The Case
When Master Huanglong Nan was dwelling at Tong-an, he addressed the assembly in these terms: Today, the 8th day of the 4th month, is our Buddha’s birthday, when all the monasteries in the land ‘bathe baby Buddha.’ I remember when Cloth Robe Zun was the acting shrine keeper in the congregation at Yaoshan, in the course of the Buddha-bathing rite Yaoshan asked, “You’ve just managed to bathe this one; can you bathe that one?” Zun said, “Bring that one.” Yaoshan let the matter rest.
Teaching on the Case
The ancients spoke a word or half a phrase according to the time, and without artifice or mysteriousness. People today try their darnedest to deal with them, without ever reaching their realm.
Interpretation 1
Some people say “’This one’ is the bronze statue, while ‘that one’ is the reality-body. The bronze statue has form and so can be washed, but how can you wash the body of reality? Yaoshan only knew the one, not the two; when Zun pushed back, he could only frown, overcome by shame.” They also say, “When the ancients posed questions, they just wanted to test people. If they ask you about ‘that one’ and you then talk about ‘that one,’ this is actually chasing sound and form, gnawing their words, walking into their trap. Yaoshan stopped because he saw he didn’t understand.”
Interpretation 2
They also say, “This approach of Yaoshan is already creating an issue where there was none, gouging a wound in healthy flesh. Mr. Zun didn’t see the ailment coming up, and added more moxa on top of a cautery scar.” Some say, “When the ancients had attained realization, they performed according to the venue, without any right or wrong, high or low. Both knew what was, but after this people of later times insisted on making up discriminations.”
Teach on Interpretations
Interpretations like these are due to failure to meet enlightened people. Once they lose the source, they wander off, never to return. That is why they just go by the conscious mind’s thinking and comparison, taking this to be the vehicle to the source. What they don’t realize is that contrived thought comes from a specific mentality, so to use this thought to discern the sphere of enlightenment is like trying to burn the polar mountain with a firefly’s “fire”—it will never kindle, even in a million years. Therefore high-minded people traveling on foot should look for themselves—what should be done about the perennial concern? What do you use to counter birth and death? Don’t let a little bit of flighty and crude conscious vision create an obstacle for you. Buddhism is not this way. Today I have not avoided verbal activity in order to explain the interaction of these two venerable adepts, showing no winning or losing. Thirty years hence, don’t bring it up wrongly.
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ewk note: Let the matter rest! What about the other one? Was there ever a second bath?
Submitted November 02, 2018 at 06:52AM by ewk https://ift.tt/2Q84VxI
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