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SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA SAID, “Living beings all are buddha nature. The Tathagata is continuously abiding and not subject to change.”
As this is the lion roar of our great teacher Shakyamuni turning the wheel of dharma, it is the top of the head and the eyeball of all buddhas and ancestors. It has been practiced for two thousand one hundred nineteen years (up to this day, the second year of the Ninji Era of Japan). It has been maintained by more than fifty generations of authentic heirs (up to Rujing, my late master, Priest Tiantong)—twenty-eight generations in India and twenty-three generations in China. Buddha ancestors of the ten directions have also maintained it.
What is the meaning of the World-Honored One’s teaching? It is the turning dharma wheel of “What has thus come?”
Living beings are also called “sentient beings,” “various beings,” or “various kinds.” The all are is none other than sentient beings and living beings.
Thus, all are buddha nature. One form of all beings is sentient beings. At this very moment, the inside and outside of sentient beings are the all are of buddha nature. This understanding is not only the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow of a person-to-person transmission, but “You have attained my skin, flesh, bones, and marrow.”
Know that the are of all are buddha nature is beyond are and are not. All are are the buddha words, the buddha tongue. They are the eyeball of buddha ancestors and the nostrils of patched-robed monks. The words all are are not limited to embryonic beings, original beings, inconceivable beings, or any other kind of beings. Furthermore, they do not mean causal beings or imaginary beings. All are are free from mind, object, essence, or aspects. This being so, the body, mind, and environs of Living beings all are [buddha nature] are not limited to the increasing power of action, imaginary causation, things as they are, or the practice realization of miraculous powers.
If Living beings all have were so, actualizing the way by all sages, the enlightenment of all buddhas, and the eye of buddha ancestors would be [caused by] the increasing power of action, imaginary causation, and so forth. But it is not so. In the entire world, there is no extra speck of dust. Buddha nature is immediate, and there is no second person [nothing outside], just as it is said, “Cut through the original person beyond knowing; action consciousness continues without ceasing.” Buddha nature is not the being of imaginary causation, because “Nothing is hidden in the entire world.”
“Nothing is hidden in the entire world” does not necessarily mean “The entire world is full of beings.” To say, “The entire world is self-existence” is a crooked view held by those outside the way. What is not hidden is not original beings, as it encompasses past and present. It is not an embryonic being, as it is not affected by even one speck of dust from outside. It is not a suddenly emerged being, as it is shared by all beings. It is not a beginningless being, as it is “What has thus come?” It is not an embryonic being, as “Everyday mind is the way.”
Know that in the midst of all are, sentient beings are hard to find. If you thoroughly understand all are, all are will be penetrated and dropped off.
Hearing the term “buddha nature,” many students mistakenly regard it as the self explained by Shrenika, a teacher outside the way. They think this because they have not met a true person, the true self, a true teacher. They mistakenly regard the conscious mind, which is caused by the movement of air and fire, as the awareness and understanding of buddha nature. But who says that buddha nature has awareness or understanding? Even though those who are aware or understand are buddhas, buddha nature is neither awareness nor understanding.
Furthermore, the buddhas’ awareness, of which they speak, is not the same awareness they mistakenly regard as awareness. The movement of air and fire is not the cause of buddhas’ awareness. It is just that the awareness is one or two buddha faces, ancestor faces.
A number of ancient masters and early sages went to India and returned to China to guide humans and devas. They have been as common as rice, flax, bamboo, and reeds from the time of the Han and Tang dynasties until the time of the present Song Dynasty. Many of them regard the movement of air and fire as the awareness of buddha nature. What a pity! They make this kind of mistake because their study of the way is coarse. Those who are mature, as well as beginners in studying the buddha way, should not fall into this.
When you observe awareness, you know that awareness is not movement. When you observe movement, you know that movement is not thus. When you truly understand movement, you truly understand awareness. Studying “buddha” and “nature,” when you get one, you get the other.
Buddha nature is no other than all are, because all are is buddha nature. All are is not a hundred broken pieces. All are is not a single rail of iron. As it is a held-up fist [something dynamic], it is not limited to large or small. When it is called buddha nature, it cannot be put shoulder to shoulder with all sages, it cannot be put shoulder to shoulder with buddha nature.
Some people think that buddha nature is like seeds of grass and trees: when dharma rain is abundant, sprouts and stems grow; branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit mature; and their fruit contains seeds. Such a view is an assumption of ordinary people. If you come up with such an assumption, investigate thoroughly that each and every seed, flower, and fruit is itself pure mind.
A fruit has seeds that are not visible but develop roots, stems, and so forth. The elements of the plants are not assembled from outside, but branches and twigs grow. Not limited to inside or outside, the growth of plants is not in vain, past and present. Thus, even if you take up the view of ordinary people, the roots, stems, branches, and leaves are the all are of buddha nature that rises and perishes simultaneously with all things.
The Buddha said, “If you want to understand buddha nature, you should intimately observe cause and effect over time. When the time is ripe, buddha nature manifests.”
The words to understand buddha nature do not only mean to know but also to practice it, to realize it, to expound it, and to let go of it. Expounding it, practicing it, realizing it, letting go of it, missing it, and not missing it are all cause and effect over time.
You observe cause and effect over time through observation of cause and effect over time. You observe it with a whisk, a staff, and so forth. However, you may observe it through the wisdom of desire, the wisdom of beyond desire, original enlightenment, embryonic enlightenment, no-enlightenment, or true enlightenment.
Intimately observe is not limited to observing, being observed, correct observation, or wrong observation; it is intimately observe. As it is intimate observing, it is not self-observation or other’s observation. Intimate observing is cause and effect as they are over time, and it is beyond cause and effect. It is buddha nature as it is. It is becoming free of the body of buddha nature. It is buddha and buddha as they are, [buddha] nature and nature as they are.
