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THE
CHILD LEFT THE HOME LIFE TO REPAY THE KINDNESS OF HIS PARENTS. When
his mother saw that she had given birth to a lump of flesh, she did not
realize it contained a child and was horror-stricken, thinking she had
produced a monstrosity and ruined herself. The shock killed her, just as
it had Hsu Lao's mother when she gave birth to him in a caul. So when
Dhyana Master Han Shan left home, he did it on behalf of his parents to
try to repay their kindness.
HE
STUDIED WITH DHYANA MASTER HSIAO YEN AND DELVED INTO AN INTENSIVE
INVESTIGATION OF DHYANA. Master Yen was famous for his severity.
He
allowed his students no freedom at all, and continually beat them with the
incense board and berated them.
AFTERWARD
HE BUILT A HUT AT DRAGON GATE CAVE ON THE NORTHERN FACE OF WU T'AI
MOUNTAIN. ONE MORNING AFTER TAKING SOME GRUEL HE WENT FOR A WALK AND
SUDDENLY ENTERED SAMADHI. People who have left the home life are not
supposed to eat after noon. Here we eat only once a day, but if you feel
that it is impossible to continue this practice, you can eat a little rice
gruel or bread in the morning. We've eaten only once a day for about six
years here, but we can change it now if necessary. We don't have to be
attached to that old practice, because there are people now who can't take
it. Besides, did you know that rice gruel has ten advantages for those who
cultivate? It is very beneficial. So from today on, whoever wants to can
take rice gruel in the morning. (No one did.--ed.)
However,
everyone knows now that here at Gold Mountain we only eat once a day, and
personally I cannot change, so if you do decide to eat breakfast, I'll
just go somewhere else and find disciples who eat once a day. If you
cannot take it, we will relax the rules, but you should remember that
eating once a day is a lot less trouble. For one thing, you don't have to
go to the toilet as often. If you start taking gruel in the morning you'll
have to go to the toilet at least once more each day, and besides, it
makes more work. Figure out how you want to manage the refectory,
because as far as I'm concerned, "Everything is OK." However you
want to do it is fine.
The
earliest you can eat is when you can see the lines on your hand or the
cracks in the walls by the light of the sun-no electricity. Why?
Because
if you could eat while it was still dark, pretty soon you'd be having
midnight snacks, or would take to eating very early so your gruel could
thoroughly digest and leave you more room for lunch. In other words, greed
would take over. Whenever you eat you should be mindful of the five
contemplations.
After
Master Han Shan had his morning gruel on that particular day he went for a
stroll and suddenly entered samadhi. HE PERCEIVED NEITHER BODY NOR MIND
BUT ONLY A SINGLE RADIANT STOREHOUSE OF LIGHT, PROPOUND AND COMPLETELY
STILL LIKE A GREAT PERFECT MIRROR. The magnificent brilliance extended in
all directions to the boundaries of space. Inside there was no body and
mind, outside there was no world. When everything disappears, when the
body and mind are gone, how can one get angry or annoyed? You should
realize that your body is a prison in which you live day in and day out.
You are not free. You should cultivate to get out of it and become
independent.
Suddenly
all the meritorious practices he had diligently maintained became
perfected and he experienced the great perfect mirror. HE SPOKE A VERSE:
ABRUPTLY IN A SINGLE THOUGHT
THE MAD MIND CEASED;
INSIDE, OUTSIDE, ORGANS, OBJECTS—
ALL, WERE CRYSTAL-CLEAR.
MY BODY'S UPENDED, CONTACT IS BROKEN,
THE GREAT VOID SMASHED.
THE MYRIAD IMAGES IN THEIR GLORY
QUIT THE ENDLESS CYCLE.
ABRUPTLY
IN A SINGLE THOUGHT THE MAD MIND CEASED. The Surangama Sutra says,
"When the mad mind ceases, that ceasing is Bodhi." There are
those who claim that the Surangama Sutra is phony. They cannot understand
it, so they say it is fraudulent. Occasionally you may meet people who
have read a few books on Buddhism and take it upon themselves to pass
judgement on the Surangama Sutra. Those who say the Sutra is counterfeit
will certainly fall into one of the eight great hells. This is not just a
manner of speaking; it is the retribution for confused people who cause
others to become confused.
THE GREAT VOID SMASHED. This is very
important. It is the door of birth and death. If you can shatter empty
space, then how can the world continue to exist? There is no need to blow
it up with an atomic bomb; if you yourself are able to obliterate the
great void, what could be left? Nothing, there would be no place to put
the world.
