A Bird in Flight Leaves No Trace Read online

  Once both subject and object fall away, you will realize that they are indeed the one true dharma realm just as they are.

  Since time immemorial, this numinous enlightened nature has been as old as empty space. It has never been produced and has never been extinguished. It has never been existent and never been nonexistent.

  此靈覺性 無始已來 與虛空同壽 未曾生未曾滅 未曾有未曾無.

  True emptiness is neither existent nor nonexistent. It has no boundaries. It is neither created nor destroyed.

  Religions, like philosophy, do not claim that something “exists”; rather, they seek to explain what makes existence or activity possible. This focus is expressed, for example, in such terms as buddha, mind, nirvāṇa, or buddha nature.

  It has never been either tainted or pure, clamorous or quiet, young or old. It has neither direction nor locus, neither inside nor outside, neither size nor form, neither color nor sound. It cannot be sought or pursued, comprehended through wisdom, expressed in language, contacted through sense objects, or reached through meritorious practices.

  未曾穢未曾淨 未曾喧未曾寂 未曾少未曾老 無方所無內外 無數量無形相 無色像無音聲 不可覓不可求 不可以智慧識 不可以言語取 不可以境物會 不可以功用到.

  This enlightened nature cannot be reached by wisdom because even wisdom is an obstacle. Wisdom is a medication that is temporarily used to treat defilements. There is originally neither medication nor malady. Mirages originally do not exist; but since people mistakenly presume they are something real, a temporary remedy for resolving this mistaken perception is administered.

  Although people are then given a chance to discard those temporary remedies after the mirages are removed, they cannot let go of them easily. This is the state in which they may have abandoned the sense fields but they still cling to the mind.

  All buddhas and bodhisattvas, together with all wriggling creatures who are endowed with numinosity, possess this great nirvāṇa nature. The nature is the mind, the mind is the buddha, and the buddha is the dharma. Any single thought that is separate from this truth is a delusory conception. You cannot use the mind to seek the mind, the buddha to seek the buddha, or the dharma to seek the dharma. Therefore you practitioners of the Way, right here and now, should remain in a state of no-mind and silently conform with it. If you put the mind to use, it will all go wrong!

  諸佛菩薩 與一切蠢動含靈 同此大涅槃性 性即是心 心即是佛 佛即是法 一念離真 皆為妄想 不可以心 更求于心 不可以佛 更求於佛 不可以法 更求於法 故學道人 直下無心 默契而已 擬心即差.

  If you understand intuitively, you will naturally accord with the Way. If you do not so understand and try to do so intentionally, this will only create ignorance. Not knowing what you need to do in order to understand, you approach the matter conceptually, you act as if you understand, and accordingly you end up getting stuck there.

  To transmit the mind with the mind — this is right view. You must refrain from looking outside and pursuing sense objects. Mistaking sense objects for the mind is “mistaking a thief for one’s son.”30

  以心傳心 此為正見 慎勿向外逐境 認境為心 是認賊為子.

  The mind-to-mind transmission does not mean that there is something to give and to take. “To give” the transmission means to give something that cannot be given; “to take” it means to take something that cannot be taken. This sort of giving and taking cannot be seen with the eyes. Digest all of this from the standpoint of absolute equality, in which all connections are severed.

  Since greed, hatred, and delusion exist, we establish morality, concentration, and wisdom. If originally there were no defilements, then what need would there be for bodhi?

  為有貪嗔癡 即立戒定慧 本無煩惱 焉有菩提.

  The three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion are in fact the counterparts of the three trainings in morality, concentration, and wisdom. Although there are originally no forms that need to be saved, these words are uttered from the relative standpoint that there is something that needs to be saved. Since expedients are used to assist with this process of salvation, various steps are established provisionally to resolve the fundamental problem of birth and death.

  About this, a patriarch said,

  The Buddha taught all dharmas

  in order to eliminate all states of mind.