Hearing the words when the time is ripe, many people both in the past and present have thought that it means we should wait until buddha nature manifests in the future; that as a result of practice we will eventually encounter the time when buddha nature manifests; and that when the time is not ripe, buddha nature will not manifest even if we inquire about dharma from a teacher and endeavor in the practice of the way. They think in this way and stay in the [secular] world of red dust fruitlessly while keeping a monk’s appearance. Such people appear to be those outside of the way who believe in spontaneous enlightenment.
The words If you want to understand buddha nature mean “if you want to understand buddha nature immediately.” Observe cause and effect over time means “You should know cause and effect over time.” You should intimately observe cause and effect over time means that if you want to know buddha nature, it is no other than knowing cause and effect over time. When the time is ripe means that the time has already arrived. How can we doubt it? A time of doubting also is a time when buddha nature is present to the self.
Know that when the time is ripe means that the twelve hours of the day are not passed in vain. When the time is is like saying “when the time has arrived.” “When the time has arrived” is not the arrival of buddha nature. Thus, when the time has arrived, buddha nature is already actualized. This principle is self-evident. Generally, there is no time when the time has not yet arrived; there is no buddha nature that is not actualized.
Venerable Ashvaghosha, the Twelfth Ancestor, explained the ocean of buddha nature to Kapimala, the Thirteenth Ancestor, to be: “Mountains, rivers, and the great earth—all depend on it. Various samadhis and the six miraculous powers emerge from it.”
Thus, mountains, rivers, and the great earth are all the ocean of buddha nature. All depend on it means that at the very moment when they depend on it, they are mountains, rivers, and the great earth. Know that the form of the ocean of buddha nature is like this. It is not concerned with inside, outside, or in between. This being so, to see mountains and rivers is to see buddha nature; to see buddha nature is to see the fins of a donkey and the beak of a horse. All depend on means to totally depend on. Thus, you understand and go beyond understanding.
Ashvaghosha said, Various samadhis and the six miraculous powers emerge from it. Know that the “emerging” and “not yet emerging” of various samadhis equally depend on buddha nature; the emerging of the six miraculous powers from here and not here all depend on buddha nature.
The six miraculous powers are not those taught in the Agama School. The six is the realization of the six miraculous powers of three three before and three three after [countless]. So, do not think that the six miraculous powers are limited to the one hundred grasses bright and clear and the mind of buddha ancestors bright and clear. Even though you may be limited by the thought of the six miraculous powers, you are immersed in the vastness of the ocean of buddha nature.
Hongren, the Fifth Chinese Ancestor, Zen Master Daman, was from Huangmei, Qi Region. He was born without a father. He acquired the way when he was young. In his earlier life he had been growing pine trees on West Mountain in Qi Region when he met Daoxin, the Fourth Ancestor, who was traveling through the region. Daoxin said to him, “I want to transmit dharma to you. But you are too old. I will wait for you until you return.”
Hongren agreed. He entered the body of a daughter of the Zhou family and was reborn through her. After he was born, he was cast away into the brackish water of the harbor. But a spirit guarded him from harm for seven days. He was rescued by someone and was brought up until he was seven years old, when he saw Daoxin on the street in Huangmei.
Daoxin said to himself, “This is a little child, but his appearance is extraordinary, not like any other.” So he said to Hongren, “What is your name?”
Hongren said, “I have a name, but it is not an ordinary name.”
“What is it?”
Hongren said, “It is buddha nature.”
Daoxin said, “You have no buddha nature.”
Hongren said, “As buddha nature is empty, you say I have no buddha nature.”
Realizing that Hongren was a dharma vessel, Daoxin asked him to be his attendant and later entrusted him with the treasury of the true dharma eye. Hongren lived on the East Mountain of Huangmei and circulated the profound wind [teaching].
Thus, when we study the dialogue of these ancestors, Daoxin’s words What is your name? have significance. In ancient times people would ask others what country and which family they were from. It means “You must have come from a certain family.” It is just like saying, “You are like this. I am like this.”
Hongren’s words I have a name, but it is not an ordinary name mean that to have this name is to have no ordinary name. An ordinary name is not it.
Daoxing’s words What is it? mean what is it? It is called what. That is the name. It makes what. What makes it. The name is it. The name is what. It is presented as mugwort tea or green tea. It is daily tea and rice.
Hongren’s words It is buddha nature mean that it is buddha nature. Because it is what, it is buddha. Is it merely understood as what name? Even when it is not it, it is buddha nature. This being so, although it is what and it is buddha, when Hongren drops off and slips through, the name is always present. His is Zhou. However, he did not receive the name from his father or his ancestors, and he did not resemble his mother. Who can stand shoulder to shoulder with him?
By saying You have no buddha nature, Daoxin was saying that although Hongren is not “who he is” and it’s up to him to determine who he is, he has no buddha nature [he is beyond buddha nature]. Learn and study what kind of moment it is when there is no buddha nature. Is it no buddha nature on the top of the buddha’s head, or is it no buddha nature that is going beyond? Do not be stuck with seven penetrations or search for eight masteries.
No buddha nature is sometimes understood as the samadhi of this one moment. Ask whether there is no buddha nature when buddha nature attains buddhahood. Ask whether there is no buddha nature that arouses the aspiration [for enlightenment]. Have a pillar ask this question, or ask a pillar this question. Have buddha nature ask this question.
In this way, the words no buddha nature are heard all the way from the ancestral chamber of Daoxin. These words are seen and heard on Mount Huangmei, in Zhou Province, and Mount Guishan. Be sure to endeavor with the words no buddha nature without being put off by the words. In tracing no buddha nature, there, straight on, is the standard of what, the moment of you, the response of it, and the name Zhou.
