A Bird in Flight Leaves No Trace

by Seon Master Subul

  他一切法且本不有 今亦不無 緣起不有 緣滅不無 本亦不有 本非本故 心亦不心 心非心故 相亦非相 相非相故 所以道 無法無本心 始解心心法 法即非法 非法即法 無法無非法 故是心心法.

  What we call “root” is just the word root. It is exactly the same with mind or dharma. Since they are free from appearances, there is no basis to say, “This is the root; this is the mind; this is the dharma.” Nonetheless, were there no root, how would the myriad things in Mother Nature be revealed? They are revealed because something is in fact there. Thus the word root is used to refer to that “something,” since there is no other way to describe it.

  Even so, there is no real basis for calling it a “root.” Why is this so? It is because we cannot find it, no matter how hard we try. However, since it is true that all dharmas are revealed, it cannot be said that there is no root. How can we make this claim? Do we have to say that it either exists or does not exist?

  Since you practitioners cannot solve this question, you cannot but ask a Seon master if you are earnest. At the end of your exchange with a master, if the conditions are right, you will come into accord with the root. Then everything will be clear.

  All these matters are inconceivable and ineffable. However, there can be no dispute, since everything is perfect and delightful.

  “When suddenly a thought arises,179 and you understand clearly that all is like an illusion or a conjurer’s trick, you will then match the buddhas of the past, but those ‘buddhas of the past’ do not exist. The buddhas of the future, for their part, do not not exist, and moreover, there is nothing that can be called ‘buddhas of the future.’ And since present thoughts do not abide, we also cannot refer to ‘buddhas of the present.’ When ‘buddha’ arises, do not regard him as awakened or deluded, good or evil. Do not, even for a moment, cling to him or discard him.

  忽然瞥起一念 了知如幻如化 即流入過去佛 過去佛且不有 未來佛且不無 又且不喚作未來佛 現在念念不住 不喚作現在佛 佛若起時 即不擬他是覺是迷 是善是惡 輒不得執滯他 斷絕他.

  According to the Diamond Sūtra, “Past thoughts are unascertainable, present thoughts are unascertainable, and future thoughts are unascertainable.”180 Whatever illusory forms appear, they are all illusory transformations, with no reality of their own. When you clearly understand that everything is unascertainable, you no longer discriminate among things.

  “If one thought suddenly arises, you can neither lock it up with a thousand locks nor tie it down with ten thousand feet of rope. How, then, can you strive to extinguish it or bring it to an end? Let me explain this clearly. Say you want to shut off this blazing consciousness, which is like a mirage. You may say it is close, but you’ll never discover it anywhere in all the worlds of the ten directions. You may presume it is distant, but you find it right before your eyes. If you follow it, it just gets further away. If you try to avoid it, it keeps following you. You can neither grab hold of it nor let go of it. If you know this, you will know that it is the same for the nature of all dharmas. There’s no use being worried or anxious about it.

  如一念瞥起 千重關鎖鎖不得 萬丈繩索索他不住 既若如是 爭合便擬滅他止他 分明向你道 爾燄識 你作麼生擬斷他 喻如陽燄 你道近 十方世界求不可得 始道遠 看時祇在目前 你擬趁他 他又轉遠去 你始避他 他又來逐你 取又不得 捨又不得 既若如此 故知一切法性自爾 即不用愁他慮他.

  You may try to lock up that one thought that has arisen, but you cannot. You may try to rid yourself of it, but you cannot. The very thought to get rid of a deluded thought is itself a deluded thought, and a thought cannot remove a thought.

  By simply realizing that it is originally a mirage, it naturally disappears. A thought fundamentally is not something you either should or should not remove. Therefore, the Diamond Sūtra says, “Arouse a thought that does not abide anywhere.”181

  “As the saying goes, ‘For a prior thought to be ordinary and a subsequent thought noble is the same as flipping over your hand.’182 This [statement] is the pinnacle of the three vehicles. In our Seon school, a prior thought is not ordinary and a subsequent thought is not noble; a prior thought is not a buddha and a subsequent thought is not a sentient being. All forms are a buddha’s form and all sounds are a buddha’s sounds.

