by Xingjian Gao
(Huiming tries to club Huineng, who turns a somersault and dodges the blow, still holding the almsbowl in his hand.)
Huiming:
Give me your life or the robe and almsbowl!
Huineng:
(Extends his hand, which is holding the almsbowl.)
Here, take it…
(Huiming makes a swipe and threatens to strike Huineng, then leaps across, trying to snatch the almsbowl.)
Huineng:
Take this and go begging with it! (Lets go of the almsbowl, which shatters into pieces on the ground.)
Huiming:
(Shocked, and then becomes furious.)
You rascal, you’ve broken the Patriarch’s almsbowl into pieces! (Raises his club.)
Your life or mine! Give me the Patriarch’s robe!
Huineng:
If you want it, it’s yours.
[Huineng leisurely opens the knapsack and takes out a robe.
Huiming puts down the club and raises his hand, but he starts shaking continuously.
Huineng:
Master Huiming, the Dharma has no form!
Huiming:
(Kneels down instantly.)
Please forgive the mistake of this uncouth kung fu man! (Kowtows.)
Please also forgive my ignorance, which led to my endless pursuit of you. My quest is only for the Dharma, not the robe. Please teach me and let me be enlightened!
Huineng:
There’s no need to stand on ceremony. Since you’ve come for the Dharma, let your heart be at peace and listen to my words.
If you didn’t contemplate goodness, and you didn’t contemplate evil, then how could the true face of Master Huiming be seen?
(Huiming is speechless. He and Huineng look at each other. Huiming looks down.)
Huineng:
Go north and deliver people from their sufferings. (Exit.)
[Huiming clasps his hands in salutation.
Enter Crowd, looking anxious and frustrated.
Crowd:
Master Huiming, have you seen the barbarian from the south?
Huiming:
Have I seen that guy? No way! The wind has been blowing a gale on this big mountain ridge. Not a soul anywhere. The guy is lame in one foot. He’s probably fallen into a hole somewhere. Maybe he’s been eaten by a tiger or something. There isn’t a single trace of him. Forget it! Go away! Go away! Go home and carry on with your lives! (Exit.)
[Crowd disbands reluctantly. Exit.
Act II Scene 1
In Which the “Wind and Banner Controversy” Occurs
[Two monks are hoisting a banner in front of a huge incense burner below the steps leading to the central hall of a temple. On the banner it is written: “Neither Creation Nor Extinction.” The name “Dharma Nature Temple” is inscribed on the bottom to one side.
Monk A:
“Neither Creation Nor Extinction.” What does that mean?
Monk B:
Mind your own business. They only told us to hoist the banner.
Monk A:
Just try explaining it, okay? What does it mean?
Monk B:
Dharma Master Yinzong is going to give a lecture on the sutra a little bit later, why don’t you ask him then?
Monk A:
You and I have come here to the Dharma Nature Temple for many years now. We’ve eaten our share of salt and chanted our share of sutras. But if the master asks us what kind of banner we’ve put up and we don’t know how to answer him, then wouldn’t all our efforts be a total waste?
Monk B:
Hoisting a banner is also good works.
Monk A:
This only applies to people with small natural capacity.
Monk B:
And you’ve got big natural capacity?
Monk A:
If we don’t get to the bottom of things for the correct answers, how can we develop our capacity?
Monk B:
Don’t waste your time talking. Let’s hurry and get this over with! You pull on that side and I’ll unroll from this side.
[The banner is hoisted and the two monks look up. The banner waves in the wind, and it waves more and more rigorously.
Enter the monks one after another.
Monk C:
It’s so windy. Where did this wind come from?
Monk D:
Make sure the banner doesn’t fall and hit someone on the head. Did you tie a dead knot there?
Monk A:
The knot is dead, but the head is alive.
Monk B:
Never mind. Let it wave all it wants. Our job is done.
[Enter Huineng. He is now middle-aged, wearing straw sandals and dressed in layman’s clothing made of hemp. He looks at the banner.
Silence. The banner is waving even more vigorously in the wind, making a flapping sound.
Monk C:
It’s such a big banner, it must be really heavy as well. How come it keeps on flapping and fluttering?
Monk D:
Because the wind sets the banner in motion. That’s my explanation.
Monk C:
But the wind is insentient, how come it moves the banner for no reason? Huh, try explaining that!
Monk E:
The wind is invisible. It’s the banner that moves.
Monk C:
The banner is insentient as well. How come it moves by itself?
Monk F:
It’s true neither the wind nor the banner is sentient. They move because they are compatible in their respective karma.
Monk C:
Karma belongs to the realm of sentient beings, therefore it is capable of movement. But the banner and the wind are both insentient, why do they also move?
[Enter Master Yinzong.
Yinzong:
Good question! Who can answer it?
Monk D:
When there is movement the wind is present, and when there is no movement the wind is absent. This is inherent in the wind’s nature. The banner looks as if it’s moving, but it’s actually the wind moving by itself. It is a mistake to see only the banner moving and not the wind moving by itself.
