参禅时，眼观鼻、鼻观口、口观心，这是基本的法则，可以控制心猿意马，不令它向外驰求。在禅堂参禅，不可东张西望，如果前顾后盼，心就跑到外边去了，禅就参不下去。这一点，各位要特别注意！禅七的光阴，非常宝贵，可以说是分秒必争，不能空过，要把握时机来参禅，参禅才能得大智慧。

The basic rule in Chan meditation is: "Let your eyes contemplate your nose; let your nose contemplate your mouth; let your mouth contemplate your mind." This allows us to control the monkey of the mind and rein in the wild horse of our thoughts, so that they stop running outside seeking things. As we sit in the meditation hall, we may not stare left and right, because if we gaze all around, then our mind will wander outside, and we won't be able to investigate Chan. Please pay heed to this point, everyone! The time in a meditation retreat is extremely valuable; you could say that there is not a second to lose. We must seize the time and investigate Chan, because only through this investigation can we attain wisdom.

修道人不要把臭皮囊视为宝贝。没有这种思想，才能用功修道；如果有这种思想，就会做它的奴隶，一天到晚为它服务。所以真正修道的人，将身体视为臭皮囊，不去重视它；如果重视，则成为修道的障碍，所谓“借假修真”，只是方便而已。

Cultivators of the Way should not treat their skin-bag of a body as a treasure. Only people who are free of this idea can apply effort in cultivating the Way. If you treat your body as a precious thing, then you will become its slave and serve its whims all day long. Therefore, genuine cultivators treat the body as a "stinking bag of skin" and don't prize it highly. Valuing the body is an obstacle to cultivation. We should merely "borrow the false to cultivate what is true," and see it as just an expedient means.

在禅堂里，最大的忌讳，就是在参禅中睡觉。一般人参禅，容易犯的两种毛病：一为掉举，一为昏沉；不是打妄想，就是打瞌睡。用功的人，聚精会神在参，绝对不会睡觉。若是入定，另当别论。

The biggest taboo in the Chan Hall is sleeping during meditation. Most meditators have two problems: restlessness and torpor. That is, if they aren't indulging in idle thinking, they'll be dozing off. Those who know how to work hard, however, will be concentrating their energy on their inquiry; they will absolutely not be sleeping. And if they can enter samadhi, then that's another story altogether.

坐禅可以证得正定正受，也就是三昧。若能证得此境界，便会如如不动，了了常明。如何能证得此境界？就要下一番苦功夫，勇猛精进，心无妄想，到一念不生全体现的时候，就找到本来的面目，本地的风光。

Through meditation, you can attain "proper concentration and proper reception," which is samadhi. If you realize this state, then you will be "Thus, thus, unmoving, understanding and perfectly clear." How can you reach this state? You must put in a period of vigorous effort and rid your mind of idle thoughts. Then, "when not even one thought arises, the entire substance comes into view," and you will discover your original face, your fundamental identity.

坐禅的关键，就在念兹在兹参话头。所谓“久参自然开悟”，参到山穷水尽的时候，自然有好消息，柳暗花明的境界便会出现在眼前。有人说：“我参加这么多次禅七，为什么还不开悟？”因为你不能忍耐一切苦，只想开悟。要知道开悟是从积功累德而来，久而久之，功德圆满，自然开悟。可是你一点功德也没有，就想开悟，简直是痴心妄想，癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉，那是办不到的。

The key to meditation is to investigate the meditation topic in thought after thought. A saying goes, "After long-term investigation, you will naturally attain enlightenment." Keep searching until "the mountains vanish and the rivers disappear," and the good news will naturally arrive, and you will experience a state "beyond the shadows of the willows and the vivid blossoms." Someone may say, "I've attended so many retreats; why haven't I become enlightened?" It's because you haven't been able to endure all kinds of suffering with only the wish to become enlightened. You should realize enlightenment comes from the accumulation of merit and virtue. In time, your merit and virtue will become full, and you will naturally attain enlightenment. To wish for enlightenment without creating any merit or virtue is simply vain thinking. As it's said, "A warty frog has no hope of tasting the flesh of the great, white swan." It's simply impossible.