黃檗禪師一次遊天台山時，遇一同參，兩人談笑一如故人。他們走到一條小溪，正好溪水暴漲，同參叫黃檗一起渡河，黃檗便說：「老兄！溪水這麼深，過得去嗎？」
同參提高褲腳過河，就好像在平地行走一樣自然，邊走還邊回過頭說：「來呀！來呀！」黃檗呵斥：「你這自了漢！我若早知你是有神通的小乘人，就把你的腳跟砍斷。」同參聽他這麼說，深受感動，讚歎道：「你真是大乘法器，我不如你啊！」說著，便消失不見。
佛教有大小乘，小乘重自度，大乘重度他；小乘聖者，縱然得道，也不及初發心的大乘行者。 自己未度，先能度人，才是菩薩發心。黃檗斥其自了漢，難怪小乘聖者感動，並讚歎為大乘法器了。

Once, when Chan Master Huangbo made a trip to Mount Tiantai, he ran into a fellow practitioner. The two of them talked and laughed like old friends, as they strolled to the bank of a stream. All of a sudden, the water began to rise rapidly. The practitioner called on Huangbo to cross it with him. Huangbo replied, “My dear friend, the water is quite deep. Can it be crossed?”
The practitioner rolled up his pants and crossed as easily as if he were walking on dry ground. Looking back at Huangbo, he urged, “Come! Come!” Huangbo yelled, “Hey! Had I known that you were a self-liberating practitioner with supernatural powers, I would have broken your heels.” Chastened by this remark, the practitioner sighed, “You truly are a great vessel of the Dharma. I am not your equal!” Then he vanished.
Buddhism is divided into the Great Vehicle, which stresses liberation of others, and the Small Vehicle, which promotes self-liberation. The Bodhisattva vow epitomizes first approach: “Though I have not yet attained liberation, I dedicate myself above all to the liberation of others.” Sages who think only of self-liberation, even if they attain the Way, are inferior to practitioners who vow to liberate others. Naturally, Huangbo’s rebuke of his self-liberating colleague moved that sage to exalt Huangbo as the great vessel of the Dharma.

上一則 回總覽頁 下一則