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Chapter 9 PROCLAMATIONS
Sutra: (in Chinese) On the fifteenth day of the first month, during the first year of the Shen Lung reign (A.D. 705) Empress Tse T'ien and Emperor Chung Tsung issued the following Proclamation: "We have invited Masters Hui An and Shen Hsiu to the palace to receive of offerings so that we may investigate the One Vehicle in the leisure time remaining after our myriad duties. The two Masters have declined, saying that in the South there is Dhyana Master Hui Neng, who was secretly transmitted the robe and Dharma of the Great Master Hung Jen who now transmits the Buddhas' mind-seal. "We now send Chamberlain Hsieh Chien with this invitation, hoping that the Master will remember us with compassion and come to the capital." The Master sent back a petition pleading illness saying that he wished to spend his remaining years at the foot of the mountain. Commentary: The Ninth Chapter is entitled "Proclamations." Wu Tse T'ien was an empress during the T'ang dynasty. She believed in the Buddha, but she wasn't very orthodox. In fact, she would do anything. But she believed in Buddhism and so she invited all the high monks to the palace to receive offerings. Her son, Emperor Chung Tsung, reigned only a short time before. The empress had him exiled to Lu Ling to be king there, so that she could take the throne. A proclamation was a letter from the emperor. When ordinary people received a proclamation, they bowed to it as a gesture of respect to the emperor, but people who have left home don't do this, of course. Wishing to study the One Buddha Vehicle, the Sudden Teaching Dharma door, the empress invited Master Hui An and Shen Hsiu to come to the palace to receive offerings. But they refused. "We do not have enough virtue," they said, "You should invite Hui Neng. He has received the Fifth Patriarch's robe and bowl and is a true transmitter of the mind seal." The empress took the two masters' advice and invited the Sixth Patriarch to the capital, Ch'ang An. The invitation was brought by a chamberlain, an official of the inner court. The chamberlain, Hsieh Chien was a eunuch. Eunuchs began serving Chinese emperors during the Han dynasty. The Sixth Patriarch wrote back "I am very ill." Actually, he wasn't ill at all; this was merely an expedient device, because the Sixth Patriarch did not wish to visit a ruler. More specifically, he did not wish to visit an empress. It would have been against the rules. Wu Tse T'ien knew nothing about moral precepts and she didn't follow my rules. But the Sixth Patriarch couldn't say, "You are an empress and I am a Patriarch and I don't have to visit you," so he said, "I am old and sick."
Sutra: (in Chinese) Hsieh Chien said, "The Virtuous Dhyana Masters at the capital all say that to master the Way, one must sit in Dhyana meditation and practice concentration, for without Dhyana concentration, liberation is impossible. I do not know how the Master explains this dharma. The Master said, "The Way is awakened to from the mind. How could it be found in sitting? The Diamond Sutra states that to say that Tathagata either sits or lies down is to walk a deviant path. Why? The clear pure Dhyana of the Tathagata comes from nowhere and goes nowhere and is neither produced nor extinguished. The Tathagata's clear pure 'sitting' is the state of all dharmas being empty and still. Ultimately there is no certification; even less is there any 'sitting.'" Commentary: For an illiterate, the Master was quite intelligent. He answered, "You awaken to the Way from within your mind. You can't just sit there. You have to understand the principles of the Buddhadharma and be enlightened to them. The enlightenment is 'understanding' and the sitting is 'practice.' Practicing without understanding is stupid; understanding without practice is nothing but intellectual Zen." You must understand and practice. Don't just sit, sit, sit for several decades without even understanding the principle of enlightening your mind. The Master added, "Since ultimately there is nothing to be attained or certified to, why be attached to sitting in meditation?" Sutra: (in Chinese) Hsieh Chien said, "When your disciple returns to the capital, their majesties will surely question him. Will the High Master please be compassionate and instruct me on the essentials the mind so that I can transmit them to the two palaces and to student of the Way at the capital? It will be like one lamp setting a hundred thousand lamps burning, making all the darkness endlessly light." The Master said, "The Way is without light or darkness. Light and darkness belong to the principle of alternation. 'Endless light' has an end, too, because such terms are relative. Therefore the Vimalakirti Sutra says, 'The Dharma is incomparable because it is not relative.'" Hsieh Chien said, "Light represents wisdom and darkness represents affliction. If cultivators of the Way do not use wisdom to expose and destroy affliction, how can they escape from the birth and death that have no beginning?" The Master said, "Affliction is Bodhi; they are not two and not different. One who uses wisdom to expose and destroy affliction has the views and understanding of the two vehicles and the potential of the sheep and deer carts. Those of superior wisdom and great roots are completely different." Hsieh Chien said, "What are the views and understanding of the Great Vehicle?" The Master said, "The common person sees light and darkness as two, but the wise