The Monk Fada: 'When the Mind Awakens, It Turns the Lotus Sutra'
Person：Fada; the Sixth Patriarch Huineng
Period：Tang dynasty (Caoxi)
Concerns the Sixth Patriarch Huineng; the Chiyan ji files it under the Tang.
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事見《法華經持驗記》卷一唐朝「唐韶州南華寺釋法達」條。《顯應錄》成書於宋，未收此條。此事亦見《六祖壇經》，文字互有出入（見考證）。以下白話譯註依《持驗記》所錄。
故事
法達，洪州人，七歲出家，出家之後長誦《法華經》。
後來他到曹溪頂禮六祖惠能。祖問：「你誦此經，以什麼為宗？」
法達說：「我只依文念誦，哪裡知道什麼宗趣。」
祖令他取經展開誦讀。法達高聲誦到〈譬喻品〉，祖說：「停。此經以因緣出世為宗。經云：『以一大事因緣出現於世。』一大事者，佛之知見也。若能於相離相、於空離空，一念心開，是為開佛知見。你當信：佛之知見者，即汝自心，更無別物。莫向外求——與佛無二。」
於是說偈：
心迷法華轉，心悟轉法華。 誦經久不明，與義作讎家。 無念念即正，有念念成邪。 有無俱不計，長御白牛車。
法達聽罷，不覺悲泣，也以偈讚答，其中有一句：
經誦三千部，曹溪一句亡。
從此頓悟玄旨。
編者省思
兩部感應錄裡，這是唯一一則「對話式」的記載，也是唯一被禪門收編的故事：法達不是因誦經得瑞相，而是因誦經不得力，被一句話點醒。「心迷法華轉，心悟轉法華」——經還是那部經，人換了一副心腸，主客便整個翻轉。
值得玩味的是「白牛車」的收尾。《法華經》以羊車、鹿車、牛車喻三乘誘引，以大白牛車喻一佛乘；六祖却说「有無俱不計，長御白牛車」——連有無的計較都放下，才配得上坐那輛車。這是《法華》義理在禪門的一次精彩轉讀。誦經三千部而無明未破，與義作「讎家」；本站把這則放在「悟入」類的用意，正在於提醒：感應錄的世界裡，最難得的瑞相，是轉身。
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