  Since I retain no states of mind,

  what need is there for all dharmas?31

  Do not add a single thing to the buddha, whose original source is pristine.

  故祖師云 佛說一切法 為除一切心 我無一切心 何用一切法 本源清淨佛上 更不著一物.

  No matter how often they are told not to attribute anything to the buddha, sentient beings unwittingly keep attributing things to him. Whether they attribute anything to him or not, if they can simply reach a point of digesting everything and moving on, they then will be able to embrace any thing and any change, just as does empty space.

  As it is, although they may only have a splinter in their finger, sentient beings find the pain unbearable and flail in agony. You must cultivate Buddhist practice together with other practitioners under the guidance of a spiritual mentor.

  It is like empty space: even were empty space adorned with countless precious jewels, they would never stay in place. Buddha nature is the same as empty space: even were it adorned with immeasurable wisdom and merit, those would never stay in place. They would simply delude the original nature and obscure it, that’s all.

  譬如虛空 雖以無量珍寶莊嚴 終不能住 佛性同虛空 雖以無量功德智慧莊嚴 終不能住 但迷本性 轉不見耳.

  Our inability to add a single thing to the originally pristine mind is like our inability to hang a jewel, no matter how precious, in empty space. If we focus on the jewel, we will become even more deceived, because we will miss seeing the true nature of empty space.

  The so-called “dharma gate of the mind ground”32 means that the myriad dharmas are all established in reliance on this mind: they come into existence when they encounter sense objects and vanish when those objects vanish. You must not turn this pure nature into a sensory experience. The so-called “reflective function of meditation and wisdom” refers to the clear tranquility and alertness of one’s seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing. But these are all understandings that occur at the level of the perceptual environment. These are provisional explanations offered to those of middling or inferior spiritual faculties. If you wish to intimately experience realization for yourself, do not generate these sorts of views and interpretations.

  所謂心地法門 萬法皆依此心建立 遇境即有 無境即無 不可於淨性上 轉作境解 所言定慧鑑用 歷歷 寂寂惺惺 見聞覺知 皆是境上作解 暫為中下根人說 即得 若欲親證 皆不可作如此見解.

  The “dharma gate of the mind ground” means that the mind is the source of the myriad dharmas. All dharmas are produced from the mind ground, just as the myriad things are produced from the great earth. Since this mind is originally pristine, you need not add any conceptual understanding to it.

  If you are not awakened, do not create obstacles for your practice by generating such concepts as “quiescence and alertness” or “seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing.”

  These are all perceptual dharmas. If you presume there is place where [these dharmas] perish, then they will perish at that ground where they are presumed to exist. Not generating a view of existence or nonexistence in regard to all dharmas — this is seeing the dharma.

  盡是境法 有沒處 沒於有地 但於一切法 不作有無見 即見法也.

  The true dharma does not belong to the categories of existence or nonexistence, for it transcends all dichotomies. If you transcend these two extreme views, the dharma will soon be made manifest.

  6. The Mind and Sense Objects Are One and the Same

  On the first day of the ninth month
, the master said to me, Pei Xiu:

  Since the great master Bodhidharma arrived in China, he taught only the one mind and transmitted only the one dharma. He transmitted the buddha by means of the buddha and never spoke of any other buddha. He transmitted the dharma by means of the dharma and never spoke of any other dharma. The dharma is the ineffable dharma, and the buddha is the intangible buddha. This is the pure mind, which is the original fount. Only this one matter is genuine; all others are fake.

  九月一日師謂休曰 自達摩大師到中國 唯說一心 唯傳一法 以佛傳佛不說餘佛 以法傳法不說餘法 法即不可說之法 佛即不可取之佛 乃是本源清淨心也 唯此一事實 餘二則非真.

  Only the mind, the dharma, and the buddha are genuine. They all refer to the original pristine mind. All other concepts are fake. You should clearly understand that the dharma transmitted by all the buddhas and patriarchs from generation to generation is only this mind.