person comprehends that their nature is non-dual. The non-dual nature is the real nature. The real nature does not decrease in common people nor increase in worthy sages. In afflictions it is not confused and in Dhyana concentration it is not still. It is neither cut off nor permanent. It does not come or go. It is not inside, outside, or in the middle. It is not produced or destroyed. The nature and mark is 'thus, thus,' It permanently dwells and does not change. It is called the Way.'" Commentary: Hsieh Chien wished for instruction on the essentials of the principle of using the mind to seal the mind. He said that the Patriarch was like a lamp, setting a hundred thousand lamps burning in the capital: bright, bright limitless light. The Master said, "You shouldn't see light and darkness as different or affliction and Bodhi as different. Affliction and the enlightenment nature are one. Shravakas and Pratyekabuddhas destroy affliction by means of wisdom, but Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are completely different from them. Ordinary people see understanding and ignorance as two, but wise people know that in essence they are one, not two. That non-dual nature is the real nature .In states of confusion, the real nature is not confused; in Dhyana concentration, it is not still. It is both still and moving; it both moves and is still. The nature and mark are both 'thus'. We call it the 'Way.'" Sutra: (in Chinese) Hsieh Chien said, "How does your explanation of the self-nature as neither produced nor destroyed differ from that of other religions?" The Master answered, "As non-production and non-extinction are explained by other religions, extinction ends production and production reveals extinction. Their extinction is not extinction and what they call production is not production. My explanation of non-production and non-extinction is this: originally there was production and now there is no extinction. For this reason my explanation differs from that of other religions. "If you wish to know the essentials of the mind, simply do not think of good or evil. You will then enter naturally the clear, pure substance of the mind, which is deep and permanently still, and whose wonderful abilities are as numerous as the sand grains in the Ganges River." Commentary: Other religions see production and extinction as two. They say that
extinction puts an end to production and that production reveals extinction.
Their explanation is not the ultimate one. As I explain the terms, originally
there was no production, and so now there is no extinction. The Master continued, "If you would like to know about the wonderful mind-transmission Dharma, the essential points of the mind-ground Dharma door, I will tell you: simply do not think of good or evil. Then you will spontaneously understand the true principle and enter into the pure substance of the mind." The mind-substance is deep and constantly pure and still. Although it is always still, within its true emptiness there is wonderful existence, and its wonderful abilities are innumerable. Sutra: (in Chinese) Hsieh Chien received this instruction and was suddenly greatly enlightened. He bowed, took leave, and returned to the palace to report the Master's speech. That year on the third of the ninth month a proclamation was issued in praise of the Master. It read: "The Master has declined our invitation because of old age and illness. He cultivates the Way for us and is a field of blessings for the country. The Master is like Vimalakirti who pleaded illness in Vaishali. He spreads the great fruit widely, transmitting the Buddha-mind and discoursing on the non-dual Dharma. "Hsieh Chien has conveyed the Master's instruction, the knowledge and vision of the Tathagata. It must be due to accumulated good acts, abundant blessings, and good roots planted in former lives that we now have met with the Master when he appears in the world and have suddenly been enlightened to the Supreme Vehicle. We are extremely grateful for his kindness, which we receive with bowed heads, and now offer in return a Mo Na robe and crystal bowl as gifts. We order the Magistrate of Shao Chou to rebuild the temple buildings and convert the Master's former dwelling place into a temple to be called "Kuo En, (Country's Kindness)." Commentary: Hsieh Chien returned to the capital and submitted a written report to the empress, which set forth the principles the Master had discussed with him. The palace then issued a statement in praise of the Master, saying he was the highest Master m the nation and one of unexcelled cultivation. They said that the Sixth Patriarch was like the layman Vimalakirti, who was sick in Vaishali. "The Master propagates the 'great fruit,' the Mahayana Buddhadharma, and transmits the 'Buddha-mind.' the mind-seal of all Buddhas. At Nan Hua Temple he expounds the non-dual Dharma door, saying that production and extinction are one and the nature and mark are not two. His knowledge and vision are that of the Buddha. We must have done a lot of good things in past lives in order to meet the Master now and suddenly awaken to the wonderful principle of the Supreme Vehicle. We bow to his teaching every day and hold it respectfully above our heads." They offered the Master an expensive robe made of Korean cloth, which had been sent as tribute to the empress. It was a patchwork robe, with a Buddha image embroidered on each patch. Some say that the empress embroidered them herself; but there is no way to know with certainty.