Hongren’s words As buddha nature is empty, you say I have no buddha nature express clearly that empty is not no. In speaking of the emptiness of buddha nature, he did not say half a pound or eight ounces; he just said no [buddha nature]. As it is empty, he did not call it empty. As it is no [buddha nature], he did not call it no. As buddha nature is empty, he called it no. Thus, bits and pieces of no are a standard for speaking about emptiness. Emptiness is the measure of speaking no [buddha nature].
Empty mentioned here is not that of “Form is emptiness.” “Form is emptiness” does not mean to force form to be emptiness or to break up emptiness to establish form.
Rather, it is the emptiness of “Emptiness is emptiness.” Emptiness is emptiness means there is a piece of rock hanging in emptiness. Thus, Daoxin and Hongren talked about no buddha nature, buddha nature that is empty, and buddha nature that is existence.
Huineng, who would later become Zen Master Dajian of Mount Caoxi, the Sixth Ancestor, went to Huangmei to meet Hongren, the Fifth Ancestor. Hongren said, “Where are you from?”
Huineng said, “From Lingnan.”
Hongren said, “What do you seek?”
Huineng said, “I seek to become a buddha.”
Hongren said, “People from Lingnan have no buddha nature. How can you become a buddha?”
Hongren’s words People from Lingnan have no buddha nature do not mean that people from Lingnan do not have buddha nature, or that they do have buddha nature. Rather, he was saying that people from Lingnan have no-buddha [beyond-buddha] nature.
His words, How can you become a buddha? is asking what kind of becoming a buddha Huineng intended.
There are few earlier teachers who clarified the essentials of buddha nature. It’s not what teachers of the Agama Sutras, other sutras, and treatises understand. It has only been transmitted person to person to the descendants of buddha ancestors.
The essential of buddha nature is that buddha nature is embodied not before but after you attain buddhahood. Buddha nature invariably arises simultaneously with attaining buddhahood. You should thoroughly investigate this principle, studying and endeavoring for twenty or thirty years. This is not something bodhisattvas of the ten stages or the three classes can clarify.
The words “Sentient beings have buddha nature” or “Sentient beings have no buddha nature” point to this principle. To understand that buddha nature is embodied after attaining buddhahood is hitting a mark right on. To study otherwise is not buddha dharma. Without this understanding, buddha dharma would not have reached to this day. Not understanding this principle is not clarifying, seeing, or hearing the attainment of buddhahood.
This is why Hongren said, People from Linguan have no buddha nature, when he was offering guidance to Huineng. What is rare to encounter and hear when first seeing a buddha and hearing dharma is the teaching that sentient beings have no buddha nature. What to rejoice upon in following a teacher and studying sutras is to hear the teaching that sentient beings have no buddha nature. Those who are not immersed in seeing, hearing, and knowing that sentient beings without exception have no buddha nature have not yet seen, heard, or known buddha nature.
When Huineng wholeheartedly sought to become a buddha and Hongren helped him to become a buddha, he had no other words or skillful means than saying People from Linguan have no buddha nature. Know that to say and hear no-buddha nature is a direct way to become a buddha. Thus, at the very moment of no-buddha nature you become a buddha. Those who have not seen, heard, or spoken no-buddha nature have not yet become a buddha.
Huineng said, “There are people from the south and people from the north, but in buddha nature there is no south or north.”
Take up these words and investigate the meaning behind them. Reflect with a bare heart upon the words south and north. His words have a point—a view that people become buddhas but buddha nature doesn’t become people. Was Huineng aware of it or not?
Buddhas, including Kashyapa Buddha and Shakyamuni Buddha, are empowered to say Living beings all are buddha nature when they are buddhas and turning the dharma wheel, by receiving a portion of the all-inclusive power of the words no buddha nature spoken by Hongren and Huineng. How could the words Living beings all are buddha nature not inherit dharma from the no of no buddha nature?
In this way, the words no buddha nature are heard far away from the chamber of Hongren and Huineng. Since Huineng was already a true person at that time, he should have further investigated the words no buddha nature. He should have asked, “Aside from whether one has buddha nature or not, how is buddha nature?” He should also have asked, “What is buddha nature?” Upon hearing the words buddha nature, people nowadays also discuss whether one has buddha nature or no buddha nature without asking what buddha nature is. This is hasty and careless.
Thus, study the “no” of all “nos” through the no of no buddha nature. Dive over and over again into the statement of Huineng, There are people from the south and people from the north, but in buddha nature there is no south or north. Work on it and quietly let go of it.
Some foolish people assume that Huineng’s statement means that people from the south differ from those from the north because of their qualities, but that buddha nature goes beyond south or north, as it is empty and fluid. This is ignorant beyond measure. Disregard such a crooked view and study straightforwardly.
Later, Huineng taught his disciple Xinchang by saying, “Impermanence is itself buddha nature. Permanence is the mind that discriminates the wholesomeness and unwholesomeness of all things.”
The impermanence Huineng speaks of is beyond the grasp of outsiders or practitioners of the Lesser Vehicles. Teachers and descendants of these people talk about impermanence, but they have not yet fully understood it.
Impermanence expounds, practices, and realizes impermanence; all this is impermanence. Manifesting a [buddha] body and expounding dharma with the buddha body—this is buddha nature. Further, it is to manifest a tall dharma body and to manifest a short dharma body. Constantly being a sage is impermanence. Constantly being an ordinary person is impermanence.
This is the meaning of Huineng’s words Impermanence is itself buddha nature. To say that those who are constantly sages or ordinary people cannot be buddha nature is a limited view, the narrow thinking of foolish people. Their understanding of buddha falls short. Their understanding of buddha nature falls short.
