On the High Seat of "The Treasure of the Law"
The Sutra of the 6 th Patriarch, Hui Neng
(Translated by A.F.Price and Wong Mou-Lam)
Chapter IX. Royal Patronage
An edict dated the 15th day of the first Moon of the first
year of Shen Lung, issued by the Empress Dowager Tse T'ien and the
Emperor Chung Tsung ran as follows: "Since we invited Grand
Masters Hui An and Shen Hsiu to stay in the palace to receive our
offerings, we have studied the 'Buddha Vehicle' under them whenever we
could find time after attending to our imperial duties. Out of sheer
modesty, these two Masters recommended that we should seek the advice
of Dhyana Master Hui Neng of the South, who has esoterically inherited
the Dharma and the robe of the Fifth Patriarch as well as the 'Heart
Seal' of Lord Buddha. "We hereby send Hsueh Chien as the courier of
this Edict to invite His Holiness
to come, and trust His Holiness will graciously favor us with an early
visit to the capital."
On the ground of illness, the Patriarch sent a reply to decline the
royal invitation and asked to be allowed to spend his remaining
years 'in the forest'. "Dhyana experts in the capital," said Hsueh
Chien
(when interviewing the Patriarch), "unanimously advise people to
meditate
in the sitting position to attain Samadhi. They say that this is the
only way to realize the Norm (Tao), and that it is impossible for
anyone to obtain liberation without going through meditation exercises.
May I know your way of teaching, Sir?" "The Norm is to be realized by
the mind," replied the Patriarch, "and does not depend on the sitting
position. The
Diamond Sutra says that it is wrong for anyone to assert that the
Tathagata
comes or goes, sits or reclines. Why? Because the Tathagata's 'Dhyana
of Purity' implies neither coming from anywhere nor going to anywhere,
neither becoming nor causing to be. All Dharmas are calm and void, and
such
is the Tathagata's 'Seat of Purity'. Strictly speaking, there is even
no
such thing as 'attainment'; why then should we bother ourselves about
the
sitting position?" "Upon my return," said Hsueh Chien, "Their Majesties
will certainly ask me to make a report. Will you, Sir, kindly give me
some
essential hints on your teaching, so that I can make them known not
only
to Their Majesties, but also to all Buddhist scholars in the capital?
As
the flame of one lamp may kindle hundreds or thousands of others, so
the
ignorant will be enlightened (by your teaching), and light will produce
light without end." "The Norm implies neither light nor darkness,"
replied
the Patriarch. "Light and darkness signify the idea of alternation. (It
is not correct to say) that light will produce light without end,
because
there is an end, since light and darkness are a pair of opposites. The
Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra says, 'The Norm has no comparison, since it
is
not a relative term'." "Light signifies wisdom," argued Hsueh Chien,
"and
darkness signifies klesa (defilement). If a treader of the Path does
not
break up klesa with the force of wisdom, how is he going to free
himself
from the 'wheel of birth and death', which is beginningless?" "Klesa is
Bodhi," rejoined the Patriarch. "The two are the same and not
different. To break up klesa with wisdom is the teaching of the Sravaka
(Arhat) School and the Pratyeka Buddha School, the followers of which
are of the 'Goat
Vehicle' and 'Deer Vehicle' standard respectively. To those of superior
mental dispositions such teaching would be of no use at all." "What
then,
is the teaching of the Mahayana School?" asked Hsueh Chien. "From the
point
of view of ordinary men," replied the Patriarch, "enlightenment and
ignorance
are two separate things. Wise men who realize thoroughly the Essence of
Mind know that they are of the same nature.
This same nature or non-dual nature is what is called the 'real
nature', which neither decreases in the case of ordinary men and
ignorant persons, nor increases in the case of the enlightened sage;
which is not disturbed in a state of annoyance, nor calm in a state of
Samadhi. It is neither eternal nor non-eternal; it neither goes nor
comes; it
is not to be found in the exterior, nor in the interior, nor in the
space between the two. It is above existence and non-existence; its
nature and its phenomena are always in a state of 'Thusness'; it is
permanent
and immutable. Such is the Norm." Hsueh Chien asked, "You say that it
is
above existence and non-existence. How then do you differentiate it
from
the teaching of the heretics who teach the same thing?" "In the
teaching
of the heretics," replied the Patriarch, "'nonexistence' means the end
of 'existence', while 'existence' is used in contrast with
'non-existence'. What they mean by 'non-existence' is not actually
annihilation and what they call 'existence' does not really exist. What
I mean by 'above existence and non-existence' is this; intrinsically it
exists not, and at the present moment it will not be annihilated. Such
is the difference between my teaching and that of the heretics. "If you
wish to know the essential points of
my teaching, you should free yourself from all thoughts, good ones as
well
as bad; then your mind will be in a state of purity, calm and serene
all
the time, and its usefulness as manifold as the grains of sand in the
Ganges." The preaching of the Patriarch suddenly awoke Hsueh Chien to
full enlightenment. He made obeisance and bid the Patriarch adieu. Upon
his return to the
palace, he reported what the Patriarch had said to Their Majesties. In
that same year, on the third day of the ninth Moon, an edict was issued
commending the Patriarch in the following terms: "On the ground of old
age and poor health, the Patriarch declined our invitation to come to
the capital. Devoting his life to the practice of Buddhism for our
benefit,
he is indeed the 'field of merit' of the nation. Like Vimalakirti, he
widely spreads the Mahayana teaching, transmits the doctrine of the
Dhyana School, and expounds the system of 'Non-dual' Law. "Through the
medium
of Hsueh Chien, to whom the Patriarch has imparted the
'Buddha knowledge',
we are fortunate enough to have a chance to understand for ourselves
the
teaching of the Supreme Vehicle. This must be due to our accumulated
merits
and our 'root of goodness' planted in past lives; otherwise, we should
not be the contemporaries of His Holiness. "In appreciation of the
graciousness
of the Patriarch, we present to him herewith a Mo Na robe (a valuable
Buddhist
robe made in Korea) and a crystal bowl.
The Prefect of Shao Chou is hereby ordered to renovate his monastery
and to convert his old residence into a temple which is to be named
'Kuo En' (State Munificence)."
Chapter 3. Questions and Answers
Chapter 7. Temperament and Circumstances