Chapter 10 FINAL INSTRUCTIONS Sutra: (in Chinese) One day the Master summoned his disciples Fa Hai, Chih Ch'eng, Fa Ta, Shen Hui Chih Ch'ang, Chih T'ung, Chih Ch'e, Chih Tao, Fa Chen and Fa Ju, and said to them, "You are not like other people. After my passage into extinction, you should each be a master in a different direction. I will now teach you how to explain the Dharma without deviating from the tradition of our school. "First bring up the three classes of Dharma-doors, and then use the thirty-six pairs of opposites, so that, whether coming or going, you remain in the Bodhimandala. While explaining all the dharmas, do not become separated from your self-nature. Should someone suddenly ask you about a dharma, answer him with its opposite. If you always answer with the opposite, both will be eliminated and nothing will be left, since each depends on the other for existence." Commentary: One day the Master called his room-entering disciples together for a talk. They are called room-entering disciples because they had received the transmission of the Master's Dharma and were therefore permitted to enter his room. The first of the ten was Fa Hai. You remember him. He edited The Sixth Patriarch Sutra and was a great disciple. He put his name at the head of the list here because, no matter what, he had to be number one.
The Master said, "You ten men should each be a master teacher in a certain direction and receive offerings there from humans and gods. I will now teach you how to spread the Dharma without straying from the tradition of our Sudden Enlightenment Dharma Door Teaching. "In speaking the Dharma," the Master went on, "the most important thing is to base your speech on the self-nature. How does one do this? Suppose someone asks you a question about the Buddhadharma. Whatever his principle may be, it's bound to have an opposite. You should answer him with the opposite dharma. For example, coming and going are relative concepts. Without a coming there is no going; without a going there is no coming. Coming is the prerequisite of going and going can only result from coming. Since opposites depend upon each other for existence, ultimately they both will be cast out, canceling each other out so that nothing is left behind. There will be no coming; and no going, for there will be no place left to go. Sutra: (in Chinese) "The three classes of Dharma doors are the heaps, the realms, and the entrances. The five heaps are: form, feeling, perception, impulses, and consciousness. The twelve entrances are the six sense objects outside: forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangible objects, and objects of the mind, and the six sense organs within: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. The eighteen realms are the six sense objects, the six sense organs and the six consciousnesses. "The self-nature is able to contain all dharmas; it is the 'store-enveloping consciousness.' If one gives rise to a thought, it turns into consciousness, and the six consciousnesses are produced which go out the six organs and perceive the six sense objects. "Thus the eighteen realms arise as a function of the self-nature. If the self-nature is wrong, it gives rise to eighteen wrongs; if the self-nature is right it gives rise to eighteen rights. Evil functioning is that of a living being, while good functioning is that of a Buddha. What is the functioning based on? It is based on opposing dharmas within the self-nature." Commentary: The self-nature includes all dharma doors, and so it is called the "store-enveloping consciousness." This is the eighth consciousness, which may be transformed into the wisdom of the great perfect mirror. If you give rise to thinking and considering, the store-enveloping consciousness turns to the seventh consciousness, which in turn produces the six consciousnesses, which go out the six organs and perceive the six sense objects. If you use the self-nature correctly, it is the Buddha-use, but if you misuse it you are just a living being. How do the different usages arise? They come from the opposites within the self-nature. Sutra: (in Chinese) "External insentient things have five pairs of opposites: heaven and earth, sun and moon, light and darkness, yin and yang, and water and fire. "In speaking of the marks of dharmas one should delineate twelve opposites: speech and dharmas, existence and non-existence, form and formlessness, the marked and the unmarked, the presence of