19True Buddha, True Dharma, True Way

問：「如何是真佛？真法？真道？乞垂開示。」師云：「佛者，心清淨是；法者，心光明是；道者，處處無礙淨光是。三即一，皆是空名，而無寔有。如真正學道人，念念心不間斷。自達磨大師從西土來，秖是覓箇不受人惑底人。後遇二祖，一言便了，始知從前虛用功夫。山僧今日見處，與祖佛不別。若第一句中得，與祖佛為師；若第二句中得，與人天為師；若第三句中得，自救不了。」

A monk asked, "What is the true Buddha? The true Dharma? The true Way? Please show me."

Linji said, "Buddha is mind, pure and clear. Dharma is mind, full of light. The Way is that pure light shining everywhere, nothing in its path. The three are one, and all three are empty names. Nothing is actually there.

"A real student of the Way keeps his mind awake thought after thought, never a gap.

"When Bodhidharma came from the West, all he sought was one person who couldn't be fooled by anyone. He found the Second Patriarch. One word, and it was done. Only then did the man see that all his earlier effort had been wasted.

"What I see today is no different from what the patriarchs and buddhas saw. Catch it at the first line, and you can teach patriarchs and buddhas. Catch it at the second, and you can teach humans and gods. Catch it at the third, and you can't even save yourself."

Pointer

A monk lobs a softball, define the three big holy words: Buddha, Dharma, the Way. Linji defines them cleanly (clear mind, lit-up mind, light shining everywhere) and in the same breath yanks the rug, they're "empty names, nothing actually there." That double move is the thing to watch, he hands you the answer and tells you not to clutch it. Bodhidharma is the monk who legendarily carried Zen from India to China, and the "Second Patriarch" is the heir who "got it" from a single word, Linji's point being that all the man's striving beforehand was wasted motion. The closing scorecard ("first line, second line, third line") ranks how fast you catch on: nail it instantly and you out-teach the buddhas, need it spelled out and you can't save yourself. It is a quiet dig at the very monk who just asked him to spell it out. He'll run the Bodhidharma question itself in the next case (20).