Permanence means no turning. “No turning” is not affected by the passage of coming and going, although there are such changes as becoming free from desire or allowing desire itself to become free. This is permanence. Grass, trees, and forests are impermanent; they are buddha nature. Humans, things, body, and mind are impermanent; they are buddha nature. Land, mountains, and rivers are impermanent, as they are buddha nature. Unsurpassable, complete enlightenment is impermanent, as it is buddha nature. Great pari-nirvana is buddha nature, as it is impermanence. Practitioners of the Lesser Vehicles who hold limited views, and teachers and commentators of the Tripitaka, should be startled at this statement of Huineng. If they aren’t, they must be a group of outsider demons.
Venerable Nagarjuna, the Fourteenth Ancestor, is called Dragon Tree, Dragon Excellence, or Dragon Ferocity in China. He was a man from western India who went to southern India. People there believed in practices that bring good fortune. When Nagarjuna expounded dharma to people, one of them said, “The best things in the world are practices that bring good fortune. Even if you talk about buddha nature, no one can see it.”
Nagarjuna replied, “If you want to see buddha nature, first let go of your pride.”
The man said, “Is buddha nature large or small?”
Nagarjuna said, “Buddha nature is neither large nor small, neither broad nor narrow. It has neither goodness nor rewards. It has neither death nor birth.”
Realizing that Nagarjuna’s teaching was extraordinary, the man’s aspiration was turned around. Then, while sitting, Nagarjuna manifested a body of complete freedom in the shape of a full moon. The assembly could hear his dharma talk, but they could not see him.
In the assembly there was someone called Kanadeva, the son of a wealthy man, who said to the assembly, “Do you understand this?”
People said, “We cannot see the master but we can hear him. Our minds do not understand what’s happening, and our bodies have not experienced such a thing.”
Kanadeva said, “This is how the master manifests the form of buddha nature and shows it to us. The reason is that the samadhi of no-form has taken the shape of a full moon. Buddha nature is vast, empty, and clear.”
Just as Kanadeva said this, Nagarjuna appeared on his seat and taught in verse:
This body manifests a full moon
expressing the bodies of all buddhas,
teaching that it has no particular shape,
expressing that revealing it is neither sound nor form.
Thus, know that a true expression is not done by sound or form, and a true teaching has no particular shape. Nagarjuna expounded on buddha nature countless times. What is shown here is just an example.
You should reflect without fail on Nagarjuna’s words If you want to see buddha nature, first let go of your pride. It’s not that you cannot see buddha nature, but to see it, you first need to let go of your pride. Because you are complex, there are many types of pride. There are myriad ways to let go of pride, and when you do, you see buddha nature. This is to see buddha nature with your eyes.
Do not regard Nagarjuna’s words Buddha nature is neither large nor small as ordinary people or those in the Lesser Vehicle do. Stubborn people believe that buddha nature is enormous. This is the piling up of crooked thoughts. To be immersed in Nagarjuna’s words neither large nor small is to discern them as spoken just now. This discernment is a cause for listening. Listen to his verse now. He says, This body manifests a full moon expressing the bodies of all buddhas. As he manifested the body expressing all buddhas’ bodies, the body took the shape of a full moon. Thus, you should study that everything both long and short, square and round, is manifested in the shape of a full moon. If you are ignorant about the body or the manifestation, you are ignorant not only about the shape of the full moon but about the bodies of the buddhas.
Foolish people may think that Nagarjuna manifested the shape of a full moon tentatively. This is a crooked thought of rascals who have not inherited the buddha way. When and where could he have manifested a form that was not his own body? Know that Nagarjuna was sitting on the teaching seat, just as everyone is sitting right now. This body manifests the shape of a full moon. Manifestation of the body is not limited to square or round, existent or nonexistent, revealed or hidden. Manifestation of this body is not limited to eighty-four thousand skandhas; it is just manifestation of this body. You speak of a full moon, but what about a crescent moon or sliver moon?
As this manifestation of the body is to first let go of your pride, it is not Nagarjuna but the bodies of all buddhas. As this manifestation expresses all buddhas, it becomes free from all buddhas. Thus, it is not limited to the realm of buddhas.
Even if there may be a void similar to the full moon of buddha nature, it cannot be compared with that full moon. Furthermore, expression [of buddha nature] is neither sound nor form. The manifestation of this body is neither form nor mind, nor is it in the realm of the skandhas. Although the manifestation of this body may look like the realm of the skandhas, it is expressing the bodies of the buddhas. This is expounding dharma; it is having no form. When having no form is the samadhi of no-form, the body is manifested.
Although the assembly saw the shape of a full moon, what they did not see was a turning point of expounding dharma, the manifestation of a free body beyond form and sound. This hiding and revealing is the going back and forth of the full moon.
At the very moment when Nagarjuna sat on his seat and manifested the body of freedom, the whole assembly only heard dharma without seeing him. His heir, Kanadeva, clearly understood the meaning of the full-moon shape, of the manifestation of the body, of the nature of all buddhas, and of the bodies of all buddhas. Although there were many who entered Nagarjuna’s room and received water, vessel to vessel, there was no one who could compare with Kanadeva, who was a venerable student sharing the seat with Nagarjuna, and was a guiding master of the assembly on the half seat. He authentically received the treasury of the true dharma eye, the unsurpassable great dharma, just like Venerable Mahakashyapa did on Vulture Peak.
Previously, Nagarjuna was a Brahman master outside the buddha dharma. When his mind was turned, he sent away the students who had been studying with him. After he became a buddha ancestor, Kanadeva alone received the treasury of the great dharma as an authentic heir. This is a person-to-person transmission of the unsurpassable buddha way.