THE MYRIAD IMAGES IN THEIR GLORY QUIT
THE ENDLESS CYCLE. There are two ways to look at this line.
You could say
that Dhyana Master Han Shan had "quit the cycle." That is to
say, the cycle of nature went on without him. Things arose and fell of
themselves and had nothing to do with him. However, since empty space was
smashed, you could also say that the mountains, rivers, the whole of
nature lost its job and everything was extinguished.
IN THE MIDST OF THE MASTER'S EFFORTS TO
PROPAGATE THE DHARMA, HE WAS ENMESHED IN WORLDLY TROUBLE, BUT THIS ONLY
SERVED TO HEIGHTEN HIS PERFECTION OF THE WAY. When the Venerable Han Shan
was propagating the Dharma and building temples, he probably forgot about
the details, and when someone said he had built a temple without the
proper authorization, he was thrown in jail for not having a building
permit. But it didn't matter. He cultivated in jail, sitting in
meditation. He was given his meals and in between he sat for long periods
in dhyana concentration, perfecting his enlightenment. He had already
become enlightened, but now he penetrated deeply into a state where there
is no great and no small, where all obstructions have vanished and there
is nothing whatsoever. In spite of the fact that he was thrown in jail,
his Way became ever higher. Difficulties are the most important part of
the practice. It is the annoyances along the Way that lead to
achievement of the Way. If someone scolds you or accuses you falsely, just
take it. Don't be moved.
IN THE YEAR KUEI HAI OF THE REIGN PERIOD
T'IEN CHI, AT TSAO HSI, HE SAT AND DEPARTED. HE WAS 78 YEARS OLD. HE
COMPOSED A COLLECTION CALLED "ROAMING IN A DREAM", WHICH CIRCULATED IN THE
WORLD.
He was
eventually released from jail when the emperor realized that he hadn't
done anything wrong. He went to the temple where the present-day Nan Hua
Monastery stands and entered nirvana, but before he left, he announced his
departure. The most important moment of cultivation is the moment of
death. If you at that moment are not upside down, but very clear, if
you are not scattered, but have samadhi, then you will be able to leave
your body very comfortably. Dhyana Master Han Shan was able to do it.
THOUGH
HE MET WITH DIFFICULTY,
IT AIDED THE SPREAD OF THE WAY.
A
SINGLE DROP FROM TS'AO HSI'S SOURCE
BECAME KNOWN FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES.
HIS
TRACES REVEALED AN EXCEPTIONAL MAN
WHO SHOOK THE BLIND AND COUNSELED THE DEAF
THE
VIBRANCY OF HIS "SACK OF SKIN"
ENHANCES THAT OF THE VENERABLE LU.
Both
Master Han Shan and the Sixth Patriarch left their "flesh
bodies" behind at Nan Hua, and each shines forth to illumine the
other. They are like two lamps in a single room, which do not fight and
say, "you cannot shine on me. Take your light somewhere else,
this is my spot," but harmonize and blend their light instead.
ANOTHER
VERSE ABOUT THE MASTER SAYS:
THIS BODHISATTVA RESCUED THE WORLD
BY TRANSFORMING THE MASSES.
THE MULTIPLE LAYERS OF "WHITE CLOTHING"
WAS AN AUSPICIOUS SIGN.
DRAWING NEAR TO HSIAO YEN
THE MIND-GROUND BECAME CLEAR,
AT A HUT ON NORTHERN WU
HE REALIZED THE SCOPE OF HIS NATURE.
WHILE HE WAS ENJOYING PROPAGATING THE
LAW
HE ENCOUNTERED SUFFERING IN JAIL.
ON BEHALF OF THE TEACHING HE HAD NO FEAR
OF WOUNDS FROM DARK ARROWS.
GREAT INDEED, VENERABLE TE,
TRANSMITTING TO THOUSANDS TO COME,
A PULSE OF THE WAY FROM TSAO HSI
WHICH FLOWS ON ETERNALLY.
The
wounds from dark arrows refer to the jealous people who attacked him and
"stabbed him in the back", as it were. He had no fear of them,
but gave his life for the Dharma.
The original Chinese text for the
preceding article, which appears on the following page, is printed in
boldface type above. That which does not appear in boldface is the
Venerable Master's oral commentary on the text.
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