Book of Serenity case 88 - The Surangama's Not Seeing

Into

When there is seeing and there is not seeing, this is lighting a lamp at midday; when there is no seeing and no not seeing, this is pouring ink at midnight. If you believe seeing and hearing are like illusion-creating cataracts, then you will know that sound and form are like flowers in the sky. But tell me, in the Teachings, is there talk of patchrobe monks?

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Case

The Surangama scripture says, "When I don't see, why don't you see my not seeing? If you see my not seeing, that is naturally not the characteristic of not seeing. If you don't see my not seeing, it's naturally not a thing - how could it not be you?"

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Verse

The ocean dries up,

Space is filled:

A patchrobe monk's nose is long,

The ancient Buddha's tongue is short.

The thread of the jewel passes nine bends,

The jade loom barely turns once.

Meeting directly, who knows him?

For the first time you believe this person cannot be accompanied.

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- Cleary's Book of Serenity, case 88

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sje397's comment:

Sorry for skipping all Wansong's great commentary on this one. The book is well worth the purchase :) The commentary makes clear a few things you would probably assume on reading, and some that are not obvious. A monk having a long nose does appear to imply a kind of 'nosiness' in terms of study, piercing through 'mere words', and Buddha's short tongue relates to inexpressibility, or to not talking too much. The thread passing nine bends has something to do with Confucius who, after being given a gem that had a hole drilled through it that was not straight but had nine bends in it, enticed an ant with honey to thread it for him (elsewhere is the comment, "A waste of mental power"). The jade loom is in a state prior to the formation of a pattern.

We all look at the world from a different angle, physically and mentally. But that in itself is true for everyone - an objective truth in a way. Not knowing, or not seeing, is also a common experience. We only have eyes on one side of our heads. Knowing nothing, not even knowing nothing, and acting spontaneously along with the rest of the world - isn't that the Way within all of us?

Submitted May 13, 2019 at 07:47PM by sje397 http://bit.ly/30dA9cp