However, a crooked group of people who hid their falsehood and groundlessly called themselves dharma heirs of Nagarjuna Bodhisattva compiled treatises and interpretations. Many of them were attributed to Nagarjuna although they were not by him. Those who had been driven away by him were confusing both humans and devas with these texts. Disciples of the Buddha should know that the teachings that were not passed on by Kanadeva are not the words of Nagarjuna. You can genuinely trust the teaching through Kanadeva. But many people knowingly accept the false teaching. We should deplore the foolishness of those who slander great prajna.
Kanadeva pointed to Nagarjuna’s manifested body and said to the assembly, This is how the master manifests the form of buddha nature and shows it to us. The reason is that the samadhi of no-form has taken the shape of a full moon. Buddha nature is vast, empty, and clear. Who, among those skin bags here and there, seeing and hearing the buddha dharma spread in the billion worlds of phenomena of humans and devas, can say that the body of Nagarjuna was manifesting as buddha nature? In the billion worlds Kanadeva alone could say this. Others merely said that buddha nature is neither seen with the eyes, nor heard with the ears, nor known through consciousness. As they didn’t know that Nagarjuna’s manifestation of the body was buddha nature, they could not say so. Even though Ancestor Nagarjuna did not withhold his teaching, they could not see or hear it, as their eyes and ears were covered. They were unable to realize it, as their body consciousness had not arisen. When they saw and bowed to the samadhi of no-form that had taken the shape of a full moon, they could not see it.
As Kanadeva says, Buddha nature is vast, empty, and clear. Thus, manifesting the body is itself expounding buddha nature, vast, empty, and clear. Expounding buddha nature is that body manifested [in a full-moon shape], expressing the bodies of all buddhas. Are there one or two buddhas who embody this expression? The buddha bodies are a manifestation of that body. Also, buddha nature is manifested as that body.
The buddha ancestors’ perception that discerns the four great elements and the five skandhas is also a working of this manifested body. The skandhas, places, and realms are like this in all buddhas’ bodies. All merits are this merit. All buddhas’ merits are fully expressed and encompassed by this manifested body. The coming and going of all the innumerable, boundless merits are part of the working of this manifested body.
However, those in early and later generations in the three countries [India, China, and Japan] who studied dharma later than Nagarjuna and Kanadeva have not spoken as these masters did. How many scholars of sutras and treatises have missed Nagarjuna and Kanadeva’s words? From the early times in China, people tried to paint this story, but they have not been able to paint it on body, mind, emptiness, or the wall. They have only painted the story with the tips of their brush. They have merely painted a mirrorlike circle on the dharma seat and claimed it as Nagarjuna’s manifestation of the full-moon body. For hundreds of years such paintings have been specks of gold [hindrances] in human eyes, but no one has pointed out that these paintings are false. What a pity! Myriad interpretations are off the mark.
If people think that Nagarjuna’s manifestation of the full-moon shape is merely a single circle, they truly see a piece of a painted rice cake. It is fooling others; such laughing kills people.
How sad, none of those in China, laity or home leavers, have taken Nagarjuna’s words seriously or understood Kanadeva’s statement! How, then, can they become intimate with Nagarjuna’s manifestation of the body? This is to be ignorant about the circular moon while missing the full moon. This is because they have neither studied the past nor longed for the past. Old buddhas and new buddhas, you should meet the true manifestation of the body instead of admiring a painted rice cake.
Know that when you paint the manifestation of a full moon, do it on a dharma seat. Raising an eyebrow and blinking are just this. The treasury of the true dharma eye—skin, flesh, bones. and marrow—is just sitting solidly. Breaking into a smile is transmitted, making a buddha and making an ancestor.
Without a moon shape, your painting will have no shape of thusness, no expounding of dharma, no sound or form, and no use. When you express the manifestation of the [buddha] body, paint a circular moon shape. When you paint a circular moon shape, paint a circular moon shape, actualize a circular moon shape, because the manifestation of body is a circular moon shape. When you paint a circular moon shape, paint a full moon, actualize a full moon. Thus, unless you paint the manifestation of the body, a circular moon shape, a full moon, and buddha bodies, you are not embodying the expression and painting the expounding of dharma, but merely creating a piece of painted rice cake. What’s the use of it? Look quickly. Who will be satisfied or not satisfied right at this moment? The moon is circular. The circle is the manifestation of the body. When you study the circle, don’t regard it as a coin or a piece of cake. The manifested body is a circular moon. It has the shape of a full moon. See the circle in a coin or in a rice cake.
When I was wandering, I arrived at Great Song China. In the autumn of the sixteenth year of the Jiading Era [1224], I visited the Ayuwang Mountain Guanli Monastery for the first time. There on the walls of the western hallway, I saw paintings of the thirty-three ancestors of India. I did not have understanding at that time. Later, during the summer practice period of the first year of the Baoqing Era [1225], I visited the monastery again. I walked along the hallway with Guest Coordinator Chenggui from the western district of Shu. I asked him, “What is this painting?”
Chenggui said, “Nagarjuna manifesting his body in the shape of a full moon.” He had no nostrils on his face and no wisdom in his explanation.
I said, “Truly it looks like a piece of painted rice cake.”
Although Chenggui burst into laughter, he had no sword in his laughter and no ability to tear off the painted rice cake. We exchanged a few words on our way to the relic hall and the six excellent places, but he did not even come up with any doubts. Other monks who spoke to us had no idea.
So I said to Chenggui, “I will ask the abbot.” The abbot of the monastery at that time was Priest Daguang.
Then, Chenggui said, “He doesn’t have nostrils. He cannot answer. How can he know?” So, I decided not to speak with Daguang.
Although Chenggui spoke in this way, he did not seem to have realization. Those who joined the conversation did not have any remarkable expressions. The abbots of this monastery in the past and present did not question them and correct their views.
