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宋 Song · 诗 Poem

寂默通真说因戒而定云是小乘渐法然至则成大其致一也赵少师叔平览之有疑见问以此答

Answering Zhao Shao's Doubt on the Doctrine That Stillness and Silence Lead to the Real

张方平

Zhang Fangping

山水Landscape 边塞Frontier 愁思Sorrowful Reflection 哲理Philosophy

即定非存出入间，照而常寂所居安。
将心起用知逾远，有眼无光见亦难。
向上本来惟一路，初机聊为立三关。
莫于此地分延促，弹指时中海水干。

The settled mind is not to be found between coming and going;
Reflecting, yet ever still, where it dwells is peace.
To rouse the mind to use it, you drift farther from the way;
With eyes that have no light, even to see is hard.
Above and upward there is from the first but the one road;
For beginners, for their sake, the three passes were set up.
Do not here divide the slow from the swift;
In the snap of a finger, the sea water dries.

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Meaning

A seven-character regulated verse answering the doubt of Zhao Shao (Zhao Gai) about Zhang Fangping's doctrine that 'stillness and silence lead to the real.' The poem expounds the Buddhist teaching that true samadhi is not bound to the coming and going of the breath, but in the 'reflecting, yet ever still' of the mind that dwells at peace; that to rouse the discriminating mind is to drift farther from the Way, and eyes without the light of wisdom cannot see even with sight; that above and upward there is from the first but the one road of the ultimate, the 'three passes' being expedients set up for beginners; and that one must not divide the slow (gradual) from the swift (sudden), for in the snap of a finger the sea water dries—the instantaneous is the real.

入定并不在出息入息之间，而是照了而常寂，所居便安。若以妄心起用，便知离道愈远；纵有眼而无正光，要见道也难。向上一路，本来只有一条；为初学之人，姑且立下三关。莫在此处分什么久暂，弹指之间，海水也会枯干。

Appreciation

The poem is a seven-character regulated verse advancing in four layers, 'essence—delusion—ultimate—exhortation,' to expound Buddhist doctrine. The first couplet, 'the settled mind is not to be found between coming and going; reflecting, yet ever still, where it dwells is peace,' points directly to the essence of samadhi: it is not in the traces of the breath's coming and going (breaking the Lesser Vehicle's attachment to marks) but in the 'reflecting, yet ever still' of the mind at peace, the opening decisive. The second couplet, 'to rouse the mind to use it, you drift farther from the way; with eyes that have no light, even to see is hard,' moves from essence to delusion, writing that to use the deluded mind is to drift farther from the Way, and eyes without the light of wisdom make the seeing of the Way hard—the staff and shout to those who cling to expedients. The third couplet, 'above and upward there is from the first but the one road; for beginners, for their sake, the three passes were set up,' moves from delusion back to the ultimate, pointing out that the ultimate is but the one road and the three passes are expedients, tying together the 'one in their end' of the preface. The closing couplet, 'do not here divide the slow from the swift; in the snap of a finger, the sea water dries,' closes in exhortation, breaking the delusion of time and writing the reality of the instant.

【白话串讲】有人问张方平：小乘渐法也能成大乘吗？他答：“即定非存出入间，照而常寂所居安”。“向上本来惟一路，初机聊为立三关”——“莫于此地分延促，弹指时中海水干”——他说定与慧本来一体。【意象与手法】诗以定、照、寂、心、眼、光、路、关、弹指、海水等佛理意象为干线，由本体（即定）而妄用（将心）、由究竟（一路）而方便（三关）、由时间（延促）而刹那（弹指），层层辨正，是宋人「以禅语为诗、以理代景」的笔法。【情感与主旨】作答赵概之疑，辨析小乘渐修与大乘顿至「其致一」之理，主张戒定慧归于一真，劝人勿执方便、勿滞久暂，是士大夫融通三教、以佛理自遣的明证。【名句点睛】「即定非存出入间，照而常寂所居安」以定体写安心，最见宗趣；「莫于此地分延促，弹指时中海水干」以刹那摄久暂，奇警中有禅机。

