Case:
A monk asked Master Rang of Xingyang, "The Buddha Capable of Great Penetrating Knowledge sat on the site of enlightenment for ten eons, but the realities of enlightenment did not become apparent to him, and he was unable to fulfill the way of Buddhahood. Why was that?"
The master said, "Your question is quite clearly to the point."
The monk said, "Since he was sitting on the site of enlightenment, why was he unable to fulfill the way of Buddhahood?"
The master said, "Because he did not fulfill Buddhahood."
Wumen Says:
I only admit the old barbarian knows, I don't admit the old barbarian understands. If ordinary people know, they are sages; if sages understand, they are ordinary people.
Wumen's Verse:
How is mastering the body as good as mastering the mind?
When you have mastered mind, the body is no worry.
If body and mind are both perfectly mastered,
Why should spiritual immortals also be entitled as lords?
Gushan's Verse:
Planting grain does not produce beans;
Can boiling sand make a meal of rice?
The Buddha Capable of Great Penetrating Knowledge
Only saw one side of things.
(Translation by Cleary)
Salts' comment: Rang simply said he didn't fulfill Buddhahood. Well that's crystal clear! But do we trust Gushan's verse that says he only saw one side of things? Apparently it was the other side of things that produced the way of Buddhahood, and that's where The Buddha Capable of Great Penetrating Knowledge was lacking - and yet, if "understanding" is the other side of things, then according to Wumen, that makes even a sage ordinary. The constant 'switching places' between sage and ordinary, enlightened and mundane, should really raise questions in prospective students as to how the words of 'enlightened people' ought to be regarded, what 'the goal' really is, and why it is that a Buddha at the site of enlightenment did not fulfill the way of Buddhahood.
Submitted January 24, 2019 at 01:27AM by essentialsalts http://bit.ly/2RJjPiJ
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