A Single Gulp

Layman P'ang asked the Patriarch, "Who is the one that does not keep company with the myriad dharmas?"

The Patriarch said, "I will tell you when you swallow all the water of the West River in a single gulp."

This case is relatively well-known and somewhat frequently brought up around here, but what does it mean to "swallow all the water of the West River in a single gulp?"

Thankfully, Mazu elaborates for us in Treasury of the Eye of True Teaching, Case #155:

"When preceding thought, succeeding thought, and intervening thought do not await each other, passing away into quiescence moment to moment, this is called oceanic concentration. It takes in all things, just as a hundred thousand different streams return alike to the ocean, all to become ocean water.

Maintaining a single flavor while containing all flavors, dwelling in the ocean you merge myriad streams, like someone bathing in the ocean, using all the waters."

Hmmm... perhaps an example is in order?

From Treasury of the Eye of True Teaching, Case #314:

Later, when he left Yunyan, he asked, "After you die, if someone asks whether I can describe your likeness, how shall I reply?"

Yunyan was silent for a long while, then said, "Simply say, 'Just this is it.'"

Dongshan sank into thought.

Yunyan said, "Having gotten this matter, you really have to be thorough."

Dongshan left without saying anything.

It seems that even Dongshan struggled to apprehend it in a flash, or to "know it instantly:"

One day the Layman questioned Pai—ling, asking, "Can people avoid talking about what they see with their eyes?"

Pai-ling said, "How can it be avoided?"

The Layman said, '"By knowing instantly! By knowing instantly!"

So, what's the deal? How do we resolve this?

What's next for Dongshan?

Later, as he was crossing water, he saw his reflection and only then was he suddenly enlightened.

Aha!

A singular face within the myriad whitecaps, a clear reflection among the raging torrents... it is apprehended on the tips of the hundred grasses, the emperor is recognized in the midst of the bustling marketplace.

And what does Dongshan have to say about it?

...he produced a verse saying,

"Just avoid seeking from others,

Or you'll be estranged from self.

I now go on alone; everywhere I meet It.

It now is really I, I now am not It.

Only when understanding this way

Can one accord with suchness as is."

What did Dongshan see as he crossed the water?

What is there to apprehend on the tips of the hundred grasses?

What does it mean to "recognize the emperor in the bustling marketplace?"

How do you swallow all the water of the West River in a single gulp?

Submitted March 22, 2023 at 04:41AM by ganying https://ift.tt/z1h7GMS