outflows and the lack of outflows form and emptiness, motion and stillness, clarity and turbidity, the common and the holy, membership in the Sangha and membership in the laity, old age and youth, and largeness and smallness. "From the self-nature nineteen pairs of opposites arise: length and shortness, deviance and orthodoxy, foolishness and wisdom, stupidity and intelligence, confusion and concentration, kindness and cruelty, morality and immorality, straightness and crookedness, reality and unreality, danger and safety, affliction and Bodhi, permanence and impermanence, compassion and harm, joy and anger, generosity and stinginess, advance and retreat, production and extinction, the Dharma-body and the Form-body, the Transformation-body and the Reward-body." The Master said, "If you can understand and use these thirty-six pairs of opposites you can connect yourself with the dharmas of the Sutras and avoid extremes, whether coming or going. When you act from your self-nature in speaking with others, you are separate from external marks while in the midst of them and separate from inward emptiness while in the midst of emptiness. If you are attached to marks, you will add to your wrong views and if you grasp at emptiness, you will increase your ignorance." Commentary: "Opposite" means mutually dependent and mutually opposed. Nineteen
opposites arise as a function of the true suchness self-nature. For
example, if there was no long, there would be no short. Long is the
opposite of short and short is the opposite of long. Long and short
are relative terms and between them is the Middle Way. Kindness bestows happiness and is the opposite of cruelty. Morality and immorality are opposites. Morality is the practice of all good actions and the absence of all evils. Compassion pulls living beings out of suffering and is the opposite of harmfulness. Generosity means giving; if you can give, you are not stingy. The Dharma-body pervades all places and is the opposite of the form-body. Sutra: (in Chinese) "Those who grasp at emptiness slander the Sutras by maintaining that written words have no use. Since they maintain they have no need of written words, they should not speak either, because written words are merely the marks of spoken language. They also maintain that the direct way cannot be established by written words, and yet these two words, 'not established' are themselves written. "When they hear others speaking, they slander them by saying that they are attached to written words. You should know that to be confused as they are may be permissible, but to slander the Buddha's Sutras is not. Do not slander the Sutras for if you do, your offense will create countless obstacles for you. "One who attaches himself to external marks and practices dharmas in search of truth, or who builds many Bodhimandalas and speaks of the error and evil of existence and nonexistence will not see his nature for many eons. "Listen to the Dharma and cultivate accordingly. Do not think of the hundred things, for that will obstruct the nature of the Way. Listening without cultivating will cause others to form deviant views. Simply cultivate according to the Dharma, and do not dwell in marks when bestowing it." Commentary: People who are attached to emptiness say that they don't need anything at all. They say that it isn't necessary to study the Sutra. They say that they don't use written words. "Everything's empty," they say, don't use words. Words are nothing but an attachment to marks! If that is so, then nobody should even speak, because written words are simply the visible manifestation of spoken language. They also say, "The direct mind is the Bodhimandala. Do not set up written words." But unless you quit speaking altogether, you still have language, and the phrase "do not set up" is itself made up of words. "Your own confusion is your own business," the Master adds, "but do not slander the Buddha's Sutras. You should not refrain from thinking, for if you do, you fall into a useless, dull kind of emptiness. You should cultivate in the way I have instructed you. Do not become attached to appearances. Sutra: (in Chinese) "If you understand, then speak accordingly, function accordingly, practice accordingly, and act accordingly, and you will not stray from the basis of our school. "If someone asks you about a meaning, and the question is about existence, answer with nonexistence; if you are asked about nonexistence, answer with existence; asked