How to Study Ch’an under a Military Dictatorship, Part Two

Gateless Gate 41

Bodhidharma sat facing the wall.

The Second Patriarch stood in the snow.

He cut off his arm and presented it to Bodhidharma, crying, "My mind has no peace as yet! I beg you, master, please pacify my mind!"

"Bring your mind here and I will pacify it for you," replied Bodhidharma.

"I have searched for my mind, and I cannot take hold of it," said the Second Patriarch.

"Now your mind is pacified," said Bodhidharma.

Mumon's Verse

Coming east, directly pointing,

You entrusted the Dharma, and trouble arose;

The clamor of the monasteries

Is all because of you.

I love that last bit. This is such a historical event we see in this case. Nothing could be more eventful: “Will Ch’an come to China—or not?”

That takes an entire arm’s worth of dedication, I’m afraid! No mere finger will cut it.

But what was really on the line here? Look at Wumen’s verse! “You entrusted the Dharma, and trouble arose”.

These are Wumen’s comments looking back after half a millenium had passed. That is farther away than Shakespeare. His eye is writing with a 500 year view.

Which is why the next bit is so interesting:

The Clamor of the Monasteries

is all because of you.

I guess “intention follows the finger”—as they say in the world of Ch’an private investigation!

But here’s the bone and the marrow:

How to Chop Ewk’s Finger Off On Live TV

Zing!

What kind of dedication does it take to study Ch’an, when everything else is delusion? Pinky swears just won’t do—it takes a strong arm to point at the moon!

Never thought it would get so real, though. “Pointing at the moon”, of course, is an activity that carries significant folkloric encryption. Just look at the Kennedys!

So you don’t see it sneak up on ya until Artemis 1 is already on the launchpad, and you think to yourself: “Now that looks eventful!”

So ends part two of my survival guide to studying Ch’an under a military dictatorship.

You’ll be fine if you do it like Huik’o.

—Golden Eyebrow
Year of the Tiger

Submitted June 29, 2022 at 10:04AM by golden_eyebrow https://ift.tt/h49Sib5