Never paint what cannot be painted. Paint straightforwardly what needs to be painted. Yet, [Nagarjuna’s] manifestation of the body in the shape of a full moon had never been painted.
In fact, as people are not awakened from the assumption that buddha nature is thought and consciousness, they seem to miss the expressions of “have buddha nature” and “have no buddha nature.” Those who learn that the point needs to be expressed are rare. Know that this negligence is due to giving up the subject. Among the abbots of various monasteries there are those who never mention buddha nature throughout their lifetimes.
Some of these abbots say, “Those who listen to the [Buddha’s] teachings discuss buddha nature. Monks who practice Zen should not talk about it.” Those who say such things are truly beasts. What kind of demons attempt to mix with and defile the way of our Buddha Tathagata? Is there listening to the teaching in the buddha way? Is there practicing Zen in the buddha way? Know that there is nothing like listening to the teaching or practicing Zen in the buddha way.
Yanguan, National Teacher Qi’an of Hang Region, who was a dharma heir of Mazu, once said to his assembly, “Living beings all have buddha nature.”
Immediately investigate these words. All living beings have their own karma, practice, body-mind, and environs; their views vary. Ordinary people, those outside the way, those in the Three Vehicles and the Five Vehicles, are all different.
What are called living beings in the buddha way encompasses all those who have heart. All those who have heart are living beings. Those who have no heart are also living beings. All living beings are heart. Thus, heart is all living beings.
All living beings have buddha nature. Grass, trees, land, and earth are heart. As they are heart, they are living beings. As they are living beings they have buddha nature. Sun, moon, stars are all heart. As they are heart, they are living beings. As they are living beings, they have buddha nature. The statement of Yanguan have buddha nature means this. If not, it is not have buddha nature taught in the buddha way.
The meaning of Yanguan’s words is that living beings alone have buddha nature. Those who are not living beings do not have buddha nature. Now, ask him, “Do all living beings have or not have buddha nature?” In this way, question and examine his understanding.
Study that Yanguan did not say, “Living beings all are buddha nature,” but rather: “Living beings all have buddha nature.” Drop off the have of have buddha nature. Dropping off is one solid rail of iron. One solid rail of iron is the bird’s path.
Thus, living beings all have buddha nature. These words not only penetrate living beings but penetrate buddha nature. Although Yanguan could not find a thorough expression, he did not miss the mark. It is not that his expression has no valuable teaching. But he may not have understood the deep meaning of his own words that embody the four great elements and the five skandhas, as well as skin, flesh, bones, and marrow. Thus, an expression is sometimes the result of a lifetime. Also, birth after birth can depend on an expression.
Guishan, Zen Master Dayuan of Mount Gui, once told his assembly, “Entire living beings have no buddha nature.”
Among the humans and devas who have heard his words, some have had a great capacity to rejoice. But it is not that there has been no one who was shocked or suspicious.
Shakyamuni Buddha’s expounding of the way was Living beings all are buddha nature. What Guishan said was Entire living beings have no buddha nature. These two statements—all are and have no—are far apart. Whether Guishan’s statement is right or wrong can be questioned. However, Entire living beings have no buddha nature stands high in the buddha way.
Yanguan’s statement have buddha nature can be likened to joining hands with an ancient buddha, or two people holding one walking stick. But Guishan’s statement is not like that; it is a single stick swallowing both people.
Yanguan is an heir of Mazu, and Guishan is a descendant of Mazu. However, the descendant is advanced in Mazu’s way and the heir is not yet mature. Guishan makes an essential statement by saying, Entire living beings have no buddha nature, which does not fall off the straight line. This is how he maintained the sutra in his own house.
Inquire further about how it is that living beings all are buddha nature or all have buddha nature. If living beings all have buddha nature, they must be a group of demons. It is covering all living beings with demons.
As buddha nature is buddha nature, living beings are living beings. It is not that living beings originally possess buddha nature. Even if they beckon to buddha nature, it will not come. Do not say that Zhang drinks wine and Li gets drunk [that the two are not separate]. Those who originally have buddha nature are not living beings. If they are living beings [who have buddha nature], they are not [separately] buddha nature.
Thus, Baizhang said, “To say ‘Entire living beings all have buddha nature’ is to slander buddha, dharma, and sangha. To say ‘Living beings have no buddha nature’ is also to slander buddha, dharma, and sangha.”
In this way, have buddha nature and have no buddha nature are both slandering. Although it is slandering, you can still inquire about it. Ask Guishan and Baizhang, and hear their responses: “Slandering is not out of the question. But does buddha nature expound dharma?” If buddha nature expounds dharma, it must be immersed in expounding dharma. If it expounds dharma, it must go together with hearing it.
Also, ask Guishan: “Even if you say, ‘Entire living beings have no buddha nature,’ you are not saying, ‘Entire buddha nature has no living beings’ or ‘Entire buddha nature has no buddha nature.’ Furthermore, you have not yet dreamed of ‘Entire buddhas have no buddha nature.’” Look into this.
Baizhang, Great Master Dazhi, said to his assembly:
The Buddha is the supreme vehicle. He is established in the buddha way as the one who has wisdom that is the highest of the highest. The Buddha has buddha nature. He is the guiding master who has attained unobstructed wind, unobstructed wisdom. Thus, he is the master of cause and effect, and freely uses happiness that comes with wisdom, transporting cause and effect on this cart. Abiding in birth, he is not held up by birth. Abiding in death, he is not obstructed by death. Abiding in the five skandhas, he is not obstructed by the five skandhas. He comes and goes freely with no difficulty, just like passing through an open gate. Thus, he brings every being, regardless of position or capacity, even an ant, into the inconceivable pure and wondrous land.
