永嘉大师证道歌
by Great Master Yong Jia of the Tang Dynasty
君不见。绝学无为闲道人。不除妄想不求真。
Do you not see the enlightened ones? They are transcended beings eternally at ease, abiding in the Way, beyond learning and doing, neither struggling against illusion, nor seeking for the truth.
无明实性即佛性。幻化空身即法身。
Ignorance is intrinsically the Buddha-nature, while the emptiness of our illusory body is the Dharma.
法身觉了无一物。本源自性天真佛。
When the Dharma body awakens completely, there is nothing at all. The source of our essential nature is the primordial Buddha.
五蕴浮云空去来。三毒水泡虚出没。
The five aggregates – physical forms, sensations, perceptions, concepts/thoughts, consciousness – they come and go like clouds in the sky. The three poisons – greed, hatred, ignorance – they appear and disappear like bubbles on water.
证实相。无人法。刹那灭却阿鼻业。
Realizing Suchness, neither self nor things exist; instantly the path to hell vanishes, cause and effect are liberated.
若将妄语诳众生。自招拔舌尘沙劫。
If this is a lie to deceive sentient beings, may my tongue be removed forever.
顿觉了。如来禅。六度万行体中圆。
In a single moment of direct awakening, the six perfections (meditation, wisdom, patience, energy, generosity, morality) and the ten thousand skillful means are complete.
梦里明明有六趣。觉后空空无大千。
The six realms of existence (gods, demi-gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, hells) are a dream, in waking they are nowhere to be found.
无罪福。无损益。寂灭性中莫问觅。
No wrong, no right, no loss, no gain. Never look for such things in eternal serenity.
此来尘镜末曾磨。今日分明须剖析。
Having given up the idea of dust, the mirror’s brilliance is finally seen.
谁无念。谁无生。若实无生无不生。
Who has no thought? What is unborn? One is neither born nor unborn – the unborn is realized within the born.
唤取机关木人问。求佛施功早晚成。
Can a wooden puppet attain Buddhahood by its practice of not-thinking?
放四大。莫把捉。寂灭性中随饮啄。
Release your grasp at the four elements (earth, water, fire, wind); you may drink and eat with ease in serenity.
诸行无常一切空。即是如来大圆觉。
Conditioned phenomena are transient and empty – this is the great enlightenment of the Tathagata.
决定说。表真乘。有人不肯任情征。
Impermanence, emptiness and enlightenment — these are the ultimate truths of Buddhism. Keeping and teaching them is true Sangha devotion. If you don’t agree, let’s discuss it.
直截根源佛所印。摘叶寻枝我不能。
Cut out ten-thousand entanglements, go directly to the root of it all — this is the very point of the Buddha-seal. I don’t respond to any concern about branches and leaves.
摩尼珠。人不识。如来藏里亲收得。
The wish-fulfilling pearl (Mani-jewel) is not recognized by beings. But here it is intimately within the Tathagatagarbha – the eternal and immutable matrix of all reality.
六般神用空不空。一颗圆光色非色。
Our six senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, being aware) are empty, yet not empty. The rays shining from Mani-jewel are neither formed nor formless.
净五根。得五力。唯证乃知难可测。
Clarify the five kinds of vision brings about the five powers – it is not intellectual work – you just realize; you just know.
镜里看形见不难。水中捉月争拈得。
To see images in a mirror is not difficult, but who can take hold of the moon in the water?
常独行。常独步。达者同游涅槃路。
Always traveling alone, always walking alone, the enlightened ones enjoy the freeway of Nirvana.
调古神清风自高。貌颊骨刚人不顾。
Their discipline is ancient, their heart light, spirit pure, and manner elevated. Their faces worn, yet their bones are hardened and strong, passing unnoticed they walk free in the world.
穷释子。口称贫。实是身贫道不贫。
Children of the Buddha may be poor materially, yet they are rich in the Tao.
贫则身常披缕褐。道则心藏无价珍。
Dressing in patched robes, they are content with the priceless pearl in the mind.
无价珍。用无尽。利物应机终不吝。
Beyond all limit, this invaluable jewel can never be used up. The enlightened ones spend it freely to help all beings they chance upon, accordingly to people’s individual faculties.
