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that it began its life in a tree. Recalling this, you should change your way of thinking
and turn to the Right Way. If you are really courageous, go seek a Kung-an!"
One monk asked Master Chao-Chou: "Does a dog have Buddha-Nature?" Chao-Chou
replied: "None!" At once the monk just concentrated his mind exclusively on the word
none'. For twenty-four hours of every day, while walking, staying, sitting and lying, he
practiced. Day by day, even while eating and dressing, moving his bowels and
urinating, his mind and mental energy were all focussed, at all times, towards profound
and total concentration on the word none'. Gradually he understood the none'(wu) was,
indeed, just so. If you are suddenly enlightened regarding the nature of Buddha, you
can never be fooled about truth by anyone in the world, no matter how clever he is. In
this sense, then, you could say that Bodhidharma came from the West to make a lot of
trouble out of nothing. Also you might say that when the World Honored One held up
the golden flower, his performance was a complete failure. Furthermore, you can even
say that Yama, the King of Hell, and even all the holy saints and sages are no different
from you yourself. It doesn't matter whether you believe or not, for that which is real is
beyond our comprehension. Why? Just because if there is really no problem or
suffering in the world that is based on misconception and illusion, then you do not need
to have any fear or desire anything whatsoever."
The Gatha
Abandon all trouble in the world --
This is the most extraordinary act.
As in an opera, grasp the rope
Only to swing on, progressing further.
If you don't feel penetrating cold
To the bone at least once,
How can you ever come to smell
The warm fragrance of plum flowers?
A Gatha by P'ei Hsiu
I heretofore acquired the Dharma of the Transmission of Mind, as expressed in The
Chung-Ling Record and in The Wan-Ling Record, from Ch'an Master Huang-po (Hsi-
Yun). So thus I have come to write a gatha on The Transmission of Mind:
The Mind cannot be transmitted;
To tacitly understand is transmission.
The Mind can perceive nothing at all,
But nothingness is true perception.
The tally is not the tally;
Also, nothing is not nothing.
Do not remain in Illusion City,
Or you'll mistake the pearl on your forehead;
Be aware, the word "pearl" is only an expedient,
For how can Illusion City have any form?
Only the Mind is Buddha,
The Buddha without birth.
So know directly that "it is!"
Without seeking or acting.
For a Buddha to seek Buddha
Is just a waste of energy.
If you let a Dharma-view arise,
You'll only fall into Mara's realm.
Don't separate the worldly and the holy;
Then seeing and hearing will disappear.
Just like a clear mirror, be without mind,
And there is no competition with things.
Just like the bright void, be without thinking,
And you contain the ten thousand things.
The Three Vehicles are outside of the Dharma,
But to know this is rare in a kalpa's course.
When one attains such realization, then
He is the Hero Who Leaves the World.
Once I heard this gatha from a Mahasattva, who resided on the east side of the river and
who was with the Master at Kao-An during that time when he was preaching the
Dharma of the Transmission of Mind to Prime Minister P'ei-Hsiu. It was about that
time that P'ei-Hsiu wrote this gatha and recorded the teaching of the Master as clearly
and brilliantly as if he were painting a picture, hoping that the deaf and the blind would
suddenly be awakened. Since it would a great pity if P'ei-Hsiu's account of the Master's
words was lost or destroyed, I have thus compiled and edited it in these Records.
Complimentary Verses by the Southern Sect of Ch'an
The Year of Ching-Li Wu-Tzu
Master Tien Jen
Postscript
The Dharma of Mind Transmission took place with a smile at Grdhrakuta. This also
occurred during Bodhidharma's meditation in Shao-Shih, at the temple where he
resided, when he pointed to the Mind directly. Shen-Kuang's method was to calm the
mind, while Ma-Tso felt that just to know that the Mind is Buddha was enough. Huang-
po, Pai-Chang and all the other great masters transmitted the Mind esoterically. From
the pervasive protection of the Great Opportunity to the flourishing of the Great
Function ? all depends on the Mind, just as those great turbulent waves in the ocean
depend on and never separate from the ocean. Just as a piece of pure gold is used to
make different containers, and none of the containers ever changes the gold, similarly
all the phenomena of the universe merely illustrate and prove the Dharma of One Mind.
The Prime Minister, P'ei-Hsiu, was garrisoned at Hsin-An during the T'ang Dynasty.
One day he went to offer incense at the Tai-An Temple and caught sight of a painting
hanging on the wall. He asked a monk: "Who is that person in the painting?" The
monk answered: "That is a real portrait of an eminent monk." P'ei-Hsiu observed: "This
real portrait is worth seeing, but where is the eminent monk?" The monk could not
answer him, but just at that moment Ch'an Master Huang-po (Hsi-Yun) arrived. The
Prime Minister said: "I accidentally have a question to ask you since this virtuous monk
here is reluctant to answer me. Can you please answer for him?" The master
responded: "What is your question, please?" The Prime Minister again asked his
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