Verses demonstrate whose natural wisdom is enlightened.

Author: Tao Qing Hsu (Hsu, Tao-qing)

 

Zen master Hong Ren (A.D.601-674) was the fifth generation of Chinese Zen. He directed a large Zen temple where many disciples learned Zen from him. One of his disciples named Shenxiu was the chief professor who also taught Zen. However, his heart had not yet been confirmed by the heart of the Zen master Hong Ren.

 

All the disciples thought that the chief professor Shenxiu would be the sixth generation of Chinese Zen. And they expected it to be true. One day, Zen master Hong Ren asked his disciples to write down verses on the wall about what they have enlightened in wisdom. 

 

All disciples invited Shenxiu to write verses. Then, Shenxiu wrote verses:

 

The Body is Bodhi tree.

The heart is like a stand of the bright mirror,

Which have to be often wiped diligently, and

Do not make it provoked by dusts.

 

The dusts meant annoyance, trouble, or mistake. The verses meant that we should remove any annoyance, trouble and mistake. It looked reasonable. All disciples agreed with it cheerfully, and thought that everyone should follow the verses to practice. They all thought that the sixth generation of Chinese Zen must be Shenxiu.

 

At that time, Huineng passed by there from kitchen where he worked and felt curious what they were talking about. A colleague told him what verses Shenxiu had written.

 

Hearing that, Huineng had verses in heart and asked his colleague to assist him to write down the verses on the wall:  

 

There is no tree in the Bodhi originally.

The bright mirror is also not a stand.

There is nothing in the original.

Where the dust could be provoked?

 

All disciples read these verses curiously, did not understand what they meant, and were all stunned.

 

Zen master Hong Ren came here and had read the verses on the wall. He knew that Huineng had enlightened his natural wisdom. At the midnight, Zen master Hong Ren spoke Diamond Sutra for Huineng and imparted the Zen to him, including the golden-thread dresses and bowl. From the moment, Huineng was confirmed by Zen master Hong Ren and became the sixth generation of Chinese Zen. That is because his self spirit was awakened naturally.    

 

Those who have such knowledge gain the Dao quickly.    

 

Basically, there is no wrong for the two verses. But, do you know the difference of the verses said above between Shenxiu and Huineng? Shenxiu has not yet seen his self nature. However, Huineng has already seen his self nature. The self nature is the Buddha nature. That is what the difference between them, and such difference has decided their different destiny and future.

 

What is the difference? In a word, it is the difference of the general person and the Bodhisattva. It is also the difference of distinguishing wisdom and no-distinguishing wisdom. It is only the difference by a thought. It is so simple. However, it is very hardly to be understood by the masses.

 

What is the difference between distinguishing wisdom and no-distinguishing wisdom? For the general people, they are good at the distinguishing intellect, especially the elite. The ability of analysis, research and debating is the distinguishing intellect. But, it is not the no-distinguishing wisdom.

 

The distinguishing wisdom could help us distinguish what is the true virtue and what is the true evil, and we know that we should do the true virtue and not do the true evil. So, to have the distinguishing wisdom is a good thing. For the general people, they may have the distinguishing wisdom. But, it is not enough, if we want to learn Buddha.  

 

To learn Buddha, we must realize the no-distinguishing wisdom on the basis of distinguishing wisdom. Only we are in the state of no-distinguishing wisdom, we will realize the wisdom without binary opposition. That is the top supreme wisdom.

 

If we want to realize such wisdom, we have to realize the emptiness nature. However, it is hardly to realize it for anyone. So, Shenxiu may have the distinguishing wisdom. But, he does not have the no-distinguishing wisdom. That is why he cannot be the leader of the sixth generation of Chinese Zen.

 

For the masses, some people even do not have the distinguishing ability to distinguish what is good and what is evil, let alone to have the distinguishing wisdom. That is why they do the evil things and even do not have the feeling of shame.

 

Perceiving the sky, land and the world, to have a thought of the impermanence, it would lead us to realize these natures and essences are emptiness. The essences of the impermanence is the emptiness nature. The changing of phenomenon is the impermanence,  this is like the illusion, and is not real, and this is the perceive of fake. The essences of the impermanence is the emptiness, this is the real and permanence, and this is the perceive of truth. From that, we extend to realize that the nature and essence of our spiritual awakening is also emptiness. Then, what they mean for us? It is the wisdom of no obstacle, and which is the all wisdom, including the distinguishing wisdom and the no-distinguishing wisdom. The changing of phenomenon and the corresponding impermanence are belonging to the distinguishing wisdom.  The essences of the impermanence is the emptiness, this is the truth and permanence, and is belonging to the no-distinguishing wisdom.  The essences of all of them are the wisdom of emptiness nature. That is, the fake and the real are one, the illusion and the truth are one. Huineng realize it and that is why he can be the leader of the sixth generation of Chinese Zen.

 

Supplementary note: Dao is transliterated from Chinese, meaning way and method, deeper meaning as a system of learning or religion. Dao is Tao, which is transliterated from Chinese. The original meaning of Dao is the way and it is extended to be the truth of life that we can learn and practice in our lives.

Chapter 35: Once the filth is cleaned, the brightness is existed.

(Chapter 35) 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 35: Once the filth is cleaned, the brightness is existed.

The Buddha said,” As if a person forges iron to remove the dross, and then to be the utensil, the utensil is thus refined and good, the person who learns the Dao removes the filth in heart, his practicing is clean and pure accordingly.“ 

 

The Dao means the Dao in Buddhism. Learning the Dao in Buddhism is as if a person forges iron to remove the dross. Iron ore is burned by fire with high temperature and then the dross is emerged and removed. The left iron is more pure, and is continuously beaten by hammers with thousand times. A utensil of steel is hence completed.

