Foyan - Seeing
師云：看見了，不柰何者多。既看見，如何却不柰何？祇為不識，所以不柰何。若看見識得，便柰何得也。然發心參禪便要會得，誰不願樂？祇為無箇入處，又強會不得。一切處不契合，一切處緣差，用力取不得。良久，云：你十二時中行住坐臥、折旋俯仰種種事業，一切處有超佛越祖底事，祇是你纔要解會時已無也。真箇是無也，你擬湊泊已背了也。所以道：看見祇是不柰何。莫是不擬心、不起解會時得麼？展轉更是不得也。會尚不得，豈況不會？若是靈利底人，纔聞山僧說向你，便能大開眼見得，豈不是沒量大人？向道：是法非思量分別之所能解。又道：智不到處。若不如此，爭稱佛法？而今兄弟家祇是呈箇解會、呈箇見處作道理，何曾解恁麼來？何曾得到恁麼田地來？若是有道種性底人肯恁麼去覷，
須是深深地體究、密密地看詳，忽然柰何得，便無疑情也。 你等不明，祇為十二時中被雜念奪將去也。葢為你要學事業，見物便愛，見文字便愛，尋逐時便緣將去也，道業何由得辦？凡學事業，人各有時，三十已上便不可學也。學亦難成，學得又何用？若己事辦去，學亦得在，葢已點化了也。若己事辦，又豈肯學也？若二十上下猶可學，若是靈利念生死之人，亦不肯學也。又凡是參禪，須是心地平直，心口相應，心言直故。如是始終地位，無委曲相，莫道我會也，我柰何得也。若柰何得，那裏更去問人也？你纔說會禪也，人覷你脚手，看你說話，所為底事，因甚却道者箇如何，那箇如何？既是會禪，又却是爭無明也？祇如道默耀韜光是如何？藏名晦跡又如何？不異人心是道又如何？各自省緣，莫說是非，且如行住坐臥、進退俯仰，一切處皆是超佛越祖。山前水牯牛有佛法，你纔尋究則已無也，何不恁麼識取？久立。
There are many who have seen it but still can’t do anything about it. Since they have seen it, why is it that they can’t do anything about it? It is as simple as; they do not recognize what they have seen. This is why they can’t do anything about it. If they have seen it and recognized what they have seen, then they could do something about it.
When people decide to study Zen, they want to understand it. Who wouldn’t celebrate this? The problem is that there is simply nowhere to start and no way to force an understanding. They are out of sync with everything everywhere, it all goes wrong, and no amount of effort can grasp it.
After a long silence: Throughout all the hours of the day, while walking, standing, sitting, lying down, turning, bending, bowing, or looking up or down, in any activity, in every situation there is something which surpasses the Buddha and transcends the Patriarchs. It is just that the very moment you try to conceptualize and understand it, it is already gone. Truly it is gone! The very instant you try to approach it you have already turned your back on it.
This is why it is said “Even if you see it, you simply can’t doing anything about it.”
Maybe not thinking about it and not trying to understand it will lead to attaining it? This turning around and twisting about makes it even more impossible! If even “attaining” is impossible, how much more is “not attaining?” If you are a sharp-witted person the moment you hear me say this, you will open up your eyes wide and see it. Wouldn’t that make you a person of immeasurable capacity?
It is said: “This Dharma can’t be understood with thought, calculation, or discrimination.”
It is also said: “It is in a place where wisdom cannot reach.”
How else could it be called “Buddhadharma?”
Yet nowadays you all only present your conceptual understandings or offer some 'view' as a rational explanation. When have you ever truly understood the Way? When have you ever reached such a place?
If someone with the seed of the Way is willing to delve into it like this, they must deeply and thoroughly investigate it, carefully examine it in secret. Suddenly, when they are able to handle it, all doubts will vanish.
The only reason you remain unenlightened is simply because throughout the 24 hours for the day you are snatched up by distracting thoughts. You want to pursue worldly things/skills. The moment you see an object, you fall in love with it. The moment you see written words you are obsessed. While chasing after them you are snatched away by conditions. How can the work of the Way ever be accomplished like this?
When it comes to studying and gaining skills in the real world, there is always a proper time and place for everyone. Once you are older than thirty, you should be done with study and learning new skills. Even if you study, it is hard to learn, and even if you do master it, what good does it do you? If you have managed to make a living for yourself, then study is possible, because you have already been transformed by life. But if you have truly settled the great matter of yourself - why would you go looking for more to learn? Around the age of twenty, one may still study worldly concerns, but if you are sharp-witted and mindful of the issue of life and death, you will not be willing to pursue them either.
Anyway, when you investigate Zen, the mind-ground must be kept level and straight. The mouth must correspond to the heart, because one's speech must be kept straightforward. From beginning to end, there is no crookedness at any stage.
Do not say, “I understand.” or “I can handle it.”
If you can handle it why run around asking other people?
The moment you declare: “I understand Zen,” people watch what you do, where you go, and study your words. Why do you still ask about “this” and “that?” Since you already understand Zen, why are you still pleading ignorance?
Consider the following phrases:
“What is ‘silent radiance, hidden brilliance’?”
“What is ‘concealing one’s name, hiding one’s traces’?”
“What is ‘the mind that is not different from ordinary people is the Way’?”
Each of you should examine your own conditions and stop discussing right and wrong. As for walking, standing, sitting, lying down, turning, bending, bowing, or looking up or down, in all places, everything is already surpassing Buddha and transcending Patriarchs. The water buffalo before the mountain has the Buddhadharma. But the moment you start to search and investigate, it is already gone.
Why not recognize it just like this?
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I just put the Chinese into three different llm's and directly typed up the most coherent version I could between a reading of all three. This was as much about seeing if this is a usable method or not. I'm frankly not convinced that Foyan is any more or less interesting than any other Zen master. (Well, I mean Zihu is pretty interesting.) What I mean is, I'm not really interested in working through all of Foyan's material, unless you guys are. I'm doing this because it is a lot of fun for me. But still, I really don't understand why Cleary was trying to make these lectures mysterious and opaque.