A Bird in Flight Leaves No Trace

by Seon Master Subul

  Pei Xiu’s experience is not his alone. People experience a real change at the moment of their initial awakening thanks to the correct affinities they have for opening their eyes. Even so, they may continue to be yanked around by the karma that ceaselessly arises from their habituations without even recognizing it. When these tendencies persist, it is easy to be caught up again in delusion. Those who find themselves in this situation will be able to resolve any doubts that may remain about their practice by carefully reading Essentials of Transmitting the Mind-Dharma.

  PART I

  ESSENTIALS OF TRANSMITTING THE MIND-DHARMA

  (Chuanxinfayao 傳心法要)

  Pei Xiu’s Preface

  There was a great Seon master whose dharma name was Xiyun. He resided at the base of Vulture Peak on Mount Huangbo, in Gao’an county of Hongzhou prefecture. He was a legitimate descendant of the Sixth Patriarch of Caoxi, a [dharma] son of Baizhang, and a dharma nephew of Xitang.

  有大禪師 法諱希運 住洪州高安縣黃檗山鷲峰下 乃曹溪六祖之嫡孫 百丈之子 西堂之法姪.

  Hongzhou prefecture is located in present-day Nanchang in Jiangxi province. The monastery of Huangbosi on Mount Huangbo is located in Liping in that same province. Most Seon temples are located in small valleys deep in the mountains, where people can also farm. Huangbosi is no exception. When I visited the monastery a few years ago, it looked like a shabby storehouse. Its old dharma hall had already collapsed. It is said that people in nearby villages had built the temple just like a storehouse in order to escape the ravages of the Red Guards during the Chinese Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 70s.

  Inside the dharma hall, the floor was dirt. A large plaque with the words Chuanxinfayao carved on it hung on the front wall. In the wide courtyard in front of the dharma hall, the construction of a huge main Buddha hall had commenced. It has probably been completed by now. Although this main hall is large in size, it was built in a hurry, so it will take time for it to be instilled with the dignity of a religious structure.

  I still cannot forget the hospitality I was shown by the abbot Xinkong 心空, who had the look of an old country man in his mid sixties, and the Buddhist laypeople of Huangbo village. I thanked Master Huangbo for his kindness in teaching the Essentials of Transmitting the Mind-Dharma when I paid my respects to his memorial stūpa, which was located in the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountains near the rice paddies. That site is still fresh in my memory.

  Huangbo was a fourth-generation master in a descent line from the Sixth Patriarch Huineng. The patriarch’s dharma was transmitted to Mazu Daoyi (709–88) through Nanyue Huirang (677–744). Among Mazu’s many disciples, Xitang Zhizang 西堂智藏 (735–814), Baizhang Huaihai (749–814), and Nanquan Puyuan 南泉普願 (748–835) were particularly renowned, sometimes referred to as the “three great gentlemen” (sandashi 三大士). Most of the Nine Mountain Seon schools (Gusan Seonmun 九山禪門) of Korea were founded by monks who received dharma transmission in the Mazu lineage. In particular, the state preceptor Doui 道義 (d. 825), who is honored as the putative founder of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, transmitted the dharma of Xitang Zhizang, Mazu’s eldest disciple, to Korea, and it became one of the antecedents of today’s Jogye order.

  It is said that the Seon master Baizhang sighed, saying, “The Seon lineage of Jiangxi (i.e., Mazu) has come to the Country to the East (Dongguk 東國, i.e., Korea)!” The direct line from Xitang formed Hongcheok’s 洪陟 (fl. ca. 826) Silsangsan 實相山 school at the monastery of Silsangsa 實相寺 in Namwon, Hyecheol’s 惠哲 (785–861) Dongnisan 桐裡山 school at the monastery of Taeansa 泰安寺 in Goseong, and Doui’s eldest dharma grandson Chejing’s 體澄 (804–80) Gajisan 迦智山 school at the monastery of Borimsa 寳林寺 in Jangheung.

  Mazu’s Recorded Sayings reports the following episode:

  Xitang, Baizhang, and Nanquan were viewing the moon with the master Mazu. The master asked, “At this very moment, what is the right thing to do?”

