CHIN 2081 · Individual practice · 40 min

Assignment: Three Zen Encounters

作業說明：心佛三禪機

Your name

This is your own work, not a group answer. It saves automatically. There is no word limit.這是你個人的作業，會自動存檔。沒有字數限制。

This activity takes 40 minutes.

Intro + Encounter 1: 15 min · Encounter 2: 10 min · Encounter 3: 10 min · Closing: 5 min

You can keep working after class. This is the 10/16 Assignment. Submit by Thursday, Oct 22, 11:00 PM ET.下課後可繼續完成，這是 10/16 Assignment。星期四（10/22）晚上 11:00（美東）前交。

Introwith Encounter 1: 15 min

This assignment has three stages. You will practice seeing how you yourself understand and how you judge. The structure of the three encounters comes from the encounter between Mazu Daoyi and Damei Fachang. This is a version reinterpreted for teaching, not the original meaning of the koan.這份作業分成三個階段，練習看見自己怎麼理解、怎麼判斷。三禪機的架構取自馬祖道一與大梅法常的機緣。這是為教學重新詮釋的版本，不是公案的原義。

Choose one situation you have actually encountered recently: a discussion where you got stuck, a person or event you reacted strongly to, or a question you judged very quickly. Write all three encounters around this same situation. Answer with concrete experience, not just explanations of concepts.請選一個你最近真實遇到的情境：一次讓你卡住的討論、一個讓你有強烈反應的人或事件、一個你很快就下了判斷的問題。三禪機都圍繞同一個情境寫。請用具體經驗回答，不要只解釋概念。

Read the koan: The Plum Is Ripe →

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Encounter 1 · “This very mind is Buddha”: Turning the mind back to its root, not chasing the branchespart of the opening 15 min

禪機一「即心即佛」：迴心達本

Turn the light around. Come back to yourself.

3:00

A bell will sound when the time is up.

Background: When Fachang first met Mazu, he asked, “What is Buddha?” Mazu answered, “Mind is Buddha” (即心是佛), and the master awoke at once. Later, in a sermon, he said: “All of you, each turn your mind back to reach the root, and do not chase the branches. … If you wish to know the root, simply understand your own mind.” The “root” is not some correct view; it is the mind from which every view arises. The “branches” are the people, events, and sayings the mind chases outward. Meditative Humanities translates this into a reflexive starting point for education: don’t rush to decide what this thing is; first see how you yourself are seeing it right now.背景：法常初見馬祖，問「如何是佛」，馬祖答「即心是佛」，師即大悟。他後來上堂說：「汝等諸人，各自迴心達本，莫逐其末……若欲識本，唯了自心。」「本」不是某個正確的看法，而是一切看法由之生起的心；「末」是心向外追逐的人、事與說法。冥觀人文學將此轉譯為返身的教育起點：不急著判定這件事是什麼，先看見自己此刻怎樣在看它。

Your tasks你的任務

1. Describe this situation. Don’t look anything up yet, and don’t ask AI.1. 描述這個情境。先不要查資料，也不要問 AI。2. Write down your first reactions at the time: What did you notice? How did you understand it? How did you judge it?2. 寫下你當時最先的反應：你注意到什麼？你怎麼理解？你怎麼判斷？3. Look back: what was carrying your attention along at the time? Some of these reactions seem to be your own; some come from other people, authorities, or ready-made answers. Whatever their source, they all arose in you. Try turning from “what is this?” back to “how am I seeing it right now?”, and write down what you see.3. 回頭看：當時你的注意力被什麼帶著走？這些反應有的像是你自己的，有的來自別人、權威或現成答案；不論來源，它們都在你身上生起。試著從「這件事是什麼」轉回「我正怎樣看它」，寫下你看到的。Core question 核心問題How am I taking part in forming this understanding?我如何親身參與理解？

Encounter 2 · “Not mind, not Buddha”: Not dwelling in views10 min

禪機二「非心非佛」：不住知見

Hold your situation. Don't explain it.

3:00

A bell will sound when the time is up.

Your situation from Encounter 1 （你在禪機一描述的情境）

(Describe your situation in Encounter 1 first. 請先在禪機一描述你的情境。)

Background: Mazu later began saying “Not mind, not Buddha,” and sent a monk to Damei to test whether Damei’s “this very mind is Buddha” would turn along with the teacher’s new saying. Mazu himself explained why he had said “this very mind is Buddha”: “To stop a small child’s crying.” Asked, “What about when the crying has stopped?”, he said, “Not mind, not Buddha.” (Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, fasc. 6, Mazu chapter.) A saying is medicine for a moment, not a place to settle. Meditative Humanities translates this into not dwelling in views: the inquirer looks at the categories, habits, and emotions their understanding relies on, does not settle into familiar answers, and meets not-knowing directly.背景：馬祖後來改說「非心非佛」，並派僧去試探大梅，看他的「即心即佛」會不會隨著老師的新說而轉。馬祖自己曾解釋為何說「即心即佛」：「為止小兒啼。」僧問：「啼止時如何？」答：「非心非佛。」（《景德傳燈錄》卷六〈馬祖章〉）說法是一時的藥，不是安住之處。冥觀人文學將此轉譯為不住知見：探究者檢視自身理解所依賴的分類、慣性與情緒，不住於既有的答案，直接面對「不知」。

