from Baizhang's Record, one of the translations on Terebess:
One day [Baizhang] Huaihai accompanied Mazu on a walk. A flock of wild geese flew past them. Master Ma said, “What's that?”
Huaihai said, “Wild geese.”
The master said, “Where'd they go?”
Huaihai said, “They flew away.”
The master then grabbed Huaihui's nose and twisted.”
Huaihai cried out, “Ouch!”
The master said, “Do you still say they flew away?”
Huaihai had a deep realization.
The next day Master Ma entered the hall to address the community. When the monks had all assembled, Huaihai went forward and rolled up the bowing mat in front of the teacher's seat. The master then got down from the seat and returned to his room. Huaihai followed after him. The master turned to him and asked, “Why did you roll up the mat before I'd said a word?”
Huaihai said, “Yesterday you hurt my nose.”
The master said, “Where in your mind are you keeping yesterday's matter?”
Huaihai said, “Today my nose doesn't hurt anymore.”
The master said, “You understand today's matter very well.”
(Welcome link) (ewkwho?) note: We get people in here who have had a defining experience, a quasi-supernatural insight, a life changing Revelation. They often feel that their experience is somehow related to Zen Masters' teachings without being able to talk coherently, even at a high school level, about those teachings.
Aside from the fact that their supernatural experiences are, to them, permission to claim authority without a rational discussion, how to these experiences compare to Zen enlightenments?
Well, here we have Baizhang Huaihai's enlightenment under Mazu. Teacher and student go for a walk, there is a dispute that ends in a nose twisting, and the next day something is different. Note specifically what Baizhang has to say about the difference:
Huaihai said, “Today my nose doesn't hurt anymore.”
This is notable both for what he says, something in the present, and what he doesn't say:
- No claim of new knowledge of any kind
- No assertion of understanding or insight
- No hesitation to engage the conversation of today on it's own grounds, without regard to what might have happened yesterday.
In fact, in looking across Zen teachings it is almost as if enlightenment is, for Zen Masters, a source of embarrassment. There is no theme of having accomplished something, there is no dwelling on it as justification for a question, an answer, or for knowledge or ignorance.
Whether Zhaozhou, Deshan, Dongshan, or Wumen, not only does the enlightenment experience seem to be embarrassing, it has no relevance to what comes after.
This is quite the contrast with new ager, Buddhist, Christian, and meditation "enlightenments", which are at once the most significant, the greatest justification, and the only basis for authority.
Submitted September 19, 2020 at 08:26PM by ewk https://ift.tt/3iGRqmW
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