In the Tang Dynasty, there was a Guanyin (Avalokitesvara) Temple on the Southern Mountain of Hengshan. The temple was stately and solemn, with incense1 smoke curling all around.

One day, the eminent2 Monk3 Huai Rang of the Chan sect4 strolled into the temple hall and saw Monk Ma Zu sitting calm and upright on a rush cushion, with his palms put together and his eyes closed in deep meditation5.

Knowing that Ma Zu aspired6 to become a Buddha7, Huai Rang smiled to himself. He picked up a brick at random8, squatted9 on his heels and began to grind it noisily.

Ma Zu was vexed10 by the noise. He opened his eyes to find that it was his own master grinding a brick. He asked: "Master, what are you doing?"

Huai Rang replied: "I am grinding the brick to make a mirror."

Ma Zu laughed and said: "Can a brick be ground into a mirror?"

"If a brick cannot be ground into a mirror," replied Huai Rang, "then can you become a Buddha by sitting in deep meditation?"

Ma Zu was rather displeased11, and said: "What do you mean?"

Huai Rang explained: "For example, an ox pulls a cart, but the cart doesn't move. Now, you say, should you whip the ox or push the cart?"

Ma Zu hummed and hawed but couldn't answer.

At this moment, Huai Rang said to him seriously: "You learn to sit in meditation in order to become a Buddha. In fact, it relies on wisdom and comprehension of the mind to become one, not at all on sitting.

"As for a Buddha, he has no fixed12 appearance, so the mind cannot fix on any single object. If you try to learn Buddhism13 by sitting in meditation, that would amount to throttling14 a Buddha. If you obstinately15 dwell on external appearance, you will never comprehend the real Buddhist16 doctrine17."

唐朝時，南岳衡山上有一座觀音廟，廟宇莊嚴，香火繚繞。

有一天，禪宗高僧懷讓踱進佛殿，一眼看到馬祖和尚正端坐在蒲團上，靜心合掌，閉目禪定。

懷讓知道馬祖一心想成佛，暗自好笑。他隨手揀來一塊青磚，蹲在地上嘩啦嘩啦地磨了起來。

馬祖聽得心煩，睜眼一看，原來是自己的師傅在磨磚。馬祖問：“師傅，你在做什么?”

懷讓回答：“磨磚做鏡。”

馬祖笑著說：“難道磚頭也能磨成鏡子嗎?”

懷讓答道：“磚頭不能磨成鏡子，難道你坐禪就能成佛嗎?”

馬祖很不高興，說：“你這是什么意思?”

懷讓解釋說：“打個比方說，牛拉車，車不動。你說，應該打牛還是推車?”

馬祖支支吾吾答不上來。

這時候，懷讓認真地對他說：“你學坐禪是為了成佛，其實，成佛靠的是心靈的穎悟，根本不是坐著能解決的。”

“而佛呢，沒有固定的相貌，所以心不能停留在任何一種事物上。你想坐禪學佛，也就是殺佛。你固執著外相，就永遠不能領悟到真正的佛理。”

In the Tang Dynasty, there was a Guanyin (Avalokitesvara) Temple on the Southern Mountain of Hengshan. The temple was stately and solemn, with incense1 smoke curling all around.

One day, the eminent2 Monk3 Huai Rang of the Chan sect4 strolled into the temple hall and saw Monk Ma Zu sitting calm and upright on a rush cushion, with his palms put together and his eyes closed in deep meditation5.

Knowing that Ma Zu aspired6 to become a Buddha7, Huai Rang smiled to himself. He picked up a brick at random8, squatted9 on his heels and began to grind it noisily.

Ma Zu was vexed10 by the noise. He opened his eyes to find that it was his own master grinding a brick. He asked: "Master, what are you doing?"

Huai Rang replied: "I am grinding the brick to make a mirror."

Ma Zu laughed and said: "Can a brick be ground into a mirror?"

"If a brick cannot be ground into a mirror," replied Huai Rang, "then can you become a Buddha by sitting in deep meditation?"

Ma Zu was rather displeased11, and said: "What do you mean?"

Huai Rang explained: "For example, an ox pulls a cart, but the cart doesn't move. Now, you say, should you whip the ox or push the cart?"

Ma Zu hummed and hawed but couldn't answer.

At this moment, Huai Rang said to him seriously: "You learn to sit in meditation in order to become a Buddha. In fact, it relies on wisdom and comprehension of the mind to become one, not at all on sitting.

"As for a Buddha, he has no fixed12 appearance, so the mind cannot fix on any single object. If you try to learn Buddhism13 by sitting in meditation, that would amount to throttling14 a Buddha. If you obstinately15 dwell on external appearance, you will never comprehend the real Buddhist16 doctrine17."

唐朝時，南岳衡山上有一座觀音廟，廟宇莊嚴，香火繚繞。

有一天，禪宗高僧懷讓踱進佛殿，一眼看到馬祖和尚正端坐在蒲團上，靜心合掌，閉目禪定。

懷讓知道馬祖一心想成佛，暗自好笑。他隨手揀來一塊青磚，蹲在地上嘩啦嘩啦地磨了起來。

馬祖聽得心煩，睜眼一看，原來是自己的師傅在磨磚。馬祖問：“師傅，你在做什么?”

懷讓回答：“磨磚做鏡。”

馬祖笑著說：“難道磚頭也能磨成鏡子嗎?”

懷讓答道：“磚頭不能磨成鏡子，難道你坐禪就能成佛嗎?”

馬祖很不高興，說：“你這是什么意思?”

懷讓解釋說：“打個比方說，牛拉車，車不動。你說，應該打牛還是推車?”

馬祖支支吾吾答不上來。

這時候，懷讓認真地對他說：“你學坐禪是為了成佛，其實，成佛靠的是心靈的穎悟，根本不是坐著能解決的。”

“而佛呢，沒有固定的相貌，所以心不能停留在任何一種事物上。你想坐禪學佛，也就是殺佛。你固執著外相，就永遠不能領悟到真正的佛理。”