福善書院

真心求法　祖師傳法

達摩祖師一看，「真的嗎？啊！這真是紅雪！」這本來早就在意料之中，就是要考驗他的真心。

一見這個，達摩祖師就很感動了：「噢！我這趟到中國還真是沒有白來，還遇著你這麼一個真心求法修道的人，能為法斷臂，連自己的臂膀都不要了，這是真有一點誠心。好啦！就傳法給你。」

於是就為他說以心印心的法門──教他直指人心、見性成佛這種的法門，教他怎麼

樣修行，怎麼樣用功，說：「在中國，你是第二代祖師。」就把正法眼藏、涅槃妙心傳給他。

He Seeks the Dharma with a True Mind;
the Patriarch Transmits It to Him

Patriarch Bodhidharma took a look, "Really? Ah! It really is red snow." Actually, the Patriarch had the intention of helping him, he just wanted to test his true mind.

Well, the Patriarch was moved and said, "I did not come to China for nothing, after all! I have met someone who seeks the Dharma with a true mind, to the point he could cut off his own arm for the sake of Dharma. He truly has a bit of sincerity! All right! I will transmit the Dharma to you."

Thus, the Patriarch taught him with the Dharma door of a mind-to-mind seal and certification. He taught him with a direct pointing to the human mind that would allow him to see the nature and realize Buddhahood. He taught him how to cultivate it and how to apply effort. He said, "In China, you are the second patriarch," and transmitted to Dharma Master Shen Guang the Proper Dharma Eye Treasury, the Wonderful Mind of Nirvana.

覓心不得　安心已竟

神光法師聽了法後，這時覺得臂痛了；以前他沒有想到臂，只是想方法教雪變成紅的，把臂痛也忘了。在達摩祖師為他講完法後，這時他生了分別心：「啊！我剁下來這隻胳臂好痛！」於是對達摩祖師說：「哎呀！我現在心很痛，受不了了！請祖師替我安心。」

達摩祖師就說：「你心痛？把你的心拿來給我，我才可以幫你把心安好，這才不會痛。」

神光法師就找自己的心，心在什麼地方？東西南北四維上下，所有的地方都找遍了，覓心了不可得！於是對達摩祖師說：「我找不著心，沒有。」

達摩祖師說：「我與汝安心竟！」你找不著心，我已經給你安完了！

二祖一聽這話，豁然開悟了！就這麼一句話，豁然就開了大悟。開了大悟，心也不痛，肝也不痛，汗毛梢也不痛了。從此之後，就依照達摩祖師傳給他的法門來修行。這叫「直指人心，見性成佛，教外別傳，不立文字」的法門。

二祖得到這個法門，就傳給三祖，三祖傳給四祖，四祖傳給五祖，五祖傳給六祖，於是這法就在中國一代一代地傳。現在這法到美國來了；可是到這兒來，沒有人跪九年，也不需要跪九年，現在只要你們能真心修行，就可以得到這個法。

earching for His Mind, He Cannot Find It;
His Mind Is Already Calmed

After Dharma Master Shen Guang listened to the Dharma, his arm began to hurt. A while ago, he hadn't thought about his arm; he only thought about how he could get the snow to turn red. He forgot all about the pain in his arm. But after Patriarch Bodhidharma had finished explaining the Dharma to him, his discursive mind became active again. "Oow! The stump of the arm I just cut off really hurts!" Then he said to Patriarch Bodhidharma, "Ouch! My mind is in pain. I can't stand it! Please, Patriarch, quiet my mind."

萬法歸一　死生自由

認真講起來，法是無量無邊的，達摩祖師對神光法師所說的法，也是妙不可言的，所以才有這麼幾句話：

萬法歸一一歸合　神光不明趕達摩
熊耳山前跪九載　只求一點躲閻羅

 「萬法歸一一歸合」，萬法都歸於一，所謂「一本散為萬殊，萬殊仍歸一本」。萬法歸一，一又歸到什麼地方？一，又要合起來。「合」本來是人一口，「人」字

底下加個「一」字，再加「口」，那就合起來了。這合起來了，就是修道要修的一個法門──萬法歸一一歸合。這個「合」字，又可以說是那個○字。

 「神光不明趕達摩」，神光法師當初不懂這個「合」字的意思，所以就去追趕達摩祖師。

 「熊耳山前跪九載」，他在熊耳山跪了九年。我們不要說跪九年，我曾說過連跪九個鐘頭都沒有。

 「只求一點躲閻羅」，只求達摩祖師指點他這一點點，告訴他怎樣修行，怎樣了生死、脫輪迴，怎樣能閻羅王管不著，求這個。

 以 前我講這個公案時，有一個小孩子聽得很高興，就問我：「那麼神光法師在那兒跪著，他九年有沒有吃飯？」這小孩子就想起問有沒有吃飯，他大約就歡喜吃飯，就 怕餓著；他若不怕餓著，他也可以跪九年。那麼他先問問這九年有沒有吃飯，當時我答覆他：「當然有吃飯啦！在這九年如果不吃飯，怎麼可以活著？他到吃飯時可 以起來去吃飯嘛！到大小便時又可以起身去大小便嘛！就是達摩祖師吃飯時，他也吃飯；達摩祖師打坐時，他就跪著。」他是九年都跪在那兒求法，可是在書上沒有 記載詳情，我也沒有講明這個問題。

