大師向一位弟子說：「你很以自己的聰明智慧為豪，就好比一個囚犯向他人誇耀他的牢房是如何的寬敞。」
IMPRISONMENT
“You are so proud of your intelligence.” said the Master to a disciple. “You are like
the condemned man who is proud of the vastness of his prison cell.”
Category: 慧眼禪心
流言
一位弟子承認他有傳佈流言的壞毛病。
大師毫不容情地說：「若只是傳佈，還不算太糟，恐怕你還免不了加油添醋吧！」
GOSSIP
A disciple confessed his bad habit of repeating gossip.
Said the Master wickedly. “Repeating it wouldn’t be so bad if you did not improve on
it.”
精神解脫
大師認為，只要運用得當，任何話本身都不是壞的。
當他獲悉，有位弟子很喜歡賭咒發誓，就說：「卽使是詛咒，有時也可帶來祈禱所無法獲得的精神解脫。」
SPIRITUAL RELIEF
The Master held that no words were bad if they were used in an appropriate context.
When he was told that one of his disciples was given to swearing, he remarked,
“Profanity has been known to offer spiritual relief denied to prayer.”
言談
弟子迫不及待地想把市集上聽來的傳言禀告師父。
大師說：「稍等！你所要告訴我的是真有其事？」
「我不這麼想。」
「它很有用？」
「並沒有什麼用。」
「它很有趣？」
「不！」
「那我們為什麼要聽它呢？」
SPEECH
The disciple couldn’t wait to tell the Master the rumour he had heard in the
marketplace.
“Wait a minute,” said the Master, “What you plan to-tell us is it true?”
“I don’t think it is.”
“Is it useful?”
“No. it isn’t.”
“Is it funny?”
“No.”
“Then why should we be hearing it?”
實情
有囘，一位賭徒向大師說：「昨天我玩牌時，作了手腳，被發現了，牌友揍了我一頓，還把我攆出窗外。你認為我該怎麼辦？」
大師深深望了此人一眼，答道：「如果我是你，從現在起，我會盡量在樓下打牌。」
弟子們聽之一怔：「你為什麼不乾脆勸他戒賭？」
大師簡單而睿智的答覆是：「因為我知道他辦不到。」
REALISM
A gambler once said to the Master. “I was caught cheating at cards yesterday so my
partners beat me up and threw me out of the window. What would you advise me to do?”
The Master looked straight through the man and said, “If I were you, from now on I
would play on the ground floor.”
This startled the disciples. “Why didn’t you tell him to stop gambling?” they
demanded.
“Because I knew he wouldn’t.” was the Master’s simple and sagacious explanation.
夢 魘
「我如何才能獲得永生？」
「永生卽在眼前，只需囘到現在。」
「我目前不正在現在嗎？」
「不！」
「為什麼？」
「因為你尚未捨離過去。」
「我的過去並沒有什麼不好，為什麼要捨離？」
「過去的事應該捨離，不是因為它有什麼不好，而是因為它已經過去了。」
ILLUSION
“How shall I attain Eternal Life?”
“Eternal Life is now. Come into the present.”
“But I am in the present now, am I not?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you haven’t dropped your past.”
“Why should I drop my past? Not all of it is bad.”
“The past is to be dropped not because it is bad but because it is dead.”
密室
弟子請示智慧之言。
大師說：「囘去，安坐在你的密室內，它會啟示你智慧。」
「我又不是僧侶，那來的密室。」
「你當然有一座密室，往內瞧！」
INTERIORITY
The disciple asked for a word of wisdom.
Said the Master, “Go sit within your cell and your cell will teach you wisdom.”
‘But I have no cell. I am no monk .”
‘Of course you have a cell. Look within.”
深 處
大師告訴一位商人：「魚兒無法在乾旱的陸地上生存，你也無法在世界的纏縛中生活；正如魚兒必須囘歸大海，你也必須囘歸寂靜。」
商人聞之一怔：「難道我必須放棄事業，加入隱修會？」
「不！不！你可以繼續你的事業，同時，囘歸你的心靈深處。」
DEPTH
Said the Master to the businessman; “As the fish perishes on dry land, so you perish
when you get entangled in the world. The fish must return to the water — you must
return to solitude.”
The businessman was aghast. “Must I give up my business and go into a monastery?”
“No. no. Hold on to your business and go into your heart.”
臨 在
「我由何處纔能覓得悟境？」
「這裏。」
「它什麼時候才會來臨？」
「現在。」
「那麼為什麼我體驗不到？」
「因為你根本沒有看。」
「我應注意什麼？」
「什麼也別注意，只是看。」
「看什麼？」
「你眼光所落之處。」
「我是否應以特殊的方法看？」
「不必，平常心卽可。」
「但我平常不都是這樣看嗎？」
「你並沒有。」
「為什麼？」
「因為你必須『在』才能看，而你大部分時間都心不在焉。」
PRESENCE
“Where shall I look for Enlightenment?”
“Here.”
“When will it happen?”
“It is happening right now.”
“Then why don’t I experience it?”
“Because you do not look.”
“What should I look for?”
“Nothing. Just look.”
“At what?”
“Anything your eyes alight upon.”
“Must I look in a special kind of way?”
“No. The ordinary way will do.”
“But don‘t I always look the ordinary way?”
“No.”
“Why ever not?”
“Because to look you must be here.
You ‘re mostly somewhere else.”
覺 照
「我該怎麼做，才能明心見性？」
「就如同你無法使旭日東昇，對於至高的悟境，你也一無所能。」
「那您所教導的修持方法又有何用？」
「只是讓你在旭日東昇的那一刻，別睡着了。」
VIGILANCE
“Is there anything I can do to make myself Enlightened?”
“As little as you can do to make the sun rise in the morning.”
“Then of what use are the spiritual exercises you prescribe?”
“To make sure you are not asleep when the sun begins to rise.”