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  From the standpoint of the original place, the dharma is also a conjured mirage that can therefore not be considered real. To all who have turned their backs on truth, Seon directly reveals the essential and profound meaning of the truth by demonstrating that there is originally no wisdom or ignorance whatsoever. To those who do not see this fact right away, Seon opens the door of enlightenment through meditative training.

  The line “the Buddha’s Way and Māra’s way are both in error” comes from Baozhi’s “Verses in Praise of the Mahāyāna.” It is wrong to discriminate between the Buddha’s Way and Māra’s way. If you get caught in these two great evils, you will dislike suffering and seek only pleasure. If you awaken to the original root of birth and death, you will see that your original essence is empty; so where could there be buddhas and māras? They are just discriminations created by deluded thought.

  “[That state] is originally pure, clear, and lucid. It has no such characteristics as square and round, big and small, or long and short. It is uncontaminanted and unconditioned, free from delusion and awakening.

  Once you clearly see that there is not a single thing,

  There will also be no human beings and no buddhas,

  Chiliocosms as numerous as sand will be like foam on the sea,

  All the saints and sages will be like flashes of lightning.73

  本來清淨皎皎地 無方圓無大小無長短等相 無漏無為無迷無悟 了了見無一物 亦無人亦無佛 大千沙界海中漚 一切聖賢如電拂.

  From the beginning of the world up to the present, all compounded things are impermanent. However, if you have a penetrative awakening to the true characteristic that is the foundation of the production and cessation of these impermanent mirages, then even though you cannot explain it to others, you will know it for yourself and will always be free and comfortable.

  “Nothing is like the mind. The true dharma body is the same in the buddhas and patriarchs from the past to the present. Where could there be a flaw as minute as a single strand of hair? If you already comprehend what this means, you must exert yourself until the end of your current life, for you can never be certain when you exhale that you aren’t taking your last breath.”

  一切不如心 真實法身 從古至今與佛祖一般 何處欠少一毫毛 既會如是意 大須努力 盡今生去 出息不保入息.

  People may know what it means to perform some action diligently. But what they may not know is whether this diligence is leading to ruin. If they do know, they will be able to do something without doing anything. The difference between whether people know and don’t know is as huge as that between heaven and earth.

  There are, however, differences in the degree of knowing. You can see these differences when you examine how people have tried to help others. This is because you can see whether in their lives they strenuously cultivated Buddhist practices or wasted their time.

  15. Huineng Becomes the Sixth Patriarch

  Pei Xiu asked, “The Sixth Patriarch could not read scriptures, so how could he inherit the robe and become a patriarch? Chief Monk Shenxiu was the ‘head seat’ [shouzuo/sujwa 首座, i.e., leader] of five hundred, an instructor (ācārya) who taught thirty- two scriptures and treatises. Why didn’t he inherit the robe?”

  The master replied, “[Shenxiu] still had thoughts and presumed there were conditioned dharmas to be practiced and realized. For this reason, the Fifth Patriarch chose the Sixth Patriarch [Huineng]. At that time, the Sixth Patriarch just conformed in silence and attained the Tathāgata’s extremely profound meaning that was privately entrusted. This is why the dharma was conferred on him.

  問 六祖不會經書 何得傳衣為祖 秀上座是五百人首座 為教授師 講得三十二本經論 云何不傳衣 師云 為他有心 是有為法 所修所證將為是也 所以五祖付六祖 六祖當時秖是默契 得密授如來甚深意 所以付法與他.

  The verse Shenxiu 神秀 (606–706) posted basically says, “If dust alights,/ diligently wipe it clean.”74 This is a conditioned teaching in which the mind retains characteristics.

  The verse the Sixth Patriarch offered in response basically says, “The mind has no place where dust can alight,/ so there is no need to wipe it clean.” This reveals the unconditioned dharma.

  Afterward, the Sixth Patriarch spent eight months pounding rice and thereby had time to reflect on his experience. Then he said, “I have finished pounding rice. Now, I have only to sift it.” The Fifth Patriarch, who realized that the time to transmit the dharma had come, called the Sixth Patriarch to his room in the middle of the night and preached to him the Diamond Sūtra. Right then and there, the Sixth Patriarch achieved a penetrative awakening and said, “How could I have known that my self-nature is originally pristine?”

