晦台元鏡 Huitai Yuanjing (1577-1630)

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六十九世晦臺元鏡禪師
晦台元鏡 Huitai Yuanjing (1577-1630), Patriarch of the Sixty-ninth Generation

69th Generational Patriarch: Dhyana Master Huitai Yuanjing
佛祖道影白話解 Lives of the Patriarchs
虛雲老和尚編輯 Composed by the Elder Master Hsu Yun (虚云 Xuyun, 1840-1959)
宣化上人講於一九八五年六月十三日 Commentary by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua (宣化 Xuanhua, 1918-1995) on June 13, 1985
金剛菩提海 Vajra Bodhi Sea (VBS): A Monthly Journal of Orthodox Buddhism, Nos. 308-309.

http://www.drbachinese.org/vbs/publish/308/vbs308p016.htm
http://www.drbachinese.org/vbs/publish/309/vbs309p012.htm

The Master was born in Jianyang as a son of the Feng family. When he read to the sentence now that the seeing is without seeing” in the Shurangama Sutra, he had an insight. He went to seek the advice of Dhyana Master Shouchang, who rebuked him and gave him a scare. Then when he read the sentence mptiness has no attendant” in the Lankavatara Sutra, he suddenly experienced an awakening, but was not completely at ease. When he read the sentence,ne must hit the ball quickly by the swift waters” in the Verse of Perfect Enlightenment, his doubts and impediments were forever eradicated. And then he went to ask Master Chang, saying,came especially to seek instruction from the High Master in this matter.” Chang said,hat evidence do you have for this matter?” The Master snapped his fingers. Chang said,suspect that you still have a sense of self.” The Master then presented a verse. Chang asked him further, and the Master answered loudly. Chang gave him a verse. The Master accepted it and bowed. In the year of wuwu, he went to Dongyuan Monastery.

One day in the autumn of the year gengwu (1630), during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen, he pointed to the cliff and said to a cultivator,can be buried at that place.” The cultivator said, fter you are dead and buried, then what?” The Master said with a smile, "It will be just right.” The cultivator asked again, but the Master had already passed away. A pagoda was built at the cliff he had designated.

I said that I would recite the text once and then explain it for you, and I wasn't lying to you. I'm determined to live up to my words. In the future, if you want me to bow to you, then you can refuse to come up and talk. I will bow to you every day, and keep bowing until you are no longer able to remain mute!

This is the Sixty-ninth Generational Patriarch of the Caodong (Soto) Sect, Dhyana Master Huitai Yuanjing. “ Hui” means dim and unlit, and “tai” means platform. Yet “yuanjing” ("original mirror") implies that the mirror is originally bright and doesn't need to be wiped or brushed clean.

The Master was born in Jianyang as a son of the Feng family. Where is Jianyang? In Fujian Province. I'm completely unfamiliar with the geography of China, and that's just fine with me, because I don't want to be a geography teacher! The Master's lay surname was Feng.

When he read to the sentence “know that the seeing is without seeing” in the Shurangama Sutra, he had an insight. The Shurangama Sutra says we should realize that the seeing, in itself, has no seeing or awareness of its own. Seeing cannot see itself. You should know that the seeing is apart from the seeing. What is it that can see the seeing? The self-nature. If the seeing could perceive the seeing, then what color would this seeing be, and what color would that seeing be? However, there is only one thing that can perceive, namely, a kind of awareness. It is the nature that perceives. The seeing is like a camera that can take pictures of other people, but not of itself. Thus, one should know that the seeing, in its fundamental substance, has no seeing.

Suppose you dig your eyes out; what would they be able to see then? If you cut off your ears, what would they be able to hear? If you chopped off your nose, it wouldn't be able to smell. If you tried to use the nose by itself, it wouldn't function, just as a single engine part cannot make the motor run by itself. Thus, the seeing has no substance of its own; it is only a nature. Therefore, “know that the seeing is without seeing"; don't be attached to the seeing, for it has no substance or appearance.

When he got to that sentence in the Sutra, he was a bit confused. He seemed to understand it, and yet he thought, “What is this talking about? I think I've eaten this “food” before, but I've forgotten what it tastes like.” He was like Piggy [in the Journey to the West] eating ginseng: Piggy heard that ginseng was good-tasting, and so he swallowed it down in one gulp. Then he asked Monkey, “Brother Monkey, what does it taste like?” He didn't know what it tasted like after he'd eaten it, so he had to ask Monkey. The Master's case was similar to Piggy's. He had attained something without knowing quite what it was, just as Piggy had eaten ginseng without tasting its flavor.

Therefore, he went to seek out a Good and Wise Advisor. He went to seek the advice of Dhyana Master Shouchang, who was a well-known teacher at the time. But Master Shouchang rebuked him and gave him a scare. When one has not genuinely understood, one cannot “make tea with cold water"--one cannot say that one understands what one does not understood. He didn't truly understand, and yet he dared to go and blurt out a lot of nonsense. That was why Master Shouchang was irate and scolded him and really let him have it, giving him a good scare.

Then later on when he read the sentence “Empy and without an attendant” in the Lankavatara Sutra, he suddenly experienced an awakening, but was not completely at ease. Being empty, how could one still have an attendant? Upon reading to that part in the Sutra, the Master understood a bit, but he was still a little hesitant. It was not like he'd seen the daylight or had had a great enlightenment that he could rejoice about.

