Huineng sticks his neck out: "A straight sword is not crooked, a crooked sword is not straight."

From The Sutra of Hui-neng: Grand Master of Zen, Trans. Thomas Cleary. p.63-64

 

The monk Chih-ch'e was a man from Chiang-hsi. His original surname was Chang, and his given name was Hsing-shang. In youth he had been a wandering swordsman.

After the Southern and Northern schools were divided in their teaching methods, even though the masters of the schools were non-partisan, followers of theirs became competitive and partial. At that time, the followers of the Northern School set up Master Shen-hsiu on their own as the Sixth Grand Master, and were jealous of the fact that the Grand Master [Hui-heng] was known throughout the land to have inherited the robe. They hired Hsing-shang to assassinate the Master.

Knowing this before hand by telepathy, the Master placed ten ounces of gold by his seat. That night Hsing-shang entered the Grand Master's room to kill him. The Master stretched out his neck to the sword. Hsing-shang slashed three times, but failed to make any wound at all.

The Master said, "A straight sword is not crooked, a crooked sword is not straight. I only owe you some money; I don't owe you my life."

Hsing-shang was so startled he collapsed. It was a long time before he revived, and when he did he begged for mercy and repented of his wrong. Then he wanted to leave the world and become a monk. The Master gave him the gold and said, "Go away for now, lest the disciples do you harm. Come back someday in a different guise, and I'll take you in."

Hsing-shang did as instructed and fled during the night. later he became a monk, disciplined and energetic.

 

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wrrdgrrl: Something about this story reminds me of recent reddit drama, but I can't quite put my finger on it. What compelled me about this story is the unbelievable scene with a bared neck and an assassin's blade. I have some questions!

1. What's up with the "telepathy" bit? Is this suspicious? Maybe it's context, or translation. Can somebody offer any clarity? Just TM me XD

2. How in the heck could Huineng not sustain a single cut on his bare neck? Was his (faith/belief/zenniness) protecting him? Was the swordsman's blade dull?

3. The straight sword not crooked/crooked sword not straight seems very important. It reminds me of the one where "A true man speak a false word is still true,..." etc. I wonder if they are related ideas. Can't use a straight sword if you're crooked... ?

Submitted February 28, 2019 at 08:00PM by wrrdgrrl https://ift.tt/2NAMSzY