Link to Part 1
Link to Part 2
Link to Part 3
Part 4: The Founder
時有僧問。從上祖師至江西大師皆云。Finally, there was a monk who asked, "From the Founder up until the Great Master of Jiangxi,1 all have said,
即心是佛。平常心是道。'This Mind is Buddha, Ordinary Mind is the Way.'
今和尚云。心不是佛。智不是道。Now, this monk says 'Mind is not Buddha, Wisdom is not the Way'.
學人悉生疑惑。Us learned people are all afflicted with doubt and bewilderment!
請和尚慈悲指示。We request the esteemed monk to benevolently point out [the true Way].2
師乃抗聲答曰。Therefore, the Master replied with a resounding voice,
你若是佛。休更涉疑。"If you are a Buddha, cease wading through further doubt!
却問老僧。Yet the old monk asks,
何處有恁麼傍家疑佛來。[from] where has such 'doubting the Buddha in the neighbor's house'3 come?
老僧且不是佛。The old monk even is not a Buddha.
亦不曾見祖師。[I've] never met the Founder, either.
你恁麼道。What is the Way [for] you?
自覓祖師去。Go search for the Founder yourself!"
Notes:
1. Mazu Daoyi
2. 道 (Way) is a Chinese term popularly used among multiple Chinese 'schools of thought' that includes a variety of meanings, including 'doctrine; truth; principle; path; method'. Here it is rendered with a capital 'W' to indicate it's multiplicity of potential implications and allow the reader to discern the speakers' intentions of their own accord.
3. 傍家疑佛 (doubting the Buddha in the neighbor's house) is a Chinese idiom originating from a story about a man who suspected the golden Buddha statue in his neighbor's house was actually made of clay or wood. The man eventually snuck into the house and discovered the statue was really gold after all.
Submitted March 07, 2023 at 06:40AM by Surska0 https://ift.tt/oM8k1Lz
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