三身四智体中圆。八解六通心地印。
The three bodies (Dharmakaya, Sambogakaya, Nirmanakaya) and the four wisdoms (The Mirroring Wisdom, the Observing Wisdom, the Discerning Wisdom, the Perfecting Wisdom) are all contained within the pearl. The eight liberations and the six universal powers are all realized within.
上士一决一切了。中下多闻多不信。
The best student goes directly to the ultimate. For the middling and the lowly, even as they learn more and more, they just remain unconvinced and proud of their external struggling.
但自怀中解垢衣。谁能向外夸精进。
You have to remove the dirty garments from your own mind. How can right diligence be taught?
从他谤。任他非。把火烧天徒自疲。
If folks criticize and slander you, let them. They are playing with fire, trying to burn the sky, in the end only exhausting themselves.
我闻恰似饮甘露。销融顿入不思议。
For me, hearing the slander is like drinking sweet dew – everything melts and I enter the incredible place beyond thoughts and words.
观恶言。是功德。此则成吾善知识。
Abusive words are disguised blessings and my abusers good teachers.
不因讪谤起怨亲。何表无生慈忍力。
If we do not become angry at gossip, we have no need for endurance and patience.
宗亦通。说亦通。定慧圆明不滞空。
To be mature in Zen is to be mature in expression, where the full-moon brilliance of Dhyana (profound meditation) and Prajna (direct insight) is not imprisoned by emptiness.
非但我今独达了。恒沙诸佛体皆同。
I am not alone in this attainment; all Buddhas, as numberless as grains of river sand, they have become awakened in exactly the same way.
师子吼。无畏说。百兽闻之皆脑裂。
Roar like a lion, speak fearlessly – it shatters the skulls of all beasts.
香象奔波失却威。天龙寂听生欣悦。
Even the king of elephants scrambles, losing its majesty. The heavenly dragon quietly listens and rejoices.
游江海。涉山川。寻师访道为参禅。
In the past I’ve crossed mountains and rivers, searching for masters and teachings in Zen.
自从认得曹溪路。了知生死不相关。
Ever since learning the working of hidden channels in the body, I realize that birth and death have nothing to do with me.
行亦禅。坐亦禅。语默动静体安然。
Never lose Zen whether walking or sitting; be at ease in speech or silence, moving or resting.
纵遇锋刀常坦坦。假饶毒药也闲闲。
Even facing the sword of death, the mind is unmoved; even drinking poison, the mind is relaxed.
我师得见然灯佛。多劫曾为忍辱仙。
Our Teacher Sakyamuni met his Teacher Dipankara, only after practicing patience through countless eons.
几回生。几回死。生死悠悠无定止。
Countless births, countless deaths – I am serene in the cycle ever repeating.
自从顿悟了无生。于诸荣辱何忧喜。
Ever since abruptly I realized the Unborn, I am free from delight about gain or sorrow over loss.
入深山。住兰若。岑崟幽邃长松下。
Retreating into deep mountains, dwelling underneath old pines, I live a carefree life without complexity.
优游静坐野僧家。阒寂安居实潇洒。
Peacefully I practice Zazen, taking refuge in joyful solitude.
觉即了。不施功。一切有为法不同。
Once truly awakened, you have no need to apply effort. In the multiplicity of the relative world, you cannot find such freedom.
住相布施生天福。犹如仰箭射虚空。
Self-centered charity given within conditions for heavenly reward, is like shooting arrows into the sky.
势力尽。箭还坠。招得来生不如意。
When the force is spent, the arrow falls to earth again, bringing unhappy cycles.
争似无为实相门。一超直入如来地。
This cannot compare to the unconditioned absolute, which leads direct to the Tathagata realm.
但得本。莫愁末。如净琉璃含宝月。
Go to the root, never mind the branches. It is like the bright moon reflected in crystal.
既能解此如意珠。自利利他终不竭。
Once you understand this Mani-jewel, the jewel of liberation, you can benefit yourself and others endlessly.
江月照。松风吹。永夜清宵何所为。
The moon shines on the river, the wind blows through the pines – the night is everlasting, pure and clear, what am I to do?
