Rinzai 102

Venerable ones, what do you seek? He who stands clearly revealed and distinct before your eyes, listening to this Dharma talk, this Independent Man of the Way lacks nothing at all. If you do not want to be different from the Buddha and the patriarchs, just see it thus and do not indulge in doubts and speculations.

Commentary:

The key point here is what or who is He who stands clearly revealed and distinct before our eyes. He contains everything and there is nothing that doesn’t belong to Him. We, of course, cannot escape from Him even for a moment. There is no ceasing to see and hear Him even for a second. In fact, although Rinzai says that He is listening to his Dharma talk, not merely the Dharma talk that Rinzai is delivering but also Rinzai himself is part of Him. He appears to be dark in dark places and appears to be bright in bright places. He reveals Himself as a mountain when you see a mountain and as your family members when you see them. This is why ancient masters said we fail to see Him, the true-Self that is clear before our eyes because we try to find Him whilst forsaking Him who is before our eyes. ‘Just see it thus and do not indulge in doubts and speculations’ means that we should see things as they are, that is, see things without attaching names to them. Attaching names is like blocking your sight with things.

©Boo Ahm

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