From Original Chan, selected writings from the Transmission of the Lamp by Chang Chung-yuan.
A monk asked, "What is the perfect symbol of vairocana?"
The Master answered, "Ever since I left my home in my early days to be a Buddhist I have not been troubled by blurred eyesight."
The monk persisted, "Then why don't you help people to see?"
The Master replied: "I want you to see the vairocana for yourself."
A monk asked, "Who is the teacher of vairocana [godhead]?"
The Master cried out, "Ho!"
The monk asked, "Who is your teacher?"
The Master replied, "Don't be rude."
In my last post, Walk on Vairocana's Head, I shared a koan in which a Master instructed an emperor to walk on Vairocana's head. I found multiple commentaries upon the case from others, and felt compelled to share the following commentary as it's most elucidating. This is Master Yamada's comment:
When the emperor asks about the controller of the ten bodies he is actually asking, "What is Buddha?" Vairocana Buddha, known also as "Great Sun Buddha," is the most basic of all Buddhas. Simply speaking, it is emptiness itself. It is customary to think of Vairocana Buddha as something extremely holy and precious. You can think of Vairocana Buddha as the ultimate foundation of Shakyamuni Buddha. Usually this is expressed as the Buddha of the Absolute Three Treasures. But here is Nanyang telling the emperor to step on the head of Vairocana Buddha! What could this mean? Vairocana Buddha, no matter how holy and precious he may be, is in the end a concept. In zazen we throw away all concepts and come to a living experience of the actual fact. This is the purpose of Zen. It is customary for most religions to have elements of the holy and untouchable about them. We ourselves prostrate ourselves before the Buddha in veneration. However, what we are actually about here is getting rid of those concepts of "holy" and "special" and coming to an experience of the actual fact. In telling the emperor to step on the head of Vairocana Buddha, the National Teacher would seem to be acting with great rudeness. Nevertheless, with these words he is teaching the emperor (and us) that we must rid ourselves of concepts such as "holy" or "special." The emperor cannot understand this. This time, the National Teacher says, "Never consider yourself to be the pure and clean Dharma body." Never think that your essential nature is completely pure and spotless. Why? Because that, too, is a concept. The National Teacher is constantly urging us on to actual experience, to never be satisfied with concepts, no matter how august and worthy they may seem.
Submitted December 25, 2018 at 06:13AM by Dillon123 http://bit.ly/2SkvDo7
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