The Origin of Zen

Author: Tao Qing Hsu

Pinch a flower and smile. Outside of teaching, other imparting, one heart to confirm the other heart.

When Buddha Shakyamuni is on the spirit-vulture mountain, he pinches a flower and shows to his disciples and the masses. All of them are silent and do not understand what the meaning is. Only a Buddhist monk Mahakassapa smiles with comprehend about this.

Then, Buddha Shakyamuni says, ” I have the correct-law-eye-treasure, Nirvana wondrous heart. The true phenomenon is without phenomenon. The wondrous law-gate, no text is established. There is the other imparting outside of teaching. These imparting are delivered to Mahakassapa.”

This is the origin of Zen. “The correct-law-eye-treasure” is translated from Chinese into English. “law” here means “Buddha-law”. “correct law” means the whole Buddha law. “eye” here means “to see and reflect the all things clearly”. “treasure” here means “to include the all things”.

The true phenomenon is without phenomenon.

So, what Zen is imparted is the whole Buddha law which is reflected the all things and it could be seen by us. It is the treasure which could lead us into the Nirvana with our wondrous heart. What is the wondrous heart? It is to realize that the true phenomenon is without phenomenon. How can we go into the gate of such wondrous Buddha law? Its password and secret is the wondrous heart and no text. Such special and wondrous Buddha law is outside of the normal Buddha’s teaching and these imparting are delivered to Mahakassapa.

Mahakassapa is the first generation of India Zen. The word "Zen" is transliterated from Chinese. The system of Zen imparts from the first generation which is the only one, to the next generation which is also the only one. The method is one heart to confirm the other heart. In other word, at the same generation, the second person has no chance to gain the confirming from the Zen master. This rule continues until the sixth generation of Chinese Zen. After him, Zen is broadly imparted and delivered in China.

The essence of Zen is speechless and no text.

The Indian Zen is from Mahakassapa to Dharma, which is totally imparted 28 generations. Dharma can speak and read in Chinese and he imparts Zen in China. He is respected as the first generation of Chinese Zen. From the first generation to the sixth generation in Chinese Zen, there is only one person who can be confirmed as the next enlightened Zen master in each generation. In Zen, each Zen master will leave his verses as confirmation of enlightenment.  

There is no text. Why? That is because it is from one mind to communicate to the other mind in the emptiness. Where you can find the text? It is unless someone records it on the paper.

If someone could not perceive the self spiritual awakening, it is hardly for him to experience and prove the emptiness-nature, and to experience the communication from one mind to the other mind in the emptiness. It is hardly for us to be imparted and confirmed from Zen master in the emptiness, unless we are the top supreme wise person, and have the merit and virtue in learning Buddha.

One flower with five leaves. The result is completed naturally.

In the worldly, there are golden-thread dresses and bowl to be used as Zen heritage tokens which stops to deliver by Zen master Huineng who is the sixth generation of Chinese Zen.

Zen is not easy to be understood by the masses. That is why it is single imparting, and why the Zen is the mystery and puzzle for the masses, and why it is not publicly known in India.

Zen is publicly known by the masses since the Master Huineng, the sixth generation of Chinese Zen. His time is in A.D.638-713. The master Huineng imparts Zen for five disciples who are confirmed to be enlightened in Zen. Then, these five disciples develop Zen everywhere in China. And at the same time, Zen is also imparting to Japan and Korea.

Our natural wisdom is speechless.

The Zen master Huineng is illiteracy. As we know above, no text is established in Zen. That is what the interesting. The illiteracy doesn’t be the obstacle to be enlightened in wisdom. That is a special record in the Buddhist history. This record also lets us know that, whatever the language is spoken, it is not the obstacle for enlightening our natural wisdom. Why?

Any language is developed in a social group. As we have mentioned before, the grandest Dao is speechless. That is, our natural wisdom is speechless. Once we realize our natural wisdom, whether we are illiteracy or what language we speak is not so important. Any text or language is just to help us more easily understand what our natural wisdom is. In other word, any text and language itself is not the natural wisdom. When we want to enlighten our natural wisdom, we even have to abandon any text and language in the temporarily.