  如言 前念是凡 後念是聖 如手翻覆一般 此是三乘教之極也 據我禪宗中 前念且不是凡 後念且不是聖 前念不是佛 後念不是眾生 所以一切色是佛色 一切聲是佛聲.

  In teachings that convey sequential steps of practice, quickly moving upward step by step is considered the best approach. Seon, as the dharma gate of sudden awakening, makes people realize that there is no such sequence.

  When you realize that even though clouds come and go in accord with causes and conditions, the sky remains unchanging and unmoving, you do not cling to the appearance and disappearance of clouds. When you thoroughly understand that even though changes occur outwardly, the original root never changes, you remain unshaken. Arousing thoughts in response to changing external phenomena, however, you become ignorant.

  “If you raise one principle, you raise all principles. If you see one thing, you see all things. If you see one mind, you see all minds. If you see one way, you see all ways. There is nowhere that is not the Way. If you see one mote of dust, you see the mountains, streams, and lands of all the worlds in the ten directions. If you see one drop of water, you see all the moisture of all the worlds in the ten directions. Furthermore, seeing all dharmas is seeing all states of mind. Since all dharmas are originally empty, the mind is not nonexistent. The lack of nonexistence is sublime existence. Existence is nonexistence; nonexistence is existence: this is the sublime existence of true emptiness.

  舉著一理 一切理皆然 見一事 見一切事 見一心 見一切心 見一道 見一切道 一切處無不是道 見一塵 十方世界山河大地皆然 見一滴水 即見十方世界一切性水 又見一切法 即見一切心 一切法本空 心即不無 不無即妙有 有亦不有 不有即有 即真空妙有.

  To give an analogy for the “sublime existence of true emptiness,” although in true emptiness there is no past, present, or future, no north, south, east, or west, every diverse appearance, including blue, yellow, red, and white, appear in this true emptiness. All dharmas appear, mature, decay, and vanish in true emptiness. However, whatever happens, true emptiness remains, unchanging and unmoving. Since there is numinous vitality or sublime existence in true emptiness, the myriad dharmas come to be produced.

  Such words belong to the third statement.183 However well you understand them, you cannot save yourselves with these words. You must sweep away even such words as the “sublime existence of true emptiness” in order to be truly free and unfettered.

  “This being the case, all the worlds of the ten directions are not separated from our one mind. Lands as numerous as tiny motes of dust are not separate from our one thought. Since this is so, how can we speak of what is inside and outside? It is like the nature of honey: if honey is sweet by nature, then all honey is sweet — you cannot say that a specific honey is sweet while the rest is bitter. Where would such a thing be possible? Therefore, it is said, ‘Empty space has neither inside nor outside’;184 so too is it with the dharma nature. Empty space has no middle; so too is it with the dharma nature. Therefore sentient beings are buddhas and buddhas are sentient beings.

  既若如是 十方世界 不出我之一心 一切微塵國土 不出我之一念 若然 說什麼內之與外 如蜜性甜 一切蜜皆然 不可道這箇蜜甜 餘底苦也 何處有與麼事 所以道 虛空無內外 法性自爾 虛空無中間 法性自爾 故眾生即佛 佛即眾生.

  Distinguishing subject from object or inside from outside derives from external appearances that are created in accord with causes and conditions. Therefore there are no distinctions in the original nature, which is free from causes and conditions. From the standpoint of the
original essence in which no relative forms are made manifest, there are no buddhas who save sentient beings and no sentient beings saved by the buddhas.

  “Sentient beings and buddhas are intrinsically one in their essence. Saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, conditioned and unconditioned, are intrinsically one in their essence. Mundane and supramundane, the six rebirth destinies and the four modes of birth, the mountains, streams, and lands, and the nature and its lack are also the same one essence. By calling them the ‘same,’ we mean that their designations are empty, their existence is empty, and their nonexistence is empty. Worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are inherently this one emptiness.

  眾生與佛 元同一體 生死涅槃 有為無為 元同一體 世間出世間 乃至六道四生 山河大地 有性無性 亦同一體 言同者 名相亦空 有亦空 無亦空 盡恒沙世界 元是一空.

