现在是打禅七（一九七七年十二月十五日）的时间，诸位时时刻刻要提起话头，去参禅，去用功。修道人要自己修行，不要依赖他人，更不要依赖师父。我们是打禅七，不是打师父七，这一点要弄清楚。有人这样想：“师父在万佛圣城的时候，我就用功修行；师父离开万佛圣城，我就不认真修行。”这种思想，实在要不得。无论师父在不在万佛圣城，都要勇猛精进地修行，贯彻始终，才有成就。否则尽做表面的工作，那是自欺欺人的行为，永远得不到解脱。
Now we are holding a Chan Session (December 15, 1977), and you should all be bringing up your meditation topic at every moment, as you investigate Chan and work at meditation. Cultivators of the Way practice on their own; they do not rely on other people, and even less should they rely on their teacher. We are holding a meditation retreat, not a "Teacher-retreat." Please be clear about this point. Someone is thinking: "The Venerable Master is here now at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, so I'll take my cultivation seriously. Once he leaves, however, I won't have to cultivate hard anymore." You should not think this way. Whether or not your teacher is at the City, you should cultivate with vigor. Finish what you've started, applying yourself with equal energy all the way through; only then can you succeed. Otherwise your work will always be superficial; you'll only be fooling yourself and fooling others, and you'll never get liberated.
参话头就是参“念佛是谁？”念佛是谁？这要参是哪一个？说是：“我在念佛。”那么我死了，这个“我”又跑到什么地方去？根本那不是“我”。这样说来，那是没有“我”了。既然没有“我”，那么还活着的时候，就不需要修行了？这是不正确的想法。应该怎样呢？就是要参本来的面目，父母未生以前的面目是什么样子？参明白了，就可开悟。
Investigating the meditation topic means asking, "Who is reciting the Buddha's name?" Look into it! Who is it? If you say, "I'm reciting!" then after you die, where has that "I" gone to? In fact, the reciter isn't "I" after all. As we investigate it, there is no "I" to be found. Since there's no "I," then while I'm still alive, there's no need to cultivate, is there? This is a case of incorrect thinking. How should we think then? We should investigate our basic identity. Who were we before our parents bore us? What did we look like then? When you understand the answer to that question, you can get enlightened.
念佛是哪一个？时时刻刻在追究，分分秒秒不放松。其实用这种功夫，就是以毒攻毒的方法。念佛是谁？虽然也是一个念，但是用一念控制一切念，用这个妄想停止一切妄想。制止到了极点的时候，水落石出，真相大白，便能开悟。
"Who is reciting the Buddha's name?" Pursue this question ceaselessly. Don't let up on it even for a moment. In fact, this technique is a way to use poison to counteract poison. Although the question, "Who is reciting the Buddha's name?" is also a thought, we use one thought to control all other thoughts. One idle thought puts a stop to all idle thoughts. When those thoughts have been brought to an ultimate end, "the tide recedes and the rocks show through." We clearly perceive the true appearance of things, and then we can get enlightened.
什么是开悟？就是真真实实认识自己是怎么回事，证得空理，知道一切是虚妄，这是真知道。知道“本来无一物，何处惹尘埃”这种的境界，也就是明心见性的境界。所谓“明心无难事，见性不知愁”，明心的人，什么也不愁，所谓：
自古神仙无别法，
广生欢喜不生愁。
这是修道人的座右铭。
What does it mean to get enlightened? It means you truly recognize what you're all about. You realize the principle of emptiness and you know that all things are false. This is truly knowing. You know the state called, "Originally there was not a single thing. Where could dust alight?" It's also called: "Understanding the mind and seeing the nature." It's said that, When you understand the mind, nothing is difficult any more. When you see the nature, all worries are gone. People who understand the mind don't worry about anything. As it is said:
The spirits and immortals of old had no special tricks; They were simply happy as could be, and they never worried.
This should be the benchmark of all cultivators of the Way.
修道人，无论遇到顺或逆的境界，皆不动心。若能有这样的定力，那就不会被境界所转，而能转境界，这才是修道人的真功夫。所谓
泰山崩前而不惊，
美色当前而不动。
Cultivators do not get upset no matter whether they encounter smooth or troublesome situations. With this kind of samadhi-power, instead of being influenced by circumstances, they can influence states. This is the true skill of a cultivator of the Way.