about the common life, answer with the holy life; asked about the holy life, answer with the common life. Since in each case the two principles are interdependent, the meaning of the Middle Way will arise between them. If you answer every question with an opposite, you will not stray from the basic principle. "Suppose someone asks, 'What is darkness?' You should answer, 'Brightness is the cause and darkness the condition. When there is no brightness, there is darkness. Brightness reveals darkness and darkness reveals brightness.' Since opposites are interdependent, the principle of the Middle Way is established. "Answer every question that way, and in the future, when you transmit the Dharma, transmit it in the way I am instructing you. Then you will not stray from the tradition of our school." Commentary: If you answer every question with an opposite dharma, you will not deviate from the basic principle of the Sudden Enlightenment doctrine. Sutra: (in Chinese) In the Seventh month of the year Jen Tsu, the first year of the T'ai Chi and Yen Ho reigns (ca 712 A.D.), the Master sent his disciples to Hsin Chou to build a pagoda at Kuo En Temple. He ordered them to hurry the work and it was completed by the end of the summer of the following year. Commentary: During the cyclical year Jen Tsu, the reign was renamed twice. In the fifth month it was changed from T'ai Chi to Yen Ho. In the seventh month the emperor abdicated in favor of his son and in the eighth month the reign was renamed Hsien T'ien. Hsin Chou was the Master's homeland. His disciples built a pagoda there so that the Master's body might rest in it after his death. Sutra: (in Chinese) On the first day of the seventh month he gathered his disciples together and said, "In the eighth month I wish to leave this world. Those of you with doubts should ask about them soon so that I may resolve them for you and put an end to your confusion, because when I am gone there will be no one to teach you." Hearing this, Fa Hai and the others wept. Only Shen Hui was unmoved and did not cry. The Master said, "Little Master Shen Hui has attained to the equality of good and evil. He is not moved by blame or praise and does not feel sadness or joy. None of the rest of you has attained that. All these years on the mountain-how have you been cultivating? "Now you cry. Who are you worrying about? Are you worrying that I don't know where I'm going? I know where I'm going. If I didn't know, I wouldn't have been able to tell you about it in advance. No doubt you are crying because you don't know where I am going, but if you knew you wouldn't need to cry. Originally the Dharma nature is not produced or extinguished; it does not come or go." Commentary: The Great Master rang the bell and beat the drum. The sound rang out, summoning all of his disciples to his side. "Pay attention!" he said. "In the eighth month of this I am going to leave this world." Then here he is again! Fa Hai number one! He didn't even list the names of the other disciples; he just said, "Fa Hai and the others." They all wept. Their eyes ran with tears and their noses ran with snot, just like children who have lost their mother and have no milk to drink "Waaah! Waaah!" They cried like babies. Some of them cried in secret, some cried openly, and some faked tears, fearing it would be bad manners not to cry along with everyone else. There was both truth and falsehood in the situation; it was exactly like a play. But the youngest of the babies did not cry. Was it because he was too young to understand or care that he was about to lose his mother, or in this case, his teacher? Was it that? No. Shen Hui was young in years' but old in wisdom. He understood the principle of not moving in any state. Mencius was forty years old before he reached that level. With an unmoving mind, The praise: you are not pleased; However, when you are really being lazy and someone scolds you, you can't say, "I have Samadhi. He doesn't bother me at all." You must have a true unmoving mind, like that of little Shen Hui. The Sixth Patriarch called Shen Hui "Little Master," In the first ten years after taking precepts one is called a "little master," or "junior-seated." From ten to twenty years one is "middle-seated." And from twenty to thirty years one is "senior seated." Little Master Shen Hui is better than all of you," the Master said, "because he doesn't have a discriminating mind. He has truly turned his consciousness into wisdom."
