Thus, he studied and understood Nanquan’s way. It was an endeavor of twenty years. Finally, when he was eighty years old, he became abbot of the Guanyin Monastery, east of the city of Zhao Province [Zhaozhou]. After that, he guided humans and devas for forty years.
Zhaozhou did not write a single letter of request to donors. The monks’ hall was small and without front or back platforms. Once, a leg of a sitting platform broke. He replaced it with a charred stick from the fireplace, tying it on with a rope, and used it for many years. When an officer asked for permission to get a new leg, he did not allow it. Follow the spirit of this old buddha.
Zhaozhou became abbot after receiving dharma transmission in his eighties. This was authentic transmission of the true dharma. People called him Old Buddha. Those who have not yet received true transmission of the dharma are lightweights compared with Zhaozhou. Those of you who are younger than eighty may be more active than Zhaozhou. But how can you younger lightweights be equal to him even in his old age? Keeping this in mind, strive in the path of continuous practice.
During the forty years Zhaozhou taught, he did not store worldly property. There was not a grain of rice in the monastery. So, the monks would pick up chestnuts and acorns for food, and they would adjust the mealtime to fit the situation. Indeed this was the spirit of the dragons and elephants of the past. You should long for such practice.
Zhaozhou once said to the assembly, “If you do not leave the monastery in your lifetime and do not speak for five or ten years, no one can call you speechless. Even buddhas would not know what to make of you.”
Zhaozhou expresses sustained practice in this way. You should know that not speak for five or ten years may have the appearance of being speechless, but because of the merit of do not leave the monastery and do not speak, it is not the same as being speechless. The buddha way is like this. One who is capable of speaking but doesn’t speak is not like an ordinary person who has not heard the voice of the way. Thus, unsurpassable continuous practice is not leave the monastery. Not leave the monastery is total speech that is dropping off. Most people do not know, nor speak of, going beyond speechless. No one keeps them from speaking of it, but nevertheless they don’t speak of it. They do not discover or understand that to go beyond speechless is to express thusness. How regrettable!
Quietly engage in the sustained practice of not leave the monastery. Do not be swayed east or west by the winds of east and west. The spring breeze and the autumn moon of five or ten years, unbeknownst to us, have the ring of emancipation beyond sound and form. This voice is not known to the self, not understood by the self. Learn to treasure each moment of sustained practice. Do not assume that not to speak is useless. It is entering the monastery, leaving the monastery. The bird’s path is the forest. The entire world is the forest, the monastery.
Mount Damei is in Qingyuan Prefecture. Fachang from Xiangyang founded the Husheng Monastery on this mountain. When studying in the assembly of Mazu, Fachang asked him, “What is buddha?”
Mazu said, “Mind itself is buddha.”
Upon hearing these words, Fachang had realization.
Fachang climbed to the top of Mount Damei and dwelt there in a hut. He ate pinecones and wore lotus leaves, as there were many lotus plants in a small pond on that mountain. He practiced zazen for over thirty years, and was completely detached from human affairs. Without paying attention to which day it was, he only saw the green and yellow of the surrounding mountains. These were rugged years.
During zazen he set an iron stupa of eight cun in height on his head. It was like wearing a jeweled crown. As his intention was not to let the stupa fall down, he would not sleep. This stupa is still listed as a stored treasure at the Husheng Monastery. He practiced in this way continuously, without slackening.
After many years, a monk from the assembly of Yanguan went to the mountain looking for wood to make a staff. He lost his way and after a while found himself in front of Fachang’s hut. Seeing Fachang, he asked, “How long have you been on this mountain?”
Fachang said, “I have seen nothing but the green and yellow of the surrounding mountains.”
The monk said, “How do I get off this mountain?”
Fachang said, “Follow the stream.”
Mystified by Fachang, the monk went back and told Yanguan about him.
Yanguan said, “When I was in Jiangxi, I saw a monk like that, but I haven’t heard of him since. This might be him.”
Yanguan sent the monk to Fachang and invited him to come to the monastery. Fachang would not leave the mountain but responded with a poem:
A decayed tree remains in the cold forest.
Meeting springs, there is no change of mind.
Woodcutters see me, but I ignore them.
How come the wood master seeks me out?
Fachang stayed on the mountain. Later, when he was about to move deeper into the mountain, he wrote this poem:
Wearing lotus leaves from this pond—inexhaustible.
Eating pine nuts from several trees—still more left.
Having been spotted by people from the world,
I am moving my hut further away.
So he moved his abode.
Later his teacher Mazu sent a monk to Fachang to ask him, “Reverend, when you studied with Mazu, what did you understand that led you to live on this mountain?”
Fachang said, “Mazu said to me, ‘Mind itself is buddha.’ That’s why I am living here.”
The monk said, “Nowadays buddha dharma is different.”
Fachang said, “How is it different?”
The monk said, “Mazu says, ‘Beyond mind, beyond buddha.’”
Fachang said, “That old man always confuses people. Let it be ‘beyond mind, beyond buddha.’ As for me, mind itself is none other than buddha.”
The monk brought Fachang’s response to Mazu.
Mazu said, “The plum is ripe.”
