禪門三喝3 The Three Shouts of Zen3

 禪門三喝3

下面公案

是對禪學有心得的學習者，對挑滿經文趕路的修行者當頭ㄧ喝。

這只是說：請問這佛學知識怎麼使出來?

半寄

「指月錄-婆子點心

　在往澧陽途中，德山禪師遇見一位賣餅的婆子，便卸下擔子想買點心充飢。婆子指著擔子問：「這個是什麼文字？」師曰：「《青龍疏鈔》。」婆子又問：「講的是什麼經？」師曰：「《金剛經》。」

婆子便說：「我有一問，你若答得出來，就施與點心。

若答不得，且別處去。《金剛經》道：『過去心不可得，現在心不可得，未來心不可得。』

不知上座點的是哪個心？」

師當下無言以對，遂挑起擔子，往澧陽參謁龍潭崇信禪師。

見燭吹滅　豁然大悟

　　抵達龍潭崇信禪師的道場，德山禪師走到法堂開口便道：

「久嚮龍潭，及乎到來，潭又不見，龍又不現。」

龍潭禪師引身說道：「子親到龍潭。」

德山禪師聞言但未領要旨，

便留在龍潭禪師座下參學。

一晚，德山禪師侍立在龍潭禪師身旁，龍潭禪師說：

「夜深了，何不回去休息？」德山禪師向龍潭禪師道了珍重，轉身便往外走。

剛走出去，又退回來說：「外面天黑。」龍潭禪師點了一支紙燭遞給德山禪師。

德山禪師正準備接手，龍潭禪師立刻將紙燭吹滅。

德山禪師當下豁然大悟，便朝龍潭禪師禮拜。

龍潭禪師問：「子(你)見個什麼？」德山禪師回答：「從今向去，更不疑天下老和尚舌頭也。」

　　次日，龍潭禪師陞座向大眾說：「可中有個漢，牙如劍樹，口似血盆，一棒打不回頭。

他時向孤峰頂上，立吾道去在！」

「 Ai給的答案

這則公案對那些將「地圖」誤認為「疆域」的學習者來說，是一記響亮的「當頭一喝」。

它為修行者提供了三個層次的啟發：

1. 概念化的陷阱（婆子的提問）
婆子的謎題揭示了佛學研究的悖論。德山在知識層面精通《金剛經》，但他的靈魂依然「飢餓」。
• 啟發： 關於「空性」的知識不等於「空性」的體驗。

如果心是「不可得」的（過去、現在、未來皆無法捕捉），那麼企圖用文字去「定格」或「點亮」這個心，本身就是徒勞的。

2. 言語之外的傳承（吹燭）
當龍潭吹滅蠟燭時，他摧毀了德山對「外在光明」（經文、導師、邏輯清晰度）的依賴。
• 啟發： 真正的覺醒往往發生在「理性的光」熄滅之時。在絕對的黑暗中，德山無法再向外看，只能回歸自性。這就是禪宗的「直指人心」。

3. 焚經的勇氣
德山的焚經並非否定佛經本身，而是否定對經文的「執著」。
• 啟發： 正如他所說，再精妙的辯證法在虛空面前也只是一根毫毛。與現實的直接體驗相比，文字是極其微小的。這提醒修行者：要藉由「指頭」去看「月亮」，但絕對不要把指頭當成月亮。」

The Three Shouts of Zen3

"The following case serves as a 'thunderous shout' to students of Zen, particularly those practitioners preoccupied with the literal weight of scriptures. Its essence is this: How does one manifest this Buddhist knowledge in reality?"

Master Banji

This famous Koan follows the transformation of Master Deshan (formerly a scholar-monk known for his mastery of the Diamond Sutra) from a man of "words and letters" to a man of "direct realization."
Here is a translation tailored for English speakers and practitioners, followed by an analysis of the Buddhist insights it provides.