  Xitang replied, “It’s perfect for making offerings.”

  Baizhang answered, “It’s perfect for practicing.”

  Nanquan shook his sleeves and left.

  Mazu said, “The Buddhist scriptures have come to Xitang. Seon has returned to Baizhang. Only Nanquan surpasses all standards!”13

  [The master himself] just esteemed the stamp of the Supreme Vehicle, which stayed far removed from words and letters. He transmitted only the one mind; there was no other dharma. The essence of mind is also empty, and the myriad conditions are all quiescent. It is like the great orb of the sun that rises in the sky: its radiance shines brightly, and it is clear without the slightest trace of dust.

  獨佩最上乘離文字之印 唯傳一心 更無別法 心體亦空 萬緣俱寂 如大日輪 昇虛空中 光明照曜 淨無纖埃.

  “Supreme Vehicle” (Zuishangsheng/Choesangseung 最上乘) is both the essence of the Buddhadharma that Bodhidharma himself transmitted, as well as the orthodox Seon that has been transmitted through the authentic lineage of the Jogye order. More concretely, it refers to the teaching of sudden awakening of the Southern school of Seon. From the First Patriarch, Bodhidharma, down to the present, Seon has transmitted just the one mind and nothing else. This is because the true characteristic of all the realms in the universe, which all enlightened beings perceive, is simply the one mind.

  To those who have realized it, there is nothing new or old, shallow or deep. Those who preach it do not engage in intellectual knowledge and understanding; they do not establish teachers; they do not open the doors or windows [of a school]. Just like that, here it is. If you start to think, then you will be far off the mark. Only after [you understand this] will you attain your original buddhahood.

  For this reason, his words are simple and his principle straightforward. His Way is lofty and his acts are aloof from others. Students and disciples from the four quarters rushed to his mountain and awakened as they looked upon his visage. There were always about a thousand people in his congregation, [which was as vast as] the sea.

  When I governed the district of Zhongling during the second year of the Huichang reign-era (842 CE), I invited him down from the mountain to come to the district and stay at Longxing Monastery. There, day and night, I asked him about the Way. When I was in charge of [the district of] Wanling in the second year of the Dazhong reign-era (848 CE), I again respectfully welcomed him to my district office and had him dwell at Kaiyuan Monastery, where day and night I received the dharma. As soon as he left, I tried to record everything [I had heard, but could remember only] one or two [episodes] out of ten. These I esteemed as a mind-stamp (xinyin/simin 心印) but was reluctant to distribute them. Now, fearing that [these teachings], which are suffused with the essential meaning of the spirit, might not be heard by future [generations], I have handed [my manuscript] over to the monks Dazhou and Fajian. I have requested that they return to Guangtang Monastery on the old mountain [of Huangbo] and ask the senior monks and the dharma congregation there to check whether [my manuscript] is consistent with or different from what they had regularly heard before.

  Preface written on the eighth day of the tenth month in the eleventh year of the Tang dynasty’s Dazhong reign-era (October 29, 857).

  證之者無新舊無淺深 說之者不立義解 不立宗主 不開戶牖 直下便是 動念即乖 然後為本佛 故其言簡其理直 其道峻其行孤 四方學徒 望山而趨 睹相而悟 往來海眾常千餘人 予會昌二年廉于鍾陵 自山迎至州 憩龍興寺 旦夕問道 大中二年 廉于宛陵 復去禮迎至所部 安居開元寺 旦夕受法 退而紀之 十得一二 佩為心印 不敢發揚 今恐入神精義不聞於未來 遂出之授門下僧大舟法建 歸舊山之廣唐寺 問長老法眾 與往日常所親聞 同異如何也.

  唐大中十一年十月初八日序

  1. Realize the One Mind and You Will Be a Buddha

  The master said to me, [Pei] Xiu:

  All the buddhas and sentient beings are only the one min
d; there is no other dharma. Since time immemorial, this mind has never been produced or extinguished. It is neither green nor yellow; it has neither form nor characteristics (lakṣaṇa). It does not belong to the categories of either existence or nonexistence. It cannot be measured in terms of new or old, long or short, large or small. It transcends all limits, measures, names, traces, and comparisons. What is right in front of you — that is it. But if you start to think, you will be far off the mark.