  “Have you not heard it said?:

  Dharma is originally a dharma that is no dharma.

  The dharma that is no dharma is also a dharma.

  Now when I confer this no dharma,

  how would you understand the dharma to be this dharma or that dharma?75

  If you comprehend what this means, you will then be called a person who has left the household life; you will then be someone who enjoys practice.

  汝不見道 法本法無法 無法法亦法 今付無法時 法法何曾法 若會此意 方名出家兒 方好修行.

  The scriptures teach that those who have left the household life receive precepts and become members of the saṅgha in order to pay homage to the three jewels of the buddha, the dharma, and the saṅgha.

  On the other hand, in Seon, only those who have opened their eyes are called those who have left the household life. Even though you do not shave your head and still live in a town, if you open your eyes, you will be called one who has left the household life.

  At the fundamental place, you are not bound by whether the dharma is existent or nonexistent. Why then would it matter whether you have received the precepts? However, if you become attached to enlightenment and do not stop valorizing causes and conditions, as long as you have a physical body, you will not be able to escape one whit of causality.

  “If you cannot believe this, then tell me why Chief Monk Daoming rushed to the summit of Mount Dayu to find the Sixth Patriarch? The Sixth Patriarch asked him, ‘What did you come in search of, the robe or the dharma?’

  “Daoming replied, ‘I haven’t come for the robe; I’ve only come for the dharma.’

  “The Sixth Patriarch said, ‘Gather your thoughts for a moment and don’t think of either good or evil.’ Daoming did as he was told. The Sixth Patriarch said, ‘When you’re not thinking of good and not thinking of evil — at that very moment, bring me Chief Monk Daoming’s original face before your parents conceived you.’76 At these words, Daoming suddenly silently conformed [with the Way].

  “He then bowed respectfully and said, ‘I am like a person who has drunk water and knows for himself whether it is cold or warm. While I was living in the Fifth Patriarch’s congregation, I wasted thirty years of practice. Today, I have finally realized my previous mistakes.’

  “The Sixth Patriarch said, ‘So it is. Having arrived here, you finally know that the Patriarch [Bodhidharma’s] coming from the West, pointing directly to people’s minds, and seeing the nature and achieving buddhahood does not involve speech.’77

  若不信 云何明上座 走來大庾嶺頭 尋六祖 六祖便問 汝來求何事 為求衣 為求法 明上座云 不為衣來 但為法來 六祖云 汝且暫時斂念 善惡都莫思量 明乃稟語 六祖云 不思善不思惡 正當與麼時 還我明上座 父母未生時面目來 明於言下 忽然默契 便禮拜云 如人飲水冷煖自知 某甲在五祖會中 枉用三十年工夫 今日方省前非 六祖云 如是 到此之時 方知祖師西來 直指人心 見性成佛 不在言說.

  Chief Monk Daoming’s original name was Huiming 慧明. After he awakened, out of deference for the Sixth Patriarch Huineng, he stopped using the Sinograph “Hui,” which also appeared in his teacher’s name, and changed his name to D
aoming.

  Daoming had been a fifth-rank general in the Chinese army before he ordained as a monk and was a disciple of Huineng’s rival, Shenxiu. When Shenxiu’s inner circle thought that Huineng had stolen the robe and bowl symbolizing the patriarchy from their rightful recipient, they tried to track Huineng down in order to retrieve the symbols of the patriarchy for Shenxiu. Because of Daoming’s military background, he was able to catch up more quickly with the Sixth Patriarch than others. Seeing Daoming approach, the Sixth Patriarch hid, placing the robe and bowl on a rock. Daoming at first tried to return to Shenxiu with the robe and bowl, but he “turned one thought around” and instead sought Huineng’s teachings. Although Daoming did not initially chase after the Sixth Patriarch to seek the dharma, he didn’t miss this opportunity to ask about the dharma. Right then and there, he conformed with the Way and illuminated the nature.