Background

This poem's title is extremely long, being a small preface in itself: Zhang Fangping first held the doctrine that 'stillness and silence lead to the real,' and that though 'discipline leading to samadhi' is called the Lesser Vehicle's gradual method, 'when it reaches its end it becomes the Great, and their end is one.' Zhao Shao (Zhao Gai, courtesy name Shuping, a famous Northern Song minister who reached the post of Privy Councilor, close friend of Zhang Fangping) read it and doubted, and Zhang Fangping answered with this poem. Zhang Fangping (1007–1091), though a Confucian minister, was deeply versed in all three teachings and especially deep in Buddhism; he wrote the 'Essay in Defense of the Dharma' and belonged, with Qisong and Su Shi, to the line of Northern Song scholar-officials devoted to Buddhism. The 'three studies' of discipline, samadhi, and wisdom, and the debate of the Lesser Vehicle's gradual method against the Great Vehicle's sudden enlightenment, were the common study of the Song scholar-officials who read the scriptures and talked of Zen: they did not abandon gradual cultivation, yet believed that 'the ultimate end is one.'

此诗题极长，实是一段小序加题：张方平先有「寂默通真」之说，以为「因戒而定」世称小乘渐法，然「至则成大，其致一也」——即渐修之极亦归大乘之一真。赵少师叔平（赵概，字叔平，北宋名臣，与张方平同朝相善，官至枢密使）读而疑之，问难，张方平乃以此诗作答。张方平（1007—1091）虽以儒臣立朝，而论学极融通三教，于佛教尤深，尝撰《护法论》护持宗门，与契嵩、苏轼辈同属北宋士大夫佞佛（实则是笃信）之一脉。北宋儒臣多以禅悦自遣，荆公、东坡皆然，张方平亦然。此题所涉「戒定慧」三学、小乘渐法与大乘顿悟之辩，正是宋代士大夫读经谈禅的常课：他们不废渐修，而信「归极则一」。诗中答赵概之疑，即申此意——三关是方便，一路是究竟；延促是妄计，弹指是真实。背景虽只是一次友朋间的法义问答，却牵出宋人「以儒行己、以佛安心」的精神结构，亦见张方平诗集中少有的专谈性理之作，宜与其《乐全集》中护法诸文合观。

Art

The art lies in 'writing doctrine as poetry' without falling into dryness. The first couplet points to the essence of samadhi with 'the settled mind is not to be found between coming and going, reflecting, yet ever still, where it dwells is peace'—the 'reflecting, yet ever still' bound together the still and the bright; the second couplet strikes at the deluded mind with 'to rouse the mind to use it, you drift farther from the way; with eyes that have no light, even to see is hard'—the 'drift farther' and 'see is hard' writing the difficulty of the false road; the third couplet sums the ultimate and the expedient with 'above and upward there is from the first but the one road; for beginners, for their sake, the three passes were set up'—the 'one road' against the 'three passes' clear-cut; and the closing breaks the delusion of time with the strange image 'in the snap of a finger, the sea water dries.' The whole poem argues doctrine through the first six lines and closes with a striking metaphor in the last two, giving abstract Buddhist doctrine a visible picture. The parallel couplets are fine, 'between coming and going' against 'where it dwells,' 'drift farther from the way' against 'even to see is hard,' 'the one road' against 'the three passes'—each pair a distinct stage of the argument.

此诗为七言律诗，章法以「体—妄—究—劝」四层辨佛理。首联「即定非存出入间，照而常寂所居安」直揭定体：定不在出入息的形迹（破小乘执相），而在「照而常寂」的安心，起得斩截；颔联「将心起用知逾远，有眼无光见亦难」由体入妄，写以妄心起用则去道逾远、有眼无光则见道实难，是对执方便者的棒喝；颈联「向上本来惟一路，初机聊为立三关」由妄归究，点出究竟只一路、方便立三关，绾合题序「其致一」之旨；尾联「莫于此地分延促，弹指时中海水干」以劝收束，破时间妄计，写刹那之真实。全诗妙在「以论为诗」而不落枯燥：前六句辨理，后二句以「弹指海水干」的奇喻收煞，使抽象佛理有了可感的画面。张方平不以景语撑篇，而善以对仗分布理境——颔联心眼对举、颈联一路三关对举，皆以虚对虚。是其「以禅语为诗」的拿手，章法合律而意脉是破执显真的一线。值得留意的是，此诗题本身即一段小序，已先将「小乘渐法—大乘顿至其致一」的论纲写出，全诗不过将此序演为韵语，故起手即破题而不另作铺陈，章法因而格外省净；这种「题已尽意、诗为演畅」的写法，在宋人谈禅诗中亦属经济。又，诗多取双字组对（出入、照寂、心眼、光见、一路、三关、延促、弹指），以骈俪之骨运单提之理，使说理不致松散，兼得律诗整饬与机锋峭拔；其语言看似质直，而虚字（非、而、惟、聊、莫）的开合暗藏擒纵，读来斩截而不板滞，正是宋调「以理胜而不以境胜」的范例。