  Prajñā is wisdom. This wisdom is the original mind that is free from characteristics. Ordinary people do not pursue the Way. Indulging only in their six senses, they journey among the six rebirth destinies.

  般若為慧 此慧即無相本心也 凡夫不趣道 唯恣六情乃行六道.

  The power that enables people to see the source is called prajñā. Unenlightened sentient beings only increase their ignorance by seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing in accordance with the causes and conditions that derive from their eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. As a result, they end up taking rebirth within the six destinies (gati) of heavenly beings, humans, demigods, animals, hungry ghosts, and denizens of the hells.

  Practitioners of the Way, if a single thought presumes there is birth and death, you fall into Māra’s path. If a single thought generates all different kinds of views, you fall into non-Buddhist paths. If you perceive that things are produced and pursue their cessation, you fall into the śrāvaka path. If you do not perceive that things are produced and only perceive that things cease, you fall into the pratyekabuddha path.

  學道人一念計生死即落魔道 一念起諸見即落外道 見有生趣其滅 即落聲聞道 不見有生唯見有滅 即落緣覺道.

  If you presume there is a single thought involving production and cessation, you fall into the path of the śrāvakas. When you are told to contemplate production and cessation, you easily end up generating attachment, because you assume that Buddhist practice entails observing your thoughts constantly arising and ceasing. This is falling into the path of śrāvakas.

  This does not negate the value of insight meditation (vipaśyanā); it just means you should not abide in, or cling to, that method. Such meditations as counting the breaths, generating compassion, or contemplating the foulness of the body (aśubhabhāvanā) are all provisional means intended to lead people to authentic practice. But if you cling to these means, you will not be able to open your eyes to the Great Vehicle.

  Dharmas originally are unproduced, and now they are also not extinguished. Do not arouse such dualistic views as revulsion or delight. All dharmas are just this one mind; subsequently, this [insight] becomes the Buddha Vehicle. Ordinary people, generating thoughts about sense objects, pursue delights and revulsions with their minds. To be free from objects, they must forget their minds. If their minds are forgotten, sense objects will become void. If sense objects become void, the mind will be extinguished.

  法本不生今亦無滅 不起二見不厭不欣 一切諸法唯是一心 然後乃為佛乘也 凡夫皆逐境生心 心遂欣厭 若欲無境當忘其心 心忘即境空 境空即心滅.

  According to the “Universal Vision Bodhisattva” chapter of the Sūtra of Consummate Enlightenment, “When an illusory body disappears, an illusory mind also disappears; when the illusory mind disappears, illusory sense objects also disappear; when illusory sense objects disappear, that illusory disappearance also disappears; when that illusory disappearance disappears, that which is not illusory does not disappear.”33

  If you become immersed in these types of explanations and generate discrimination, thinking “this mind is the same as that mind, so there is no other mind that I can use,” you will end up remaining at the level of pratyekabuddhas. You may attain a small realization, but you will not be able to attain great enlightenment. Therefore you should be careful!

  If you just want to remove sense objects without forgetting the mind, you will not be able to remove sense objects but will only increase your bewilderment and agitation. Thus the myriad dharmas are just the mind. But as the mind also cannot be ascertained, what more do you seek?

  若不忘心而但除境 境不可除 秖益紛擾 故萬法唯心 心亦不可得 復何求哉.

  The myriad dharmas are created through mental causes and conditions; nothing is created apart from the mind.

  If you accord with this mind, just as gears mesh together smoothly, you will realize that nothing is originally ascertainable or unascertainable. Even if you realize this, if you are not fully certain of it, or if you cling to sense objects, your training will be disrupted. However, such disruption may also occur precisely because you are engaged in Buddhist training.

  Those who train in prajñā see not a single dharma that can be ascertained. They stop conceiving that there are three vehicles. There is only the one genuine reality, which cannot be realized or attained. To claim, “I have had realization and attainment,” is the height of conceit.

