Bodhi Seal of the Patriarchs

DHYANA MASTER FA KUANG OF SHIH CHUNG MONASTERY (T’ANG DYNASTY)

Composed by Tripitaka Master Hua

Translated by Disciple Bhiksuni Heng Ch’ih

    This Dhyana Master lived during the T’ang Dynasty at Chicken Foot Mountain’s Shih Chung Monastery. His name was Dhyana Master Fa Kuang.

      THE MASTER WAS FROM HO NAN, THE VILLAGE OF JU YANG. HIS FAMILY NAME WAS YANG. Both he and his father were officials, probably judges.

SEEING CRIMINALS HE SIGHED AND SAID, "BASICALLY PEOPLE HAVEN'T ANY CRIMES, BUT IGNORANCE BEGUILES THEM. HELL BASICALLY DOESN'T EXIST; PREVIOUS KARMA EVOKES IT."

When sentencing criminals he would say that fundamentally people are devoid of offenses. It is just because they lack understanding that they break the law, and fall into the nets of the law. "Fundamentally there isn't any hell," he said. "It's just the karmic retribution from former lives which evokes it.

ACCORDINGLY HE MADE A VOW AND WENT TO HSIAO LIN MONASTERY WHERE HE LEFT THE HOME LIFE. HE RECEIVED THE COMPLETE PRECEPTS AT K'AI YUAN MONASTERY AND THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED THE VINAYA AND THE TEACHING VEHICLE.

"I'm not going to be an official, but what will I do?" he thought, and then traveled to Hsiao Lin Monastery, located on Bear's Ear Mountain, the place where Patriarch Bodhidharma cultivated the Way. After leaving the home life he made a detailed study of the dharma of precepts and rules and the doctrines of the Great and Small Vehicles.

LATER HE TRAVELED EXTENSIVELY. AFTER INVESTIGATING THE ONE COME FROM THE WEST, THE STRAIGHT POINTING, HE EXPLAINED "GOING UPWARD."

He encountered the great meaning of the One Come from the West, Bodhidharma, and the doctrine of how to get out of the cage, the Dharma-door of the straight pointing by which one recognizes the mind and sees the nature. The Dharma of the Ch'an sect is called "Mind Ground" Dharma; it is also called "Going Upward" Dharma.

HE WALKED TO MAKE OBEISANCE TO KASYAPA ARRIVING AT CHICKEN FOOT, HE PLANTED HIS STAFF, ESTABLISHING SHIH CHUNG MONASTERY WHICH EVENTUALLY BECAME A HAVEN FOR THE DHARMA.

Step by step he walked to Yun Nan to Chicken Foot Mountain, and when he got there he bowed to Patriarch Ksayapa, who is, even now, still residing in Chicken Foot Mountain in samadhi. He rested his staff there, which means once he got there he didn't leave, but established a monastery, which became a Bodhimandala where the Dharma was spoken.

A GATHA SAYS:

HE WAS QUICKER THAN MOST TO UNDERSTAND

A SINGLE PHRASE FROM A GATHA.

THE DHARMA TOOLS WERE TO NO AVAIL;

HE WAS AT EASE AND COMFORTABLE.

THE HIDING PLACE OF THE "DRINKER OF LIGHT"

BLAZED LIKE SUN AND MOON.

THE STONE BELL RANG UNTIL THE SOUND

SHOOK DARK AND MICROSCOPIC PLACES.

As soon as he saw one sentence from a gatha in a Buddhist Sutra he understood. For instance, in the Vajra Sutra

No mark of self,

Of others

Of living beings,

Or of a life."

Is a gatha.

"If one sees me in form,

If one seeks me in sound,

He practices a deviant way

And cannot see the Tathagata."

Is also a gatha.

The wooden fish and the bells are all called Dharma tools, instruments, but that is not what is referred to here. Here Dharma tools refers to whatever methods the wise advisors of each monastery and temple he visited used to teach and transform him. But in all cases those instruments of Dharma were of no use.

"Drinker of Light" is the Patriarch Kasyapa who was hidden away sitting in samadhi in the mountain, blazing like the combined light of the sun and moon.

The Monastery he established at Chicken Foot Mountain is called Shih Chung, "Stone Bell," Monastery. The bell resounded; the dark and microscopic places refers to the hells. This is to say that the work of his monastery shook the hells until their inhabitants woke up.

ANOTHER GATHA SAYS:

IGNORANCE CREATES KARMA;

ONE GETS HIS FULL RETRIBUTION.

BOBBING AROUND IN THE OFFICIALDOM'S SEA

IS DANGEROUS AND DIFFICULT.

CASTING ASIDE FAME AND PROFIT

HE CONTEMPLATES WITH COMFORT.

BRINGING FORTH MERIT AND VIRTUES HE KNEW

THE DIVINITY OF THE NATURE.

AT CHICKEN FOOT MOUNTAIN HE

ESTABLISHED STONE BELL MONASTERY.

AT CRANE PEAK HE PROCLAIMED

THE GOLD AND JADE PAGES.

PERPETUATING THE TRIPLE JEWEL,

HIS TEACHING AND TRANSFORMING FLOURISHED.

THE DHARMA KING PRAISED HIM

"WELL DONE, WORTHY ONE."

      Because of ignorance one creates karma and because of karma one must undergo his retribution to the full extent. We mutually fill each other up with karmic retributions, just like filling bottles of water.

      Being an official was like floating and sinking in the ocean; very dangerous, and extremely difficult. So he cast aside name and profit and contemplated at ease. He brought forth merit and virtue by cultivation, using effort to follow the Way. He accumulated blessings and wisdom until he understood the divinity of the nature.

At Chicken Foot Mountain he set up Shih Chung Monastery. At Crane Peak flat he lectured the Vajra Prajna Paramita Sutra and there was a very efficacious response. The gold and jade pages refer to the Vajra sutra.

He caused the Triple Jewel to thrive day by day. His teaching flourished and the Buddha praised him saying, "Well done. Worthy One, you are a worthy and virtuous bhiksu."

In the preceding article, the text is typed in bold type; everything else is an oral commentary on the text delivered by the Venerable Master. The original Chinese for the text appears on the following page.

In next month's Bodhi Seal of the Patriarchs VAJRA BODHI SEA will introduce a Master who will interest all those who have asked the question, "Can women become enlightened?" Bhiksuni Wu Chin Tsang of the T'ang Dynasty dwelled with the ease of Ch'iu Tse's mother, and left a flesh body in the world.

FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE OF VAJRA BODHI SEA;

THE DAILY RECORD OF THE SAGES’ TRAVELS FOR WORLD PEACE

The final installment of THE RECORD OF WATER AND MIRROR TURNING BACK HEAVEN

PURE LAND DHARMA TALKS

ACROSS THE SEA OF SUFFERING IN A BOAT OF VOWS

An account of the GATHERING FOR WORLD PEACE held earlier this summer in Seattle

A scholar meets the Master, a transcript. See THE BODHI LECTERN

VEGETABLES FOR A LONG LIFE

And another song: THE WHEEL OF REBIRTH