Greetings again, wayfarers! ZoB here 👋
Well, I thought the last section was long. I considered splitting this into two posts once it passed the 2000-word mark but couldn’t find a place I thought doing so worked.
So, strap in good-Zen-people, if you have the patients to read this whole thing you may be a Buddha.
Instant Zen, Facing It Directly: 🔗
“If you don't ask, you won't get it; but if you ask, in effect you've slighted yourself. If you don't ask, how can you know? But you still have to know how to ask before you can succeed . . .”
This is an important lesson that I don’t think gets brought up enough, and that I feel took me long to learn. One must figure out how to ask questions to get what one wants to know. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, there may not be good or bad questions, but there are charming and tedious ones, and you may get a charming or tedious answer in kind.
If you ask out of sincerity, you must realize that you’ve put yourself in the position to be explained to.
“. . . I have stuck you right on the top of the head for you to discern the feeling, like lifting up the scab on your moxacautery burn. Spiritually sharp people know immediately; then for the first time they attain the ability to avoid cheating themselves in any way . . .”
Moxacautery, more commonly known as moxibustion, is a traditional Asian medicinal practice of burning certain points on the body with mugwort. “Stuck you right on top of the head” might similarly be referring to acupuncture. Foyan is willing to use shock to call students’ attention, an idea we’ll return to later.
“. . . I'm not fooling you. Remember the story of the ancient worthy who was asked, "What was the intention of the Zen Founder in coming from India?" Amazed, the ancient said, "You ask about the intention of another in coming from India. Why not ask about your own intention?"
Then the questioner asked, "What is one's own intention?"
The ancient replied, "Observe it in hidden actions."
The questioner asked, "What are its hidden actions?"
The ancient opened and closed his eyes to give an indication . . .”
The question, “why did Bodhidharma come to China” is a constant boilerplate question asked by monks and a tedious one in my opinion. I couldn’t find who said this one because the number of Bodhidharma's coming to China is greater than that of the sands of the Ganges, so if someone else could I’d be in your debt. The fact that they were amazed by a question that became cliché makes me speculate it was a very early case.
“. . . The ancients often took the trouble to talk quite a bit, but their descendants were not like that; they would shout at people the moment they entered the door, with no further whats or hows or maybes . . .”
Shouting at monks was a common practice among Zen masters, but Mazu is credited with introducing the practice into Zen, as well as hitting people with the staff, and other ways of frightening them. He would shout at monks and beat them as soon as they entered the temple gate till they left or showed something of promise that made them worth keeping around.
Mazu also made the earliest known reference to a “ch’an school”.
“. . . If you don't understand, there is something that is just so; why not perceive it? In other places they like to have people look at model case stories, but here we have the model case story of what is presently coming into being; you should look at it, but no one can make you see all the way through such an immense affair . . .”
“Model case stories” is talking about koans. Foyan goes into this more in later lectures, but Zen is also not only about telling stories. What greater story or subject of study is there than the present?
“. . . People spend all their time on thoughts that are nothing but idle imagination and materialistic toil, so wisdom cannot emerge. All conventions come from conceptual thought; what use do you want to make of them?
Wisdom is like the sun rising, whereupon everything is illuminated. This is called the manifestation of nondiscriminatory knowledge. You should attain this once, and from then on there will be something to work with, and we will have something to talk about. If you indulge in idle imagination and toil over objects, then you have nothing for me to work with . . .”
The sun as an object of wisdom is common.
Sayings and Doings of Pai-chang #28: 🔗
With mind like wood or stone, not explaining anything with the mouth, mind not going anywhere, then the mind ground becomes like space, wherein the sun of wisdom naturally appears. It is as though the clouds had opened and the sun emerged.
Treasury of the Eye of True Teaching #101: 🔗
Although mind itself is Buddha, only those who experience it actually know. But if there is 'realization' and 'knowledge,' then the sun of wisdom sets in the land of existence. Yet if there is no illumination and no awakening, then dark clouds cover the gate of emptiness.
Vairochana is the Buddha associated with the sun and is also traditionally the embodiment of śūnyatā, emptiness.
“. . . What a laugh! When I talk about the east, you go into the west, and when I talk about the west, you go into the east; I can do nothing for you! If you could turn your heads around, when your insight opened up you'd be able to say, "After all it turns out that the teacher has told me, and I have told the teacher," and when the head was shaken the tail would whip around, everything falling into place. You brag about having studied Zen for five or ten years, but when have you ever done this kind of work? You just pursue fast talk . . .”
One of my top Foyan quotes. Unfortunately, you will see a lot of people practicing “fast talk”. You take your position in an argument, and they just take the opposite stance of whatever you say, every time.
This practice goes back to India, called catuṣkoṭi, a form of tetralemma, and is most associated with Nagarjuna. Catuṣkoṭi uses logical negation, taking the opposite of one of the four positions being argued for as a sort of devil’s advocate to cut to the truth. Ancient Greek philosophers also did similar practices, but it’s believed they adopted this from India themselves.
Monks like to come to the master and show off the dialectical hat tricks they learned. I suppose some people think that’s what enlightened people do, but this isn't what flashing your understanding is. Clearly, Foyan doesn't seem interested.
If you're more willing to level with people than to argue for the sake of doing so, everything might fall into place.
“. . . When you have come to me and I see it as soon as you try to focus on anything, that means your inner work has not yet reached the point of flavorlessness. If you stay here five or ten years and manage to perfect your inner work, then you will awaken.
