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ONE DAY SOMEONE outside the way asked the World-Honored One, “I am not asking you for a teaching with words, or a teaching without words.”
Then the World-Honored One sat silently for some time.
The person outside the way bowed and admired him: “How splendid is the World-Honored One! With great compassion you have cleared out the cloud of delusion and helped me to enter realization.” Then he bowed and left.
After the person outside the way was out of sight, Ananda asked the Buddha, “What caused that man to say that he had entered realization and praise you before he left?”
The World-Honored One said, “He is like a good horse that runs upon seeing a shadow of the whip.”
From the time Bodhidharma came from India to China, many teachers have taken up this story and explained it to those who study the way. After studying this story for days, months, or years, some students clarify the meaning and enter the buddha dharma. This is called “a story of someone outside the way asking the World-Honored One a question.”
Know that the World-Honored One has two methods of guiding—noble silence and noble speech. All those who enter the way with either of these methods are like a good horse that runs upon seeing a shadow of the whip. Those who enter the way without these methods are also like this.
Ancestor Nagarjuna said, “When a phrase of guidance is spoken, an excellent horse sees a shadow of the whip and gets to the right path.”
To encounter various situations and hear the dharma of birth and beyond birth, and the teaching on the Three Vehicles and the One Vehicle, is to see a shadow of the whip and get to the right path, instead of the common tendency to follow the wrong path.
When you follow a master and encounter a true person, there is no place a guiding phrase is not presented; there is no moment when you don’t see a shadow of the whip. Whether you see a shadow of the whip right away, or after immeasurable eons, you are able to enter the right path.
According to the Samyuta Agama Sutra, the Buddha said to the monks:
There are four types of horses. The first type of horse becomes startled upon seeing a shadow of the whip and follows the rider’s intention. The second type of horse is startled by being whipped on its mane and follows the rider’s intention. The third type of horse is startled upon being whipped on its flesh. The last type of horse becomes startled when it is whipped to its bones.
The first horse is like someone who hears about the impermanence of a village and arouses the thought of leaving home. The second horse is like someone who hears about the impermanence of one’s own village and arouses the thought of leaving home. The third horse is like someone who hears about the impermanence of one’s parents and arouses the thought of leaving home. The last horse is like someone who experiences suffering of one’s own disease and arouses the thought of leaving home.
This teaching is called “the Agama’s four types of horses,” which is often studied when studying the buddha dharma. Those who emerge as true teachers among humans and devas, as well as ancestors and messengers of the Buddha, unfailingly study this teaching and transmit it to their students. Those who don’t know it are not teachers of humans and devas. If students have nurtured wholesome roots and are close to the buddha way, they do not fail to hear this teaching. Those who are far from the buddha way do not hear it. This being so, teachers should consider teaching this right away. Students should hope to hear it right away.
In regard to arousing the thought of leaving home, it is taught: “When the Buddha expounds the dharma with a single voice, sentient beings understand it in accordance with their capacity. Some are frightened, some rejoice, some arouse the thought of leaving home, and others doubt.”
According to the Maha Pari-nirvana Sutra, the Buddha said:
Good person, there are four ways to command a horse: touching the hair, touching the skin, touching the flesh, and touching the bones. The horse always follows the rider’s command according to where it is touched.
The Tathagata likewise subdues sentient beings in four ways. First, the Buddha speaks of birth for sentient beings, who accept his words just as the horse follows the rider’s command by being touched on the hair. Second, the Buddha speaks of birth and old age for sentient beings, who accept his words just as the horse follows the rider’s command by being touched on the hair and the skin. Third, the Buddha speaks of birth, old age, and sickness for sentient beings, who accept his words just as the horse follows the rider’s command by being touched on the hair, skin, and flesh. Finally, the Buddha speaks of birth, old age, sickness, and death for sentient beings, who accept his words just as the horse follows the rider’s command by being touched on the hair, skin, flesh, and bones.
Good person, there is no fixed way for a rider to command the horse. The way the Tathagata, the World-Honored One, guides sentient beings is never in vain. Thus, the Buddha is called the Excellent Tamer.
This is called “the Nirvana Sutra’s four types of horses.” There are no students who do not study this teaching. There are no buddhas who do not speak of it.
You follow the Buddha and hear about this teaching. You see the Buddha, make offerings to the Buddha, and hear about it. For eons, every time you transmit buddha dharma to sentient beings, you explain this teaching without negligence. Even after arriving at the buddha fruit, just at the time of arousing the beginner’s mind, you speak of this teaching to the assemblies of bodhisattvas, shravakas, humans, and devas. In this way, the seeds of the buddha-dharma-sangha treasure are not destroyed.
Thus, these teachings of the Buddha [in the early scriptures] are rather different from that of Bodhisattva Nagarjuna [in the Mahayana scriptures].
Know that there are four ways for a rider to command the horse—to touch the hair, the skin, the flesh, or the bones. It appears not clear what touches the hair, but teachers who transmit dharma interpret it as a whip.
However, sometimes a whip is used and sometimes a whip is not used for commanding a horse. Commanding is not limited to using a whip.
What is called Dragon Horse is said to be eight feet high. There are few humans who can ride it. What is called One-Thousand-Li Horse can travel one thousand li in a day. It sweats blood while going the first five hundred li, then it begins to be fresh and runs fast. There are also few humans who can ride and command it. There is no such horse in China, but it exists in a foreign land. It does not appear that frequent whipping is needed for such horses.
On the other hand, an ancient teacher said, “Commanding a horse is always done with a whip. Without a whip, commanding a horse is not possible.” This is normally how to command a horse. It is done by touching the hair, the skin, the flesh, and the bones.
You cannot touch the skin without touching the hair. You cannot touch the flesh and bones without touching the hair and skin. Thus, we know that a whip should be used.
The description of commanding a horse is not sufficient without mentioning a whip. There are a number of insufficient descriptions in sutras.
The Tathagata, the World-Honored One, the Excellent Tamer, also guides sentient beings with four types of dharma, never in vain. There are those who accept the Buddha’s words when he explains birth. There are those who accept the Buddha’s words when he explains birth and old age. There are those who accept the Buddha’s words when he explains birth, old age, and sickness. And there are those who accept the Buddha’s words when he explains birth, old age, sickness, and death.
Those who hear the last three teachings do not skip the first. It is just like there is no touching the skin, flesh, and bones without touching the hair.
To explain birth, old age, sickness, and death is to explain birth, old age, sickness, and death as taught by the Tathagata, the World-Honored One.
This teaching is not to keep sentient beings away from birth, old age, sickness, and death. It is not to explain and let sentient beings understand that birth, old age, sickness, and death are the way. This teaching is to explain birth, old age, sickness, and death in order to help sentient beings attain unsurpassable, complete enlightenment.
This being so: The way the Tathagata, the World-Honored One, guides sentient beings is never in vain. Thus, the Buddha is called the Excellent Tamer.
On a summer practice day of the seventh year of the Kencho Era [1255], I have copied my late master’s draft. Ejo.