Fifth case from the Blue Cliff Record.
Whoever would uphold the teaching of our school must be a brave spirited fellow; only with the ability to kill a man without blinking an eye can one become Buddha right where he stands.
Therefore his illumination and function are simultaneous; wrapping up and opening out are equal in his preaching. Principle and phenomena are not two, and he practices both the provisional and the real. Letting go of the primary, he sets up the gate of the secondary meaning; if he were to cut off all complications straightaway, it would be impossible for latecoming students of elementary capabilities to find a resting place.
It was this way yesterday; the matter couldn't be avoided. It is this way today too; faults and errors fill the skies. Still, if one is a clear eyed person, he can't be fooled one bit. Without clear eyes, lying in the mouth of a tiger, one cannot avoid losing one's body and life.
The citation:
Hsueh Feng, teaching his community, said, "Pick up the whole great earth in your fingers, and it's as big as a grain of rice. Throw it down before you: if, like a lacquer bucket, you don't understand, I'll beat the drum to call everyone to look."
Hsueh Tou's verse:
An ox head disappears,
A horse head emerges.
In the mirror of Ts'ao Ch'i, absolutely no dust.
He beats the drum for you to come look, but you don't see.
When spring arrives, for whom do the hundred flowers bloom?
You know this story, right?:
Shen Hsiu wrote,
The body is the tree of enlightenment,
The mind like a bright mirror-stand;
Time and again polish it diligently,
Do not let there be any dust.
Hui Neng... composed the following verse:
Enlightenment is basically not a tree,
And the mind-mirror not a stand;
Originally there is not a single thing
What is the use of wiping away dust?
Yuan Wu's best explanation:
"In the mirror of Ts'ao Ch'i, absolutely no dust." Quite a few people say that a stilled mind is the mirror itself. Fortunately, this has nothing to do with it; if you're only concerned with judging and comparing principles, what end will there be to it?
Hsueh Tou has spoken clearly; it's just that people do not see. Therefore Hsueh Tou, being such a dotard, says in verse, "He beats the drum for you to come look, but you don't see." Do ignorant people see?
He says more to you: "When spring arrives, for whom do the hundred flowers bloom?" One could say he's opening the doors and windows, throwing them wide open all at once for you. When spring comes, in the hidden valleys and wild ravines, in places where there are no people, a hundred flowers burst forth in profusion. Tell me, who else do they bloom for?
Submitted January 15, 2020 at 02:35AM by i-dont-no https://ift.tt/36UJdps
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