Excerpts from the ninety-fourth case of the Blue Cliff Record.
The Sixth Patriarch said, "Enlightenment basically has no tree; the clear mirror also has no stand. Fundamentally there is not a single thing; how is it possible to be defiled by any dust?"
He also said, "The Way fundamentally has no shape or form; wisdom itself is the Way. To attain this understanding is called true transcendent wisdom."
Let's say there is purpose; is there still a principle? Living words, dying words, interwebs and electric fences had no sway before food first met your mouth.
The one phrase before sound is not transmitted by a thousand sages; the single thread before our eyes is forever without a gap. Pure and naked, bare and clean, the White Ox on Open Ground. Eyes alert, ears alert, the golden-haired lion--leaving this aside for a moment, tell me, what is the White Ox on Open Ground?
Hsueh Tou's verse:
"The Whole Elephant" or "The Whole Ox"--as blinding cataracts, they're no different.
...What are you doing, clinging to fences and groping along walls? One cut, two pieces.
Adepts of all time have together been naming and describing.
Twenty-eight (Patriarchs) in India, six in China, all the old teachers in the world, numerous as hemp and millet seeds--yet you have still left yourself out.
If you want to see the yellow-faced old fellow right now,
Each atom of every land lies halfway there.
Context for time spent:
The [Surangama] scripture says, "If seeing were a thing, then you could also see my sight. If seeing alike were called seeing my (seeing), when I don't see, why don't you see my not seeing? If you see my not seeing, naturally this is not the characteristic of not seeing. If you don't see my not seeing, naturally it is not a thing; how could it not be you?"
...Ananda intended to say, "The lamps and pillars in the world all can be given names; I also want the World Honored One to point out this subtle spiritual fundamental illumination--what can you call it, to let me see the Buddha's intent?" The World Honored One says, "I see the incense stand." Ananda says, "I also see the incense stand; then this is the Buddha's sight." The World Honored One says, "When I see the incense stand, then that can be known; when I do not see the incense stand, then how will you see?" Ananda says, "When I don't see the incense stand, then this is seeing the Buddha." The Buddha says, "If I say I don't see, this is my own knowledge; when you say you don't see, this is your own knowledge--when another doesn't see, how can you know?"
The sense of the scripture is total indulgence in the beginning and total restraint in the end. Hsueh Tou goes beyond the eye of the scriptural teachings to versify: he neither eulogizes things, nor seeing or not seeing; he just eulogizes seeing Buddha.
Usually we say that each atom is a Buddha-land, each leaf is a Shakyamuni. Even when all the atomic particles in the cosmos can be seen in one atom, you're still only halfway there; there is still another half of the way yonder. But tell me, where is he? Old Shakyamuni didn't even know himself; how would you have me explain?
Submitted January 31, 2020 at 11:18AM by i-dont-no https://ift.tt/2tcFKnq
No comments:
Post a Comment