Chan Wisdom of Hui Hai

By Madhyama

Hui-hai (  d.788C.E) was a Chinese Chan Master who was the disciple of the Chinese Chan Patriarch, Ma Tsu (709-788 C.E). Ma Tsu was the disciple of the Chinese Sixth Chan Patriarch, Hui-neng (638-713 C.E). Hui-hai was instantaneously awakened by Ma Tsu during a Chan encounter or interview between them. Hui-hai composed the Buddhist treatise  ‘ A Treatise  on the Essential  Gateway to Truth through Sudden-awakening.’ The Chan tradition of Sudden teaching commenced with Bodhidharma (470-543 C.E), the 28th Indian Dhyāna Patriarch and the first Chan Patriarch in China. His philosophy of ‘Special transmission outside the Scripture’ which does not rely on words paved the way to the incessant development of Chan or Zen Buddhism worldwide hitherto. Zen Buddhism is currently popularly accepted and practised  in the west and is gaining increasing momentum.  Chan emphasizes self-power which concurs with the spirit of self-development of early Buddhism. The goal of Chan practice is to eliminate False Self directed by the illusive Self or Ego and replaces it with the True Self called the Buddha-mind. When the Buddha-nature manifests and the Buddha-mind sits on the throne one’s life, one is considered to be liberated from suffering and experiences eternality.

 Hui-hai affirms thus:

 “An important technique aimed at that perfect mind -control by which achievementless achievement is achieved by that of Chan (Dhyāna), whereby the mind  is turned inwards upon itself and the innermost recesses of our  being are so well explored that we at last come face to face with that unsullied mind which is neither yours nor mine, nor anybody’s else, and  yet discoverable in all of us.”

Purport

The above affirmation of Hui-hai is the quintessence of Chan tradition of Mahāyāna tradition.  Achievementless achievement  is expounded in the Heart Sūtra thus: Neither Wisdom nor non-attainment of Wisdom. An achievement by an Enlightened One, known as Mahāyāna Bodhisattva, is achievementless if and only if there is no clinging upon ‘I’ or ‘Mine’. In other words, Self or Ego, which is illusive and unreal in the ultimate analysis, is annihilated by the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā). In order to annihilate the illusive selfish or egoistic self which does not exist innately, one must journey esoterically or inwardly toward the Original Self  of Man, known as Buddha-nature, to redeem oneself. One, who has redeemed oneself, is designated by Chan Master Linji as the ‘True Man without rank’ who is a completely Self-awakened One. The Man without rank is the Original Face of every sentient being- the Buddhhood in us.   His False Self, directed by the unreal Self or Ego,  is substituted by a True Self directed by Buddha-nature. The True-self realization  transforms him into a man of maximal excellence - the Enlightened Being called Bodhisattva . The True Man without rank is a Bodhisattva  of Chan wisdom who has completely appeased his noisy mind. His mind is completely silenced. He functions with a Nirvāṇic mind – a mind of absolute appeasement  or the complete Silence of the human mind. The mind of an ordinary worldling is noisy, obsessive  and therefore saṃsāric. The mind of the True  man without rank is fully appeased or Nirvāṇic. This Nirvāṇic mind is totally purified by the Perfection of Wisdom. It does not belong to even the Self-enlightened One who has developed the Wisdom of Chan (Perfection of Wisdom). The Nirvāṇic mind does not dwell on anything and hence produces a pure, released consciousness unsullied by anything in the world. It is just akin to the metaphor of a lotus flower: A lotus plant penetrates through sullied mud and water and eventually its flower  springs forth and above the surface of the sullied water. The Nirvāṇic mind or Buddha-mind is infinite like the infinite space which contains all things but it is not contaminated by them. We are all aware that the infinite contains countless objects but it is never disturbed by them. Even if we were to carry tons of black paints and journey to the space and pour down all paints, the infinite space is never sullied by the paints poured upon it. Even space scientists can launch millions of rockets, spaceships or satellites into the space, the infinite space is never congested with space vehicles. Likewise, the Buddha-mind encompasses all things or beings but are never contaminated by them.

Hui-hai apologizes or defends  the teaching of Śākyamuni Buddha that  Buddha-nature or the Nirvāṇic mind exists intrinsically  in all sentient beings. It is discoverable by anyone of us by diligent, resolute, ardent  Dhamma cultivation and practice. Buddha-nature or Nirvāṇa , though it is ineffable, is real and can be experiencially realized by anyone of us. Only Buddha-nature is real and eternal and all other phenomena in the cosmos are illusive and unreal. All esoteric religions, such as Zoroastrianism, Vedānta, Hinduism, Buddhism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam or Sufism  pursue ultimately the one and the only Truth – What is Eternal and Real but not what is unreal and impermanent. That eternal Truth is beyond all religions as it is beyond expression or designation. It is ineffable!

Conclusion

 Vedānta, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam are esoterically identical. The ultimate Truth of all these aforementioned esoteric religions spring from the Original Divine Nature of Man – the Centre of the human Heart. Whether a man is deluded or self-awakened  is contigent upon his internal or esoteric life but not upon the dissimilar exoteric or external life expounded different religions. Dissimilar religions  are merely dissimilar vehicles to reach the same esoteric destination through self-realization or gnosis. The pedagogies of different religions may be different but the ultimate goal is identical – to seek self-redemption at the Centre of the Heart. The Centre of the Heart is our Original Home. It is the same Original Home  for all human beings though they may be dissimilarly  designated as Brahman, Kṛṣṇa, Tao, Ming Te, Buddha, God or Allah. In actual fact this Original Home can not be designated. This is precisely the reason why Lao-tze utters thus : Tao, which can be designated, is not the eternal  Tao. For the sake of communicating the message of the ineffable Eternal Truth, Lao Tze compelled him to utilize the word ‘Tao’. All religious  saints remind us  not to  regard the name of this Eternal Truth as the Eternal Truth.  Otherwise, you can not  be saved. Name is unreal; only Eternal Truth is real. Go for the moon in the sky but not for the reflected moon in the water. May I recommend a simple formula for you to do so: Love all sentient beings  whether they are friends or enemies without any discrimination (Please do not underestimate this simple statement; it is actually very profound. ). Alternately, may I recommend  another alternative for you to reach your destination : Have complete faith or trust in  Brahman, Buddha, Tao, God or Allah and do according to  commands . To do this, just you have remove your Self or Ego from the throne of your life. Then you are certainly  heading for the Original Home - the Centre of the human Heart. Human body is the temple of Brahman; it is the monastery of Buddha; it is the church of God; it is the mosque of Allah. My final advice: Love your body like you love  Brahman, Buddha, God or Allah. The Divine name is not important but what is most important is the application of the Word of the Lord or the Scriptures or Canons.