The Myriad Dharmas Returning to the One,
Attaining the Liberation from Birth and Death

At this point, if I wanted to discuss this Dharma, the meanings would be infinite and boundless. Those few words of Dharma that Patriarch Bodhidharma spoke to Dharma Master Shen Guang were ineffably wonderful. Let these few sentences suffice to describe the event:

The myriad dharmas return to the one; 
the one returns to unity.
Shen Guang, having not yet understood, 
ran after Bodhidharma.
At Bear's Ear Mountain  he knelt before him for nine years,
Seeking a little something to escape King Yama.

聖人之體　毒不可侵

達摩祖師到中國，曾經被人下了六次毒。誰來毒他呢？就還是趕跑他兩位徒弟的那位小乘法師菩提流支，又叫光統律師，他最妒忌達摩祖師，所以就做一些齋菜來供 養達摩祖師；但是在菜飯裏，下了最毒的毒藥，無論誰吃了，都會死的。達摩祖師知不知道飯菜裏有毒呢？知道！可是還是照吃不誤，把這個毒飯吃了。吃了後，就 叫人拿一個盤子給他，他就吐了；吐出什麼來呢？這個毒藥完全都變成蛇了；這是第一次。

以後，菩提流支法師看毒不死達摩祖師，也不知道是怎麼回事，第二次又來加倍下毒；以前沒有毒死你，這回下多一點毒藥！就用另一種更毒的藥來毒達摩祖師，達 摩祖師也是又把它吃了。吃了後，怎樣呢？坐到一塊大石頭上，把毒藥屙出去，屙出毒藥的這種力量，把石頭都毒爆了，毒破壞了，一塊大磐石也破壞了，這是第二 次。

Poison Cannot Invade the Body of a Sage

While Patriarch Bodhidharma was in China, people attempted to poison him six times. Who poisoned him? It was Bodhiruchi, also called Vinaya Master Guang Tong, the same Small Vehicle Dharma Master who forced the Patriarch's two disciples out of China. He was extremely jealous of Patriarch Bodhidharma. He prepared a vegetarian meal and offered it to the Patriarch. The problem was, he laced the food with a lethal poison. Anyone would have died from the dose. 

Well, did the Patriarch Bodhidharma know 

that the food was poisoned? He knew! Although he knew it was poisoned, he ate it anyway. After he ate it, he asked someone to bring him a tray, and then he vomited the food onto the tray. The poison he vomited was transformed into a pile of writhing snakes. That was the first time.

After that unsuccessful attempt, Dharma Master Bodhiruchi couldn't figure out why the Patriarch had not been poisoned to death. The second time he doubled the dose of poison. It hadn't worked the previous time; this time he used more poison. He even used a more lethal variety to try to poison the Patriarch. Again, Patriarch Bodhidharma ate the food. Then he sat atop a huge boulder and relieved nature. The force of the poison that was eliminated exploded on the boulder, breaking not only the potency of the poison but also splitting the boulder as well. That was the second time.

傳法有人　示入涅槃

以後又有三次、四次、五次、六次，吃了六次毒藥，達摩祖師就對慧可說：「我到中國來，是因為中國有大乘根性的眾生，所以我把大乘佛教帶到這兒來。現在已經傳法有人──有人接續我這個法了，我就不留在這兒，現在就要死了。」

慧可大師就問達摩祖師，說：「你在印度有沒有傳法的徒弟？是不是也要給袈裟，用衣缽袈裟來做憑據？」

達摩祖師說：「沒有！在印度，我們傳法是傳法，但是不用衣缽袈裟來表信。因為印度的人心都很直率，他修道，得道就說得道，有人證明他是開悟得道，就是得道 了；如果沒有人證明，自己不會說我得了道，我證了果，我又是阿羅漢，我又是菩薩了。沒有人會這麼講的，所以那裏的人都很正直。中國人不同，中國大乘根性的 眾生是多，可是打妄語的人也多。修道道業還沒成，他說成道了；沒有證果，他說證果了，所以要用衣缽袈裟來表信。那麼現在傳給你這個衣缽袈裟，你好好保持 著。」

達摩祖師傳法給神光法師後，就為他改名字叫慧可，說他的智慧真可以了，夠了。神光法師──就是慧可大師，聽達摩祖師這樣地吩咐他，也就明白傳法的意義。

Having Transmitted the Dharma to Someone,
He Appears to Enter Nirvana

After that there was a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth time. Each of those six times, he ingested the poison. One day, Patriarch Bodhidharma said to Dharma Master Shen Guang, "I came to China because I saw people and other beings with a propensity for the Great Vehicle. That is why I brought the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma to China. Now I have already transmitted the Dharma to someone who will continue the line. I am not going to stay here any longer. I am ready to die now."