  師謂休曰 諸佛與一切眾生 唯是一心 更無別法 此心無始已來 不曾生不曾滅 不青不黃 無形無相 不屬有無 不計新舊 非長非短 非大非小 超過一切限量名言縱跡對待 當體便是 動念即乖.

  There is just this one mind; there is no other dharma. This is the middle way between two extremes. If there were in fact two extremes, there would also have to be a middle. If you realize the principle that does not involve either these extremes or a middle, you will have no impediment in achieving liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Master Huangbo spoke of the middle way when he said, “This mind has never been produced or extinguished.”

  If you start to think, then you will be far off the mark. In other words, if you arouse your thoughts to try to figure out what this mind really is, images begin appearing in your mind, and you end up losing your original mind. The true pleasure you can enjoy by residing in the original place cannot be compared to the lesser worldly pleasures, which inevitably entail suffering. You should live your life knowing the mind and going with the flow of causes and conditions. Avoid wasting your life in the constant indulgence of worldly pleasures.

  [The one mind] is like empty space. It has no boundaries and cannot be measured.

  猶如虛空 無有邊際 不可測度.

  It is really hard to know where and when the mind originates, for it has no boundaries by which it can be measured. It cannot be said, therefore, that the mind is either limitless or limited.

  In that case, what on earth is this mind? Everyone can know this mind once they turn one thought around and look into themselves. Ignorant people mislead themselves by clinging to logical thought and generating an attachment to it. They deceive only themselves with this foolish behavior.

  Only this one mind is the buddha. There is utterly no difference between the buddha and sentient beings.

  唯此一心 即是佛 佛與眾生 更無別異.

  The statement “Only this one mind is the buddha” is proclaimed from the level of sudden awakening to one’s mind being in fact the buddha, thus transcending intellectual understanding.

  Master Huangbo made this claim presuming that Pei Xiu had already experienced sudden awakening. Through these words, therefore, the master directly revealed the original nature of the mind.

  Pei Xiu had already acquired significant knowledge of Buddhist doctrine thanks to his relationship with the Chan and Huayan thinker Guifeng Zongmi 圭峰宗密 (780–841), but Pei Xiu did not experience enlightenment until his first encounter with Master Huangbo. Pei Xiu then took refuge in the master and requested his guidance.

  When we read the Essentials of Transmitting the Mind-Dharma, it is helpful to understand the circumstances in which the master delivered these precious lectures.

  Sentient beings are attached to appearances and seek outside [for the buddha]; but in seeking the buddha, they lose the buddha. They make a buddha look for a buddha and use the mind to grasp the mind. Even though they exhaust themselves until the end of the eon, they will never be able to get it.

  但是眾生 著相外求 求之轉失 使佛覓佛 將心捉心 窮劫盡形終不能得.

  Most people are attached to outward appearances and thereby distinguish between various phenomena. However, our eyes cannot see the real characteristic of things. This very mind that looks for the buddha is the buddha. Wouldn’t it be futile to make a buddha seek a buddha?

  They do not know that, once they stop thinking and forget their pondering, a buddha will appear right in front of them.

  不知息念忘慮 佛自現前.

  If they just turn one thought around, they will naturally give up discriminative thinking and empty their minds. When they don’t know this fact, people presume they need to seek something and end up entangled in all kinds of discriminative thoughts.

  But also they should not try to intentionally remove the thoughts that are arising in their minds or stop working away at their practice, misunderstanding the words “stop thinking and forget their pondering.” That would not only be foolish, it would also show disdain for the instructions of their spiritual mentors (kalyāṇamitra).

  This mind is in fact the buddha. The buddha is in fact sentient beings. When it is in sentient beings, this mind is not diminished. When it is in all the buddhas, this mind is not augmented.

  此心即是佛 佛即是眾生 為眾生時 此心不減 為諸佛時 此心不添.