Allusions

The allusions and Buddhist terms in the poem interweave. 'Coming and going' uses the 'breath in and breath out' of the Buddhist breath-counting contemplation: the Lesser Vehicle's cultivation of samadhi commonly begins with counting the breath, and the poem's 'not to be found between coming and going' breaks this attachment to marks, holding that true samadhi is not tied to the breath. 'Reflecting, yet ever still' uses the 'stillness and brightness' of the contemplation school: the Master Zhiyi established the contemplation, where the still is quiet and the bright is clear, still yet ever bright, bright yet ever still—the poem writes the peace of the settled essence with it. 'To rouse the mind to use it' uses the Surangama Sutra's 'the mind gives rise to all dharmas': to use the deluded mind as one's function only increases the distance from enlightenment. 'Eyes without light' uses the Perfect Enlightenment Sutra's 'like a film on the eye, falsely seeing flowers in the void'—even with the organ of sight, without the light of wisdom, the seeing of the Way is hard.

诗中用典与佛理语象相缠，凡数处可指。一、「出入」用佛教数息观之「出入息」：小乘修定多从数出入息入手，诗中「非存出入间」即破此执相，谓真定不系于息之出入。二、「照而常寂」用止观「寂照」之旨：智者大师立止观，寂者静、照者明，寂而常照、照而常寂，诗中以此写定体之安。三、「将心起用」用《楞严》「心生种种法生」之训：以妄心为用则转增迷远，故云「知逾远」。四、「有眼无光」用《圆觉》「譬如眼中翳，妄见空中华」及「有眼无明」之喻：纵具根器而无正智之光，见道亦难。五、「向上一路」用禅宗「向上一路，千圣不传」之语，指究竟极则。六、「三关」用宗门三关之制（如黄龙三关、或戒定慧三关），诗中谓为初机立之方便，非究竟。七、「弹指」用「弹指顷」表极短刹那（《僧祇律》十二劫为一弹指之喻），「海水干」用劫坏之喻，言久暂在悟中皆空。诸典皆佛典常语，而绾合于「渐顿一致、方便即实」的题中，恰见宋人谈禅「以熟典写正见」的节制。

Commentary

Zhang Fangping's Zen poem has rarely been noticed by the anthologies, but may be read with his 'Essay in Defense of the Dharma' and his poems of exchange with Zen monks. The Northern Song scholar-officials who wrote Zen into poetry, from Wang Anshi and Su Shi to Zhang Fangping, all used 'the language of principle as poetry' without abandoning the Tang delight in images. Fang Hui's Yingkui Lüshui, in its section on Buddhist poems, valued 'clear vigor, not flattering'—and the first couplet, 'the settled mind is not to be found between coming and going; reflecting, yet ever still, where it dwells is peace,' writes the settled essence as peace, near to Wang Wei's 'walking to where the water ends, sitting and watching the clouds rise,' yet more direct. Compared with Wang Wei's 'Passing the Fragrant Temple' (the spring sound sobbing against the steep rocks, the sun's light cold on the green pines), Wang writes Zen through scene, subtle and restrained; Zhang Fangping writes principle directly, clear-cut and plain.

张方平此谈禅之诗，前人选本鲜及，然可与其《护法论》及集中与禅僧酬唱诸作合观。北宋士大夫以禅入诗，自王安石、苏轼至张方平皆然，大抵「以理语为诗」而不废唐人兴象。方回《瀛奎律髓》释梵类尚「清劲不佞」，此诗首联「即定非存出入间，照而常寂所居安」以定体写安心，近王维「行到水穷处，坐看云起时」的禅境，而更质直。与王维《过香积寺》（「泉声咽危石，日色冷青松。薄暮空潭曲，安禅制毒龙」）相较，王以景写禅、含蓄蕴藉，张以论写禅、斩截分明，一唐一宋、一景一理，体气各宜——唐人近「悟于境」，宋人近「明于理」。又，此诗与张方平《赠青城山威仪观李炼师》可并读：彼谈道境以清奇胜，此谈佛理以辨正胜，同出一人而一道一佛，恰见其融通三教的学问底色。要之，此诗以常典写正见、以奇喻收理境，是宋人「以禅为诗」中偏于「论」的一路，宜与张氏护法诸文合观，方尽其「以佛安心」之实。