佛性戒珠心地印。雾露云霞体上衣。
Buddha nature and the jewel of precepts seal and secure my mind. Fog, cloud, dew, and mist are my clothes.
降龙钵。解虎锡。两钴金环鸣历历。
A monk’s bowl can subdue dragons, and the staff can separate fighting tigers, with the rings on the staff jingling musically.
不是标形虚事持。如来宝杖亲踪迹。
These expressions are not empty symbols from some old fable; the Tathagata’s precious staff has left a trail for us to follow.
不求真。不断妄。了知二法空无相。
Do not seek the truth, do not avoid delusion. Truth and delusion are both empty and formless.
无相无空无不空。即是如来真实相。
Neither form nor formless, neither emptiness nor non-emptiness – this is the wisdom of the Tathagata.
心镜明。鉴无碍。廓然莹彻周沙界。
If the mind-mirror is clear, there are no obstacles. It illuminates worlds as numberless as grains of sand.
万象森罗影现中。一颗圆光非内外。
All phenomena of the cosmos are reflected in the mind, and the full luminosity and clarity – an orb of light, round and bright, has no distinction of internal or external.
豁达空。拨因果。莽莽荡荡招殃祸。
Don’t grasp at nothingness, don’t ignore cause and effect – such ignorance leads only to suffering.
弃有着空病亦然。还如避溺而投火
Don’t give up existence, don’t renounce the world of things – it’s like jumping into a fire to avoid drowning.
舍妄心。取真理。取舍之心成巧伪。
Don’t reject delusion, don’t seek truth – such dualities are skillful lies.
学人不了用修行。真成认贼将为子。
If you practice zazen with such fancy falsehood, it’s as if mistaking a thief as your own child.
损法财。灭功德。莫不由斯心意识。
It is all due to dualistic mindset that you miss the treasure of Dharma and lose the accumulated merit.
是以禅门了却心。顿入无生知见力。
Chan/Zen practice enables complete realization of the original mind and direct penetration to the unborn state with powerful insight.
大丈夫。秉慧剑。般若锋兮金刚焰。非但空摧外道心。早曾落却天魔胆。
Be strong and use the sword of wisdom – its Prajna edge is as sharp as the vajra flame, cutting off delusions and subduing demons.
震法雷。击法鼓。布慈云兮洒甘露。
The thunder of Dharma roars, striking the Dharma drum, spreading auspicious clouds of compassion, and pouring nectar of loving-kindness.
龙象蹴踏润无边。三乘五性皆醒悟。
Great Masters arise to benefit countless beings. The three vehicles (Sravaka, Pratyeka, Bodhisattva) and the five natures (1. Those born to be voice-hearers; 2. Those born to be cause-awakened ones; 3. Those born to be bodhisattvas; 4. Those born to be indeterminate; 5. Those born without the nature of enlightenment) all are enlightened and liberated.
雪山肥腻更无杂。纯出醒醐我常纳。
The milk from the Himalayan mountains is pure and rich, and the ghee produced by it I always enjoy.
一性圆通一切性。一法遍含一切法。
When one nature is understood, all nature is understood. One Dharma contains all others.
一月普现一切水。一切水月一月摄。
One moon is reflected in all waters; all reflections are one moon.
诸佛法身入我性。我性同共如来合。
The Dharmakaya of all Buddhas enters my nature; my nature is one with the Tathagata.
一地具足一切地。非色非心非行业。
One stage of practice contains all stages. There is no form, no mind, no action.
弹指圆成八万门。刹那灭却三祇劫。
In a snap of finger, eighty-thousand teachings are realized; in a split second, the karmas of numerous eons are purified.
一切数句非数句。与吾灵觉何交涉。
All Dharma words are not Dharma words, what do they have to do with my inner knowing?
不可毁。不可赞。体若虚空勿涯岸。
Beyond praise and beyond blame, like space itself it has no bounds.
不离当处常湛然。觅即知君不可见。
It is wherever you are, forever clear and free of struggle; if you search elsewhere, it cannot be found; give up the search, it is right here.
取不得。舍不得。不可得中只么得。
You cannot grasp it; you cannot reject it; it is acquired by not acquiring.