If you don't react then people can slander you but it's as if nothing happened. "You're a pig," they may say. "Fine," you answer, "I'm a pig. No problem." If you don't react, then they can praise you and it doesn't matter either. "You have both virtue and learning," they may say, but you pay no attention. If you are pleased when someone praises your learning, then you really have no learning at all. If you get angry when someone scolds you, you have been influenced by an outside state. To be unmoved by my state is to neither grasp nor reject, neither love nor hate. You can tell Little Master Shen Hui that he is good, but he will not be happy; you can tell him he is bad, but he will not get angry. He has no thoughts of misery or delight. There truly is complete understanding of the Middle Way. Rare indeed! "You old ones," the Master said, "you middle-aged ones, none of you passes. None of you has out-waited the fire., When anger sets you ablaze, you should think, "Wait. Wait a minute. Wait a minute and then get angry." Then you wait, and your anger disappears. That is called "out-waiting the fire." If you don't wait, the fire burns, but if you can wait, it will die out. When steel is red hot, you can shape it into a vessel. But unless you wait for the fire to bum it red hot, you can't mold the metal; you haven't out-waited the fire. "You have been on the mountain for so many years," said the Master. "What have you been doing all this time? Huh? You hear that I am going to complete the stillness and you cry like babies; you're all worthless. How have you been cultivating? By eating and sleeping! Are you upset because you think I don't know where I'm going? I will tell you something! I do know. Of course I know! There is no reason for you to worry about me. I can take care of myself: No big, no small, Sutra: (in Chinese) "All of you sit down, and I will recite a verse called 'The True-False Motion-Stillness Verse.' If you take it up and recite it, you will be of the same mind as I am. If you rely on it to cultivate, you will not stray from the true principle of our school." The assembly bowed and begged the Master to recite the verse. There is nothing true in anything, Commentary: "Now don't be nervous," the Master said. "Sit down and don't jump around. Don't cry right in front of me like that. Really, you are undisciplined disciples. Listen to my verse. It discusses the true and the false and the principles of motion and stillness. If you can understand it and bear it in mind, you won't deviate from the Sudden Teaching." "Turn the light around," said the Master. "Shine it inside at your own self-nature, and you can know the truth. To find your true mind is simply to separate yourself from all the false forms and images of this world. If there is no truth within your own mind, where will you find the true? The truth is not apart from the self-nature; apart from the self-nature there is no truth." Sutra: (in Chinese) Sentient beings understand motion. Commentary: Do not seek non-movement apart from movement, for it is just within movement that stillness can be found. All sentient beings move, but if you can be still while remaining sentient, that is true non-movement. It as a sentient being, you are able to clearly distinguish the marks of all dharmas, not with your consciousness but with wisdom, you can give proof to the attainment of the substantive principle of your self-nature and achieve the ultimate state. That is true, proper non-movement. Sutra: (in Chinese) I tell you, students of the Way, Commentary: You are face to face with the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma; do not continue
to grasp at your understanding, which binds you up in birth and death,
at the kind of wisdom that is still attached to marks. If you can't
understand what I am trying to tell you, then put your hands together
to please living beings. My school of Sudden Enlightenment is based
on the cultivation of the Patience of Unproduced Dharmas. There should
be no debating. When you argue with others you lose the meaning of the
Way. Debating, the thoughts of victory and defeat If you insist on arguing, your self-nature won't escape the revolving wheel. Giving rise to the marks of a self others, living beings, and a life, you will certainly continue to undergo birth and death. Sutra: (in Chinese) When the followers heard this verse, they understood its meaning and bowed down before the Master. They made up their minds to practice in accord with the Dharma and not to argue, knowing that the Great Master would not remain long in the world. The Senior Seated Fa Hai bowed again and asked, "After the High Master enters extinction, who will inherit the robe and Dharma?" Commentary: Fa Hai never forgets himself: No doubt he wanted the robe and bowl for himself: Sutra: (in Chinese) The