参禅的目的，就为着开智慧，求解脱。要专心致志来参“念佛是谁？”参到极点，就把一切妄想都忘得一乾二净，吃饭、穿衣、睡觉都忘了，甚至大小便也忘了。这时候，风也吹不透，雨也打不漏，只是绵绵密密地念“谁”字。
The goal of investigating Chan meditation is to develop wisdom and to seek liberation. We must concentrate our minds and investigate the question, "Who is mindful of the Buddha?" When we can investigate this question to the ultimate point, then we forget all idle thoughts whatsoever. We forget about eating, sleeping, and dressing, even to the point of forgetting to go to the bathroom. At this stage, the wind may blow, but it won't touch us; the rain may fall, but it won't get us wet; we are intensely and unceasingly asking the question "Who?"
这一念，犹如金刚一样坚固，什么也破不了。这时上不知有天，下不知有地，中不知有人，到无人、无我、无众生、无寿者的境界；也就是内无身心，外无世界的地步，与宇宙合为一体，打成一片了。
This single thought is just like vajra; it is so durable and solid that nothing can break it up. We are not aware of the heavens above, the earth below, or the people in between. Our state is free of the traces of self, others, living beings, and life spans. Then we reach the point of there being "no body or mind inside and no world outside." We have united in substance with the entire universe and have become one with all things.
古时高僧大德，他们修到一念不生的程度，所谓“终日吃饭，未吃一粒米，终日穿衣，未穿一缕纱。”到无人、无我的境界，哪有时间去打妄想呢？他们认为浪费一分钟的时间，就会把开悟的机会错过了，所以拼命地参“念佛是谁？”找不到“谁”字，就永不休息。找“谁”字，就是控制妄想最佳的办法。
In ancient times there were lofty Sangha members of great virtue whose cultivation reached a level where "not even a single thought arose." A saying captures that state: "They eat all day long, yet don't know they have consumed a single morsel; they get dressed each day, but aren't aware of having put on a single stitch." They've arrived at a state of "no self and no others." Where is there any time left for them to indulge in idle thinking? They felt that if they wasted even a single moment, they could miss their chance to become enlightened. For this reason we must give our very lives to the investigation of "Who is mindful of the Buddha?" We should never rest until we find out who it is. Finding out "Who" is the very best method for controlling our idle thoughts.
在扬州高旻寺有一位妙度老和尚，当初他在参禅时，参到“行不知行，住不知住，坐不知坐，卧不知卧”的程度，什么也不想，只想着“念佛是谁？”有一天，要去小便，因为专心参“谁？”绵绵密密地参，所以误走到天王殿，在韦陀菩萨座前，当作厕所。正要小便时，抬头一见韦陀菩萨瞪着眼睛，举起宝杵，把他吓得清醒了，知道自己走错路了，急忙向韦陀顶礼，忏悔过错，祈菩萨原谅。
In China's Yangzhou County, at Gaomin Monastery, there lived an elder monk named Miaodu, who cultivated Chan meditation to the point that, "When walking, he wasn't aware of walking; when sitting, he wasn't aware of sitting; when standing, he wasn't aware of standing; when reclining, he wasn't aware of reclining." He thought of nothing at all, except "Who is mindful of the Buddha?" One day, he needed to relieve himself. Because he was unceasingly investigating the question of "Who?" he walked by mistake into the Hall of the Heavenly Kings and assumed that the seat in front of Weitou Bodhisattva was the toilet. Just as he was about to relieve himself, he looked up and saw the image of Weitou Bodhisattva glaring at him with his Jewelled Pestle raised up high, and it scared him awake. Aware that he had made a mistake, he quickly bowed to Weitou Bodhisattva to repent and seek forgiveness from the Bodhisattva.
为什么会有这种情形呢？因为妙度禅师用功专心，一心一意参“谁”字，别的一概不知，所以把天王殿误做厕所。有人在打妄想，我也学妙度禅师，不去厕所小便，来到观音台上小便。你故意这样做，那就离道十万八千里了。要知道妙度禅师不是学某某人的行为，他是一心在想“念佛是谁？”精神集中在一个问题上，所以才有这种现象。你想故意学走错路，那是大错特错的，连这种想法也不可以有的。
Why did this happen? Because Chan Master Miaodu had concentrated his mind and devoted his entire attention to investigating the word "Who." That was his sole concern, and as a result, he mistook the Hall of the Heavenly Kings for the bathroom. Someone may think, "I should imitate Chan Master Miaodu and not go to the bathroom to relieve myself, but instead go in front of Guanyin's altar." If you did that intentionally, you would be 108,000 miles away from the Way. You should know that Chan Master Miaodu was not imitating anyone else. Rather, he was single-mindedly contemplating, "Who is mindful of the Buddha?" Because his attention was devoted entirely to this question, he committed such an error. If you, on the other hand, set out deliberately to make that error, you are making a grave mistake. You shouldn't even think about doing such a thing.
