study it and recite it. If they put its teaching into actual practice, they will be saved from the misery of being born in these evil realms of existence ( gatis).
45、 The merit gained by one who practices it will be great indeed!”天明。祖唤卢供养来。向南廊壁间绘书图相。忽见其偈。报言供养。却不用书。劳尔远来。经云。凡所有相。皆是虚幻。但留此偈。与人诵持。依此偈修。免堕恶道。依此修偈，有大利益。He then ordered incense to be burnt, and all his disciples to pay homage to it and recite it, so that they might realize their True Nature. After they ha
46、d recited it, all of them exclaimed, “well done.”令门人炷香礼敬。尽诵此偈。即得见性。门人诵偈。皆叹善哉。At midnight, the Patriarch sent for Shen Xiu to come to the hall, and asked him whether the stanza was written by him or not. “ it was, Sir. But I dare not be so vain as to expect to receive the Patriarchate, however I wish
47、 Sir， would kindly tell me whether my stanza shows the least grain of wisdom.”祖三更唤秀入堂。问曰。偈是汝作否。秀言。实是秀作。不敢妄求祖位。望和尚慈悲。看弟子有少智慧否。“Your stanza shows that you have not yet seen your True Nature. You have only arrived outside the Gate, you have not yet entered. If you try to attain supreme enlightenment wi
48、th this kind of understanding, you will never attain it.”祖曰。汝作此偈。未见本性。只到门外。未入门内。如此见解。觅无上菩提。了不可得。“To attain supreme enlightenment, one must be able to know spontaneously their original nature, which neither appears nor disappears. From moment to moment you should see it yourself. Then, in the ten tho
49、usand dharmas there will be no hindrance. In one truth everything is true. In all situations your mind is free and not moving. This free and not moving mind is the absolute truth, if you see it this way, this is the supreme enlightenment.”无上菩提。须得言下识自本心。见自本性。不生不减。与一切时中。念念自见。万法无滞。一真一切真。万境自如如。如如之心。即是真实。若如是见。即是无上菩提之自性也。“Your better go back to think it over again for a couple of days, and then submit another stanza. If your stanza shows that you have entered the “door of enlightenment,” I will transmit you the robe and the Dharma.” Shen Xiu bowed to the Patriarch and left.汝且去一两日思维。更作一偈。将来
