Ying-an - following illusions and getting excited

The Great Way is even—originally there is no delusion or enlightenment. It is because sentient beings get confused, following illusions and getting excited, turning away from awareness and getting mixed up in objects, producing all sorts of discrimination, that there come to be four kinds of birth, six tendencies, and nine states of existence, causing them to drift in the waves of the triple world without cease. If you are able, in the midst of that, to hear a good word or see a good act so that you realize in an instant where you were wrong, and immediately arrive directly at the immovable state of the Realized, this is called enlightenment. But where do delusion and enlightenment come from to begin with? If you think they come from mind, mind is not mind of itself. If you think they come from illusion, illusion is not illusion of itself. So where are mind and illusion? You should know that space in the ten directions is born in your mind, like a snowflake dotting absolute clarity. If you see through in this way, you will know space in the ten directions cannot be grasped. So since space cannot be grasped, the height of the mountains, the depths of the oceans, small and large, long and short, stand out before your eyes—how can they be removed? This is the step forward from a high cliff; as soon as you get self-protective, there is no way to complete the task under the patch robe. Think about this.

The Chan master whose instructions are translated in this volume, known as Ying-an, was a disciple of Yuanwu and successor to Yuanwu’s heir Huqiu. He traveled widely as a student before meeting Yuanwu, and had extensive knowledge of the conditions of Chan teaching in his time. After his enlightenment he was invited to teach at no less than thirteen monasteries, and gained such respect for his teaching that he was sought out even by former abbots. According to Precious Lessons from the Chan Communities, the elder master Xuetang said that he respected Ying-an because he did not delight in gain or strive for fame, did not act agreeable and conciliatory for gain, did not put on a false face or use clever words, and was clearly enlightened and able to go or stay at will. According to his biographer, Ying-an was unremittingly diligent in his duties, still giving personal interviews when in his final illness. He passed away in 1163, in his sixty-first year.

Submitted October 19, 2019 at 02:44AM by atomicmustardseed https://ift.tt/2BqmB1O