Zen master Huanzhong of Mount Daci [Xingkong] said to the assembly, “To speak about ten feet is not as good as to practice one foot. To speak about one foot is not as good as to practice one inch.”
Dongshan Liangjie said, “Speak what cannot be practiced. Practice what cannot be spoken."
COMMENTARY:
You should clearly realize that it is not wrong to speak of ten feet; it’s just that to practice one foot is far more important than speaking about ten feet. But do not think that either is lacking in virtue—in each the totality of ceaseless practice is present.
Therefore, the true meaning of Master Dongshan’s “Speak what cannot be practiced. Practice what cannot be spoken” is that practice and speech thoroughly interpenetrate. Activity and expression are interdependent. Thus, a full day of speaking is none other than a full day of practice, and a full day of practice is none other than a full day of speaking.
CAPPING VERSE:
Practice without understanding
is like eyes opened in the darkness.
Understanding without practice
is like eyes closed in the daylight.
When practice and understanding have merged
eyes are open in the bright light of day.
Translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi, commentary and verse by John Daido Loori.
Note: Have you heard the transmission outside the teachings? Or, is it something to be seen?
Submitted March 06, 2018 at 04:39AM by Dillon123 http://ift.tt/2oNCoSk
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