23Think Neither Good Nor Evil不思善惡
六祖因明上座。趁至大庾嶺。祖見明至。即擲衣缽於石上云。此衣表信。可力爭耶。任君將去。明遂舉之如山不動。踟躕悚慄。明曰。我來求法。非為衣也。願行者開示。祖云。不思善不思惡。正與麼時那箇是明上座。本來面目。明當下大悟。遍體汗流。泣淚作禮問曰。上來密語密意外。還更有意旨否。祖曰。我今為汝說者。即非密也。汝若返照自己面目。密卻在汝邊。明云。某甲雖在黃梅隨眾。實未省自己面目。今蒙指授入處。如人飲水冷暖自知。今行者即是某甲師也。祖云。汝若如是。則吾與汝同師黃梅。善自護持。
The monk Huiming chased the Sixth Patriarch all the way to Dayu Ridge. Seeing him come, the Patriarch set the robe and bowl down on a rock and said, "This robe stands for the trust passed down. It's not something to fight over. Take it if you can."
Huiming reached for it, but it would not budge, heavy as a mountain. He froze, shaken.
"I came for the teaching, not the robe," he said. "Please, show me."
The Patriarch said, "Don't think good, don't think evil. Right at this very moment, what is the original face of the monk Huiming, the face you had before your parents were born?"
Huiming woke on the spot, sweat pouring off him. In tears he bowed and asked, "Beyond the secret words and secret meaning you just gave me, is there anything more?"
"What I just told you is no secret," the Patriarch said. "Turn the light around onto your own face, and the secret is right there with you."
Huiming said, "I trained at Huangmei with everyone else, but I never truly saw my own face. Now you've pointed me to the way in. It's like drinking water: only you know whether it's cold or warm. You are my teacher now."
The Patriarch said, "If that's how it is, then you and I share the same teacher at Huangmei. Guard it well."
Wumen's Comment 無門曰
六祖可謂。是事出急家。老婆心切。譬如新荔支剝了殼。去了核送在爾口裏。只要爾嚥一嚥。
You have to hand it to the Sixth Patriarch. This was an emergency, and still he was all grandmotherly tenderness. It's like peeling a fresh lychee, popping out the pit, and laying it on your tongue. All you have to do is swallow.