The Myriad Dharmas Returning to the One,
Attaining the Liberation from Birth and Death
万法归一 死生自由
At this point, if I wanted to discuss this Dharma, the meanings would be infinite and boundless. Those few words of Dharma that Patriarch Bodhidharma spoke to Dharma Master Shen Guang were ineffably wonderful. Let these few sentences suffice to describe the event:
认真讲起来，法是无量无边的，达摩祖师对神光法师所说的法，也是妙不可言的，所以才有这么几句话：
The myriad dharmas return to the one;
the one returns to unity.
Shen Guang, having not yet understood,
ran after Bodhidharma.
At Bear's Ear Mountain he knelt before him for nine years,
Seeking a little something to escape King Yama.
万法归一一归合 神光不明赶达摩
熊耳山前跪九载 只求一点躲阎罗
A single source disperses into myriad differences.
Myriad differences return to a single source.
Well, if the myriad dharmas return to one, where does the one return? And how does one become unity? The character for unity (合) is composed of a person (人), the number one (一), and a mouth (口). Beneath the person is a one, and beneath the one is a mouth. Put together, they make unity. In cultivation, we should cultivate one Dharma door. The myriad dharmas return to the one; the one returns to unity. Unity can also be equated to zero (○).
“万法归一一归合”，万法都归于一，所谓“一本散为万殊，万殊仍归一本”。万法归一，一又归到什么地方？一，又要合起来。“合”本来是人一口，“人”字底下加个“一”字，再加“口”，那就合起来了。这合起来了，就是修道要修的一个法门──万法归一一归合。这个“合”字，又可以说是那个○字。
Shen Guang, having not yet understood, ran after Bodhidharma. At first, Dharma Master Shen Guang did not understand the meaning of unity, and so he pursued Patriarch Bodhidharma.
“神光不明赶达摩”，神光法师当初不懂这个“合”字的意思，所以就去追赶达摩祖师。
At Bear's Ear Mountain he knelt before him for nine years. He knelt for nine years at Bear's Ear Mountain. Not to speak of nine years, we can't even manage to kneel for nine hours.
“熊耳山前跪九载”，他在熊耳山跪了九年。我们不要说跪九年，我曾说过连跪九个钟头都没有。
Seeking a little something to escape King Yama. All he wanted was for Patriarch Bodhidharma to point out something to him; he wanted to know how to cultivate, how to be able to end birth and death and get out of the cycle of rebirth. He wanted to know how to get beyond King Yama's jurisdiction. That's what he wanted.
“只求一点躲阎罗”，只求达摩祖师指点他这一点点，告诉他怎样修行，怎样了生死、脱轮回，怎样能阎罗王管不着，求这个。
This has been a description of some of the events that transpired when Dharma Master Shen Guang encountered Patriarch Bodhidharma.Once before when I spoke this public record, a child who heard it was delighted and asked me, "During the nine years Dharma Master Shen Guang knelt, did he eat or not?"
The child thought up a question about eating probably because he liked to eat and was afraid of getting hungry. If he didn't fear getting hungry, he could also try kneeling for nine years. Anyway, he first had to ask if the Dharma Master got to eat while he knelt for nine years.
I replied, "Of course he ate! How could anyone go nine years without eating and still live? When it was time to eat he could get up and eat. When he needed to relieve himself, he could get up and relieve himself. When the Patriarch ate, he ate, too. When the Patriarch meditated, he knelt. It's true he knelt for nine years seeking the Dharma. It's just that the records don't give all the details of his lifestyle."
以前我讲这个公案时，有一个小孩子听得很高兴，就问我：“那么神光法师在那儿跪着，他九年有没有吃饭？”这小孩子就想起问有没有吃饭，他大约就欢喜吃饭，就怕饿着；他若不怕饿着，他也可以跪九年。那么他先问问这九年有没有吃饭，当时我答覆他：“当然有吃饭啦！在这九年如果不吃饭，怎么可以活着？他到吃饭时可以起来去吃饭嘛！到大小便时又可以起身去大小便嘛！就是达摩祖师吃饭时，他也吃饭；达摩祖师打坐时，他就跪着。”他是九年都跪在那儿求法，可是在书上没有记载详情，我也没有讲明这个问题。