Prosody

Form Seven-character regulated verse七言律诗

Rhyme Rhymes on the level-tone han rhyme: an, nan, guan, gan; the first line's jian (in the shan rhyme, adjacent to han) enters the rhyme, and the whole rhymes to the end押平声寒韵（平水韵上平十四寒）：安、难、关、干；首句「间」在删韵（与寒通押，属平水韵上平十五删/十四寒旁通），余「安、难、关、干」皆寒韵，一韵到底。

Tone pattern Seven-character regulated verse beginning on an oblique tone without the first line in rhyme; the first line 'the settled mind is not to be found between coming and going' runs oblique-oblique-level-level-oblique-oblique-level, the second 'reflecting, yet ever still, where it dwells' level-level-oblique-oblique-oblique-level-level, the parallel couplets broadly matching, the tones of the whole clean and level七言律诗平起首句不入韵（间属删韵，旁通寒）体。首句「即定非存出入间」仄仄平平仄仄平（即仄定仄非平存平出仄入仄间平），次句「照而常寂所居安」仄平平仄仄平平，三四句「将心起用知逾远，有眼无光见亦难」平平仄仄平平仄、仄仄平平仄仄平，五六句「向上本来惟一路，初机聊为立三关」仄仄仄平平仄仄、平平平仄仄平平，大体合七律平起式，粘对清楚。

Reading note A seven-character regulated verse whose four couplets advance the argument in four layers, its parallel couplets each a distinct stage of the doctrine.此诗为七言律诗，八句四联，押平水韵上平十四寒（首句间属删韵，宋人寒删旁通，无碍），一韵到底。寒韵开口呼、声音舒徐而微含沉远，宜写谈禅、辨理那种澄明而带峻峭的声情，与「照而常寂」「向上一路」「弹指海水干」的理境相协。律诗严于颔颈二联对仗，张方平此作三四联皆以虚对虚、以理对理：「将心」对「有眼」、「起用」对「无光」、「知逾远」对「见亦难」，工于写妄；「向上」对「初机」、「本来」对「聊为」、「惟一路」对「立三关」，工于写权实。两联一破妄、一显正，由事入理，章法合律。平仄上首句以删韵旁通寒，是七律通韵常格，中二联粘对无误，惟「向上本来」「初机聊为」因虚字略破常格，亦无伤。整体声情健拔清峻，无唐人谈禅之蕴藉，而有宋调「以论为诗、以喻收理」的质实，正宜于这类答友谈性的题材。

Line by line

即定非存出入间，照而常寂所居安。

The settled mind is not to be found between coming and going; reflecting, yet ever still, where it dwells is peace. (The first couplet points to the essence of samadhi: not in the traces of the breath's coming and going, but in the 'reflecting, yet ever still' of the mind at peace, the opening decisive.)

入定并不在出息入息之间，而是照了而常寂，所居便安。

The samadhi is not held between the out-breath and in-breath; luminous yet always still, where it dwells is peace.

此联为全诗起手，直揭「定」之体，是答赵概之疑的第一义。上句「即定非存出入间」破小乘执相：世俗多以数出入息为修定，诗中以「非存」二字断之，谓真定不系于息之出入、不落形迹；下句「照而常寂所居安」立正见，用止观「寂照」之旨，写定体是「寂而常照、照而常寂」，能如此则心之所居自然安泰。两句一破一立、一非一是，章法上先扫执着再树宗旨。张方平此处最见谈禅的斩截：不绕景语，直下判体，正合题序「寂默通真」之「通真」。一个「即」字力重，言「定」当下即是、不假外求；「照而常寂」四字以一双关语写定境之活，最见宋人「以理语为诗」的手段。读此联当知全诗辨正之纲在此二句——定不在出入之迹，而在寂照之体。

