Our present life is tied to the world
of form and thought, and therefore produces rebirth after rebirth
in Samsara. If we want to return to the world of the spirit,
we have to do the work of leaving behind form, the work of letting
go of our thoughts and notions. It is only when we are able
to completely let go that we can enter the purity and simplicity
of the spirit.
It is just like when I practiced austerities in the graveyard
for so many years, persevering to the point of risking my
life in order to realize the truth. So when we practice Chan,
let us not be so concerned about our precious little selves,
being afraid of this pain here or that pain there. This is
not what we want or what our practice is about. Our practice
is about bringing out our clear, fully aware, enlightened
Self. We can only accomplish this if we practice very diligently,
relying on ourselves to fully pay attention every moment,
and to do this over and over again.
We need to be firm in our determination. Our life is so fleeting
and quickly over. So let us use this life to practice well,
to let ourselves find out what it means to cut off all troubles
and be free from Samsara. Only we are able to let go will
our Original Face quite naturally appear by itself.
Our spiritual nature is one, not two. It is not muddied and
unclear, but completely luminous and transparent. It is pure
emptiness, without any hindrance or obstacle. The Buddha taught
that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature, but that they
cannot manage to be just like the Buddha because of their
delusions and attachments. “Delusions” means ways of thinking
that are not in accordance with reality, and “attachments”
means not to be able to relax in the midst of these unrealistic,
delusive ways of thinking. Therefore, what we do in Chan practice
is only one and the same thing: Letting go of our delusions,
letting go of our attachments, doing it step by step, earnestly
and with full attention, giving our very best.
So many people in this world waste so much time to get things
out of life, spending all of their efforts on making a lot
of money or other worldly pursuits. How come we are not able
to spend a bit more of our time and effort on such a great
and truly superb venture as becoming a Buddha, freeing ourselves
from life and death, and overcoming all suffering? How come
we don’t give our very best to experience enlightenment? This
is what needs a bit of our time to be accomplished.
Dharma Master Hsin Tao
(Translated by Maria Reis Habito)
禪 放下執著
我們為什麼要禪修？我們的生命就是有形、有相、有想法，因而聯結出生命的輪迴，所以要回到靈性的世界，就必須做離相的工作、出離的工作，只有出離才能進入靈性的純潔與單純。
就像以前師父在墳場那麼久的時間，是那樣不要命的修煉、修法，為了證悟真的拚了命的去做，所以我們禪修時不要那麼愛惜自己，怕這裡痛、那裡痛的，這些都不是我們要的東西，只有靈靈覺覺的自己，才是我們要努力找回來的，這是要靠自己當下認持、反覆的保任，才能達成的效果。
所以要下定決心，這一生就這麼一趟，一了百了，這一生好好修行，讓自己也嘗試一下什麼叫了脫生死、斷煩惱。只要放下執著，我們的本來面目就這麼的自然而然的走出來了。
靈性是獨一無二的，它不是混雜不清，而是清清楚楚，是赤裸無罣礙的空性。佛說眾生都有如來德相，因為妄相執著，而無法跟佛一樣。妄，就是不實在的想法，執著，就是在這個虛妄不實的妄念中不放鬆。所以禪修的時候，我們只做一件事情，就是放下妄念、放下執著，一個步驟一個步驟的老老實實做，用心的做。
眾生在世間都花了那麼多的時間討生活，拚命的賺錢，更何況是這種成佛大事，了脫生死、斷煩惱這種殊勝的事，我們怎麼可能不多花一點時間、不多用點心、不拼命的去獲得這份的證悟！所以這都是要花時間去做的事。
─── 心道法師
