Before he died, Huitang ordered that his funeral be conducted by his disciples and by [his student] Wang Tingjian, the local governor. During the cremation ceremony, Linfeng tried to light the pyre with a candle on behalf of the governor. The pyre would not light.
Governor Wang then spoke to Huitang’s senior disciple, Sixin, saying, “The master is waiting for our senior brother to light the fire.”
Sixin ritually refused Wang’s request, but the governor urged him to take the candle.
Finally, taking the candle, Sixin raised it before the assembly and said, “What evil have I committed that brings me to this? A great crime is hard to absolve! [Then facing the pyre, Sixin said,] Now, Master, you go on foot into emptiness. If you can’t ride an ox, please use a donkey!”
Sixin then drew a circle in the air with the candle, saying, “Here, all defilement is purified!”
He then threw the candle onto the pyre, which instantly erupted into flames.
All defilement from the past, present, and future purified! And yet, people still tie themselves up in it.
But if there's no ox and there's no donkey, what will you use to ride out on?
...
(Engulfing flames.)
Submitted May 06, 2021 at 04:09PM by ThatKir https://ift.tt/3epzEEU
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