Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (13 page)

But the Northern school did not lose prominence in Chinese society due to its philosophical outlook. Because of its relationship and proximity with the emperor, his court, and the northern capital cities, the school suffered severe damage during the civil war and disturbances that wracked China in the middle of the eighth century. The “twin capital cities” of Luoyang and Changan, showcases of Buddhist culture and architecture during the sixth and seventh centuries, suffered irreparable damage during the An Lushan rebellion and in subsequent social upheavals. These events did not lead to the immediate end of the Northern school, but severely damaged its demographic base.

When writing about the history of the Northern school, Zen scholars cite the well-known maxim that history is written by the victorious. In the dim light we can shine on those times, the alleged differences between the Northern and Southern schools cannot be clearly illuminated. But there is, nonetheless, a believable difference, no less so because the same differences exist today between different Zen groups as well as other Buddhist schools. Also, the practices criticized by Huineng in the Platform Classic have been, to a greater or lesser extent, part of virtually all Zen schools since at least the time of the Fourth Ancestor.

Despite the eventual ascendancy of the Southern school, Shenxiu enjoyed widespread prestige and honor in his own lifetime. His practice welcomed the faith of the population and edified China’s rulers. The period of Shenxiu’s influence corresponded with the “High Tang,” widely regarded as the greatest period of Chinese civilization. Shenxiu and his Dharma brothers from Huangmei contributed, in no small measure, to one of the greatest cultural eras in the world’s history.

Zen master Shenxiu had a verse that he recited to instruct the congregation.

All Buddhadharmas come forth fundamentally from mind.
If you waste effort seeking it outside,
It’s like rejecting your father and running away from home.

Shenxiu died at the age of 102 in the year 706. Among his most famous pupils were Songshan Puji and Jingzhao Yifu. After his death, Shenxiu received the posthumous title “Zen Master of Great Penetration.”

Seventh Generation

NANYUE HUAIRANG

NANYUE HUAIRANG (677–744) was the senior student of the Sixth Ancestor, Dajian Huineng. He came from ancient Jinzhou. Two of the five traditional “houses” of Chinese Zen traced their origin to the Sixth Ancestor through Nanyue Huairang and his famous student, Mazu Daoyi.

Nanyue left home at the age of fifteen to study under a Vinaya master named Hongjing.
³⁸
After his ordination he studied the Vinayapitaka, but he became dissatisfied, and then traveled to see a teacher named Hui An on Mt. Song.
³⁹
Although Nanyue made some spiritual progress with Hui An, he soon continued on to Cao Xi in Shaozhou, where he met and studied under the great teacher and Sixth Ancestor of Zen, Dajian Huineng. Their first encounter is described in the
Wudeng Huiyuan
.

Huineng said to Nanyue, “Where did you come from?”

Nanyue said, “From Mt. Song.”

Huineng said, “What is it that thus comes?”

Nanyue couldn’t answer.

After eight years, Nanyue suddenly attained enlightenment. He informed the Sixth Ancestor of this, saying, “I have an understanding.”

The Sixth Ancestor said, “What is it?”

Nanyue said, “To say it’s a thing misses the mark.”

The Sixth Ancestor said, “Then can it be made evident or not?”

Nanyue said, “I don’t say it can’t be made evident, but it can’t be defiled.”

The Sixth Ancestor said, “Just this that is undefiled is what is upheld and sustained by all buddhas. You are thus. I also am thus.

“Prajnadhara has foretold that from beneath your feet will come a horse which will trample to death everyone in the world.
⁴⁰
Bear this in mind but don’t soon repeat it.”

Nanyue then served the Sixth Ancestor for fifteen years.

During the Kai Yuan era of the Tang dynasty [713–41] there was a novice monk called Mazu Daoyi who constantly practiced Zen meditation upon Mt. Heng. Nanyue knew that Daoyi was a great vessel for the Dharma, and once walked up to him and said, “What does Your Worthiness intend to do by sitting in meditation?”

Mazu said, “I intend to become a buddha.”

Nanyue then picked up a piece of tile from the ground and began grinding it on a rock.

Daoyi then asked, “What are you trying to make by grinding that?”

Nanyue said, “I’m grinding it to make a mirror.”

Daoyi said, “How can you make a mirror by grinding a tile on a rock?”

Nanyue said, “If you can’t make a mirror by grinding a tile on a rock, how can you become a buddha by sitting in meditation?”

Daoyi said, “What is the correct way?”

Nanyue said, “It can be compared to an ox pulling a cart. If the cart doesn’t move, do you strike the cart or strike the ox?”

Daoyi didn’t answer.

Nanyue then said, “Are you sitting in order to practice Zen, or are you sitting to be a buddha? If you’re sitting to practice Zen, then know that Zen is not found in sitting or lying down. If you’re sitting to become a buddha, then know that Buddha has no fixed form.

“With respect to the constantly changing world, you should neither grasp it nor reject it. If you sit to become a buddha, you kill Buddha. If you grasp sitting form then you have not yet reached the meaning.”

When Daoyi heard this instruction it was as though he had drunk sweet nectar. He bowed and asked, “How can one cultivate mind to be in accord with formless samadhi?”

Nanyue said, “You are studying the Dharma gate of mind-ground, and this activity is like planting seeds there. The essential Dharma of which I speak may be likened to the rain that falls upon the seeded ground. In this same manner your auspicious karmic conditions will allow you to perceive the Way.”

Daoyi then asked, “The Way is without color or form. How can one perceive it?”

Nanyue said, “The Dharma eye of mind-ground can perceive the true way. The formless samadhi is likewise perceived.”

Daoyi then asked, “Does it have good and bad, or not?”

Nanyue said, “If the Way is seen in the aggregation and disintegration of good and bad, then it is not the Way. Listen to this verse:

The mind-ground fully sown,
When moisture comes, all seeds sprout
The formless flower of samadhi,
How can it be bad or good?”

At these words Daoyi experienced great enlightenment and unsurpassed realization. He then served Nanyue for ten years, each day embodying the deep mystery.

Six disciples entered Huairang’s room [to receive Dharma transmission]. He commended each of them, saying, “The six of you together will represent my body, each in accord with one part of it. One of you (the monk Chang Hao) inherits my eyebrows and their dignified appearance. One of you (Zhida) inherits my eyes and their stern glare. One of you (Danran) inherits my ears and their ability to hear true principle. One of you (Shenzhao) inherits my nose and its ability to perceive
qi
.
⁴¹
One of you (Yanxuan) inherits my tongue and its ability for articulate speaking. One of you (Daoyi) inherits my mind and its knowledge of past and present.”

Nanyue also said, “All dharmas are born of mind. Mind is unborn. Dharmas are nonabiding. When one reaches the mind-ground, one’s actions are unobstructed. Be careful when using this teaching with those not of superior understanding.”

A great worthy once asked Nanyue, “If an image is reflected in a mirror, where does the light [of the image] go [when it’s no longer observed]?”

Nanyue said, “It’s similar to remembering when Your Worthiness was a child. Where has your childlike appearance gone [now]?” (Later Fayan said, “What is the image that the worthy one cast in the mirror?”)

The worthy one asked, “But afterward, why does the image not remain?”

Nanyue said, “Although it is no longer reflected, it can’t be reproved even slightly.”