The Koan: Deshan and the Blown-Out Candle
I. The Old Woman by the Roadside
On his way to Liyang, Master Deshan—carrying a heavy load of his own commentaries on the Diamond Sutra—stopped to buy some rice cakes (known in Chinese as dianxin, literally "dotting the heart") to ease his hunger.

An old woman selling the cakes pointed at his bundles and asked, "What writings are those?"
Deshan replied, "The Qinglong Commentaries on the Diamond Sutra."
The woman asked, "And what is the core teaching of that Sutra?"
Deshan said, "The Diamond Sutra."

The woman smiled and said, "I have one question. If you can answer it, I will give you the cakes for free. If you cannot, you must go elsewhere. The Diamond Sutra says: 'The past heart-mind cannot be grasped, the present heart-mind cannot be grasped, and the future heart-mind cannot be grasped.' I wonder, O Scholar, which 'heart' are you planning to 'dot' today?"

Deshan was struck silent. Unable to utter a word, he picked up his burdens and headed for the monastery of Master Longtan.

II. No Dragon, No Pond
Upon arriving, Deshan walked into the Dharma Hall and declared, "I have long heard of 'Dragon Pond' (Longtan), but now that I am here, I see no pond, and no dragon appears!"
Master Longtan looked up and said simply, "You have truly arrived at Dragon Pond."
Deshan didn't quite grasp the meaning, but he decided to stay and study.

III. The Blown-Out Candle
One evening, while Deshan was standing in attendance, Longtan said, "It is late. Why don't you go back and rest?"
Deshan bid him goodnight and walked out. A moment later, he returned, saying, "It is pitch black outside."
Longtan lit a paper candle and handed it to Deshan. Just as Deshan reached out to take it, Longtan leaned forward and blew it out.
In that sudden darkness, Deshan attained Great Enlightenment. He immediately bowed to the Master.

Longtan asked, "What did you see?"
Deshan replied, "From this day forward, I will never again doubt the words of the old Zen masters."
IV. The Great Bonfire
The next day, Longtan told the assembly: "There is a man among us whose teeth are like a forest of swords and whose mouth is like a bowl of blood. You could hit him with a stick and he wouldn't turn his head. One day, he will stand on a solitary peak and establish our Way!"
Deshan then brought his massive piles of commentaries to the front of the hall. He raised a torch and declared:

> "Exhausting all subtle dialectics is like placing a single hair in the Great Void. Exhausting all the world’s vital mechanisms is like dropping a single point of water into a vast canyon."
>
With that, he set his books on fire, watched them turn to ash, and departed for Guishan.
Insights: What Buddhist "Knowledge" is Produced?
This Koan serves as a "thunderclap" (当头一喝) for those who mistake the map for the territory. It produces three specific levels of insight for practitioners:

1. The Trap of Conceptualization (The Old Woman's Question)
The old woman’s riddle highlights the paradox of Buddhist study. Deshan knew the Diamond Sutra intellectually, but he was "hungry"—both physically and spiritually.
* The Insight: Knowledge about "emptiness" (Sunyata) is not the same as the experience of it. If the mind is "ungraspable" (past, present, and future), then using a book to "fix" or "dot" the mind is an exercise in futility.

2. The Transmission Beyond Words (The Candle)
When Longtan blew out the candle, he destroyed Deshan's reliance on external "light" (scriptures, teachers, and intellectual clarity).
* The Insight: True realization often happens when the "intellectual light" is extinguished. In the total darkness, Deshan could no longer look at the candle; he had to rely on his own innate Buddha-nature. This is the "direct pointing" of Zen.

3. The "Burning" of the Commentaries

Deshan's final act isn't a rejection of the Sutras themselves, but a rejection of attachment to them.

* The Insight: As he noted, even the most profound philosophy is just "a hair in the Great Void." Compared to the direct experience of reality, words are infinitesimally small. This encourages practitioners to use the "finger" (teaching) to see the "moon" (truth), but to never mistake the finger for the moon.