六祖惠能大师，在黄梅东山寺，获得五祖弘忍大师传他心印之法后，五祖教他速返广东原籍，隐遁起来，做个与世无争的隐士，不要光芒外露，不要沽名钓誉。因为这个缘故，所以他藏起来。这并不是教他藏在山洞中，不让人见到，这一点要弄清楚。六祖大师藏在什么地方呢？他能随遇而安，混在猎人队中，一藏就是十五年。他韬光晦迹来修行，和光混俗地用功修道，任何人也不知道他是得法的人，此时六祖尚未出家，仍是个居士。
The Sixth Patriarch, Great Master Huineng (Kind and Able), received the mind-to-mind seal from the Fifth Patriarch, Great Master Hongren (Vast Patience), at Dongshan (East Mountain) Monastery in Huangmei. After the transmission, the Fifth Patriarch instructed him to quickly return to his hometown in Canton and to seclude himself from worldly affairs, to avoid showing off, seeking fame, or courting publicity. The Sixth Patriarch did go into hiding, but he didn't hide away in a mountain cave where no one could see him. You should understand this. Where did the Sixth Patriarch hide? Since he could feel at home in any situation, he mingled among hunters. He hid among them for fifteen years, keeping a low profile as he cultivated. In the midst of worldly people, he diligently cultivated the Way. No one knew he had obtained the Dharma. At that time, the Sixth Patriarch was still a layperson.
我们修道人，无论在什么场合，应该韬光晦迹，不可光芒外露，这样才能修行，否则不容易修行。你们不可到处自我宣传：“我有什么功夫，我参禅有多少年了，我如何如何。”到处卖老修行，那不是出家人的行为，要老老实实修道，不可自我介绍。想令人对自己另眼相看，那是大错特错，反而失掉出家人的身分，俗语说得好：“有麝自然香，何须大风扬。”
As cultivators of the Way, no matter where we are, we should “hide our light and cover our tracks.” We shouldn't let our light shine outwardly. Only in this way can we cultivate. If we show off, it won't be easy to cultivate. You shouldn't go around advertising yourself, saying things like, “I have such-and-such spiritual skills; I've been practicing Chan meditation for so many years,” passing yourself off as a seasoned cultivator. That's not the way a left-home person should behave. You must honestly and truly practice. Don't go around trying to impress people. If you do, you are making a tremendous mistake and forfeiting your position as a left-home person. A proverb says: “When the musk-deer arrives, everyone can smell its scent. What need is there for fanfare?”
