The Buddha means Oneness. When everything is Oneness, there is nothing but Oneness, the Buddha. Then, there can be no other sound but the voice of the Buddha. So, the voice of the Buddha has no beginning and no end and includes not only all sounds but also silence. No one can stop it reaching our ears even for a moment. Furthermore, all the sounds you make in your daily life are also the sounds of the Buddha because you are also part of the Buddha.
The key problem is that we don’t recognise it while seeing and hearing it. In order to recognise the sound of the Buddha, you should know that there is no difference at all between any two things: silence and sound, air and a tree, tea and a cup, and so on. Hearing everything as the same is hearing everything as it is, which is to hear the voice of the Buddha. Seeing everything as the same is seeing everything as it is, which is to see the Buddha.
Layman Pang said, “Everyone has a Sutra. However, there is no one who can read it because it is formless, nameless and textless. If you have ‘I’, that is self, you can neither read nor listen to it. If you happen to be able to read it, you will become one with the principle of no birth and no death. Then, you don’t have to follow Bodhisattvas and don’t have to try to become the Buddha.”
Later on, Issan asked Gyosan, “Did Rinzai show himself ungrateful to Obaku?” Gyosan said, “Not at all.” Issan said, “What do you mean?” Gyosan said, “One has to know the kindnesses one has received in order to be able to repay them.” Issan said, “Have there been similar precedents among the old masters?” Gyosan said, “Yes, there were. But it was long ago, and I do not want to talk about it.” Issan said, “This may be so, yet I would like to know. Just tell me.” Gyosan said, “It is just as the incident in the Ryogon Sutra when, at the assembly, Ananda made this Gatha of the Buddha, ‘This profound heart serves in a dusty temple. This is called requiting the Buddha’s kindness. How could it not be a case of requiting kindness?’” Issan said, “Just so, just so! Insight as deep as that of the master diminishes by half the master’s virtue; insight surpassing that of the master makes one worthy to receive the succession.”
Commentary:
Later on, Issan asked Gyosan if, during the conversation between Obaku and Rinzai, Rinzai had been ungrateful to Obaku. Gyosan answered that Rinzai had revealed the true-Self through seemingly impolite words, by saying that Rinzai had been wise enough to recognise Obaku’s kindnesses and repay them. Then, Issan asked Gyosan to test him further to see if he could present similar precedents from the old masters. Gyosan, initially refusing to tell similar precedents because doing so was at best merely playing with illusions, finally presented a similar precedent by quoting Ananda’s words from the Ryogon Sutra ‘This profound heart serves in a dusty temple. This is called requiting the Buddha’s kindness’. Ananda meant the true-Self by ‘this profound heart’ and form by ‘a dusty temple’, which implies that the true-Self is hidden in form. Whenever we see and hear things, being able to recognise the true-Self is no other than to requite the Buddha’s kindness. Then, Issan, very satisfied with Gyosan’s response, approved his enlightenment.
Student: “How can we see the profound heart when it serves in a dusty temple?”
A. According to the Buddha’s words, we are originally happiness itself, but we are floundering in the ocean of suffering because we can’t see things as they are. To escape from the ocean of suffering, we should turn our ignorance into wisdom.
In Buddhism ignorance means being unable to see things as they are, or being deluded by illusions. On the contrary when we can see things as they are, the ability to see things as they are is referred to as wisdom. So, turning ignorance into wisdom means changing our perspective that is deluded by illusions into the one that is not deluded by them.
Layman Pang said, “Everyone has a Sutra. However, there is no one who can read it because it is formless, nameless and textless. If you have ‘I’, that is self, you can neither read nor listen to it. If you happen to be able to read it, you will become one with the principle of no birth and no death. Then, you don’t have to follow Bodhisattvas and don’t have to try to become the Buddha.”
Student: “What is it like?”
Master: “It is open all the time.”
Commentary:
The Sutra is never wet even in water and never burns in fire.
When Rinzai took leave of Obaku, the latter asked, “Where will you go?” Rinzai replied, “If it is not to the south of the river, it will be to the north of the river.” When Obaku slapped him in the face, Rinzai stopped him and gave him a slap instead. Obaku gave a shout of laughter and ordered his attendant, “Bring the armrest and stool of my late master Hyakujo!” Rinzai said, “Attendant, fetch fire.” Obaku said, “Though this may be so, you’d better take them. In future they will serve you to shut up everybody.”