Your tasks你的任務

1. Examine your understanding from Encounter 1. What existing knowledge, categories, or labels did you use? What emotions or bodily reactions did you have at the time?1. 檢視禪機一的理解。你用了哪些既有知識、分類或標籤？當時有什麼情緒或身體反應？2. Find at least one place where your understanding was limited: what might you have overlooked? What conclusion did you reach too quickly?2. 找出至少一處你的理解被限制的地方：你可能忽略了什麼、太快下了什麼結論？3. Let that place go without an answer for now. Don’t rush to explain it; describe what you actually feel and observe.3. 讓這個地方暫時沒有答案。不要急著解釋，描述你實際的感受和觀察。Core question 核心問題When I look back, what limits this “mind” itself?當我回頭看，這個「心」本身又受到什麼限制？

Save Encounter 2 to continue. 儲存禪機二後繼續。

Encounter 3 · “I just keep to: this very mind is Buddha”: Taking it on with a direct heart10 min

禪機三「我只管即心即佛」：直心承當

Just sit. The plum ripens on its own.

2:00

A bell will sound when the time is up.

Your situation from Encounter 1 （你在禪機一描述的情境）

(Describe your situation in Encounter 1 first. 請先在禪機一描述你的情境。)

Background: When the monk Mazu sent brought the new teaching “Not mind, not Buddha,” Damei replied, “You can have your ‘not mind, not Buddha.’ I just keep to ‘this very mind is Buddha.’” Mazu affirmed him: “The plum is ripe.” You have just answered your own visiting monk (來僧一問). Meditative Humanities translates this into taking things on with a direct heart: once the inquirer’s earlier view has been opened, they are not swayed by what others say, including a teacher’s new saying, make a fresh judgment in each new encounter, and take responsibility for it.背景：面對馬祖所派來僧帶來的「非心非佛」新說，大梅答：「任汝非心非佛，我只管即心即佛。」馬祖印可：「梅子熟也。」你剛才也回應了自己的「來僧一問」。冥觀人文學將此轉譯為直心承當：探究者在原本的看法被打開之後，不隨他人說法轉動（包括老師的新說），於新的遭遇中重新判斷，並為此判斷負起責任。

Your tasks你的任務

1. Carrying what you found in the first two encounters, and in your response to the visiting monk, face this situation again.1. 帶著前兩則禪機的發現，以及你對來僧的回應，重新面對這個情境。2. Write down your judgment now. It may differ from Encounter 1, or it may be the same judgment: Damei’s last words were still “this very mind is Buddha.” If it is the same, explain how you hold it now, and how that differs from Encounter 1.2. 寫下你現在的判斷。它可能和禪機一的判斷不同，也可能是同一個判斷，大梅最後說的仍是「即心即佛」。若相同，說明你現在怎樣持守它，和禪機一時有何不同。3. State your judgment in one sentence, directly, with no hedging (like Damei’s “I just keep to …”).3. 用一句話直接說出你的判斷，不加保留或含糊（像大梅的「我只管……」）。4. In what kind of encounter might this judgment be challenged?4. 這個判斷可能在什麼樣的遭遇中受到挑戰？Core question 核心問題Once my original view has been opened up, how do I make a judgment and take responsibility without clinging?原本的看法被打開之後，我如何不執著，仍然做出判斷、承擔責任？

How the three encounters connectClosing: 5 min

三禪機怎麼連起來

The three encounters are not a progress that accumulates step by step. What Damei says at the third encounter is the same sentence as at the first; what is different is that he no longer leans on any saying, including Mazu’s own new one.三禪機不是一路累積的進步。大梅在禪機三說的，和禪機一是同一句話；不同的是，他已不依傍任何說法，包括馬祖本人的新說。

Final task最後一題

Retell this koan in your own simple words. What do you think ‘The plum is ripe’ means? (Please don't skip this.)用簡單的語言重述這個公案。你認為『梅子熟也』是什麼意思？（請不要略過。）Read the koan: 梅子熟也 The Plum Is Ripe →(Optional) Mazu never saw Damei; he only heard the monk’s report. Why could he say the plum was ripe?（選答）馬祖沒有見到大梅，只聽了轉述，為什麼就能說梅子熟了？

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