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.

唐朝时，南岳衡山上有一座观音庙，庙宇庄严，香火缭绕。

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.

有一天，禅宗高僧怀让踱进佛殿，一眼看到马祖和尚正端坐在蒲团上，静心合掌，闭目禅定。

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.

怀让知道马祖一心想成佛，暗自好笑。他随手拣来一块青砖，蹲在地上哗啦哗啦地磨了起来。

Ma Zu was vexed¹⁰ by the noise. He opened his eyes to find that it was his own master grinding a brick. He asked:

马祖听得心烦，睁眼一看，原来是自己的师傅在磨砖。马祖问:

"Master, what are you doing?"

“师傅，你在做什么?”

Huai Rang replied:

怀让回答:

"I am grinding the brick to make a mirror."

“磨砖做镜。”

Ma Zu laughed and said:

马祖笑着说:

"Can a brick be ground into a mirror?"

“难道砖头也能磨成镜子吗?”

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

怀让答道:“砖头不能磨成镜子，难道你坐禅就能成佛吗?”

Ma Zu was rather displeased¹¹, and said:

马祖很不高兴，说:

"What do you mean?"

“你这是什么意思?”

Huai Rang explained:

怀让解释说:

"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?"

“打个比方说，牛拉车，车不动。你说，应该打牛还是推车?”

Ma Zu hummed and hawed but couldn't answer.

马祖支支吾吾答不上来。

At this moment, Huai Rang said to him seriously:

这时候，怀让认真地对他说:

"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.

“你学坐禅是为了成佛，其实，成佛靠的是心灵的颖悟，根本不是坐着能解决的。”

"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."

“而佛呢，没有固定的相貌，所以心不能停留在任何一种事物上。你想坐禅学佛，也就是杀佛。你固执着外相，就永远不能领悟到真正的佛理。”