 

Such utensil is refined and good and it is so perfect and can be used well, as if a person who learns the Dao makes himself to be a useful person, and to shoulder the inheritance of Dharma (Buddha-law), so as to make sentient beings liberate from their suffering, and hence to make them reach the blessed place which is established by themselves with their self-effort. Such blessed place is not elsewhere, but in their heart. In other word, at this moment, where they live, the place is the blessed place. That is because their pure heart is in there.

 

What is learning the Dao in Buddhism? In a word, to truly see the Buddha-nature by self and to be able to freely apply it is the process and goal for learning the Dao in Buddhism.

 

A person learning the Dao is as if the process of forging iron to become steel and to become the useful utensil. This person has to experience the strict life training so as to remove his evil thought, and to wear off his bad habit. The strict training in life is as if the iron ore is burned by raging fire in the stove with high temperature. It means that the training in life is very strict, hard and even suffering. Only experiencing such process, the pure mind and the determined belief can be made.  

 

Whatever the place is, where we live is as if a stove with fire to burn the iron ore and then to hammer it with thousand times, which can train our mind and character, when we learn the Dao. Through contacting people and any events, our evil thought and behavior would be gradually removed in the daily life. The strict training in life is not to isolate oneself in the crowd, and then to close oneself, but to place oneself in the crowd so as to train the self-mind to be open, integrity, honest, upright and pure, and to train the self-heart to be soft and compassionate, so as to train the self-will in learning the Dao to be firm.

 

The person who learns the Dao removes the filth in heart, his practicing is clean and pure accordingly.“

 

The filth is as if the dross as mentioned above, when it is removed, our heart becomes more pure and can tolerate any attacking from outside, such as humiliating, any negative thought or evil action. Such process is as if iron ore without dross can stand the beaten by hammers with thousand times.

 

What is the filth in heart? That is, to someone or to anything or to any events or to any circumstances or to any relationships, a person has the mind of the greed, hatred, resentment, stupid infatuation, arrogance, suspicion, jealousy, flattering, cunning, lie, brutality, despising, selfishness, or the insidious. In a word, it is the mind of the greed, hatred and the stupid infatuation. All of these are the negative states and emotions and able to drive the person to do anything to harm the self and others. That is why we define these states and emotions as the filth in heart. Our original heart is as if the white cloth, it is so white, bright and clean. There are no negative states and emotions in there. When it is stained by many black spots, we think that it is polluted to be black. This concept is that the heart with filth is the polluted heart.  

 

When we are embryos, our heart is very clean and bright, which is in the state of emptiness, and is no thinking. However, when we are born to the world and are infant, our mind are beginning to be stimulated and influenced continuously by the outside environment, which stimulate our various thinking and make us generate any different emotion. If we are lack of the correct guiding and self-perceiving, we are easy to generate any negative thought, emotion and behavior, even the evil or the distorted thinking and action to harm self and others. In such process of growing and living, we say that our heart is polluted and full of filth.

 

In such circumstance, when we treat people and deal with anything, we will no longer use our original sincere heart, but any polluted heart. When we use our polluted heart to treat people or deal with anything, we even do not know that we maybe harm others, or ruin anything, or break any good event, or even to harm the self in the end. Why? Our original heart without filth is as if the clean and bright mirror, which can make us view self clearly, and is also as if the clear eyes, which can make us see the truth distinctly. In such circumstance, we can keep our mind clear and make us calm down to do anything right. However, our heart with filth is as if the mirror with the thick dust, which cannot make us view self, and is also as if the blinded eyes, which cannot make us see any truth. In such circumstance, how can we assure that we cannot do anything wrong?

 

As if we want to remove the filth on the white T-shirt by washing it, we want to remove the filth in our heart, when we learn the Dao. When we remove the filth in heart, our thought become clear, our mind become pure, and our behavior become correct, our practicing in the Dao is clean and pure accordingly.

 

What is the benefit for us? We then understand that each one’s original heart is the same, which is clean, clear, pure and bright. Whatever the self or others, the heart is gradually affected and polluted by the environment. Therefore, the heart becomes dirty and dark. No matter our heart is bright or dark, it is the same heart. What the difference is whether our heart is polluted or not. When we understand the nature of the heart, we thus can tolerate any another heart which is outside of us and is without any wisdom and bright. At the same time, when we remove the filth in our heart by self and we can further guide another polluted hearts outside of us to be clean and pure. This is one of the processes to learn the Dao in Buddhism.   

 

There is a saying, “It does not need to go far away in order to pursue the mountain of spirit, because it is in your heart.” Mr. Dharma said, ”I originally pursue the heart, not the Buddha, because I completely know that there is nothing in the emptiness of the three realms. If you want to pursue the Buddha, but you only need to pursue the heart, because the heart itself is the Buddha.”

 

The mountain of spirit is the heart, in which there is nothing, because the heart itself is in the state of stillness and emptiness. Under the circumstance, all is generated deriving from it, including the heart of precept, stability and wisdom, and the heart of the greed, hatred, and the stupid infatuation. That is, the emptiness contains the all existence. The still heart contains the all. Such heart is no boundary.

 

In a word, the heart with darkness and filth is the un-inspired heart and the un-enlightened Buddha. The heart with brightness and wisdom and without filth is the inspired heart and the enlightened Buddha. Whatever the heart is, the Buddha-nature is in the heart. That is why a Bodhisattva said to the masses, “All of you are the Buddha in the future.” One day, when your heart is inspired and you see the truth, you are the Buddha.

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