Chapter 17: The brightness comes and the darkness disappears (Updated on January 3, 2022)

(Chapter 17) A Brief Talk about The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha 

Co-translators in the time of Eastern Han Dynasty, China(A.D. 25 - 200) : 

Kasyapa Matanga and Zhu Falan (Who translated the said Scripture from Sanskrit into Chinese. )

Translator in modern time (A.D.2018: Tao Qing Hsu (Who translated the said Scripture from Chinese into English.)

Teacher and writer for explaining the said Scripture: Tao Qing Hsu

Chapter 17: The brightness comes and the darkness disappears

The Buddha said,” Those who see the Dao are as holding a torch into a dark room, where the dark is vanished immediately, yet only the brightness exists. Learning Dao and seeing truth, no-light is vanished immediately, yet the light always exists.”  

We have to use our own eyes to see the moon, not others eyes.

When we learn Buddha at different stages, the understanding of the Dao will be different. We have ever mentioned the different stages of the Dao in Chapter 14: Ask about the goodness and grandest.

What the Dao is, which has to be experienced by self. Fortunately, Buddha Sakyamuni has talked and taught us a lot according to his experience, and which gives us a direction to learn. We also have mentioned the Dao in many articles in this blog. Regarding the more profoundly meaning about the Dao, it is not yet mentioned in this blog.

In fact, the Buddhist scripture of 42 chapters said by Buddha is talking about the Dao. Of course, all of the Buddhist scripture is talking about the Dao. The Buddha Sakyamuni said that what he has talked and taught is as like outstretching the arm, and pointing at moon with finger. What it means? If we want to see the moon, the brightness, we have to use our own eyes, not the eyes of Buddha Sakyamuni. What he had done is to tell us where the moon is, why it is the moon, and what we can do to know the moon, when we can see the moon, and how bright it is.

Do you have ever thought why we want to learn or know about the Dao? Does it mean anything to us? If we don’t have any question about it, we would not be interested in that. Only when we have the basic concept about its meaning to us, it would be possible for us to open our mind and to learn Dao further.

The greatest Dao is the speechless. (The grandest Dao is no speech.)

In Buddhism and Daoism, the basic meaning of Dao is the same. Why? The basic meaning of Dao, that is the truth of Dao, is actually practiced and realized by the wise people themselves at the different places and the different time. The truth of Dao is practiced and realized through our experience, but not created by whom.

However, most people do not have such intelligence to realize the truth of Dao, because most of them are repressed by the suffering in life, such as hard working to raise children or to earn money. In ancient time, that is why those who want to seek the truth of Dao would leave their family, which is to give up their worldly life and the burden in life, so as to learn Dao.

Moreover, some of the masters in Buddhism ask their disciples not to read the news and not to contact the outer world, so as to focus their mind to learn Dao. But, in the modern time, I do not suggest you to do that, because the information exchange on the internet is easier to know and obtain, and the AI could replace of many labors, which is also helpful to us to learn Dao.

In fact, Dao is existed everywhere. And it is impossible to gain the Dao by self-excluded from the worldly life or from the outer world. Furthermore, the greatest Dao could not be express by words. That is the greatest Dao is the speechless. It is only when we actually practice, experience and realize the Dao, and the Dao could be seen in the current moment. 

  

The wise human beings in heaven also teach us the truth of Dao.

Except for the practice to learn Dao by self, it would be possible that the truth of Dao is taught and transmitted by the wise human beings in heaven. In other word, the wise human beings in heaven might be the teacher or professor. According to the historical records, there are a lot of different name to call them.

Whatever which name is called, that the wise human beings in heaven have the ability to teach and communicate with the wise persons who practice the Dao on earth is true. Such historical records could be found or read in Chinese Buddhist scripture or in the Chinese documents of Daoism, or any historical documents in Chinese. Such teaching is very positive and helpful to human life.

There is the evil spirits in heaven and is able to control human beings on earth.

In fact, no matter whether people learn Dao or not, the human beings in heaven are able to teach and communicate with them. However, the content what is taught might be different. And some of them might be not good for the human beings on earth.