Monk E:
I beg to differ. A banner is capable of movement but a boulder isn’t. When the wind blows, a banner moves but a boulder remains stationary. It is not in the nature of the wind but that of the banner to move, thus it is the banner moving itself with the wind.
Huineng:
Both the wind and the banner are insentient, why then should you talk about their nature of motion or motion-lessness? The wind and the banner are themselves as thus. The banner does not move, nor does the wind. The movement we see is but an illusion in our mind. The Dharma originally makes no distinction between motion and motionlessness. This is the true meaning of “Neither creation nor extinction”!
Yinzong:
Who is it that speaks?
Huineng:
A layman passing by.
Yinzong:
Please come forward and present yourself! May I ask what is your name?
Huineng:
My surname is Lu. I’m known as Huineng.
Yinzong:
Where did you come from?
Huineng:
The mountains in the south.
Yinzong:
Do you have a teacher?
Huineng:
I was once under the tutelage of the Old Master Hongren in North Ridge, in a place called East Mountain in Qizhou.
Yinzong:
You are aware that the Old Master has departed this earth?
Huineng:
Yes, I’ve failed to live up to his faith in me.
Yinzong:
I will not give a lecture on the sutra today. You all go back to your work. I have to converse with this lay brother.
(Exit monks.)
Yinzong:
(Whispering.)
Before Master Hongren died, he said that the Dharma would travel south. You must be the good person who holds the trut
h of the Dharma.
Huineng:
Yes, I’m the one.
Yinzong:
You have not begun to spread the words of the Dharma. Is there any reason for such tardiness?
Huineng:
It was the Master’s commandment that I should conceal myself for some time before revealing my identity. Therefore I’ve been hiding among a party of hunters in the counties of Sihui and Huaiji in Canton Prefecture.
Yinzong:
Are you really the Fifth Patriarch’s designated successor Huineng? Where are your credentials?
Huineng:
I still have the Patriarch’s robe in my possession.
Yinzong:
Supreme karma! (Clasps his hands in salutation.)
I was also once a disciple of Master Hongren and received instructions from him, but I was unable to apprehend the Dharma for my lack of intelligence. The few words you’ve just spoken overwhelmed me. Such wisdom I have never heard all my life. In comparison, my expositions on the Maha Parinirvana Sutra are like worthless dregs. Master, please allow me to lead you into the chamber!
[Exit both.
Act II Scene 2
In Which Huineng Receives the Commandments
[Bell ringing. Enter Boundless Treasure ringing a Buddhist bell. She sports a tattered robe made of rags. Her head is shaved and her feet are bare. She is holding an almsbowl in her hand.
Boundless:
(Loudly.)
I’m a Buddhist nun. Boundless Treasure is my name!
Boundless treasure, boundless wonders, boundless profundity, and bound to be misunderstood!
(Smiles. Rings the bell.)
[Enter Yinzong on the other side, leading a group of monks.
Yinzong:
(Loudly.)
Monks of all houses, instructors, and discipline teachers, let us welcome to the pulpit Master Huineng, true heir to the Dharma of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren!
Boundless:
(Walks across front stage, singing.)
Boundless thoughts, boundless entanglements,
Boundless grievances, inextricable karmas,
Boundless pains and the boundless sea of bitterness—
[Enter Huineng in Dharma robe, his hands clasped. The monks all clasp their hands in salutation.
Yinzong:
Now we will ask the three discipline teachers to come forward and take part in the incense burning ceremony. They are His Holiness Zhiguang, abbot of Zongchi Temple in Xijing, Master Huijing, head monk of the Lingguang Temple in Suzhou, and Master Daoying, instructor of the Tianhuang Temple in Jingzhou.
[The three discipline teachers light the incense sticks.
Boundless:
(Sings.)
Boundless desires, boundless illusions,
Boundless prayers, and boundless asceticism.
[The monks surround Huineng and inspect his robe. They are overawed and begin to talk among themselves.
Monks:
It’s the real thing!
I’ve never seen anything like it!
What is it made of?
Is it made of real silk?
Huineng:
It’s made of cotton.
Monks:
Really? My goodness!
[Boundless Treasure rings the Dharma bell and begins to dance.
Boundless:
(Sings loudly.)
From Spring to Summer, Autumn and Winter,
To the east, the west, the north and the south,
From the edge of the sea to the edge of the earth,
A big void, with no border, no end in sight…(Exit.)
[Yinzong ascends the pulpit.
Yinzong:
The tripitaka master Gunavarman of the Song Dynasty constructed this pulpit. At the time it was recorded that an arhat would ascend this pulpit, and a Bodhisattva would receive the commandments here. At this moment,I, Abbot Yinzong of the Dharma Nature Temple, will perform the haircutting and shaving ceremony for Master Huineng. Discipline teachers, please bear witness to this service, as Master Huineng will receive the entire commandments and be fully ordained.