If Mount Tai were to collapse before them,
it wouldn't make them blink.
If a ravishing beauty were to pass before them,
they wouldn't be affected in the slightest.
男人见到西施那样美的女人，当做骷髅观，自然不动其心；女人见到潘安那样英俊的男人，当做白骨观，自然不动其心。否则，见到美女或俊男，就心猿意马，七上八下，不知如何是好！若是这样没有定力，那就会失去道业，这是多么可惜！
If you are a man and you see a woman as beautiful as the legendary maiden Xi Shi, simply use "the contemplation of a skeleton" to view her, and naturally your mind will hold steady. If you are a woman and you see a man as handsome as the famous hero Pan An, use the "bare-bones contemplation" to view him, and very naturally, your mind will hold steady. Otherwise, the sight of a beautiful young woman or a handsome young man will turn you upside-down. The monkey-mind and stallion-instinct will run away with you, until you won't know how to cope with it. If you lack samadhi-power to this extent, you will lose ground in cultivation. What a pity!
今天我们听了三步一拜两位行者的来信，晓得他们有这样不可思议的境界，有护法善神的保佑。所谓“感应道交”，他们诚心地拜，真心地念，于是乎感动了天龙八部，时刻在他们的身边，处处逢凶化吉，遇难呈祥。我们要将他们两位做为借镜，照照自己是怎么回事？要回光返照，看看自己是不是这样地清净？这样地光明？这样有智慧？这样不打妄想？
Today we read a letter from the monks on the bowing pilgrimage, and know that they've experienced some inconceivable states in which Dharma-protecting spirits have come to protect them. This is called "a response in the Way." Because they've been bowing and reciting sincerely, they've moved the gods, dragons, and the rest of the eight divisions to stay constantly at their side. Therefore, no matter what trouble comes up, it always turns out smoothly. We should take their example to reflect upon ourselves: has this happened to us? We should reflect within to see if we have this kind of purity, light, wisdom, and lack of idle thinking.
各位！听经闻法，要自性自悟，自悟自度。不要依赖师父！要依赖自己，所谓“师父领进门，修行在个人。”要相信自己的智慧，不要相信自己的愚痴，这一点是非常重要的。我们打禅七的目的，就是自性自度。六祖大师曾经说过：“迷时师度，悟时自度。”
All of you! As we hear the Sutras and the Dharma, we should awaken in our own nature and, having awakened, take ourselves across. Don't rely upon your teacher. Rely on yourself instead! As it's said, "The teacher leads you to the door, but cultivation depends on the individual." You should trust in your own wisdom, not your own stupidity. This is a very important distinction! The purpose of holding a meditation retreat is to let your nature take itself across. The Great Master the Sixth Patriarch once said,
When one is still confused,
his teacher saves him.
After one is awakened, he saves himself.
我们现在参禅，应该分秒必争，不可把宝贵的时光空过。所以在打禅七的时间，佛也不拜，过堂也不念供。为什么？就是给大家专一用功的机会。多一分钟参禅，便多一分钟开悟。哪有时间去打闲岔、去充壳子、去开小会？若三三五五，讲是讲非，讲些无意义的话，把开悟的时光轻易放过，尚不自知，这样参禅，就是参八万大劫，也没有希望。在打禅七的期间，一定要老老实实去参！参“念佛是谁？”参“父母未生以前的本来面目？”这是开智慧的钥匙。
We are now investigating Chan, and we should make the most of every minute. Don't let the precious time pass by in vain. Thus, when we hold our Chan Session, we neither bow to the Buddhas nor perform the meal offering ceremony. Why not? It's to give everyone a chance to concentrate single-mindedly on his meditation. One minute longer of meditation brings one minute more of enlightenment. Who can find time to interrupt the work, or to shoot the breeze, or to gather a small meeting? If you stand around shooting the bull, gossiping over trivia, talking lots of nonsense, then you'll carelessly waste time in which you could be getting enlightened, and you won't even realize it. Meditating in this way, you can investigate for 80,000 great eons, but you have no hope of success. While holding a retreat, you certainly must do honest work and really look into the matter. Which matter? Investigate, "Who is mindful of the Buddha?" Investigate, "What was my basic identity before my parents gave birth to me?" These are the keys to enlightenment.
