happens,
you lose all sense of proper knowledge and proper understanding. "Ghosts
howl and spirits wail, their illusory transformations strange." These
are unreal states and should not be taken seriously. Don't get attached.
You should bring forth the mind that dwells nowhere.
Ultimate truth transcends
words. There is nothing
to be said; there is neither right nor wrong, neither long nor short,
neither good nor bad, and neither wholesome nor evil. There is nothing
within the ultimate truth. "Originally, there is not a single thing.
Where can the dust alight?" That is the ultimate truth. Within the ultimate
truth, there is originally not a single thing. So where can the dust
alight? There is nothing, so words are cut off. Let me tell you one
more thing. This was the first poem I ever wrote in my life. I did not
want to write any more after that because the obstacle of literature,
the mark of literature, is not helpful at all. Therefore, I did not
want to be caught up by the obstacle of literature or be attached to
the mark of literature.
Not thought about or talked
about. It is so ineffably
wonderful that you cannot fathom it with your mind or discuss it with
words. Your mouth wants to talk but words are lost; your mind wants
to exploit it but thoughts are gone. It is so wonderful that no words
can describe it. There's no way to think about it either. The path of
language is cut off, and the place of the mind's activity is destroyed.
It is impossible to speak of it or to reach it with thought. Even though
it cannot be thought about or talked about, you ought to advance with
haste. You still have to cultivate this kind of Dharma, because if you
don't, you'll never obtain genuine skill.
You ought to advance with
haste! Though it cannot
be described with words, you still want to temper it with the skill
of cultivation. Do not retreat; you want to advance vigorously and cultivate
it. Don't retreat. You shouldn't fall into dull emptiness. If you say,
"Oh! So I have nothing! This is inconceivable. Well, that's the way
it is. I'll just go to sleep when I am sleepy and eat when I'm hungry,
and when I die it will just be a tragic loss." That is not the right
attitude, either. That is also wrong because you are letting the time
pass in vain.
With great and small destroyed.
That which you are advancing
towards with haste has no greatness and no smallness. With
no inside or out. If
you say this wonderful thing is outside, that's not right. Nor is it
inside, nor between inside and outside. Both great and small are destroyed--they
are gone; there is no great and no small. Neither great nor small, neither
inside nor out; one cultivates by oneself, understands by oneself, and
makes arrangements for oneself. It is so great that nothing is outside,
so small that nothing is inside. Thus, the great and the small are destroyed
and inside and outside are gone; there is neither inside nor outside.
It is wrong to say that it's inside. It is just like what the Shurangama
Sutra says,
that the mind is located
neither inside nor outside. The Venerable Ananda was therefore confused.
It pervades every mote
of dust. However, it
is all pervasive. In each mote of dust, there is this Buddha-nature,
this truth, and this seeing. And
encompasses the Dharma Realm. Though
the Dharma Realm is huge,
it cannot encompass this wonder, this enlightened nature. It is said,
"The emptiness born out of great enlightenment is just like a bubble
in the ocean." It cannot be described. Complete,
whole, and perfectly fused. It
is complete and whole, neither insufficent nor excessive. You do not
have the slightest bit of surplus, and I do not have the slightest bit
of deficiency. It is not more on the part of the Buddha, nor is it less
on the part of living beings. It is perfectly fair and just, without
partiality or bias. This Dharma-nature is inherent in each of us; no
one lacks it. It is not damaged and destroyed, but rather it is complete
and perfectly fused, interpenetrating
without obstruction,
just like lamps. Each lamp has its own light, yet their lights are united.
One lamp doesn't say to another, "Look here, your light is too bright.
I am jealous. I don't want your light to be so bright. I'm going to
destroy your light so that mine will show." It's not that way. Lights
do not fight with each other. They shine upon each other and are mutually
non-obstructing. Everyone cultivates and does not obstruct one another.
With two clenched fists,
break to pieces the covering of empty space.
With my two fists, I shatter empty space. The covering of empty space
is gone, so that there is no empty space at all. There is nothing left.
Heaven and earth are no longer to be seen anywhere. Everything has disappeared.
In one mouthful swallow
the source of seas of Buddhalands.
In one mouthful, I swallow down the four great seas. I drink up all
the waters in the four great seas, so that they all dry up. In one gulp,
I swallow the entire world. Someone may say, "Doesn't that make you
a monster?" Tell me, what is not a monster? To swallow the source of
seas of Buddhalands in one gulp--this is the Buddha, who is neither
great nor small, neither inside nor outside; who arranges his own birth
and death at will.
With great compassion rescue all.
What is to be done at this point? One must bring forth a mind of great
compassion to universally rescue all living beings. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
rescue all living beings with great kindness and compassion. They bleed
and sweat and don't ever rest; despite the hardships they endure, they
never complain like we do, saying, "I'm tired! I'm exhausted! I want
to take a break." Buddhas and Bodhisattvas forget their fatigue when
they are saving living beings. Therefore: sparing
no blood or sweat, and never pause to rest!
Applying effort in this way, people rested neither in the daytime nor
at night. Seeing everyone applying effort so diligently, I wrote this
poem in commemoration. Later on, I saw that people no longer applied
effort and were very casual and lax. Maybe if I hadn't written this
poem, people would work harder. I wrote this poem to praise and commemorate
them, and what happened? Later everyone just looked at each other and
no one made vigorous progress anymore.