[Bells toll simultaneously. Yinzong leads the way for Huineng and the three discipline teachers. They walk across the hall and exit.
Sound of wooden fish. Monks chanting.
Monks:
(Chanting together.)
Good men and believing women,
Bodhisattvas and Mahasattvas,
Let this be so,
Control and humble the heart!
(Exit in a line.)
[Enter Boundless Treasure, dancing with the Dharma bell in her hand.
Boundless:
(Loudly.)
Troubles, troubles,
So many troubles,
This world of men!
[Enter Crowd, following her.
Crowd:
Look, come and take a look!
A mad woman!
Where? Where?
My goodness, a Buddhist nun!
Even the nun’s going mad!
Boundless:
It’s you who are mad. You pig heads, you refuse to be enlightened!
Crowd Sing! Sing again!
Give her two coppers!
Have pity on her!
Boundless:
Have pity on you, all of you!
Crowd:
Get out of the way, you idiot!
Let people pass! You devil you!
My goodness, she’s got scabies all over her!
Boundless:
Oh no, I don’t. It’s you who’ve got muck all over your bodies, not me!
Crowd:
Leave her alone. She practices the Dhuta discipline. She wants to get rid of life’s trials!
An ascetic nun! Amitabha!
Boundless:
(Sings loudly.)
Oh Boundless Treasure, there is boundless treasure in you,
Boundless wonders and boundless profundity…(Exit)
[Bell ringing fades.
Act II Scene 3
In Which Huineng Gives His First Lesson in the Pulpit
[Pitter Patter of rain gradually becomes louder. Enter Huineng slowly. His head is shaved. He is dressed in a short gown made of coarse cloth and trousers, the legs of which are tied. He also has on a pair of straw sandals. He stops to listen to the crisp sound of the falling rain, stretching out his hands to catch the raindrops.
Huineng:
(Sings.)
The hounds you drove,
To go after deer and doe;
In caves and sheds of straw,
To hunt was to live,
A wild man in the mountains.
They wanted to steal the Dharma,
They wanted to hunt you down;
Then like a bolt from the blue,
You are honored and hailed,
A teacher of Heaven and men.
(Huineng looks up and lets the rain fall on his face. Enter Yinzong in a hurry.)
Yinzong:
Master, what are you doing?
Huineng:
Watching the rain and listening to my heart.
Yinzong:
All the monks are gathered in the hall waiting for you to lecture them on the Dharma.
Huineng:
Huineng has no Dharma to talk about. That which can be spoken is not the Dharma.
Yinzong:
(He waits patiently, his hands hanging by his side.)
You are the true successor of Buddha. Everybody is looking up to you. With due respect, I must insist on the Master’s exposition so that all present will be enlightened!
Huineng:
Huineng is unworthy of your respect and your compliments. I’m afraid that it’d be futile even if I spoke.
Yinzong:
It all depends on one’s karma. If the people are enlightened, then the merits will indeed be boundless.
Master, please change into the Dharma robe you have inherited.
Huineng:
Dharma robe or
no Dharma robe, what is the difference?
Yinzong:
If you had on an ordinary kasaya robe, you would be a mere lay brother, and only I would recognize your true identity. If you had on the Dharma robe, then everyone would know that you are the true inheritor of the Dharma. For the sake of the glory of the Buddhist order, and for the sake of the enlightenment of the deluded, I hereby request the Master to ascend the pulpit in the Dharma robe!
Huineng:
Then Huineng will have no choice but to do that which he would not normally do. What indulgence! (Bows and smiles.)
Please go in first. I will follow shortly.
[Yinzong smiles in approval. Exit. Bell tolls loudly. Exit Huineng.
Enter the monks hurriedly one after another.
Enter Yinzong. Bell tolling stops.
Yinzong:
Two hundred years ago in the Southern Dynasties, there was a tripitaka master by the name of True Meaning. He planted two bodhi trees on both sides of this pulpit. He also told his disciples to take good care of the trees, for later a Bodhisattva would come and perform the Supreme Dharma ceremony. We are really fortunate today because this prophecy has come true. I welcome to this pulpit Master Huineng, Bodhisattva-in-person and true successor to the patriarchs. He will lecture us on the teachings of the East Mountain Temple School.
[Enter Huineng in Dharma robe.
Huineng:
(Smiling.)
Let me sit under the tree here. The shade cools me.
Greetings, everybody. Allow me to be honest with you. I don’t know how to read. I can’t understand the words in the sutra. If you want exegesis on the sutra, you should read the book yourselves. But I have one way to the Dharma, it has neither name nor words, neither eye nor ear, neither body nor concept, neither language nor manifestation, neither head nor tail, neither inside nor outside, nor anything in between, neither presence nor absence, neither cause nor effect, it neither comes nor goes, and it is not green, yellow, red, black or white. May I put the question to the learned members in the audience: what is this way?