  學般若人不見有一法可得 絕意三乘 唯一真實 不可證得 謂我能證能得 皆增上慢人.

  Some claim to have attained awakening even though they have simply glimpsed that state. Such people are extremely arrogant. Practitioners of the Way should not abide in something of little worth. Let go of all sense of achievement, no matter how valuable it may seem to be. If you practice like that, you will naturally be free to embrace any change.

  Do not generate futile thoughts about the need for changes. It is especially dangerous to try to teach another with your own tiny achievement, not being mindful of your relationship with that person.

  For students of Seon, this is especially discouraged. If, based on immense faith, you let go and embrace changes, you will over time be able to benefit others without even trying.

  In the Lotus assembly, all those who flapped their garments and left were such adherents.

  法華會上 拂衣而去者 皆斯徒也

  In the Lotus Sūtra, those who digested the Buddha’s words on Vulture Peak felt blissful and remained in the assembly, while those five-thousand Lesser Vehicle adherents who did not just left in a huff. Those latter people had encountered such a valuable opportunity, but they were not ready to make use of it. Had those śrāvakas had eyes to absorb the Buddhadharma, they would have remained in the assembly. They did not open their eyes, however, and thus they chose to signal their displeasure by leaving in a huff.

  Therefore, the Buddha said, “There was in reality nothing for me to attain through bodhi.”34 He just silently conformed with it, that’s all.

  故佛言 我於菩提 實無所得 默契而已.

  If you reach this level, it means that you have digested such expressions as “original nirvāṇa,” “original no-mind,” and “everyday mind is the Way.” If you understand this correctly, you are told that you have opened your eyes to the right view of the middle way. If you attain sudden awakening, you will easily be able to understand this.

  Ordinary people who are about to die should just perceive that the five aggregates are all empty and the four great elements are not the self. The true mind is signless; it neither goes nor comes. At the moment of birth, the nature does not come, and at the moment of death, the nature does not go; placid, it remains perfectly quiescent. The mind and sense objects are one and the same. If you can simply attain sudden understanding right here and now in this manner, you will not be bound by past, present, or future. You will then be a person who has transcended the world.

  凡人臨欲終時 但觀五蘊皆空 四大�
�我 真心無相 不去不來 生時性亦不來 死時性亦不去 湛然圓寂 心境一如 但能如是直下頓了 不為三世所拘繫 便是出世人也.

  The five aggregates and the four material elements are like clouds that come and go in accordance with causes and conditions. However, the nature is like empty space, which is not produced when clouds appear and does not perish when clouds disappear. It is always placid, perfectly still, neither produced nor extinguished. Those who have transcended the mundane world should be able to have a penetrating insight into the buddha nature. Then they will not deceive or be deceived by others.

  You should not have even the slightest inclination [toward another rebirth].

  切不得有分毫趣向.

  Since the nature is perfect in and of itself, it has no fixed locus. “You have to go in some direction” is a phrase that applies only to deluded people. If you understand that there is neither subject nor object, you will exert yourself without leaving any trace, and there clearly will be only the one mind.

  If you perceive such auspicious signs as all the buddhas coming to welcome you and various other [bodhisattvas and deities] manifesting themselves before you, do not think of following after them. If you perceive horrific signs manifesting themselves before you, do not think of fearing them. If you just forget the mind and become the same as the dharma body, you will gain complete autonomy. This is the essential point.

  若見善相 諸佛來迎及種種現前 亦無心隨去 若見惡相種種現前 亦無心怖畏 但自忘心 同於法界 便得自在 此即是要節也.

  Whatever shapes clouds may take, if you understand that their foundation is simply empty space, you will never be deceived by their shapes again.

  In this passage, “complete autonomy” refers not to the kind of supernatural ability in which ignorant people people believe; in fact, all people are endowed with this faculty. People who think that they need to develop this faculty end up generating an attachment to it.