According to the Chinese Buddhist scripture, the demon in heaven is able to spoil the Buddhism purposely. But, it maybe not be called demon. It is possible to be another name to be called. Such as the spy, we may not know who the spy is, what its real name is, and how it manipulates us. However, it may be around us, or to be our friend, or partner, or colleague.

Demon is also one of the human beings in heaven. In other words, there are the evil spirits in heaven, who could manipulate the human beings on earth and teach them to do the evil things so as to spoil the harmony in the society or in the country of human beings on earth.

According to our experience, thinking, reasoning and judgment, could it be possible to be true? If it is true, what we should do and what we have the choice? And how we could get rid of the control from the demon in heaven?

How could we get rid of the control from the evil spirit in heaven?

In this part, Buddha Sakyamuni also teaches us a lot. In a brief, that is to learn Dao of Buddhism and keep the positive and right thinking as taught by Buddha Sakyamuni. Why? Do you think, could it be possible for evil spirit to control or manipulate emptiness or nothingness?

For example, if we have and persist in love and desire in our mind, it would be possible for us to be manipulated by anyone who makes use of the love and desire in our mind. If there is no love and desire in our mind, that is nothingness in mind, how could it be possible for demon to manipulate us by making use of the love and desire? That is also one of the reasons that Buddha Sakyamuni wants us to know that we could see Dao, if we could abandon the love and desire.

Understanding this and to abandon the love and desire, our heart of empathy and of equality for all sentient beings would be generated gradually. That is the true love for all sentient beings. The prospect of our life is thus actually lighted. That is true brightness in our life and future.

When people are willing to take time to realize and practice the truth of life or of the universe, that is to learn and practice the Dao, it would be possible for everyone to see the Dao someday. Therefore, the truth of Dao is not the patent which should be belonged to whom, but it could be gained by everyone. 

What is the difference between doing goodness and learning Dao?

Secondly, even the human beings in heaven, most of them do not know what the truth of Dao. In Buddhist scripture, Buddha Sakyamuni also teaches Buddhism for the human beings in heaven; that is to teach them to learn Dao. Why? A lot of human beings in heaven are reincarnated from the human beings on earth; that is because they have done a lot of goodness, but have not yet to learn Dao, let alone to know what the truth of Dao.

It is easier for us to do goodness, because it might let us have a good feeling for the value of our existence and might make us happy or to have the obviously feedback from any person who is helped by us. Moreover, we always have the concept that we could go into heaven to enjoy the bliss, if we could do goodness in current life.

Learning the Dao and practicing the Dao seems not to be the same thing, but, it is truly the same thing finally. If you have ever read the Chapter 2: Cutting off the desire and no demanding, or you have ever read a lot of articles in this blog, you might have the basic concept about the truth of Dao.

Do you have ever thought what the difference between learning Dao and doing goodness would be? Many people think that doing goodness is learning Dao. I cannot say it is wrong, because doing goodness is the basic to learn Dao. But, the meaning of Dao is broader. 

Practicing the Dao is able to see the Dao, which makes our life brightness.

Furthermore, do you have ever thought what the true helpful to our real life, if we learn Dao or see the Dao? If it could not help our life in reality, why we learn Dao? If you have ever read a lot of articles in this blog, you might have the basic concept about why we learn Dao.

Many people think that it is useless to learn Dao, because they do not know how it could be helpful to their real life, such as to have a job to earn money or to have meals in life. This is a very real problem. Actually, it is the suffering in life. Buddha Sakyamuni had answered a lot to resolve such problem, and had blessing a lot for those people who are willing to learn Dao.

To learn and practice the Dao is to learn and practice the wisdom, especially to inspire the natural wisdom in our self. We have mentioned such concept in Chapter 15: Ask about the force and brightness. And there is the answer for this problem.

There is the shallow or the deep meaning for the Dao. No matter it is, once we have seen the Dao, it would light our life, even if it is only a slight light, which could become the great light someday and make our whole life in the present and future life be in the brightness.

Supplementary note: Dao is transliterated from Chinese, meaning way and method, deeper meaning as a system of learning or religion.

p.s. Dao is Tao, which is transliterated from Chinese. The original meaning of Dao is the way and path, and it is extended to be the truth of life that we can learn and practice in our lives.