  The mind is never diminished or augmented. Whether a buddha or a sentient being, the mind is always simply there. It is not something that exists in fact, and it cannot be described as having certain characteristics. It is just “mind.” As a saying goes, “If you awaken to the mind, you are a buddha; if you are deluded, you are a sentient being.” Only enlightened people can testify to this matter. Those who do not realize this matter seek the answer using logic, clinging to the words. But they can never reach the source by clinging to words.

  [This mind] is inherently endowed with even the six perfections and myriad [bodhisattva] practices, along with merit as abundant as the sands of the Ganges (Gaṅgānadīvālukā). One need not try to cultivate still more.

  乃至六度萬行 河沙功德 本自具足 不假修添.

  Since our minds possess inherently the six perfections (pāramitā) and myriad practices of the bodhisattvas as well as all kinds of merit, we do not need to create any further merit.

  Once you have awakened for yourself, you will know the joy of dharma and the bliss of meditation — the joy of dharma that makes you say, “Ah! So this is what it is!” If you taste even a tiny bit of this joy, you will become more relaxed and satisfied in living your life. If not, you will fall into birth and death’s sea of suffering, which is right before your eyes, and flounder in its perilous waters.

  When you encounter the [appropriate] conditions, act; when those conditions dissipate, remain quiescent. If, without definitive faith in the fact that this [mind] is a buddha, you want to seek merit through practice that is attached to characteristics, you will stay mired in deluded conceptions and will deviate from the Way.

  遇緣即施 緣息即寂 若不決定信此是佛 而欲著相修行 以求功用 皆是妄想 與道相乖.

  Do not generate discriminative thoughts, being tossed and turned by what you see and hear. If you realize the Way, conviction will arise naturally and you will let go of everything. In fact, you will realize that there is in fact nothing to release. Ordinary people are always seeking something, even unconsciously, and so we use the expressions “let go of” or “empty your mind” provisionally. But if you work to empty what is inherently already empty, you will be far from the training that realizes the true characteristic of things.

  This mind is in fact the buddha. There is no other buddha and no other mind.

  此心即是佛 更無別佛 亦無別心.

  Once you have a breakthrough in your training, you will be able to believe these words and leave things just as they are. Whether things go your way or not, if you allow things to follow their own natural course, one day everything will be revealed accordingly. As time passes, things mature and naturally reveal themselves. If you have already recognized the original quiescence inherent in your mind, what else is there to be concerned about?

  This mind is bright and clear like empty space; it has not even the slightest mark or appearance.

  此心明淨 猶如虛空 無一點相貌.

  Wise people awaken to the fact that the original mind is not separate from themselves and, without hesitation, stop wanderin
g around. However, ignorant people perform meaningless tasks, swayed by the deluded mirages that emerge from within themselves.

  Arousing your mind and starting to think deviates from the essence of the dharma and creates an attachment to characteristics. Since time immemorial, no buddhas have clung to characteristics.

  舉心動念 即乖法體 即為著相 無始已來 無著相佛.

  The moment the ignorant arouse even a single thought, they become entrapped in the cycle of birth and death. Each and every thought that sentient beings have is the cycle of production and cessation. Enveloped in ignorance, they lose the essence. This hasn’t taken place in this lifetime alone; it has occurred in all previous lifetimes.

  Sentient beings also mistakenly believe that if they train themselves properly, they can achieve whatever they want without any obstacles. This ignores causes and conditions. A floating ladle will move when the water moves and remain still when the water is still. If a certain result arises due to a corresponding cause, accept the flow of causality and allow yourself to go with that flow, just like that ladle.

  We cannot see the buddhas if we look for the buddhas in external appearances. Just like empty space, this mind is clear, transparent, and formless. The samādhi of no-thought, which nothing can sway, is the true appearance of the buddhas. Because a buddha has no external appearances, bear in mind that a buddha neither discriminates between things nor treats all things as equivalent.

  If you pursue buddhahood by cultivating the six perfections and myriad practices, this involves a sequence [of practices]. Since time immemorial, no buddhas have followed a sequential approach.

  修六度萬行 欲求成佛 即是次第 無始已來 無次第佛.