This is Baizhang’s point. The so-called five skandhas are the indestructible [buddha] body. The [Buddha’s] work is like going through an open gate unobstructed by the five skandhas. Engaged in birth, do not be held up by birth. Engaged in death, do not be held up by death. Do not be attached to birth. Do not groundlessly fear death. Already there is buddha nature.
Those who are shaken by death and try to avoid it are outside the way. Those who realize pressing conditions and utilize them as unobstructed wind are buddhas of the supreme vehicle. Where these buddhas abide is the pure and wondrous land.
Huangbo was sitting in the tea room while visiting Nanquan’s monastery.
Nanquan asked, “What is the meaning of clearly seeing buddha nature by practicing samadhi and wisdom equally?”
Huangbo said, “It can be done by not depending upon a single thing for twelve hours.”
Nanquan said, “Isn’t that another elder’s view?”
Huangbo said, “Not really.”
Nanquan said, “Putting aside for the moment the money for the gruel you have eaten, whom should I reimburse for the straw sandals?”
Huangbo stopped.
The words practicing samadhi and wisdom equally do not mean that clearly seeing buddha nature is possible by equally practicing samadhi and wisdom. Instead, where there is the cultivation of wisdom, there is practicing samadhi and wisdom equally. What they mean is that samadhi and wisdom are practiced equally when buddha nature is clearly seen. Nanquan was asking the meaning of this principle. It is just like asking, “Who clearly sees buddha nature?” It is also like asking the meaning of “buddha nature is clearly seen by equally cultivating buddha nature.”
Huangbo’s words It can be done by not depending upon a single thing for twelve hours mean that even though the twelve hours abide in the twelve hours, they are not depending. Not depending upon a single thing is clearly seeing buddha nature because not depending is twelve hours.
At what moment and to which land do these twelve hours arrive? Are the twelve hours spoken of here twelve hours of humans? Are there twelve hours somewhere else? Is it that the twelve hours in the silver world have arrived temporarily? Whether the twelve hours are in this land or in another realm, they are not depending. They are just twelve hours, they are not depending.
Nanquan’s words to Huangbo, Isn’t that a view of another elder? are like asking, “Is this really your own view?” Even if you are asked whether this is your own view, don’t turn around and say it is. Even if this view fits you exactly, it may not fit Huangbo. Huangbo is not limited by you. The view of another elder is vastly revealed all the way through.
Huangbo’s words Not really are based on a custom in Song China of not saying so even if one has a clear view. Therefore, not really does not mean “not really.” Do not assume that these words mean what they seem to mean. Even if the view of another is that of the elder, even if the view of another elder is that of Huangbo, what you should say is not really. A water buffalo comes out and bellows; to say it like this is to say it completely. Say the meaning of saying, the saying of saying it completely.
Nanquan said, Putting aside for the moment the money for the gruel you have eaten, whom should I reimburse for the straw sandals? It means that although he wasn’t concerned about what Huangbo had contributed to the monastery for gruel, he wanted to return Huangbo’s money for the sandals.
Study the meaning of this, life after life. Investigate why Nanquan wanted the matter of the money for gruel to be set aside for the moment. How do you understand the money for straw sandals? It means wearing out countless pairs of sandals in way-seeking travels.
Speak! “If you don’t return the money, I won’t be wearing sandals.” Or say, “A couple of pairs of sandals.” This is a complete expression. This is an essential response.
Huangbo stopped. He was silent. It does not mean that he stopped because he was not approved by Nanquan, or that he did not understand. A monk of true color is not like that. Know that speaking by not speaking is like a sword hidden within laughter. This is sufficient gruel and sufficient rice for clearly seeing buddha nature.
Regarding this dialogue, Guishan asked Yangshan, “Is it that Huangbo did not harmonize with Nanquan?”
Yangshan said, “That’s not the case. Huangbo had the power to trap a tiger.”
Guishan said, “Your way of seeing has grown.”
In this way Guishan questioned whether Huangbo understood Nanquan or not. Yangshan’s reply Huangbo had the power to trap a tiger means that trapping a tiger is grabbing the head of the tiger. To trap and grab a tiger is to walk in the midst of a variety of beings. Clearly seeing buddha nature is opening a single eye. Clearly seeing buddha nature is letting go of the single eye.
Say it quickly! Clearly seeing buddha nature is seeing how large it is. Neither half a thing nor an entire thing is to be depended upon. One hundred things, one thousand things, are not depending. One hundred times, one thousand times, are not depending.
So it is said: “Baskets and cages are one. Within time there are twelve hours to depend upon or not to depend upon. It is like the way twining vines depend upon a tree. Within heaven and throughout heaven, latecomers have no words.”
A monk asked Zhaozhou, Great Master Zhenji, “Does a dog have buddha nature?”
Clarify the meaning of this question. A dog is a dog. It is not that this monk was asking whether a dog has buddha nature or not. He was asking whether an iron person still practices the way. To happen to encounter Zhaozhou’s poisonous hand may look unfortunate for this monk, but it is like the lingering trace of seeing half a sage after thirty years.
Zhaozhou said, “No.”
When you hear this word, a direction for study emerges. The no that buddha nature itself calls forth must be like this. The no that the dog itself calls forth must be like this. The no that bystanders call forth must be like this. This no holds the moment that dissolves a rock.
The monk said, “All sentient beings have buddha nature. How come a dog has no buddha nature?”
He meant that if sentient beings have no buddha nature, buddha nature must be no and a dog must be no. The monk asked the meaning of that. How is it that a dog’s buddha nature depends upon no?
Zhaozhou said, “Because it has total ignorance.”
He meant that it has is total ignorance. In the light of total ignorance and of it has, the dog is no, buddha nature is no. If total ignorance has not yet merged with a dog, how should a dog meet buddha nature? Even if both dog and buddha nature are let go of and taken in, still it is nothing but total ignorance all the way through.
