Diving Into Dunhuang | Part 3: "Tuning Mind"

Summary

There was a question that was brought up in Wansong's "100 Questions and Answers" collection that references the latter part of Huike's travelings after meeting Bodhidharma. Let's take a look at the Zen records have to say about that 'latter period'.

The Question

Case 34.

Question: The Second Patriarch couldn't find his mind when he looked for it--why did the then say, 'I'm tuning my mind myself--it's none of your business'?

The Answer

Answer: Don't meddle.

Don't try to imagine what constitutes 'tuning mind', anything else is just refusing to follow Wansong's instruction.

Remarks

This quote regarding 'tuning mind' comes from the not-authoritative and eclectic collection of material that sometimes was cited by Zen Masters in their authored texts, as put together by no-AMA "Daoyuan" and who had an official government censor involved with the whole project aka. the Jingde 'Lamp' Record.

The quoted remark specifically reads: 我自調心何關汝事又於。

According to CBETA, "調心" doesn't come up anywhere prior to that in reference to the Second Patriarch's teaching...places where the language of 'tuning mind' does come up but which I haven't seen translations of are only The Recorded Sayings of "Huishan Dashi" aka. "Jiashan" aka. the chump who understood the depth of the water after being kicked in.

Oh! Also, since we only have 1/100 of Yongming Yanshou's "Source Mirror Collection" translated; given the outsized amount of Buddhist apologetics swarming around a text that has not been comprehensively translated there really isn't much to say about any references to 'tuning mind' in that text beyond that they haven't been evaluated on the context.

'Tuning mind' towards harmony is not the business of the awareness.

1. Zutang Ji Account

Huike told Sengcan, 'I will travel to the captial of Ye and repay my debts.' He consquently went to that place and taught sentient beings for thirty-four years. Sometimes he was in the capital strolling around at leisure and sometimes he was sent by people [to take care of some business] and after the business was taken care of he would return.

[Huike then got lynched by an offended sutra-lecturering Priest]

This was compiled in 952, a thread which was already picked up by Changsha "The Tiger" (788-868).

A Buddhist patron named Haoyue asked Zen master Changsha Jingcen, "An oldworthy said that 'karmic obstacles are fundamentally empty.' I don't understand why, when this isrealized, there is still a 'karmic debt' that must be repaid. For example, in the case of the esteemed Second Ancestor, why did he have to repay a karmic debt?" Zen master Changshareplied, "Your Worthiness doesn't understand fundamental emptiness." Haoyue said, "What is fundamental emptiness?" Changsha said, "Karmic obstruction." Haoyue said, "What is karmic obstruction?" Changsha said, "Fundamental emptiness." Haoyue was silent. Changsha thenrecited a verse:

If something is fundamental, it doesn't exist.

If something is annihilated, it doesn't cease.

Nirvana and karmic retribution

Are of one inseparable nature.

The 'he repaid his debts' account of the ZTJ gets assessed by Zen Masters in a way that rejects an interpretation of his lynching by Buddhists in accordance with Buddhist doctrine of karmic justice as fundamentally so.

2. The Dunhuang Account

[Meditation Teacher Daoheng] bribed a lay official to kill Huike illegally/unjustly. From the start Huike had not the slightest resentment as he came close to death. Daoheng's assembly rejoiced. Consequently, this caused those who realized what lay at the basis of the matter to cease their study of the fruitless and frivolous. The calumniator turned the sword on himself, for this was the first time he wakened to what the one voice preached...Huike then relaxed and conformed the worldly mores. At that time he bestowed clear stratagems and for the first time relied on the composition of songs, and sometimes he acted according to his thoughts and purged what Daoheng had harbored, dispelling these troubles...Huike wandered around the Ye region, frequently exposed to cold and warm. His Way was ultimately obscure and also profound...in the end his work/lineage ended and he had no illustrious successors.

This text has a whole lot going on in translation that we don't really have sufficient context to make heads or tails of:

1. No citation of the alleged 'songs' of Huike.

2. "Clear strategems" that aren't cited to.

It wasn't written by a Zen Master, but is cited to by contemporary Buddhist apologetics as evidence that Zen Masters talking about other Zen Masters are...invalidated by a historical account of something that doesn't quote the guy it's talking about.

The "narrative threads" by the authors of the Zutang and Dunhaung texts are rather flimsy; but when looking at what the differences between Zen and Buddhism comes down to according to Zen Masters...well, don't go trying to meddle around with the meaning of someone elses understanding to get your own.

Take care.

Submitted July 24, 2022 at 07:49PM by ThatKir https://ift.tt/qRn0Am3