  “Have you not heard how Ānanda asked Mahākāśyapa, ‘Did the World-Honored One separately transmit anything besides his golden garment?’

  “Mahākāśyapa called Ānanda over and Ānanda complied. Mahākāśyapa ordered, ‘Knock over the flagpole in front of the gate!’78 This was the patriarch’s symbolic flag.

  “How was it that Ānanda served as [the Buddha’s] attendant for thirty years, only to be admonished by the Buddha for acquiring knowledge that comes from extensive learning: ‘For you to study knowledge for a thousand days is not as good as studying the Way for just one day. If you do not study the Way, it will be difficult to digest even a drop of water.’ ”79

  豈不見 阿難問迦葉云 世尊傳金襴外 別傳何物 迦葉召阿難 阿難應諾 迦葉云 倒却門前剎竿著 此便是祖師之標榜也 甚生阿難三十年為侍者 秖為多聞智慧 被佛訶云 汝千日學慧 不如一日學道 若不學道 滴水難消.

  When Ānanda asked, “What dharma did the World-Honored One transmit?” Mahākāśyapa just told him, “Knock over the flagpole in front of the gate,” without giving any further explanation. As the Buddha’s long-time attendant, Ānanda had heard numerous teachings but failed to attain enlightenment. Only after the Buddha passed away was he finally enlightened, thanks to his senior dharma brother Mahākāśyapa, and became a patriarch himself.

  The householder Pei Xiu attained enlightenment through the intercession of Master Huangbo and was able to digest these words thanks to the power of sudden enlightenment. In this way, know that the experience of sudden enlightenment is truly useful and precious.

  PART II

  THE WANLING RECORD

  (Wanling lu 宛陵錄)

  1. The Way Means Awakening to the Mind

  Grand Councilor Pei Xiu asked the master:

  裴相公問師曰.

  Both Essentials of Transmitting the Mind-Dharma and the Wanling Record are records of Master Huangbo’s exchanges with Pei Xiu. The former text was written in 842 during the Tang dynasty when Pei Xiu served as governor of Zhongling 鍾陵. The latter was compiled six years later, in 848, in Wanling. Wanling was the capital of Anhui province, located in the hill areas south of the Yangtze River, and served as a major transportation hub.

  Essentials refers to the questioner “Pei Xiu” without any honorific title, while the Wanling Record uses his title “grand councilor.”80 Considering this variation, it seems that Essentials was written by Pei Xiu himself while the Wanling Record was compiled by disciples of the master who were present during Pei Xiu’s visits with Huangbo.

  “Of the four or five hundred people in this mountain [assembly], how many have gained the master’s dharma?”

  The master replied, “It is impossible to count the number of those who have gained it. Why? The Way involves awakening to the mind. How could it involve speech? Language is only used to help immature children understand.”

  山中四五百人 幾人得和尚法 師云 得者莫測其數 何故 道在心悟 豈在言說 言說只是化童蒙耳.

  Language is merely a means to help people realize the Way, like pretending a yellow leaf is real gold to make a child stop crying. Therefore you should not think that there is real meaning in language.

  This statement is made from the standpoint of the Way. It is not that there is something wrong with language itself. What the master said here is that language is only a means, not the goal.

  I can feel the immeasurable weight of the master’s words, “It is impossible to count the number of those who have gained it.”

  2. No-Mind Is the Way

  Pei Xiu asked, “What is buddha?”

  The master replied, “The mind is buddha. No-mind is the Way.

  問 如何是佛 師云 即心是佛 無心是道.

  Here, something that cannot be named is called the “mind.” This mind is nothing but the buddha and no-mind. “No-mind” refers to everyday mind. Although everyday mind is revealed in front of your eyes, you cannot describe its limit. There is no spot where you can pinpoint its location, saying, “Here it is!” The mind that you cannot say either exists or does not exist is called “no-mind.” It has never revealed any form that can be called “the mind”; but it is not that it does not reveal itself, either.