Master said, "Since the time I lectured on the Dharma in the TA Fan Temple, transcriptions of my lectures have been circulated. They are to be called The Dharma Jewel Platform Sutra. Protect and transmit them in order to take humankind across. If you speak according to them, you will be speaking the Orthodox Dharma. I will explain the Dharma to you, but I will not transmit the robe, because your roots of faith are pure and ripe. You certainly have no doubts and are worthy of the great Work. According to the meaning of the transmission verse of the First Patriarch Bodhidharma, the robe should not be transmitted. His verse said, Originally I came to this land, Commentary: The students didn't have tape-recorders as we do, so they wrote down their notes with brush and ink and compared them among themselves.. "You should take good care of these lectures," the Master said. "They are Dharma jewels. Print and distribute them and so take living beings across. I know that you all believe in me, and so I don't need to transmit the robe. Besides, the Great Master. Bodhidharma said that beginning with the Sixth Patriarch the robe should not be transmitted. He said, 'I originally came to. China in order to transmit the right Dharma and take across all these confused living beings. From me, this one flower, in the future five petals will open-the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Patriarchs. And the fruit will come to bear of itself; that there will be no need to transmit the robe. Transmitting the Dharma will suffice'. This is why the Fifth Patriarch told the Sixth Patriarch, "As the robe is a source of contention, do not transmit it. Should you continue to transmit it, your life will hang by a thread." "The fruit comes to bear of itself." You should know that the fruit which ripens in this line is just all of you who have taken refuge with me. The first character of your Dharma-names is "Kuo" and it means "fruit" or "result." So don't forget to ripen. All of you should ripen right away. Most importantly don't be lazy! Bodhidharma gave you all predictions long ago. The Sixth Patriarch himself said, "The Bodhi fruit accomplishes itself." They both knew that, in the future, there would be all of you disciples in America with the first name "Kuo," fruit. The fruit they spoke of is just all of you. That fruit is you; you are that fruit. The two are one. Sutra: (in Chinese) The Master added, "All of you Good Knowing Advisors should purify your minds and listen to my explanation of the Dharma. If you wish to realize all knowledge, you must understand the Samadhi of One Mark and the Samadhi of One Conduct. "If you do not dwell in marks anywhere and do not give rise to hate or love, do not grasp or reject, and do not calculate advantage or disadvantage, production and destruction while in the midst of marks, but instead remain tranquil, calm, and yielding, then you will have achieved the Samadhi of One Mark. "In all places, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, to maintain a straight and uniform mind, to attain the unmoving Bodhimandala and the true realization of the Pure Land. That is called the Samadhi of One Conduct." Commentary: "Wash your minds clean," said the Master, "and get rid of greed, hate, and delusion. If you wish to realize all knowledge, you need to understand the Samadhi of One Mark, which consists in not dwelling in marks, and the Samadhi of One Conduct, which consists in not dwelling in conduct. The Samadhi done Mark: whether you are in a good place or a bad place, whether moving or still, do not dwell in marks. While in the midst of marks, do not give rise to dislike or to fondness. Neither love nor hate If you have a thought of love, you will grasp at the object of your desire. The twelve conditioned causes say, "love conditions grasping, grasping conditions existence�"
You should remain tranquil, with nothing at all to do, and calm, like water without waves. "No waves" means no afflictions, no love, no hate, no grasping, no rejecting, Knowing enough, you 're always happy If you can be tranquil, calm, and yielding, and leave marks while in the midst of them, if you can transcend the dust while in the dust, just that is the Samadhi of One Mark. The Samadhi of One Conduct: no matter where you are, in a good place, a bad place, a wholesome place, an unwholesome place, a right place, a wrong place - walking, standing, sitting or lying down-maintain a direct mind. The direct mind is the Bodhimandala-Students of the Buddhadharma should not be devious. Be direct in your thoughts, words, and deeds. Speak your mind; don't think east and speak west. The straight mind is the Bodhimandala. If the cause is not straight, the result will be crooked. Your mind should be uniform and of one purity. You who cultivate the Way: toward others, toward