默时说。说时默。大施门开无壅塞。
In silence it speaks, in speech you hear its silence. The gate to the Way is open and unobstructed.
有人问我解何宗。报道摩诃般若力。
If you ask me what teaching I realize, it’s the great power of Ultimate Wisdom, I’ll say.
或是或非人不识。逆行顺行天莫测。
Perhaps it is right, perhaps it is wrong – people don’t know for sure. To go opposite or to follow suit – even heaven has nothing to say.
吾早曾经多劫修。不是等闲相诳惑。
I have practiced my zazen for many kalpas, I do not speak glibly to confuse you.
建法幢。立宗旨。明明佛敕曹溪是。
Raise the Dharma-banner, establish the Teachings – the Buddha has clearly pointed out where the subtle channels are, which I discovered through my teacher Master Hui Neng.
第一迦叶首传灯。二十八代西天记。
Mahakashyapa was the first to receive the teachings from the Buddha and pass them on through twenty-eight generations of patriarchs in India.
法东流。入此土。菩提达摩为初祖。
Then the Dharma flowed east to our land, and Bodhidharma became the first patriarch of Chan/Zen in China.
六代传衣天下闻。后人得道何穷数。
His robe passed through six generations, as we all know, and countless more will benefit from it and attain the Way.
真不立。妄本空。有无俱遣不空空。
The truth is not fixed, and delusion is intrinsically empty. Being or nonbeing, gain or loss – let go of these ideas; all is empty.
二十空门元不着。一性如来体自同。
Do not be attached to the twenty teachings about emptiness; all are the display of the Tathagata-body.
心是根。法是尘。两种犹如镜上痕。
The mind is the root, phenomena are dust; both subject and object are dust on the mind-mirror, clouds in the sky.
痕垢尽除光始现。心法双忘性即真。
Wipe the mirror clean and the light begins to shine. When the mind and phenomena are both forgotten, the innermost nature is known.
嗟末法。恶时世。众生福薄难调制。
In this Age of Ending and this sad, materialistic world, people are suffering – they are faithless, in lack of self-discipline.
去圣远兮邪见深。魔强法弱多怨害。
In the centuries after Shakyamuni Buddha, wrong views have run deep, demons become strong, the Dharma is weakened, fear and hatred spread.
闻说如来顿教门。恨不灭除令瓦碎。
Hearing the Buddha’s teaching of Direct Way, some pitiful people want to smash it to pieces like a roof tile.
作在心。殃在身。不须怨诉更尤人。
Your mind is the cause, your body is the victim. Do not complain or blame others.
欲得不招无间业。莫谤如来正轮。
If you don’t want to live in perpetual suffering, never slander the Tathagata’s true Dharma teachings.
栴檀林。无杂树。郁密森沈师子住。
In the forest lions inhabit, there are no trees other than sandalwood.
境静林间独自游。走兽飞禽皆远去。
They wander alone in the quiet woods, from which all other beasts and birds have fled.
师子儿。蒙随后。三岁便能大哮吼。
Lion cubs are in tow, roaring loudly even though just 3 years old.
若是野干逐法王。百年妖怪虚开口。
Even if a jackal with hundred-year demonic arts opens its jaws to chase off the Dharma king, it can only try in vain.
圆顿教。没人情。有疑不决直须争。
The Buddha’s Direct Teaching is beyond human sentiment; there is no room for doubt or hesitation.
不是山僧逞人我。修行恐落断常坑。
I am not a mountain monk who distinguishes others and myself, but fear that practitioners may fall into the holes of eternalism or nihilism.
非不非。是不是。差之毫厘失千里。
Wrong is not wrong, right is not right; a hairbreadth of deviation may lead to a thousand miles off.
是则龙女顿成佛。非则善星生陷坠。
Realizing it, the dragon child attains Buddhahood suddenly. Misunderstanding it, even the most learned falls into hell.
吾早年来积学问。亦曾讨疏寻经论。
In my youth I piled studies upon studies, in sutras and sastras I searched and researched.
分别名相不知休。入海算沙徒自困。
I fell into the ditch of classifying names and forms, like trying to count sands on the ocean floor.