  Seon masters say, “It is revealed anywhere and at any time, but you do not realize this fact because you have not attained enlightenment.”

  “If you neither arouse your mind nor allow yourself to think in terms of such mental conceptions as existence and nonexistence, long and short, self and others, and subject and object, then the mind is originally buddha and buddha is originally the mind.

  但無生心動念 有無長短 彼我能所等心 心本是佛 佛本 是心.

  If the dualistic thoughts that discriminate and distinguish among things are eradicated, the mind will then indeed be the buddha.

  “The mind is like empty space. Therefore it is said, ‘The true dharma body of the buddha is like empty space.’81

  心如虛空 所以云 佛真法身 猶若虛空.

  Since the mind is like empty space, it is not known when and how it was created. It transcends the level of cognition. Empty space does not change even the slightest, whether in the past, present, or future. The mind is just like this. Since people try to describe or even name the mind that is like empty space, they think there must be this kind of mind or that kind of mind. But how can there be discriminations such as wide and narrow, large and small, or close and distant in either empty space or the mind itself?

  Empty space may be like the mind, but unlike the mind, empty space has no numinous awareness (lingzhi/yeongji 靈知). Empty space and the mind are alike in their emptiness and tranquility. However, empty space cannot tell the difference between warm and cold when water is sprayed into the air; only the mind can know warmth and cold.

  Although empty space cannot become a buddha, comparing the mind to empty space is valid because they share some similarities.

  “Do not seek [the buddha] separately. Seeking anything will inevitably lead to suffering.

  不用別求 有求皆苦.

  If the mind is indeed buddha, and because the myriad things are also the mind, there is no need to seek the buddha elsewhere.

  You’re always seeking something, thinking, “I should find the buddha. I should realize buddhahood.” However, you should first turn this one thought around. If you think you need to find something and you pursue it, you will only stain yourself with more dirt.

  Master Huangbo asserted, “There is originally nothing to be attained.”

  “Even if you cultivate the six perfections and the myriad [bodhisattva] practices for as many kalpas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges and gain the bodhi of the buddhas, this still will not be the ultimate. Why is this? This is because they are associated with conditioned creation.

  設使恒沙劫 行六度萬行 得佛菩提 亦非究竟 何以故 為屬因緣造作故.

  Even though you cultivate the myriad practices of the bodhisattvas, you are still not ready to attain supreme enlightenment. The six perfections and the myriad bodhisattva practic
es are nothing but mirages that constantly change, being dragged along by karmic conditioning. The moment you realize that there is something that is immutable, everything that is subject to change will be seen as false.

  What is created by causes and conditions are conditioned dharmas (saṃskṛtadharma). For this reason, the Diamond Sūtra says, “All conditioned dharmas are like a dream, a mirage, a bubble, and a shadow; they are like the morning dew or a flash of lightning.”82

  “And once such causes and conditions come to an end, they revert to impermanence.

  因緣若盡 還歸無常.

  The dharma body remains the same, whether it is in the hells or the heavens, for it has never been created or altered. However, anything that is produced through causes and conditions inevitably changes, and such ephemeral things are all vain and false.

  “Therefore, it is said,

  The reward body and the transformation body are not the true buddha.

  They also are not the one who preaches the dharma.83

  所以云 報化非真佛 亦非說法者.

  The dharma body, reward body, and transformation body can be compared to the moon, moonlight, and the shadows cast by the moon, respectively. If the moon has risen, there will be moonlight, which casts shadows. Therefore the reward body and transformation body are created in accordance with karmic causes and conditions. They are not the one who preaches the dharma.

  “You need only recognize that your own mind involves neither self nor person but is originally a buddha.”

  但識自心 無我無人 本來是佛.

  Since originally there are no real conceptions of self and person, it would be foolish to try to eradicate such conceptions. How can you eradicate something that does not exist? If you realize that there are originally no such conceptions, you will realize that all conceptions of a self (ātman), a person (pudgala), a living being (sattva), or a soul (jīva) are nothing but shadows. Seeing that such things appear in accordance with the proper conditions, do not think that these are things you need to eradicate.