The opening directly reveals the body of samadhi, the first meaning of answering Zhao Gai's doubt. The first, the samadhi is not held between the out-breath and in-breath, breaks the Hinayana clinging to marks: the worldly often count the out and in breath as cultivating samadhi, and the poem judges it with the words not held, saying true samadhi does not hang on the breath's coming and going, does not fall into traces. The second, luminous yet always still, where it dwells is peace, establishes the right view, using the cessation and contemplation tenet of still and luminous, writing that the samadhi body is still yet always luminous, luminous yet always still; able to be so, the mind's dwelling is naturally at peace. The two lines, one breaking one establishing, one not one is, the structure first sweeping clinging then setting up the essential purport. Fangping here most shows the decisiveness of talking Zen: no winding scenery words, directly judging the body, exactly suiting the title preface's silent and penetrates to truth, penetrates to truth. The single word is carries weight, saying samadhi is here and now, not sought without; the four words luminous yet always still write the living samadhi realm in a double-entendre, most showing the Song way of making reason the poem. Reading this couplet, one knows the whole poem's outline of discernment lies in these two lines - samadhi lies not in the traces of coming and going, but in the body of still and luminous.

向上本来惟一路，初机聊为立三关。

Above and upward there is from the first but the one road; for beginners, for their sake, the three passes were set up. (The third couplet sums the ultimate and the expedient: the ultimate is but the one road and the three passes are expedients set up for beginners, tying together the 'one in their end' of the preface.)

向上一路，本来只有一条；为初学之人，姑且立下三关。

The path above was originally one road; for the beginner, provisionally, three gates are set up.

此联承首联归到究竟与方便的辨正，是全诗绾合题序「其致一也」的关键。上句「向上本来惟一路」用禅宗「向上一路」之语，言究竟极则本只一元，无可分岐；下句「初机聊为立三关」转说方便，为初学根器姑且立戒定慧（或宗门）三关以为阶次。两句一究一方便、一本一迹，把「小乘渐法」与「大乘顿至」的争执化开：渐是方便、顿是实相，归极则一。张方平炼此联，正答赵概之疑——你疑「因戒而定云是小乘渐法」，我谓渐亦趣大，其致不二。「聊为」二字最见分寸：三关非实有，只是权设，含「不可执方便为究竟」的告诫。一个「惟」字写究竟之纯，「聊」字写方便之暂，对照极清。读此联方知宋人融通三教每于「实—权」二字立论，而张方平此诗即一例。

This couplet follows the opening and returns to the discernment between the ultimate and the expedient, the key that binds the title preface's the bent is one. The first, the path above was originally one road, uses the Zen phrase the path above, saying that the ultimate standard was originally one, no divergence possible. The second turns to the expedient: for the beginner, provisionally, three gates are set up, saying that for the beginner's capacity, one provisionally sets the three gates of precept, samadhi and wisdom (or the Zen school) as steps. The two lines, one ultimate one expedient, one root one trace, dissolve the dispute between the Hinayana gradual teaching and the Mahayana sudden arrival: the gradual is the expedient, the sudden is the reality, and returning to the ultimate is one. Fangping's working of this couplet exactly answers Zhao Gai's doubt - you doubt that through precept and samadhi is called the Hinayana gradual teaching, and I say the gradual also tends to the great, the bent is not two. The two words provisionally show the finest measure: the three gates are not really existent, but only set up expediently, holding the warning not to take the expedient as the ultimate. The single word only writes the purity of the ultimate, the word provisionally the temporary of the expedient, the contrast most clear. Reading this couplet, one knows the Song harmonizing of the three teachings often established itself on the two words reality and expedient, and Fangping's poem is one example.

莫于此地分延促，弹指时中海水干。

Do not here divide the slow from the swift; in the snap of a finger, the sea water dries. (The closing breaks the delusion of time: the gradual and the sudden are one, and in the snap of a finger the sea water dries—the instantaneous is the real.)

莫在此处分什么久暂，弹指之间，海水也会枯干。

Do not divide here long or short; in the snap of a finger the sea runs dry.

此联为全诗收束，以劝语破时间妄计，是全篇最奇警处。上句「莫于此地分延促」劝人勿在悟境中分别久暂（延促），盖延促是凡夫的时间妄计，于真际无施；下句「弹指时中海水干」以奇喻收煞：弹指顷（极短刹那）之中，海水亦会枯干，言久暂在悟中皆空、刹那即摄永恒。两句一劝一喻，把前面理境收进一个可感的画面——海水之干本是劫坏之喻，置于「弹指」之前，则以极小摄极大，禅机毕露。张方平此处最见「以奇喻收理」的手段：前六句辨理至此，不以景语松懈，而以「弹指海水干」的峻峭作结，使抽象佛理有了骨力。一个「莫」字是叮咛，「弹指」二字是摄要，皆见宋人谈禅「语虽直而机自峻」的面貌。读此联方知全诗不止破执，更示以「刹那即真」的悟境。

