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Sitaram · Site Admin Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1079

Date: Sun Jun 29, 2003 6:52 am
Subject: Unexpectedly, the Road Ends

http://www.sulekha.com/chpost.asp...ilosophy&show=0&cid=65098

The pinnacle of consciousness is the understanding of consciousness,
for this is the Knowledge of knowledge. - Sitaram

----------------------------------------

Sitaram offers this thought:

Buddhist activity centers on meditation, because the focal point of
Siddhartha Gautama's life was his night-long meditation under the
Bodhi tree, experiencing enlightenment with appearance of the morning
star.
The focal point of Jesus' life was the crucifixion and resurrection,
which is why Christian activity centers on crucifying themselves in
symbolic ways, in the sense of crucifying their will and pride and
ego, as well as desires and appetites.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Meditating with Koans
- J.C. Cleary
Asian Humanities Press
Berkely, CA

ISBN 0-89581-902-3

Open talk by Zen teacher Wuwen Cong of Fragrant Mountain

At the beginning of my Zen studies I met master Duweng. He directed
me to study the saying "It is not mind, it is not Buddha, it is not
things." Later I gook a vow along with six other men, including
Yungfeng, Yueshan, and others, to investigate it to the end together.

Next I met Jiao Wuneng of Huaixi. He directed me to keep my
attention on the word, "No."

The I went to Changlu and formed a group of companions so we could
refine and polish our understanding.

Finally, I encountered Brother Jing of Huaishang. he asked
me, "After your six or seven years of meditation work, what level of
perception do you have?"

I answered, "Every day there is not a single thing in my mind."

Jing said, 'Where did this rope that you have wound around you come
from?"

In my mind I seemed to know, but I did not know, so I did not dare
open my mouth.

Seeing by how I acted that I had developed no insight, Jing then
said, "If you do not lose it in the midst of the concentration of
your meditation work, then you lose it when you are in motion." As
he spoke to me, I felt startled. The I asked, "Ultimately, to
illuminate this great matter, what must I do?"

Jing said, "Haven't you heard old man Chuan's saying? "If you want to
know the true meaning, see the Northern dipper while facing south."
After he said this, he left.

From the impact of being questioned by Jing, I got so that I was
walking without knowing I was walking, and sitting without knowing I
was sitting. For seven days or so, I did not meditate on the
word "No." Instead, I contemplated the koan "If you want to know the
true meaning, see the Northern dipper while facing south."

Suddenly without know how I'd gotten there I was in the sweeper's
shed sitting on a log with a group of people. My feeling of doubt
had not dissipated. It was time to eat when suddenly my mind felt
empty and bright and light and pure. My views, feelings, and
thoughts shattered. It was as if I had peeled off my skin. I saw
nothing of the people and things in front of my eyes. It was like
empty space.

After a half hour I came out of it, and my whole body was dripping
with sweat. Then I awakened to "seeing the Northern dipper while
facing south".

Later I went to Fragrant Cliff Mountain and passed the summer there.
My hands couldn't keep still when I was bitten by mosquitoes. I
thought of the ancients who had forgotten their bodies for the sake
of the Dharma. "Why should I be afraid of mosquitoes?" I asked
myself. So I wholeheartedly relinquished all my vexation and concern.

I clenched my teeth, closed my hands into fists, put my undivided
attention on the word "No." I persevered and kept at it.

Without my being aware of it, my body and mind returned to
stillness. It was like the four walls of a house falling down. My
body was like empty space, and there was not a single thing to occupy
my feelings. I began sitting around nine in the morning and came out
of my concentration around three in the afternoon.

I realized that the Buddha Dharma does not lead people astray" it's
just that their work is not complete.

Though my perception was clear, I still had slight traces of hidden
false thoughts that were not yet exhausted. I went to Guangzhou
Mountain and practiced concentration there for six years. Then I
lived for six years at Lu-an Mountain, and then three more years at
Guangzhou Mountain" only then did I emerge into complete liberation.

-----------------------------

pg. 47

To study Zen, one must arouse the sentiment of doubt. From small
doubt, there is small awakening; from great doubt, great awakening.

-----------------------------------

pg. 50

Right now there is an army of eighty-four thousand demons of delusion
standing by at the doors of your six senses. All sorts of unusual
and strange things, both good and evil, manifest themselves following
your mind. If even for a moment you give rise to the slightest
attitude of attachment, you will immediately fall into their trap:
you will be dominated by them and be at their command. Then your
mouth will speak the words of delusion and your body will perform the
actions of delusion. Because of this, the correct basis for
transcendent wisdom will be forever cut off and the seeds of
enlightenment will never again sprout.

