Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings (54 page)

When Mihu resided at Jingzhao, an old worthy asked him, “Nowadays if people see a piece of broken well rope in the light of the moon they say it’s a snake. I’d like to know what you would call it if you saw a buddha?”

Mihu said, “If there’s a buddha to be seen, it’s not other than all beings.”

The old monk said, “A thousand years of peach pits.”

Mihu had a monk ask Yangshan Huiji, “During these times is there authentic enlightenment or not?”

Yangshan said, “It’s not that enlightenment is lacking, but how does one avoid falling into what’s secondary?”

The monk went back to Mihu and related what Yangshan said. Mihu deeply approved.

Mihu sent a monk to ask Dongshan, “What do you have to say about that?”

Dongshan said, “You have to turn around and ask him, then you can find out.”

Mihu also agreed with this.

YANGSHAN HUIJI

YANGSHAN HUIJI (807–83) was the main disciple of Guishan Lingyou. Yangshan came from ancient Shaozhou (now the city of Shaoguan in Guangdong Province). His parents refused him permission to leave home and become a monk, so Yangshan demonstrated his resolve to them by cutting off two of his fingers, vowing that he would seek the true Dharma to repay his filial obligations. Accounts vary about where he first entered the clergy. It is likely that he first studied under Zen master Bu Yutong, the abbot of He’an Temple in Guangzhou.

After Yangshan received tonsure, but before receiving full ordination, he traveled north to visit the famous temples that existed in the area of modern Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.

After traveling for some time, Yangshan resided and studied under the teacher Danyuan Yingzhen, the famous disciple of National Teacher Nanyang Huizhong. There he had his first great insight.

Yangshan then traveled to study under Guishan Lingyou, under whom he attained enlightenment, and remained to become his foremost disciple. Teacher and student had the closest spiritual affinity. Their names were later combined to form the name of the Guiyang school of Zen. Eventually moving to Mt. Yang (in modern Jiangxi Province), Yangshan drew students from throughout the realm.

The Guiyang school of Zen employed sacred symbols to convey Buddhist truths. According to tradition, the Sixth Ancestor himself was the source of these symbols. The symbols were passed to National Teacher Nanyang, and in turn to Danyuan, who gave the symbols in a secret manuscript to Yangshan.

Danyuan greatly esteemed Yangshan, and said to him, “Previously the National Teacher Huizhong received the transmission of a total of ninetyseven symbolic circles from the Sixth Ancestor. He in turn passed these to me, saying, ‘Thirty years after I’ve died, a novice monk will come from the South who will greatly revive this teaching. When that time comes, pass the teaching on to him and don’t let it end.’ Today I transmit them to you. You must uphold and preserve them.”

When he had finished speaking he passed the secret text to Yangshan. After receiving and examining the text, Yangshan burned it.

One day Danyuan said to Yangshan, “The symbols that I gave you are extremely rare, esoteric, and precious.”

Yangshan said, “After I examined them I burned them.”

Danyuan said, “This Dharma gate of ours can’t be understood by most people. Only the Buddha, the ancestors, and all the holy ones can fully understand it. How could you burn it?”

Yangshan said, “After examining it, I fully comprehended its meaning. Then there was no use keeping the text.”

Danyuan said, “Even so, when transmitting this to disciples, people of future times won’t believe it.”

Yangshan said, “If you would like another copy that won’t be a problem. I’ll make another copy and give it to you. Then it won’t be lost.”

Danyuan said, “Please do.”

The story of Yangshan’s meeting with Guishan and his subsequent great enlightenment is recounted in the
Wudeng Huiyuan
.

Later, Yangshan went to practice under Guishan.

Guishan asked Yangshan, “As a novice monk do you have a host or not?”

Yangshan said, “I have one.”

Guishan said, “Who is it?”

Yangshan walked from west to east and then stood there erect.

Guishan realized that Yangshan was extraordinary.

Yangshan asked Guishan, “What is the true abode of Buddha?”

Guishan said, “Think of the unfathomable mystery and return your thoughts to the inexhaustible numinous light. When thoughts are exhausted you’ve arrived at the source, where true nature is revealed as eternally abiding. In that place there is no difference between affairs and principle, and the true Buddha is manifested.”

Upon hearing these words Yangshan experienced great enlightenment.

Zen master Yangshan entered the hall and addressed the monks, saying: “Each and every one of you, turn the light inward! Don’t try to remember what I’m saying! For a beginningless eon you have faced away from the light and been shrouded in darkness. The roots of delusion are deep. They’re difficult to cut off and uproot. So [the Buddha] established expedient means to grab your attention. These are like showing yellow leaves to a crying child, who imagines they’re gold and thus stops crying. You act as though you’re in a shop where someone sells a hundred goods made from gold and jade, but you’re trying to weigh each item. So you say that Shitou has a real gold shop? Well in my shop there’s a wide range of goods! If someone comes looking for mouse turds then I give him some. If someone comes looking for real gold then I give it to him.”

A monk asked, “I don’t want mouse turds. May I have the master’s real gold?”

Yangshan said, “If you try to bite down on the head of a flying arrow you can try until the year of the ass but you won’t succeed!”

The monk couldn’t answer.

Yangshan said, “If you want to exchange something we can make a deal. If you don’t want to exchange anything then we can’t.

“If I truly speak of Zen, then there won’t be a single companion at your side. How can this be if there’s five or seven hundred in the assembly? If I talk about this and that, and you strain your neck trying to pick something up, then it will be like fooling a little child with an empty hand. There’s nothing authentic about it. Today I’m clarifying what is holy, which is not a matter of collecting and calming the mind. Instead you must practice to realize the true sea of self-nature. Of what use is there for ‘three clarifications’ or ‘six understandings’? What I speak of is the ultimate sacred matter. If right now you want to know mind and arrive at the root, then arrive at the root. Don’t worry about the tips of the branches. If you do this, then hereafter you will possess it yourself. But if you don’t attain the root, and just use your emotions to seek
it
, then you will never succeed. You’ll never see what Master Guishan spoke of—the place where ideas of mundane and sacred are exhausted, where matter and principle are united, and the true eternal body of the Tathagata is manifested.”