從愛心出發

有一次一位弟子問趙州禪師：「師父，如果現在我心裡什麼都沒有了，該怎麼辦？」他意思說他的心已經空了，完全放下，不再有任何欲望和貪求。趙州說：「丟掉它！」但那位徒弟很堅持地說：「可是我已經什麼都沒有了，還要丟掉什麼？」趙州回答：「好！那就留著吧！」（師父與大眾笑）

那位徒弟說他已經什麼都沒有了，卻還是那麼堅持，所以師父才說：「好吧，那就留著啊！」其實他要丟掉的東西還多得很！許多人自認為心已經空了、得道、成佛了，認為自己沒有任何欲望，什麼都空了，他們穿出家人的衣服，把頭髮剃掉，就認為已經是「四大皆空」了，不過事實並非如此。

「空」不是外表的形式，而是來自內邊。只要還知道自己心念已空，就還不空，因為你還有「知道」，禪味還很重，也就是所謂的「禪病」。如果你有這種毛病，最好去看醫生，把它治好。

當我們還是凡夫的時候，知道得不多，我們曉得自己不知道。不過，打坐修行了一段時間以後，我們會認為自己知道了。但是再修行一段時間，我們又會認為自己不知道，這時候不知道才是最好的，才是最知道的。因為如果我們的頭腦還塞著滿滿的知識學問，自以為知道，那表示還只是在半路而已。

所以事實上，我對你們的所有開示，都只是為了讓你們開心，大家一起打發時間罷了，這樣你們回家以後，你們的心裡、感情和頭腦，才會覺得有從師父那裡得到一些東西。不過這些都是垃圾，不管漂亮的垃圾或不好的垃圾，都一樣是垃圾。你們是從內邊獲得領悟，不是從我講的話。當然，有時候在某些情況下，我的鼓勵和提醒或許可以安慰你，或是讓你改變一些不好的個性，不過這不是開悟。

開悟和個性、好壞、道德或缺點，一點關係也沒有，開悟就是回復到我們單純的本性；我們本性從來不改變，從未變好，從未變壞，不曾無明，也不需要再開悟，它一直在那裡，過去、現在和未來都在。

我對你們所作的開示，包括這些故事和解釋，以及我所謂的世俗的知識，都只是為了好玩，讓我們多交流，增加相聚時的樂趣。不過，別帶太多「垃圾」在身上，這些並不是真正的教理。真正的教理不用語言，而且你們都能了解，你們從內邊了解得很清楚、很透澈，不需要任何解釋和對話。不過現在我們暫時還是要把戲演好，這樣我才有事可做，你們也才有理由來這裡，然後把一些美好的記憶帶回家，如此而已。 

A student once asked Zen Master Joshua, “Master, if I have nothing in my mind now, what shall I do now?” He meant that his mind was already empty, relaxed and without desire, lust or want of anything anymore. And the Master replied, “Throw it away!”

But the student insisted, saying, “I have nothing, Master! So how can I throw it away?” And the Master answered, “OK, then, keep it!” (Master and everyone laugh.) The student said that he had nothing, but then he insisted so much. So, the Master said, “OK, then keep it.” He had too much to throw out.

Many people think that they’re empty and that they’ve attained the Tao or realized Buddhahood and so on. They think they have no more desires - nothing, nothing, nothing - and that since they wear baggy clothes and shave their head, they’re OK, meaning they’re all empty.

But actually, it’s not so. Emptiness is not from the outside; it’s from within. So as soon as you realize that you’re empty, you’re not because there’s still a realization there. And the Zen smell is very strong. People call it “Zen sickness.” So in case you have that, you’d better go see a doctor and have it removed.

When we’re just ordinary people, we don’t know so much and we know we don’t know. Yet as soon as we meditate for just a short time, we think we do know. But after some more time, we know we don’t know again. So that’s the best time, when we don’t know; that’s the time when we do know best. Because if we’re still full of knowledge and knowing and so on, it means we’re really still only half-way realized.

So actually, all the things I’m telling you are just to amuse you and to pass our time together so that when you go home you feel that your emotions, your human mind and heart, have gotten something from the Master. But all this is garbage: Whether beautiful garbage or bad garbage, it’s all garbage. The things you realize are inside, not from my words. Of course my words of encouragement and reminders perhaps sometimes help comfort you in some situations and help change some of your undesirable personality traits. But that’s not enlightenment.

Enlightenment has nothing to do with personality, good or bad, moral or imperfect. Enlightenment is just our pure Self; it never changes, never becomes better, never becomes worse, has never been ignorant and never has to become enlightened again. It’s always there. It has always been, it will always be and it is now.

All these stories and explanations and all my so-called secular knowledge are just for amusement, just so that we have contact with each other on a personal level and so that we’re happier together. But don’t carry too much garbage with you; that’s not the true teaching. The true teaching is always without language, and you always know it. You know it inside: precisely, perfectly, without any explaining and without any words exchanged. But meanwhile, we both have to pretend. We need all this so that I have a job to do, so that you have a reason to come and you have some good memories to bring home with you. That’s all.