Later another monk asked Zhaozhou, “Does a dog have buddha nature?”
This question indicates that the monk knew Zhaozhou’s teaching. To speak of or inquire about buddha nature in this way was an everyday matter for buddha ancestors.
Zhaozhou said, “Yes.”
This yes is not that of the commentators in the scriptural schools or the theorists of the Sarvastivada School. Go beyond and study the buddha yes. Buddha yes is Zhaozhou yes. Zhaozhou yes is dog yes. Dog yes is buddha nature yes.
The monk said, “If it [buddha nature] already is, how does it get into the dog’s skin bag [body]?”
What he meant was: When we ask whether it is being now, being past, or already is, the already is, although it looks like all beings, is all-inclusive and clear. Does “already is” get into or not? The practice of get into the dog’s skin bag should not be ignored.
Zhaozhou said, “It intentionally obstructs.”
Although it has spread widely as words in the common world, this is Zhaozhou’s statement. What he meant was knowingly committing. There are few who question these words. Aside from being difficult to clarify the words get into, they are not relevant.
In fact, “If you want to know the person of no death in the hut, how can you leave this skin bag right now?” Whoever the person of no death might be, when does that person not leave the skin bag?
Intentionally obstructing does not necessarily get it into the skin bag. Getting it into the skin bag is not necessarily intentionally obstructing. Intentionally means obstructing.
Know that this obstructing encompasses the practice of becoming free from the body. This is spoken of as get into. When the practice of becoming free from the body is fully encompassed, it is encompassed in self and others. This being so, do not easily say that a donkey comes before and a horse comes after [one follows after the other].
Thus, Yunju, High Ancestor, said, “When you study matters of buddha dharma, stop having your mind stuck on it.” In this way, you may have studied a portion of buddha dharma mistakenly for days and months, as a dog that gets buddha nature into the skin bag. Although it is intentionally obstructing, it is being buddha nature.
At the assembly of Changsha Jingcen, Government Secretary Zhu asked, “When an earthworm is cut in half, both heads [pieces] move. In which head is buddha nature?”
Changsha said, “No illusion.”
Zhu said, “What about moving?”
Changsha said, “Air and fire are not yet scattered.”
In regard to Zhu’s words, When an earthworm is cut in half, is it definite that the earthworm is in one piece before it is cut? It is not so in the everyday activities of buddha ancestors. An earthworm is not of one piece in origin, nor is it of two pieces after being cut. Thoroughly study the expressions “one” and “two.”
Both heads move. Were they one head before being cut? Is buddha going beyond buddha of one head? The words both heads have nothing to do with whether Zhu had understanding or not. Do not ignore this question. Is it that the separated pieces are actually of one head and there is another head somewhere else? In regard to move, “Move delusions in samadhi and pull them out with wisdom” are both move.
In which head is buddha nature? Ask, “When buddha nature is cut in half, where is the earthworm’s head?” Express this thoroughly.
Both heads move. In which head is buddha nature? Does it mean that buddha nature cannot abide if both heads move? Or, is Zhu asking in which motion buddha dharma abides while both heads move?
Changsha said, No illusion. What is the point? He cautions not to have illusion. Then, is he saying that there is no illusion when both heads move and that moving is not illusion? Does he simply mean that buddha nature has no illusion? Or, does he mean that there is no need to talk about buddha nature or both heads; there is just no illusion? Investigate his words thoroughly.
Zhu said, What about moving? Does he mean that moving adds another layer of buddha nature, or that what is moving is not buddha nature?
Changsha’s words Air and fire are not yet scattered must cause buddha nature to manifest. Is it buddha nature, air, or fire [that is manifested]? Do not say buddha nature emerges together with air and fire. Do not say that when one emerges, the others do not. Do not say that air and fire are no other than buddha nature.
Thus, Changsha did not say that an earthworm has buddha nature, nor did he say that an earthworm has no buddha nature. He just said No illusion, then Air and fire are not yet scattered. Fathom the vital activities of buddha dharma through his words. Quietly ponder his statement Air and fire are not yet scattered. What is the point of not yet scattered? Does he mean that air and fire are assembled, but the moment of their being scattered has not arrived? It is not so. Air and fire are not yet scattered means the Buddha expounds dharma. Not yet scattered air and fire means dharma expounds the Buddha.
This is the arrival of the moment when dharma is expounded [by the Buddha] in one sound. It is the arrival of the moment when expounding dharma is one sound. Dharma is one sound, because it is the dharma of one sound.
Also, to assume that buddha nature exists only at the time of birth [life] and not at the time of death is [a result of] the least learning and shallow understanding. At the moment of birth, there is buddha nature and there is beyond buddha nature. At the moment of death, there is buddha nature and there is beyond buddha nature.
If scattered and not yet scattered of air and fire is discussed, buddha nature is scattered and not yet scattered. At the time of scattered, there is buddha nature and there is beyond buddha nature. At the time of not yet scattered, there is buddha nature and there is beyond buddha nature. This being so, it is those outside the way who mistakenly believe that buddha nature does or does not exist according to whether something does or does not move, that the spirit does or does not exist according to whether one does or does not have consciousness, and that essential nature does or does not exist according to whether one does or does not know.
From beginningless time, many ignorant people mistook consciousness for buddha nature, the original person. It is totally laughable.
If we discuss buddha nature further, it should not be splattered with mud or wet with water [overexplained]—it is walls, tiles, and pebbles. In expressing beyond, what is buddha nature? Can you say in detail? [I say it is like a demon with] Three heads and eight arms.
Presented to the assembly of the Kosho Horin Monastery, Uji County, Yamashiro Province, on the fourteenth day, the tenth month, the second year of the Ninji Era [1241].