Whenever I teach people to do inner work, what I tell them is all in accord with the ancients, not a word off; understand, and you will know of the ancients. But don't say, "An ancient spoke thus, and I have understood it thus," for then it becomes incorrect . . .”
First, again, our tradition is not about quoting people. Can we say something original from our own understanding?
Second, on the subject of “you will know of the ancients”, Wumen tells us:
Mumonkan (trans. Blyth) #1, commentary: 🔗 (link to .pdf)
Those who have passed the barrier are able not only to have an intimate understanding of [Zhaozhou], but also of the whole historic line of Zen Masters, to walk hand in hand with them, and to enter into the closest relation with them. You see everything with the same eye that they saw with, hear everything with the same ear. Is not this a blessed condition?
“. . . How about the ancient saying, "It is not the wind moving, not the flag moving, but your mind moving"—how many words here are right or wrong in your own situation? . . .”
One of the most referenced koans, Huineng’s flag.
Gateless Gate #29: 🔗
The wind was flapping a temple flag, and two monks were having an argument about it. One said the flag was moving, the other that the wind was moving; and they could come to no agreement on the matter, however they argued back and forth. The Patriarch said, "It is not that the wind is moving; it is not that the flag is moving; it is that your honourable minds are moving." The two monks were struck with awe.
“. . . It is also said, "I am you, you are me"—nothing is beyond this. Also, someone asked Yunmen, "What is the student's self?" Yunmen replied, "Mountains, rivers, the whole earth." This is quite good; are these there or not? If the mountains, rivers, and earth are there, how can you see the self? If not, how can you say that the presently existing mountains, rivers, and earth are not there? The ancients have explained for you, but you do not understand and do not know . . .”
I couldn’t find one that matched what Foyan quotes exactly, but Yumen does love his mountains and rivers.
Zen Master Yunmen #39: 🔗
Someone asked, "What is my 'I'?"
The Master said, "It's strolling in the mountains and enjoying the rivers."
"And what is your 'I,' Reverend?" The Master replied, "You're lucky that the precentor isn't here!"
And funnily,
Zen Master Yunmen #122: 🔗
Someone asked Yunmen, "What was the purpose in [Bodhidharma's] coming from the West?" The Master said, "The mountains, the rivers, the earth."
The Chinese ideogram for ch’an is the transliteration of the Sanskrit word for meditation—dhyana—and originally meant, “sacrifice” to “rivers-and-mountains”, to “nature”, or the “earth”.
“. . . I always tell you that what is inherent in you is presently active and presently functioning, and need not be sought after, need not be put in order, need not be practiced or proven. All that is required is to trust it once and for all. This saves a lot of energy.
It is hard to find people like this. When my teacher was with his teacher, his teacher used to say, "This path is a natural subtlety attained by oneself," generally focusing on the existence of innate knowledge. When I saw my teacher, I was unable to express this for ten years; just because I wondered deeply, I later attained penetrating understanding and now do not waste any energy at all . . .”
The self-nature is originally complete. One doesn’t have to practice or fix themselves to get to a place of ordinary mind or One Mind. These are already in you, and this is the foundation of Zen. I like the use of the word “trust” here. We use “faith” in it’s place a lot, but that has a stickiness to it. When you step out of bed in the morning, do you wonder if the ground will hold you up, or do you have a subconscious inalienable trust that it will?
“. . . It is not that it is there when you think of it but not so when you don't; Buddhism is not like this. Don't let the matter under the vestment bury me away. If you do not reflect and examine, your whole life will be buried away. Is there in fact anything going on here? . . .”
When we say everything is One Mind, that is not to say one’s intellect creates existence. Reality was here before one got here, and it will be here when one leaves their body behind.
“. . . Nowadays there are many public teachers whose guiding eye is not clear. This is very wrong! How dare they mount a pulpit to try to help others? Showing a symbol of authority, they rant and rave at people without any qualms, simply pursuing the immediate and not worrying about the future. How miserable! If you have connections, you should not let yourself be set up as a teacher as long as you are not enlightened, because that is disaster! If there is something real in you, "musk is naturally fragrant."
See how many phony "Zen masters" there are, degenerating daily over a long, long time. They are like human dung carved into sandalwood icons; ultimately there is just the smell of crap . . .”
Have I mentioned how much I love the admonishments in this lecture? Nothing to add, other than the observation of how little things seem to have changed from Foyan’s time. Maybe this will always be so.
“. . . Wishing to get out of birth and death, wishing to attain release, you try to become unified; but one does not attain unification after becoming homogenized. If you try to make yourself unified, you will certainly not attain unification.
Once a seeker called on a Wayfarer and asked, as they roamed the mountains, "An ancient teacher said he sought unification for thirty years without being able to attain it; what does this mean?" The Wayfarer replied, "I too am thus." Then he asked the seeker, "Understand?" He also gave the seeker a poem:
The ancient teacher attains unification
and I too am thus;
before the end of this month,
I will settle it for you again.
At the end of the month, the Wayfarer passed away. Tell me about unification; is it good or bad? The ancient teacher attained unification, and I too am thus. I announce to Zen seekers: facing it directly, don't stumble past. Each of you, go on your way.”
Summary:
- Learning how to ask questions and when to is important.
- The tradition of Zen isn’t only talking about koans and quoting people.
- Zen and One Mind also aren’t about personal intelligence bringing reality into existence.
Suggested discussions:
- What’s meant by “hidden actions”?
- What does “inner work” mean?
- Is unification good or bad?
Submitted June 09, 2022 at 12:38AM by ZenOfBass https://ift.tt/1zM6FiA
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