From last issue: When Dhyana Master Huitai Yuanjing read to the sentence “know that the seeing is without seeing” in the Shurangama Sutra, he seemed to understand it. He went to seek the advice of Dhyana Master Shouchang, who furiously scolded him and gave him a scare. Then later on when he read the sentence “Empty and without an attendant” in the Lankavatara Sutra, he understood a bit, but he was still a little hesitant. It was not something he could rejoice about.

When he read the sentence, “One must hit the ball quickly by the swift waters” in the Verse of Perfect Enlightenment, his doubts and impediments were forever eradicated. If one is playing ball on the shore beside the fast flowing water, one must be very quick or else the ball might get carried away by the current. One cannot swim at such a beach, because the water may come rushing up at any moment. Therefore, one has to watch the ball closely and move fast. The meaning here is that one should be quick to react, not so sluggish and indecisive that one lets all the opportune moments slip away. One should play a clean, good game, not drag one's heels. One should quickly cut off afflictions and put an end to birth and death! It's very dangerous to be in birth and death! If one continues to be lazy, acting as if one has samadhi and there's nothing wrong, then one is simply letting the time go by in vain. When one has doubts and impediments, then the bottom of the black paint bucket has not fallen off yet. Yet now, the Master's doubts and impediments were pulled out by their roots.

And then he went to ask Master Chang, saying, “I came especially to seek instruction from the High Master in this matter.” Dhyana Master Huitai Yuanjing again went to see Master Shouchang, saying, “Will the High Master please instruct me regarding the great matter of birth and death?"

Chang said, “What evidence do you have for this matter?” The Master snapped his fingers. That was his proof. A fingersnap represents the briefest interval of time.

Chang said, “I suspect that you still have a sense of self. You have not emptied the mark of self. You haven't come home yet. ” The Master then presented a verse to Dhyana Master Shouchang. Chang questioned him further, saying some characters and telling him, “If you can put these words in the right place, you'll qualify as an intellectual.” And the Master answered accordingly. He answered clearly and wasn't trembling and scared like he had been before. Chang examined the Master's verse and then returned the verse to him, certifying his enlightenment. The Master accepted it and bowed. In the year of wuwu, he went to Dongyuan Monastery.

One day in the autumn of the year gengwu (1630), during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, he pointed to the cliff and said to a cultivator, “I can be buried at that place.” One day he walked near a cliff and said to his fellow cultivator, “When I die, please bury me here.” The cultivator said, “After you are dead and buried, then what? How should affairs be handled then?” The Master said with a smile, “It will be just right.” That's just the way it is, not too little and not too much. The cultivator tried to ask again, but the Master had already passed away. He came without a shadow and departed without a trace, drifting in and drifting out again, coming like the breeze and going like the breeze, coming without hangups and leaving without hangups. It was just as if he had not come and gone at all. He was a cultivator who had freedom over his own coming and going. He came to play and roam in the world. See how carefree and independent he was! He left no traces, unimpeded and at ease. A pagoda was built at the cliff he had designated. People built a stupa at the base of the cliff to which he had pointed.

A verse in praise says:

Know that although the seeing is without awareness,
It has a cause for coming into being.
Emptied of attendants, why can't you understand it thoroughly?
Since you know this matter clearly,
You should hit the ball by the swift current.
Sitting until Mount Wuyi disintegrated,
He will be a model for thousands of years to come.

Commentary:
Know that although the basic substance of the seeing is without awareness, It has a cause for coming into being. Yet we talk about there being a “seeing.” It is not totally groundless. Emptied of attendants, why can't you understand it thoroughly? Originally there is not one thing, so where can the dust alight? That being the case, why haven't you become enlightened?

Since you know this matter clearly, you should not procrastinate any longer, waiting until you're old to cultivate. You should hit the ball by the swift current. There's a saying, “Don't wait until you're old to study the Way; the lonely graves are mostly filled with those who died young!” Sitting until Mount Wuyi disintegrated, / He will be a model for thousands of years to come. See how he was able to sit until the mountain broke in half? You must have that kind of indomitable spirit! A thousand years down the line, you will still be a model for people to look up to.

A verse by Hsuan Hua says:

Seeing has no substance of its own;consciousness is unaware of itself.
Putting a head on top of a head is stupidity within stupidity.
There's not a grain of sand inside the eye.
The gold within the spiritual tower has not been lost.
The primary meaning is the ultimate Dharma-door.
Once thoroughly enlightened, all thoughts are ended.
With marks left behind and the mind emptied, what is there to be attached to?
Who's the one who differentiates between north and south, east and west?

Commentary:
Seeing has no substance of its own;consciousness is unaware of itself. The seeing has no basic substance, and so the consciousness cannot perceive its own awareness. Putting a head on top of a head is stupidity within stupidity. If you insist that the seeing must be a certain way and that the consciousness has an appearance, you are simply adding a head on top of the one you already have; this is the dumbest of dumb things!

There's not a grain of sand inside the eye. As it is said, “the eye cannot tolerate a single grain of sand.” One cannot be off by a single bit. The gold within the spiritual tower has not been lost. The “spiritual tower” refers to the mind. The gold within our minds is our intrinsic wisdom. It can never be lost.

The primary meaning is the ultimate Dharma-door. What's the primary meaning? It's the ultimate Dharma-door, which is apart from the words and apart from the mind's thoughts. Once thoroughly enlightened, all thoughts are ended. Once you are fully enlightened, you will be free of all thoughts whatsoever.

With marks left behind and the mind emptied, what is there to be attached to? At that point, what is there left to cling to? Who's the one who differentiates between north and south, east and west? Who is left to distinguish between north and south or east and west?