The closing gathers the poem, using an exhortation to break the deluded reckoning of time, the strangest and most alert place. The first, do not divide here long or short, urges men not to distinguish long and short in the awakened realm, for long and short are the ordinary man's deluded reckoning of time, of no use in the true reality. The second, in the snap of a finger the sea runs dry, closes in a strange metaphor: in a snap of the fingers (an extremely short moment), the sea also runs dry, saying that long and short are both empty in awakening, and the moment contains the eternal. The two lines, one exhortation one metaphor, gather the preceding realm of reason into a perceptible picture - the sea running dry is originally the metaphor of the kalpa's destruction, placed before the snap of the finger, it takes the smallest to contain the greatest, the Zen paradox fully revealed. Fangping here most shows the way of closing reason with a strange metaphor: the first six lines discern reason to this point, not relaxing in scenery words, but closing in the steep snap of the finger the sea runs dry, giving abstract Buddhist principle bone and force. The single word do not is a charge, the two words snap of the finger gather the outline, both showing the Song face of talking Zen whose words are straight yet whose paradox is of itself steep. Reading this couplet, one knows the whole poem not only breaks clinging, but shows the awakened realm of the moment itself being the truth.

Study

Word focus

寂 Still. The word of the essence of samadhi: 'reflecting, yet ever still, where it dwells is peace'—the still of the contemplation school, quiet and unmoving, the settled essence of the mind at peace. 「照而常寂所居安」之「寂」，寂静、止也，与「照」对举，出天台止观「寂照」之旨。此字写定体之静一面：心离攀缘则寂，然寂非死寂，而是「照而常寂」——在观照之中恒常寂静。其妙在以一对矛盾语（照之明、寂之静）写定境之活：若只言寂则近枯，只言照则近躁，合「照而常寂」则动静不二。一个「寂」字是答赵概之疑的体要——真定之安，正在此寂照双运。若易以「静」「止」等字，虽亦通止义，却不如「寂」字带出的「寂而常照」的宗门分量；「寂」是佛典常语而入诗最妥。张方平炼此一字，使首联「即定」之体落到可证的安心——所居安，安即从寂来。读此字当想止观双运、寂照同时之境，便知宋人谈禅贵在「于常语见正见」。

关 Pass. The word of the expedient: 'for beginners, for their sake, the three passes were set up'—the gates set up for the first steps, the expedients that lead to the one road of the ultimate. 「初机聊为立三关」之「关」，关隘、关口也，用宗门「三关」之制（如黄龙三关，或戒定慧三关）。此字在诗中指为初学所设的修证阶次，是「方便」的象。其妙在「关」本是阻碍，而诗中用作进取之阶——过一关近一步，三关尽则趣究竟。一个「关」字把抽象的「渐修」写得如行路度关，具体可感；与颈联上句「惟一路」对照，便见「关」是方便之设、「路」是实相之归。若易以「阶」「次」等字，虽亦通阶次，却不如「关」字带出的「过关方证」的宗门气；「关」近公案话头，最合宋人谈禅之习。张方平炼此一字，使「小乘渐法」之疑涣然：三关是初机之关，非究竟之隔。读此字当想宗门勘验、步步度关之状，便知「其致一」之旨全在权实之辨。

弹指 Snap of a finger. The Buddhist measure of the instant: 'in the snap of a finger, the sea water dries'—the instant is the real, the delusion of the slow and the swift broken in one image. 「弹指时中海水干」之「弹指」，极短之时也，出佛典（十二劫为一弹指之喻、一弹指顷六十念）。此字在尾联以极小的时间单位摄极大的劫坏（海水枯干），是「以少摄多、以刹那摄永恒」的禅喻。其妙在全诗的收束之力：前面辨理至此，不以景语松懈，而以「弹指」把久暂妄计一笔扫开——你若分别延促，且看弹指之中海水亦干，则久暂何有？一个「弹指」以动作写时间之速，比「须臾」「瞬息」更带宗门骨力（弹指是佛典熟喻，近机锋）。若易以「须臾」「刹那」，虽亦通短时，却不如「弹指」字兼动作与熟典、且响亮警策。张方平炼此二字，使尾联奇喻成立，章法由理入喻、由喻归真。读此字当想弹指一动、海枯可待之峻，便知宋人谈禅「语直而机峻」之一斑。