Master Sooyu said to an assembly, “You should not drive a stake into the air.” Then, a monastic named Younghau, standing up in the assembly, responded, “The air is no other than a stake.”
Student: “If the air is a stake just as the monastic said, what is the stake?”
Followers of the Way, as the Zen school sees it, life and death rotate over and over. Practitioners should take a close look at this. When a host meets a guest, there is an exchange of discourse. Sometimes they reveal the body according to the circumstances. Sometimes the whole body is brought into function. Sometimes they show pleasure, or anger on purpose as an expedient according to karma. Sometimes they reveal half the body. Sometimes they mount the lion, sometimes they mount the elephant.
Commentary:
In ‘life and death rotate over and over’, ‘life and death’ means the realm of form, and ‘rotate over and over’ implies seemingly ceaseless change. The reason why Rinzai tells practitioners to take a close look at this is that seeing the realm of form as it is, is no other than enlightenment.
This part shows how masters teach people depending on circumstances and students’ capacity. ‘They reveal the body according to the circumstances’ means that masters reveal the true-Self according to the circumstances with words, or actions which are called koans. A master answered, “Dry shit” when he was asked what the true-Self is by a monastic, and another master responded, “A cypress in the garden.” These are examples of revealing the body, the true-Self by using words. Some masters would reveal the true-Self by actions such as brandishing their sticks, hitting monastics with their sticks, or feigning anger or pleasure. In fact, all koans are no more than expedients to reveal the true-Self. ‘They reveal half the body’ means that masters reveal the true-Self with plausible words that make people fail to recognise the true-Self by alluring them into following their literal meaning. This is the same as ‘they hide half the body’. However, the true-Self is revealing itself wholly all the time, and it is impossible to hide or cover even the slightest part of it because the action of hiding or covering it is no other than the function of the true-Self.
‘They mount the lion’ means that they give people strict teaching of wisdom, and ‘they mount the elephant’ means that they show compassion through abiding effort to lead them to enlightenment.
A. When people make flowers out of gold, the forms of flowers are as various as the number of the people in size, shape and completeness depending on their skill, taste and their working conditions. However, the gold itself that is the essence of the flowers never changes and remains perfect as gold all the time irrespective of how ugly and beautiful their works are. No matter how diverse our physical experiences may be, the true-Self, the essence of our being never changes at all just as the shapes of the flowers cannot change the gold itself.
The reason why I accentuate physical experience is that ‘our true-Self is perfect’ can be grasped only through direct experience because it is beyond words. Not until you have a physical experience of the true-Self in person can you understand the meaning of ‘our true-Self is perfect’.
Followers of the Way, what should a real man doubt? Who is he who freely functions right before the eyes? Seize and use him—but do not attach a name to him. This is referred to as deep meaning. If you can see everything like this, there is nothing to avoid. An old master said: “The mind changes with ten thousand phenomena; its changes are truly profound. Once the mind is realised, following birth and death, there is neither joy nor sorrow.”
Commentary:
‘Who is he who freely functions right before the eyes?’ means that everything you see and hear is the function of the true-Self. ‘Seize and use him—but do not attach a name to him’ implies that the true-Self cannot be separated from your hands even for a moment since you are oneness with the true-Self when you are not deluded by names that are merely illusions. ‘This is referred to as deep meaning’ means that not being deluded by words is referred to as enlightenment. When you can see everything in this way, there is nothing to avoid and no one who will avoid because there is just Oneness, the true-Self.
The true-Self functions ceaselessly;
its functions are profound and subtle.
Once you have realised the true-Self amidst illusions,
A. In fact, everybody in the world is trying to do this at every moment. “You should try your best to develop or improve your life.” is one of the most common sayings in our life, especially for school students. To try one’s best to develop one’s life means to make one’s best effort to control one’s karma; to alleviate one’s bad karma and to make one’s good karma better instead of just accepting one’s karma as fate.
However, the control of causation is possible only to a limited extent. For example, you can decide whom to marry, or whether or not you will get married, but you cannot alter the fact that you are a human being, not a bird. You can’t control the cause and effect of your past, but can control or influence the causation of your future, to a degree, depending on how you accept your current situation that is the effect of your past cause, because your future is determined by how you live now. So, it can be said that you can’t manipulate it fully but can influence or partially control it.
However, when you realise that everything is empty, that is, when you realise that cause and effect themselves are also empty, you can be free from the suffering of cause and effect. This is referred to as escaping from karma.
One day, when Master Joshu was staying in his room, a monastic cried outside, “Sir, I am here.” Joshu said to his attendant monk, “You let him know that I want him to go.” As soon as the attendant monk did to the monastic as he was told, the monastic offered a bow and went away. Then, Joshu said, “The monastic walked in the door, but the attendant monk is still out of the door.”
Student: “Why did Joshu say that the monastic was in the door although he didn’t come in the room?”
Master: “Because he could clearly see Joshu through what was conveyed by the attendant monk.”
Student: “Why did Joshu say that the attendant monk was still out of the door although he was with the master all the time?”
Master: “Because you are still out of the door.”
Commentary:
Praise is not different from blame and a prize is not different from punishment.
If not one thought arises, you will at once climb up the tree of enlightenment, have the supernatural powers to transform yourselves at will in the Three Worlds, have the joy of the Dharma and the bliss of Zen. Your whole body will shine by itself. When you think of robes — you are clothed in a thousand layers of brocade; when you think of food — a sumptuous meal of a hundred flavours is served; and you will never encounter unexpected accident or illness. Enlightenment has no local abode, and so there is nothing to obtain.
Commentary:
‘If not one thought arises’ means ‘if you are not deluded by even a single illusion’. ‘Have the supernatural powers to transform yourselves at will in the Three Worlds’ means that you feel identical, or feel oneness with the entire universe. ‘Your whole body will shine by itself’ implies that you feel the function of your whole body as that of the true-Self. ‘You are clothed in a thousand layers of brocade’ means that when you are oneness with the true-Self, the whole universe, perfection can be your robe. ‘You will never encounter unexpected accident or illness’ means that you have transcended birth and death. ‘Enlightenment has no local abode, and so there is nothing to obtain’ implies that since enlightenment is just to see things as they are, not a thing with a certain shape, we should not think that it can be attained in the way we obtain something precious, which is to be deluded by the illusion of enlightenment.
A. You seem to be distracted by illusions; thoughts of the past and the future. Then, you cannot be concentrated on your meditation as you spend time struggling to fight off your illusions during your practice. This causes you to feel more exhausted than refreshed after meditation. This happens because you don’t practise in the right way.
Try to focus all your attention to your koan, Zen question. If you find it difficult to do so because of worldly thoughts, illusions, don’t try in vain to fight them off. As mentioned previously repeatedly, there is nothing that is not the true-Self. Not only the worldly thoughts but also your anger is also part of the true-Self. That is, you are mistaking the true-Self for anger, or worldly thoughts. They are no other than the true-Self you are looking for. I’d like to advise you to trace your anger, or illusions back to their root instead of fighting against them. They, well used, can be a nice way to enlightenment.
When a monastic asked Master Quijong, “What is the visible true-Self?”, the master, standing on tiptoe, said, “Can you see?” The monastic answered, “No, I can’t.” The master said, “There are three kinds. Be free to make a choice.”
Student: “What are the three kinds?”
Master: “A cup, a table and a tree.”
Commentary:
Choose any one and the others will come along spontaneously.
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