  The outward appearances of the myriad things in this world are endlessly diverse, but the fundamental reality of those things is that they are nondual. Sentient beings and buddhas, saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, conditioned and unconditioned, the mountains, streams, and lands, and sentient beings and insentient things may all be different in terms of their outward appearances, but their fundamental essence is emptiness. Sentient beings that are born from egg, womb, moisture, or metamorphosis in the six rebirth destinies of heavenly beings, humans, demigods, animals, hungry ghosts, and the denizens of the hells are nondual in terms of their natures.

  “This being the case, where are the buddhas who save sentient beings? Where are the sentient beings saved by the buddhas? Why is it this way? Because the nature of all dharmas is just as it is. If you generate a view that this all occurs naturally, you fall into a non-Buddhist view of naturalism.185 If you generate a view that there is no ‘I’ or ‘mine,’ you drop into one of the three levels of sagacity or ten stages of sanctity.

  既若如此 何處有佛度眾生 何處有眾生受佛度 何故如此 萬法之性自爾故 若作自然見 即落自然外道 若作無我無我所見 墮在三賢十聖位中.

  Just as emptiness includes everything, so too is it with the nature. If you look into all external phenomena, you will see that the myriad dharmas are manifestations of the original essence and thus can neither be augmented nor diminished. Since they are all unchanging, they are unascertainable.

  Even though the three levels of sagacity and the ten stages of sanctity are advanced levels attained by bodhisattvas, do not cling even to such illustrious outward appearances.

  “Why do you now try to measure empty space foot by foot or inch by inch? You have been clearly told that dharmas do not complete each other, because dharmas are quiescent in and of themselves. They abide themselves exactly where they should be and are authentic themselves exactly as they should be.

  你如今 云何將一尺一寸 便擬量度虛空 他分明向汝道 法法不相到 法自寂故 當處自住 當處自真.

  Dharma can’t be sought; it is always present. All the myriad dharmas do not depart from that very spot. Dharma has no past, present, or future; it is neither redundant nor deficient. In accord with causes and conditions that originate from this very place of the dharma, the distinctions of red and yellow, long and short, large and small, complete and incomplete all appear. However unnatural or unharmonious they may be, all these distinctive appearances are not separate from the dharma because they are nondual. They all may look different, but from the standpoint of the true reality of the dharma, they are not different.

  “Since the body is empty, we designate dharmas as empty; since the mind is empty, we designate the nature as empty. Since body and mind are both empty, we designate the dharma nature as empty. Even were we to supply thousands of distinct designations, none would be separate from your original mind. Such designations as bodhi, nirvāṇa, true suchness, buddha nature, the two vehicles, and bodhisattvas are like ‘placing a leaf in [a child’s] palm and pretending it is real gold.’186

  以身空故名法空 以心空故名性空 身心總空 故名法性空 乃至千途異說 皆不離你之本心 如今說菩提涅槃真如佛性二乘菩薩者 皆指葉為黃金 拳掌之說.

  Everything, seen and unseen, is the functioning of this mind. There can be no appearances outside this mind. Therefore, however many different designations there may be, such as dharma, mind, nature, dharma nature, bodhi, nirvāṇa, true suchness, buddha nature, two vehicles, bodhisattva, and so forth, all are just fingers pointing to this one mind. All these are expedient means, like giving candy to console a crying child.

  It is therefore foolish to satisfy your intellectual curiosity by clinging to these expedients, saying this provisional description is right but all the others are wrong. All these fingers are pointing to the same one thing. If this thing appears clearly right before your eyes, all these countless designations and discriminative thoughts that have thus far caused subtle delusions will instantly disappear.

  This is what is meant by the phrase, “when a lion roars, foxes’ brains are ripped to shreds.”

  “When you open your hand, the entire congregation, whether divinities or humans, all see that there is not a single thing in your palm. Therefore, it is said, ‘Originally there is not a single thing,/ so where can dust alight?’187 Since originally there is nothing, the three time periods are originally unascertainable.

