Dongshan’s record series #5
Tung-shan said to Yün-yen, "I have some habits that are not yet eradicated."
Yün-yen said, "What have you been doing?"
Tung-shan replied, "I have not concerned myself with the Four Noble Truths."
Yün-yen said, "Are you joyful yet?"
Tung-shan said, "It would be untrue to say that I am not joyful. It is as though I have grasped a bright pearl in a pile of shit."
Now Dongshan is staying with Yun-yen. His world might seem very different since his hearing with the eyes. Nonetheless, he is struck with his “habits”. After the refreshing swim in the clear crystal pool, he has to put his grubby clothes back on, along with their dirt and grit. Wasn’t all that going to go away? Dongshan asks about this – hey?! I’m still fallible, shot through with reactivity – what’s up with that?
Yunyen answers with a question of his own about practices, and Dongshan says he’s not even practicing the four noble truths. This forum will love that! I wonder what his not-practicing is like? He tells us: Like finding a jewel in shit. Another translation has it like this:
It's like sweeping up shit into a huge pile, and then suddenly finding a precious jewel within it.”
After enlightenment, before enlightenment – is there a difference?
Submitted April 16, 2021 at 05:01AM by bigSky001 https://ift.tt/3mO7PsI
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