Pointing at the Moon - Alexander Holstein

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one's own responsibility for practicing; to seek the self; to attain self-perfection, and so on. All of this just proves the fact that the practice of Ch'an is totally self-dependent. No one can teach Ch'an. The Ch'an master's mission is to act as a medium whereby the practitioner is drawn to look for himself or herself into the world of the True Mind.

      Give Up Two Distinct Halves

       I ONE DAY, Chih Hsien, the celebrated Ch'an master, was testing a group of his disciples. "In search of the Way," he said, "we are like a man hanging by the teeth from a branch of a lofty tree. Another man sitting under the tree asks him a question, 'What is the meaning of the patriarch coming from the west [to China]?' He will seem unintelligent if he dares not answer, but, if he opens his mouth, he will certainly fall to his death. Tell me," questioned the master, "what should be done to find a way out?"

      Among them was a monk by the name of Hu T'ou Chao (Best Recruit Hu) who stood up and said, "We don't care what the man is doing there in the tree. We want you to say who he was and what he had been doing before climbing the tree."

      After hearing this, Chih Hsien burst into laughter, feeling quite satisfied.

      Commentary: Most people are used to thinking of two distinct halves or opposing concepts such as "to be" and "not to be," "is" and "is not," "have" and "have not." The task of a Ch'an master is to destroy this kind of concept in his disciples' minds. The world becomes limitless when the relative boundary of two opposing concepts is destroyed.

      No distinct halves, no relative boundary of duality. Hence there are no obstacles on the way to the nature of the self. Only the monk Hu T'ou Chao was able to see the point of Ch'an, attaining an elevated state of mind. As for the master, he saw the monk's potential for immediate realization and thus was very satisfied with his disciple's answer.

      Drink the River Hsichiang in One Draft

       THERE once was a monk named P'an Yun who,on first coming to Ch'an master Shih T'ou, asked him the question, "What kind of men are those who avoid the company of all dharmas?"

      So saying, his mouth was covered by Shih T'ou's hand. However, the monk didn't fully realize the Truth of the master's gesture. So he paid a visit to the venerable master Ma Tsu to ask him the same question.

      "Let me see how you can drink the river Hsichiang in one gulp and then I will tell you," was the reply.

      After hearing this, P'an Yun attained complete realization.

      Commentary: Ch'an master Shih T'ou stopped the monk by covering his mouth with his hand in order to show him the absurdity of such a foolish question, answering to which was the same as drinking the water of a long river all at once. Here we have another good example of the impossibility and futility of using words when describing self-nature. It is probable that after attaining the true nature of the self, even to drink off a river is no longer a big problem. The men whom the monk asked about were neither more nor less than the nature-in-itself. Actually, it was something that couldn't be spoken of. That is why the Ch'an masters used to employ these gestures and parables, making disciples realize the subtleties of self-nature on their own.

      The Most Open Secret

       CH'AN MASTER Tsu Hsin and poet Huang Shan Ku were good friends. Once, the poet asked Tsu Hsin to initiate him into the most mysterious secret of the Way.

      "Haven't you heard the old saying of Confucius which goes, 'I do not care whether the fortunetellers predict my true future or not.... I am sure only of one thing, my fate will unfold as it will'? Say, what do you think of this?" questioned the master.

      When poet Huang was about to answer, he was stopped by a loud cry, "No! No!" that made him feel a little puzzled.

      Some time later, during the mulberry blossom season, the friends were walking deep in the mountains. "Don't you smell the fragrance of mulberry trees flowering?" asked Tsu Hsin.

      "Of course, I do."

      "You see, I do not conceal anything from you."

      Hearing this, the poet came to an understanding on his own and began to express his thanks to the master. He said, "O, Master, your heart is the most loving heart of an old aunt..."

      Smiling, Tsu Hsin then remarked, "I wish you would come back home."

      Commentary: The master let his friend, poet Huang Shan Ku, "come back home," where "home" denoted the original nature of the self. In the Ch'an tradition, sayings such as "an old host" or "the true eyes of peace and quiet" have the same meaning as "home" and "self-nature." Rivers and mountains meet one's eyes in all directions. There is no place the Way is not expressed. This is the most open secret of the universe, nothing is inexplicable. However, poet Huang didn't see the point. He was seeking the keys to forever open doors into self-nature. Using the parable of blossoming, the master showed the poet the strict way to the primal nature of the self. He showed him the way home which, for his wandering, Huang Shan Ku had abandoned long ago.

      The Magical Effect of Doing Nothing

       MASTER Tao Shu was an adherent of the Northern school of Ch'an, founded by Shen Hsiu. Once, he and a group of disciples went on a retreat to the mountains to practice Ch'an in solitude.

      A mischievous spirit began to taunt them day and night, variously appearing as a filthy beggar, or assuming the aspect of Buddhas or bodhisattvas or monks, or producing magical lights or sounds. The young monks were frightened nearly out of their wits because of the extreme nature of many of its demonic antics. But one morning, after ten years of its tricks, the spirit suddenly disappeared once and for all.

      "This juggler did many of his tricks in order to purposely delude our minds," explained the master. "There was only one resort against the demon's tricks—the way of doing nothing. This means nothing to see, nothing to hear. Even myriad tricks must eventually be exhausted, but as to the method of doing nothing itself—it is boundless and can be employed forever!"

      Commentary: If Tao Shu had tried to defend himself against the demon's tricks by resorting to his own skills of transformation, it would probably have resulted in an endless battle between two magicians. Only by adherence to doing nothing did it become possible to overcome the demon, negating its skill. In fact, the method of doing nothing can produce something everlasting, in full accordance with Lao Tzu's teaching that nonexistent produces existent. Everything has its limits, even the largest and strongest things are not immortal. As for nothing, it is unlimited because it is unformed, and owing to this fact, it can be used universally. In the Ch'an mind, it is just so with "emptiness," which proves to be the most useful and meaningful among the True things.

      The Show of a Novice in Charge

       ONCE, when novice Yang Shan paid a visit to Ch'an master Wei Shan, the first question the celebrated master asked him was, "Are you a novice in charge, or are you not yet?"

      "You are right, Master," was the reply. "I am a novice in charge."

      "What place is in your charge?"

      Hearing this, Yang Shan took several steps from west to east and then came to a dead stop. At this show, Wei Shan was very pleased.

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