却被如来苦诃责。数他珍宝有何益。
The Buddha was speaking about me when he said, “What gain is there in counting other people’s treasure?”
从来蹭蹬觉虚行。多年枉作风尘客。
For many years I had wasted my time, going astray and wandering lost.
种性邪。错知解。不达如来圆顿制。
Nature misused leads to wrong views, failing in attaining the Tathagata’s Direct Perfection.
二乘精进没道心。外道聪明无智慧。
Shravaka and Pratyeka students may be diligent but neglect Tao; the heterodox may be clever but lack wisdom.
亦愚痴。亦小騃。空拳指上生实解。
Stupid ones, childish ones, they take the empty fist and pointing finger to be real.
执指为月枉施功。根境法中虚捏怪。
They mistake the pointing finger for the moon. They are idle dreamers lost in senses and forms.
不见一法即如来。方得名为观自在。
When nothing is seen, this is the Realm of Tathagata. Only then can one be called “Seeing at ease and contemplating in peace”.
了即业障本来空。未了应须还夙债。
When awakened we find all karmic hindrances fundamentally empty. But when not awakened, all karmic debts must be paid.
饥逢王膳不能餐。病遇医王争得瘥。
It is like a starving man turning down a royal feast, or someone ill refusing medicine prescribed by a great doctor.
在欲行禅知见力。火中生莲终不坏。
Chan practice is most effective in this world of desires, for a lotus blossoming in fire is indestructible.
勇施犯重悟无生。早时成佛于今在。
Even Pradhanashura, who broke the gravest precepts, later woke up to the Unborn and attained Buddhahood, has remained so ever since.
师子吼。无畏说。深嗟懵懂顽皮靼。
The lion roars, fearlessly he speaks, deeply pitying the ignorant, stupid, and stubborn.
只知犯重障菩提。不见如来开秘诀。
They only know to commit wrongdoing that obstructs enlightenment; they do not see the door opened by the Tathagata’s teachings.
有二比丘犯淫杀。波离萤光增罪结。
Once, after breaking the precepts against carnality and killing, two monks confessed to Upali, whose limited knowledge was as flickering as the light of a firefly, and he just increased their confusion.
维摩大士顿除疑。犹如赫日销霜雪。
But the great teacher Vimalakirti were able to clear their doubts at once, like a blazing sun dissolving both frost and snow.
不思议。解脱力。妙用恒沙也无极。
Such inconceivable power to liberate beings, the wonders it works are as uncountable as the sands of the Ganges.
四事供养敢辞劳。万两黄金亦消得。
We may offer four necessities (food, medicine, clothing, bedding) for such power, but even ten thousand pieces of gold would not be enough.
粉骨碎身未足酬。一句了然超百亿。
Understand one sentence and it surpasses ten billion kalpas of practice, but even if one’s bones became powder, it would not repay the kindness.
法中王。最高胜。恒沙如来同共证。
The King of the Dharma, most supreme, deserves our highest respect. Tathagatas as innumerable as river sands all have confirmed this through their attainment.
我今解此如意珠。信受之者皆相应。
Understanding what this precious Mani-jewel of mind is, I now transmit it to anyone who will receive it.
了了见。无一物。亦无人。亦无佛。
Seeing clearly, there is no thing, no man, no Buddha.
大千沙界海中沤。一切圣贤如电拂。
The worlds of the universe are just froth on the sea, wise sages are like flashes of lightning coming and going.
假使铁轮顶上旋。定慧圆明终不失。
However the burning iron wheel revolving on my head, my perfect meditation would not be stirred, and profound wisdom never lost.
日可冷。月可热。众魔不能坏真说。
Even if demons can cool the sun or heat the moon, they cannot shatter the truth of these words.
象驾峥嵘慢进途。谁见螳螂能拒辙。
When an elephant steadily pulls a cart down the prosperous road, how can a praying mantis obstruct its way?
大象不游于兔经。大悟不拘于小节。
Elephant does not loiter on a rabbit’s path; great enlightenment is not concerned with trivia.
莫将管见谤苍苍。未了吾今为君诀。
Don’t belittle the sky by looking through a pipe. If you are not yet clear, this Song gives you the key.
Buddha Mind 