This story is widely known among humans and devas. Tianlong is Fachang’s excellent student. Tianlong’s heir, Juzhi, is Fachang’s dharma grandchild. Jiazhi of Korea transmitted Fachang’s dharma and became the first ancestor of his country. All masters in Korea are dharma descendants of Fachang.
While Fachang was alive, a tiger and an elephant attended him without contending with each other. After he died, the tiger and elephant carried rocks and mud to help erect a tower for him. This tower still exists in the Husheng Monastery.
Fachang’s sustained practice has been admired by teachers both past and present. Those who do not appreciate him lack wisdom. To suppose that buddha dharma is present in the pursuit of fame and gain is a limited and foolish view.
Fayan, Zen Master Wuzu, said:
When our founder [Yangqi Fanghui] became abbot of Yangqi, the monastery buildings were old and dilapidated, barely able to provide shelter from wind and rain. It was deep winter and all the buildings were badly in need of repair. The monks’ hall in particular was damaged to the point where snow and hail would pile up on the sitting platforms and there was hardly any place to settle down. It was very hard to do zazen there. The elders of the monastery were so concerned that they made a request to Yangqi to have the buildings repaired.
Yangqi said, “According to the Buddha’s teaching, this is the time when the human life span is decreasing, and the high lands and the deep valleys are always changing. How can we achieve complete satisfaction in all things? Sages in the past sat under trees and did walking meditation on bare ground. These are excellent examples, the profound teaching of practicing emptiness. You have left the household to study the way and are not yet accustomed to the daily activities with hands and legs. You are only forty or fifty years old. How can you have the leisure to enjoy a comfortable building?” Thus, Yangqi did not approve their request. On the following day, he sat on the teaching seat and presented this poem to the assembly:
When I began living here in this building with crumbling walls,
all the platforms were covered by jewel
s of snow.
Scrunching up my shoulders to my neck, I sigh into darkness,
reflecting on ancient ones abiding under a tree.
Even though the monks’ hall was still in disrepair, monks in cloud robes and mist sleeves from the Four Seas and Five Lakes of China wanted to practice in Yangqi’s assembly. We should be joyous that there were so many who were immersed in the way. You should dye your mind with his words and inscribe them in your ears.
Later, Fayan gave an instruction, saying, “Practice does not go beyond thinking. Thinking does not go beyond practice.”
Take this teaching seriously, thinking of it day and night and putting it into practice morning and evening. Do not be like those who are blown about by winds from the east, west, south, and north.
In Japan even the Imperial Palace is not a magnificent edifice but is built of coarse, plain wood. How can monks who study the way live in a luxurious building? Such a building can only be acquired by devious means; cases of acquisition through pure means are rare. I am not talking about something you may already possess. But do not try to acquire something luxurious. A grass hut and a plain wooden hermitage were abodes loved by ancient sages. Those who study nowadays should long for and study this simplicity.
Although the Yellow Emperor, Emperor Yao, and Emperor Shun were worldly monarchs in China, they lived in grass huts. They set excellent examples for the world.
The Shizi says, “If you want to know the deeds of the Yellow Emperor, you should see his abode called the Thatched Palace. If you want to see the deeds of emperors Yao and Shun, you should see their Zongzhang Palace. The Yellow Emperor’s abode was roofed with grass. That is why it was called the Thatched Palace. Yao and Shun’s residence was also roofed with grass. And it was called the Headquarters.”
Keep in mind that these palaces were thatched with grass. If we compare ourselves to the Yellow Emperor, Emperor Yao, or Emperor Shun, the gap is wider than that between heaven and earth. Those emperors made thatched-roof buildings their quarters. If laypeople could live in grass huts, how should monks make tall buildings with breathtaking views their abode? It would be shameful. People of old lived under trees in the forest. Both laypeople and home leavers love such places.
The Yellow Emperor was a disciple of a Daoist named Guangcheng, who lived in a grotto called Kongdong. Many kings and ministers of Great Song China still follow the Yellow Emperor’s example. Knowing that people in the dusty realms lived humbly, how can home leavers be more worldly or more murky than they?
Among the buddha ancestors of the past, many received offerings from devas. However, after they attained the way, the devas’ celestial eyes could not see them and demonic spirits could no longer communicate with them. Be aware of this.
When devas and gods follow the practice of buddha ancestors, they have a way to approach them. But when buddha ancestors actualize going beyond, devas and gods have no way to find and come close to them. So Nanquan said, “As I lack the power of practice, a spirit is able to find me.”
Know from this that to be seen by spirits means that your power of practice is lacking.
The guardian spirit of the monastery buildings at Tiantong on Mount Taibai said to Hongzhi, Abbot Zhengjiao, “I know that you have been abbot of this monastery for over ten years. But whenever I go to see you in your sleeping quarters, I cannot quite reach you.”
This is indeed an example of someone who was engaged in the way. The monastery on Mount Tiantong was originally a small practice place. When Hongzhi was abbot, he abolished the Daoist temple, the nunnery, and the scriptural seminary and turned the compound into the current Jingde Monastery.