yourself; toward everything, be straightforward. Don't try to trick people out of their money, no matter how poor you are. If you borrow a little money and return it right away, you have not lost the virtue of a gentleman, but if you borrow and don't return it, your position is very low. Be an unmoving Bodhimandala with a straightforward mind, for that is the realization of the Pure Land and is called the Samadhi of One Conduct. Sutra: (in Chinese) "One who perfects the two Samadhis is like earth in which seeds are planted; buried in the ground, they are nourished and grow, ripening and bearing fruit. The One Mark and One Conduct are just like that. "I now speak the Dharma which is like the falling of the timely rain, moistening the great earth. Your Buddha-nature is like the seeds which, receiving moisture, will sprout and grow. Those who receive my teaching will surely obtain Bodhi and those who practice my conduct will certainly certify to the wonderful fruit. Listen to my verse: The mind-ground contains every seed; After speaking the verse the Master said, "Dharma is not dual nor is the mind, and the way is pure and without mark. All of you take care not to contemplate stillness or empty the mind. The mind is basically pure and does not grasp or reject anything. Each of you work hard, and go well, in harmony with circumstances." At that time, his followers made obeisance and withdrew. Commentary: The timely rain falls just when it is needed. If It falls too soon, it may drown the crops, and if it comes too late, they may wither and die. The Sixth Patriarch's Dharma is like the timely rain, which moistens all of the great earth. Your own inherent Buddha-nature is like seeds, which receive the moisture and flourish ripening into Bodhi-fruits. The Bodhi-sprouts become Bodhi-fruits. The Master went on, "You who understand my doctrine are certain to obtain Bodhi. If you cultivate according to this method, you will surely obtain the wonderful Bodhi-fruit. Now that I have spoken so much Dharma for you, you are probably all flustered, so pay attention while I speak this verse. Purify your minds! Yours self-nature contains every seed; The wonderful fruit of Bodhi ripens of itself. Bodhidharma said, "The fruit comes to bear of itself," and the Sixth Patriarch said, "The Bodhi fruit accomplishes itself." They were speaking of all of you who have the Dharma name "Kuo" (fruit). You should ripen through out the world. All places should reap this fruit. What fruit? The Bodhi-fruit. The Sixth Patriarch was afraid that you might not have understood and so he spoke it very clearly. "The Bodhi fruit accomplishes itself." You should all ripen on your own. I cannot help you. If you don't ripen you are just cheating yourselves. So ripen! Isn't this strange? Your Dharma names all begin with the word "fruit," and our School's transmission verse says also: Contemplating, cultivating the In the future all of you will personally transmit the unconditioned teaching.. The Master went on, "My Sudden Enlightenment Dharma door is not two, it is one. What is the one? It is just the Sudden Teaching. The mind is not two either; therefore it should return to the one. The Way we cultivate is pure and without marks. Although it is without marks, don't make the mistake of contemplating stillness because that is just another attachment. Do not loiter in dull emptiness either, because the mind of living beings is naturally and fundamentally pure. The original substance of the mind is pure and immaculate, without grasping or rejecting. "Work hard, all of you. Go forward and don't be lazy. Go where circumstances take you and build Bodhimandalas. Be good, cultivate good conduct and work hard." |
Chih
Ch'eng was the Dharma-thief who later reformed and joined the Master.
Fa TA was the arrogant, bhikshu who had read The Lotus Sutra
over three thousand times but couldn't bring himself to put his head
on the ground before the Master even once. Shen Hui was the thirteen-year-old
child who had talked back to the Master. There was also Chih Ch'ang,Chih
Tao,.Fa Chen, and Chih Ch'e, also known as Flying Cat Chang; Chih Tao,
Fa Chen, and Fa Ju.. These were the Master's ten great disciples.
Shen
Hui was not moved by praise or blame. "That Dharma Master does
not cultivate! All he does is run after women." Criticism like that
didn't bother him. "He really works hard. Not only does he not
sleep, he doesn't even lie down. And he only eats once a day. Such austerity!"
Praise like that didn't affect him either.
To
reject means to cast away. If you hate something then you reject it.
Love and hate cause grasping and rejecting. Do not calculate advantage
and disadvantage. If you think, "What's in it for me?" you
are just being greedy, self-seeking, and impure. Do you understand?
You should not have such thoughts.