Commentary:
Obaku’s question ‘Where will you go?’ implies ‘Do you know that the true-Self never moves at all; neither goes nor comes?’. Rinzai’s answer ‘If it is not to the south of the river, it will be to the north of the river’ means that wherever he goes, he is still in the true-Self without any direction. Obaku tested him again to see if he was really aware of the true-Self by slapping him in the face. Rinzai revealed the true-Self by returning him a slap. Convinced of Rinzai’s enlightenment, Obaku wanted to give him the armrest and stool of his late master Hyakujo as a token that his enlightenment was approved by him, just as the historical Buddha transmitted his robe and bowl to Mahakasyapa. That is why he told his attendant to bring them. Rinzai’s ‘Attendant, fetch fire’ means, ‘I know that everything is empty and that we should not be deluded by the illusions of secular things such as the armrest and stool of Obaku’s late master Hyakujo.’
Obaku’s ‘Though this may be so, you’d better take them. In future they will serve you to shut up everybody’ means ‘You are right in that everything is the true-Self in the realm of Emptiness, but you’d better take them in the realm of forms since they will help you to teach others’.
A. It is true that the cup has every right to be enlightened just as much as we do. However, you should know that if you attain enlightenment, all the universe attains enlightenment along with you, but that the Buddha is also never enlightened, not to mention the cup, unless you are enlightened. If you truly want to see the cup attain enlightenment, you first should attain enlightenment.
Student: “When can I attain enlightenment?”
Master: “When this cup attains enlightenment.”
Student: “When does this cup attain enlightenment?”
Layman Pang said, “Everyone has a Sutra. However, there is no one who can read it because it is formless, nameless and textless. If you have ‘I’, that is self, you can neither read nor listen to it. If you happen to be able to read it, you will become one with the principle of no birth and no death. Then, you don’t have to follow Bodhisattvas and don’t have to try to become the Buddha.”
Student: “What is the Sutra that everyone has?”
Master: “You cannot put it down even for a moment.”
Commentary:
Look for it and it is invisible whilst it is with you.
Rinzai went to Obaku in the middle of the summer retreat. He encountered Obaku reading Sutras and remarked, “I have thought you are a great man! But it is only an old monk who crams black beans into his mouth!” A few days later when he took leave again, Obaku said, “You broke the summer retreat in coming here. And now you leave without finishing it.” Rinzai said, “I only came to pay my respect to you.” Obaku finally hit him and ordered that he be chased away. When Rinzai had gone but a few miles, he had doubts about this affair, returned, and finished the summer retreat.
Commentary:
Reading texts literally without grasping the hidden meanings is compared to pecking black beans in Zen meditation. This is also referred to as being deluded by words. However, grasping the essence of the text without being deluded by words is compared to making a dead snake alive.
By saying, “You broke the summer retreat in coming here. And now you leave without finishing it” Obaku tested Rinzai to see if he would be deluded by words such as summer, retreat, coming, leaving and finishing. Unfortunately, Rinzai didn’t seem to grasp Obaku’s intention when considering Rinzai’s answer and the context of Obaku’s hitting him and ordering that he be chased away. That is why Rinzai was doubtful of the affair, returned and finished the summer retreat. The key point here is that regardless of whether Rinzai was deluded by words or not, we should not make the mistake of pecking black beans when we read this text.
A. To see things as empty may sound nihilistic and pessimistic since the conventional image of the word ‘empty’ may seem to suggest ‘void’ or ‘nothing’. Emptiness in Buddhism, however, doesn’t refer to voidness, or nothingness but means fullness, oneness and perfection. Everything is to Emptiness as every wave is to the sea. When we realise that everything is empty, firstly, we can be aware that everything is one as emptiness in essence, just as all waves are essentially one as the sea.
Then, everything that reaches your eyes and ears feels perfect and more beautiful, and you come to understand why Jesus said that we should love our neighbours as ourselves. Secondly, you can realise that death is not the end of your being, just as the disappearance of a wave doesn’t mean the disappearance of water that is the essence of water. This is referred to as the transcending of birth and death in Buddhism.
Zen Fools 