所谓“差之丝毫，谬之千里。”在禅堂里不用功修行，却坐在那里打妄想：“引磬怎么还不响呢？开静可以伸伸腿，直直腰。”或者打吃饭的妄想：“怎么还不到吃饭的时候？肚子饿得受不了了。”甚至有人在数时间：“已经过去十二天，还有九天就功德圆满了，快点过去吧！免得受罪。”人家打禅七，希望时间越长越好，能有开悟的机会；他坐在禅凳上，好像坐在针垫上，时刻不安宁，不是换腿，就是伸腰。人家在入定，他在想入非非，妄想重重。既然是这样，何必来打禅七，装模作样做什么？干脆不要来参加，免得自找苦吃。
It's said that "Being off by a hairsbreadth at the start will lead you astray by a thousand miles in the end." Some people are sitting in the meditation hall having idle thoughts: "How come the bell still hasn't been rung? When it rings, I'm going to stretch my legs and rest my back." Or we may wonder, "Isn't it lunchtime yet? I'm hungry as can be." Someone may even be counting the remaining time: "Twelve days have gone by, and we have nine more days to go until the merit and virtue is complete. I hope the time will pass quickly, so we can get this suffering over with." When people join a Chan Session, they ought to wish that the time would last, to give them more chances to get enlightened. Another person, as he sits, looks like someone sitting on a pincushion. He can't be still for a minute, but either changes his legs around or stretches them out to rest his back. Other people may be entering samadhi, but this guy is thinking up a storm; his idle thoughts are several layers thick. If one carries on like this, then what is the point of joining a Chan Session in the first place? Why maintain this pretense? It would be better off simply not coming in the first place; one would save oneself a lot of trouble that way.
可是你要知道，想了生死，应该把“生死”二字挂在眉梢上，睁眼看见生死问题，闭眼不忘生死问题。要念兹在兹用功修行，才能了生死。你在禅堂不是念兹在兹想了生死，而是念兹在兹打妄想，唯恐妄想打少了不够本，这是多么可怜啊！
Know, however, that we should hang the question of birth and death right between our eyebrows, so that when our eyes are open we are looking directly at it, and even with our eyes closed we cannot forget this question. We must work and cultivate in each consecutive thought; only then can we end birth and death. You, on the other hand, are not thinking about birth and death in each consecutive thought as you sit in the Chan hall. You're constantly indulging in idle thinking. You fear only that if your idle thoughts are too few, you'll take a loss! How pathetic!
用功修道的人，一秒钟也不可以打妄想，所谓“大事未明，如丧考妣。”生死大事没有了，好像死了父母一样地悲哀。所以在参禅的时候，一分一秒的时间也不可以空过，也不放松，时时刻刻用功修行。用功到了炉火纯青的时候，自然就有感应；有了感应，功夫才能相应。就算已经开悟，也要再接再厉向前进，不可以躲懒偷安，化城自困，到此为止，不向前走了。有这种思想，就是修道的绊脚石。
People who know how to apply themselves don't indulge in idle thoughts for even an instant. It's said that, "Until we actually understand the great matter, we should be as if attending the funeral of our parents." Before we have resolved the important matter of birth and death, we should be as sorrowful as if our parents had died. In the meditation hall, we cannot let the slightest fraction of time slip by. We cannot let up for an instant. We must work hard at our cultivation at all times. When we apply effort to an intense level, there will naturally be a response. When there is a response, our skill will touch the Way. Even if you are already enlightened, you must continue to persevere and advance. Don't be lazy; don't get trapped at the "Transformation City" and stop making progress. Such ideas are the stumbling blocks of cultivation.
明明知道办不到，为何还要打妄想呢？明明知道是妄想，为何不收拾干净？这就是一般人的习气毛病，明知故犯。说穿了，就是看不破，放不下，执东执西，着男着女，结果把宝贵的光阴都浪费了。
If we know clearly that idle thoughts cannot be realized, why do we still indulge in them? If we know very well that they are merely idle thoughts, why don't we simply clean them up? Most people have this problem of knowing something is wrong but going ahead and doing it anyway. The truth is that we still can't see through things or put them down. We are attached to this and that, attached to men or to women, and as a result, we waste all our precious time.
打禅七的时间是最宝贵的，因为这是不容易遇到的良机。在这个期间，把一切妄想都抛到九霄云外，让心清净一下，专想“念佛是谁？”不要打闲岔，大家努力来参！参！参！
The time spent in the meditation session is most valuable; it is a rare opportunity that is hard to meet. During this retreat, I urge you to throw your idle thoughts out past cloud nine! Give your mind a chance to be clean and pure; concentrate on asking "Who is mindful of the Buddha?" without interruption. All of you should work hard and investigate! Investigate! Investigate!
一九八○年禅七 十二月开示
A talk given during a Chan session
in December, 1980