After Hongzhi died, Wang Boxiang, the imperial historian, was writing a biography of Hongzhi. Someone said, “You should record that Hongzhi plundered the Daoist temple, the nunnery, and the scriptural seminary and turned the compound into the current Jingde Monastery.” Boxiang said, “It should not be recorded, because it is not a meritorious thing for a monk to do.” People of his time agreed with Boxiang.
Know that such a thing is what a worldly person might tend to do and should not be seen as the achievement of a monk. Upon entering the buddha way, you go beyond the humans and devas of the three realms, and you are no longer measured by the standards of those in the three realms. Examine this closely. Study it thoroughly involving body, speech, mind, and your surroundings. The continuous practice of buddha ancestors has the great power to awaken both humans and devas, who, however, may not notice that they are helped by it.
In the continuous practice of the way of buddha ancestors, do not be concerned about whether you are a great or a modest hermit, whether you are brilliant or dull. Just forsake name and gain forever and don’t be bound by myriad conditions. Do not waste the passing time. Brush off the fire on top of your head. Do not wait for great enlightenment, as great enlightenment is the tea and rice of daily activity. Do not wish for beyond enlightenment, as beyond enlightenment is a jewel concealed in your hair.
If you have a home, leave your home. If you have beloved ones, leave them. If you have fame, abandon it. If you have gain, escape from it. If you have fields, get rid of them. If you have relatives, separate from them. If you don’t have name and gain, stay away from them. Why should you not remain free from them, while those who already have name and gain need to give them up? This is the single track of continuous practice.
To forsake name and gain in this lifetime and practice one thing thoroughly is the vast continuous practice of the Buddha’s timeless life. This continuous practice is bound to be sustained by continuous practice. Love and respect your body, mind, and self that are engaged in this continuous practice.
Daci, Zen Master Huanzhong, said, “Speaking ten feet does not compare to practicing one foot. Speaking one foot does not compare to practicing one inch.”
It may appear that Daci was warning the people of his day not to ignore continuous practice and not to forget about mastering the buddha way. However, he was not saying that speaking ten feet is of no value, but rather that the practice of one foot has greater power. The comparison between speech and practice is not limited to one foot or ten feet. It is also like Mount Sumeru and a poppy seed. Sumeru reveals its entire size. A poppy seed reveals its entire size. The great moment of continuous practice is like this. This is not speaking to himself but speaking to Huanzhong [Boundless World].
Dongshan, Great Master Wuben, said, “Speak what cannot be practiced. Practice what cannot be spoken.”
These are words spoken by the high ancestor. It means that practice clarifies the way to speech and there is a way that speech approaches practice. This being so, you practice all day while speaking all day. You practice what cannot be practiced and you speak what cannot be spoken.
Yunju, Great Master Hongjue, investigating Dongshan’s words seven or eight ways, said, “At the time of speaking, there is no road of practice. At the time of practice, there is no path of speaking.”
His words show that it is not that there is neither practicing nor speaking. At the time of speaking, you do not leave the monastery for your lifetime. At the time of practicing, you wash the head and request Xuefeng to shave it. You should not waste the time of speaking or the time of practicing.
Buddha ancestors have said since ancient times, “Living for one hundred years without encountering a buddha does not compare to living for one day and arousing the determination for the way.”
These are not merely the words of one or two buddhas; they have been spoken and practiced by all buddhas. Within the cycles of birth and death for myriad kalpas, one day of continuous practice is a bright jewel in the banded hair, the ancient mirror of all-inclusive birth and all-inclusive death. It is a day of rejoicing. The power of continuous practice is itself rejoicing.
When the power of your continuous practice is not sufficient and you have not received the bones and marrow of buddha ancestors, you are not valuing the body-mind of buddha ancestors, nor are you taking joy in the f
ace of buddha ancestors. Although the face, bones, and marrow of buddha ancestors are beyond going and not going, beyond coming and not coming, they are always transmitted through one day’s continuous practice. Therefore, each day is valuable. A hundred years lived in vain is a regrettable passage of time, a remorseful life as a living corpse. But even if you run around as a servant of sound and form for a hundred years, if you attain one day of continuous practice, you not only attain the practice of one hundred years, but you awaken others for a hundred years. The living body of this one day is a living body to revere, a form to revere. If you live for one day merged with the activity of the buddhas, this one day is considered as excellent as many kalpas of lifetimes.
Even when you are uncertain, do not use this one day wastefully. It is a rare treasure to value. Do not compare it to an enormous jewel. Do not compare it to a dragon’s bright pearl. Old sages valued this one day more than their own living bodies. Reflect on this quietly. A dragon’s pearl may be found. An enormous jewel may be acquired. But this one day out of a hundred years cannot be retrieved once it is lost. What skillful means can retrieve a day that has passed? No historical documents have recorded any such means. Not to waste time is to contain the passage of days and months within your skin bag without leaking. Thus, sages and wise ones in olden times valued each moment, each day, and each month more than their own eyeballs or the nation’s land. To waste the passage of time is to be confused and stained in the floating world of name and gain. Not to miss the passage of time is to be in the way for the sake of the way.
Treasury of the True Dharma Eye Page 47
