中國寓言故事雙語版 第111期:磨磚成鏡

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a Guanyin (Avalokitesvara) Temple on the Southern Mountain of Hengshan.

唐朝時，南嶽衡山上有一座觀音廟，

The temple was stately and solemn, with incense smoke curling all around.

廟宇莊嚴，香火繚繞。

One day, the eminent Monk Huai Rang of the Chan sect strolled into the temple hall and saw Monk Ma Zu sitting calm and upright on a rush cushion,

有一天，禪宗高僧懷讓踱進佛殿，一眼看到馬祖和尚正端坐在蒲團上，

with his palms put together and his eyes closed in deep meditation.

靜心合掌，閉目禪定。

Knowing that Ma Zu aspired to become a Buddha, Huai Rang smiled to himself.

懷讓知道馬祖一心想成佛，暗自好笑。

He picked up a brick at random, squatted on his heels and began to grind it noisily.

他隨手揀來一塊青磚，蹲在地上嘩啦嘩啦地磨了起來。

Ma Zu was vexed by the noise. He opened his eyes to find that it was his own master grinding a brick. He asked:

馬祖聽得心煩，睜眼一看，原來是自己的師傅在磨磚。馬祖問:

“Master, what are you doing?”

“師傅，你在做什麼?”

Huai Rang replied:

懷讓回答:

“I am grinding the brick to make a mirror.”

“磨磚做鏡。”

Ma Zu laughed and said:

馬祖笑着說:

“Can a brick be ground into a mirror?”

“難道磚頭也能磨成鏡子嗎?”

“If a brick cannot be ground into a mirror,”replied Huai Rang, “then can you become a Buddha by sitting in deep meditation?”

懷讓答道:“磚頭不能磨成鏡子，難道你坐禪就能成佛嗎?”

Ma Zu was rather displeased, and said:

馬祖很不高興，說:

“What do you mean?”

“你這是什麼意思?”

Huai Rang explained:

懷讓解釋說:

“For example, an ox pulls a cart, but the cart doesn’t move. Now, you say, should you whip the ox or push the cart?”

“打個比方說，牛拉車，車不動。你說，應該打牛還是推車?”

Ma Zu hummed and hawed but couldn’t answer.

馬祖支支吾吾答不上來。

At this moment, Huai Rang said to him seriously:

這時候，懷讓認真地對他說:

“You learn to sit in meditation in order to become a Buddha.

“你學坐禪是爲了成佛，

In fact,it relies on wisdom and comprehension of the mind to become one,not at all on sitting.

其實，成佛靠的是心靈的穎悟，根本不是坐着能解決的。”

“As for a Buddha, he has no fixed appearance, so the mind cannot fix on any single object.

“而佛呢，沒有固定的相貌，所以心不能停留在任何一種事物上。

If you try to learn Buddhism by sitting in meditation, that would amount to throttling a Buddha.

你想坐禪學佛，也就是殺佛。

If you obstinately dwell on external appearance, you will never comprehend the real Buddhist doctrine.”

你固執着外相，就永遠不能領悟到真正的佛理。”