  若也展手之時 一切大眾若天若人 皆見掌中都無一物 所以道本來無一物 何處有塵埃 本既無物 三際本無所有.

  Hearing such phrases as “clearly penetrating both inside and out” (neiwai mingche / naeoe myeongcheol 內外明徹) or an “expansive great awakening” (kuoche dawu / hwakcheol daeo 廓徹大悟), people presume that must be something numinous, like “mind” or “dharma.” They assume there must be some profound principle in the Seon masters’ words.

  However, the dharma is “expansive and free from sanctity” and “originally not a single thing”; enlightenment is “unascertainable.” Since the original face is wide open like empty space, it has no north, south, east, or west, no past, present, or future.

  However much intellectual smarts you may have, you will never be able to figure this out; you simply have to suddenly come into accord with it. This is why bright-eyed Seon masters do not try to explain it. Instead they lead students to raise a doubt so they can eventually penetrate to the truth by exploding that ball of doubt.

  “Therefore practitioners of the Way should seek direct access with a single slice of their swords (dandao zhiru / dando jigip 單刀直入). They must cognize this meaning and then they will get it. The great master Bodhidharma came to this land from India in the west. Although he journeyed through several lands, he found only a single person, the great master Huike, to whom he secretly transmitted the mind seal. This was the seal of your original mind. He stamped the dharma with this mind and stamped the mind with this dharma. Since the mind is like this, so too is the dharma. This state is identical to the apex of reality and equivalent to the dharma nature. Within the emptiness of the dharma nature, who is it that gives the prophecy [of future enlightenment]? Who is it that attains buddhahood? Who is it that gains the dharma?

  故學道人 單刀直入 須見這箇意始得 故達摩大師 從西天來至此土 經多少國土 祇覓得可大師一人 密傳心印 印你本心 以心印法 以法印心 心既如此 法亦如此 同真際 等法性 法性空中 誰是授記人 誰是成佛人 誰是得法人.

  The dharma is what you practitioners of the Way transmit from mind to mind without transmitting anything and receive without receiving anything. Although the great master Bodhidharma had several students, ultimately it was Huike who received the dharma by obtaining the marrow of his teachings.

  Although the buddhas and patriarchs transmit the dharma from generation to generation, since the nature of that dharma is empty, those who transmit it, those who receive it, and the dharma that is transmitted and received are all empty. You practitioners of the Way should experience this inconceivable dharma for yourself. Wi
thout this experience, any words you may use to describe it are nothing but conceptual proliferation.

  “You have been clearly told that bodhi cannot be achieved by the body because the body is signless. It cannot be achieved by the mind because the mind is signless. It cannot be achieved by the nature because the nature is the impeccable buddha of the original self-nature.

  他分明向你道 菩提者不可以身得 身無相故 不可以心得 心無相故 不可以性得 性即便是本源自性天真佛故.

  Bodhi is not something achieved. It is not subject to the law of causality. It has nothing to do with whether this universe is created or destroyed. The impeccable buddha of the original self-nature is always such, whether Buddhism exists or not. It was such before Buddhism began; it was such when Buddhism was at its height and people throughout the world believed in the religion; it will be such even when people no longer follow Buddhism. It will remain unchanging even after this whole universe is destroyed. Even this word “unchanging” is used in vain.

  “You cannot use the buddha to achieve buddhahood. You cannot use the signless to achieve signlessness. You cannot use emptiness to achieve emptiness. You cannot use the Way to achieve the Way. Since there is originally nothing to be attained, nonattainment also cannot be attained. Therefore, it is said, ‘There is not a single dharma that can be ascertained.’188

  不可以佛更得佛 不可以無相更得無相 不可以空更得空 不可以道更得道 本無所得 無得亦不可得 所以道 無一法可得.

  You may think, “If there were no dharma, then why would you tell us to realize the dharma? Isn’t it because the dharma does in fact exist that you tell us to realize it?”

  If you realize the dharma, you will clearly understand this principle that “there is not a single dharma that can be ascertained.” If not, you will remain deluded, no matter how much you hear about this principle.