Do Not Be Angry

不可以发脾气

We used to sit on meditation benches and not on the ground. If you fall asleep on the meditation benches, the proctor will hit you on the shoulder with his incense board. In the meditation hall, no one may stretch out his or her legs. If you do, the proctor will hit your legs with the incense board. No mercy will be shown here. No matter who you are, even if you are the abbot, the proctor will still hit you, although he will do it while kneeling down. For others, he will not be kneeling and will instead hit you straightaway. It will hurt a lot and you will feel as if your shoulder is broken. You have to endure this and not become angry. You should not think of fighting because you have been hit. That would be wrong.

以前大家在一起打坐，都是在禅凳上坐着，没有坐在地上的；如果在禅凳上睡觉，监香就拿香板朝你肩膀上打。在禅堂不可以把腿伸出来，你一伸腿就要挨打，一点都不客气，无论你是谁都一样要打，就是方丈和尚，监香一样也要打，不过他是跪在那儿打，要是清众就不需要跪，就这么「啪」一下打下去，打的你痛得不得了，打的你肩膀几乎都要断了，这时你要忍，不能发脾气说：「哦！你打我，我要和你打架。」那是不可以的。

The elder monk at Gaomin Monastery was famous for hitting people.All the monks there had been hit by him. He even broke someone’s shoulder once. The old monk would sit down without a smile like Guan Gong. Once he spoke, he would start scolding people. Everybody was afraid of him the way a mouse is afraid of a cat. We do things differently here. We are here every day happily giving and receiving teachings. Teaching all of you is like playing with a bunch of children. [Editor’s note: Although the Master mentions hitting, in Chan sessions held at the monasteries of Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, the proctor only taps people gently on the shoulder to help them regain their focus.]

像高旻寺的老和尚就是「打」得出名了，出家人到那儿都被他打过，甚至于膀子都给打断。那个老和尚面无笑容地往那儿一坐，像关公似的，讲起话来就骂人，一般的人就好像老鼠见了猫似的那么样的怕他；我们这儿不同，每天讲开示都是欢欢喜喜，对你们好像哄小孩一样的。