-------------------------------------

pg. 57

If the koan is temporarily absent, you are like a dead man. When all
sorts of scenes press in on you, take the koan and fend them off. Be
checking out the koan at all times, while you are moving and while
you are still, whether you gain power or whether you don't. Nor
should you forget the koan in the midst of concentration: if you
forget it, then it becomes misguided concentration.

-----------------------------

Impetus to Advance in the Zen Gate

Zhuhong's Preface

How could Zen be thought to have a gate? The Path itself has no
inside or outside, no going out or going in. But when it comes to
people carrying out the Path, some are deluded and some are
enlightened.

Therefore, the people of knowledge, acting as the gatekeepers, have
no choice but to open and close the Zen gate in a timely fashion.
They are careful to keep it locked most of the time, and rigorously
check out those who would enter. To those whose words diverge from
the truth, those who indulge their selfishness and overstep the
proper measure, the gatekeepers give no room to peddle their
dishonesty. For a long time already they have barred the door to
such people so they cannot easily get through.

When I first left home and became a monk I obtained a booklet from
the booksellers called 'Outline of the Buddhas and Patriarchs of the
Zen School." In this book were recorded accounts given by many of
the venerable adepts of old: they gave accounts of their studies, of
their initial difficulties in entering the Path, of their experiences
and travail on the Path in doing the work, and of their final opening
through into spiritual awakening. I felt great love and admiration
and vowed to learn what they had learned.

Afterwards I never again saw this book anywhere else. So I continued
to rea through all the recorded saying and miscellaneous biographies
in the "Five Lamps." No matter whether they were monks or laymen,
all those who engaged in real study and genuinely awakened are
included in this book. I have culled out the most essential parts to
form a collection, which I call "Impetus to Advance in the Zen Gate".

This book can be set on a desk when you are staying somewhere, or
carried along in your bag when you travel. Once you read it, your
mind and will be stimulated and your spirit will blaze up. You will
be impelled to drive yourself on to catch up with those who have gone
forward thorough the Zen gate before you.

Dated and signed: First day of spring, 28th year of Wan Li Era (1600
C.E.)

-Zhuhong of Yunqi Temple

-------------------------

Where should people who study the Path set to work? They should put
their attention on a koan: this is where to set to work.

-------------------------

Pg. 40

Scenes brought on by karmic entanglements all began to appear before
me at that moment. I was terrified, panic stricken. All kinds of
suffering were losing in on me.

I forced myself to act the master, and gave instructions for
posthumous arrangements. I placed the meditation cushion up high,
and set out a brazier full of incense. Then I very slowly arose and
went to sit in meditation. Silently I prayed to the Buddha, Dharma,
and Sangha, and to the nagas and devas. I repented all my previous
bad deeds.

I took the following vow: If my life is about to end, may I take
advantage of the power of transcendent wisdom, and be reborn with
correct mindfulness, so that I leave home to become a monk early on
in my next life. If I am cured of this sickness, then I promise to
abandon lay life and become a monk, so that I may soon attain
enlightenment, and work on a broad scale for the salvation of younger
students.

After making this vow, I put my attention on the word "No," turned
the light around, and observed myself.

Before very long, I felt my guts churning, but I paid no attention to
anything else but the word "No". I went on for a long time without
moving my eyelids. More time passed and I no longer saw my body
there: just the koan, uninterrupted.

When night came I finally got up: my sickness had abated halfway. I
resumed sitting in meditation, and sat until the middle of the
night. The sickness left me completely, and my body and mind felt at
ease.

In the eighth month of that year I went to the city of Jiangling and
was ordained as a monk there. For a year I traveled on foot, cooking
my meals by the roadside. I realized that meditation work must be
done with all one's energy, and its continuity should not be broken.

When I went to Yellow Dragon Temple, I went back to the meditation
hall and proceeded to my meditation work. The first time the demon
of sleep came, without leaving the meditation seat, I aroused my
spirit and without great effort fought it back. The second time the
demon of sleep was heavy, and I got down on the floor to do
prostrations to dispel it, then went back to the meditation cushion.
When I was settled in the proper posture, I used this time to
vanquish the demon of sleep.

At first when I needed to take a break from sitting meditation, I
would use a pillow and sleep for a short period of time. Later I
napped with my arm as a pillow. Later I would not let my body lie
down. After two or three days of sitting meditation without lying
down, I would eel tired day and night, and I seemed to be floating
along over the ground.

Suddenly it was as if the black clouds before my eyes cleared away.
My body felt as if it had been newly washed, and a pure happiness
poured forth from it. In my mind the mass of doubts was more and
more intense, and it appeared before me continuously with no effort
no my part. No sound or form, no desires, no bad influences could
enter my mind: it was as pure as a silver bowl filled with snow, as
crisp as the autumn air.

But then I thought to myself, though my meditation work is good, I
have no one who can sort it out for me. So I took up my mat and went
to Zhejiang province on the central coast of China. On the way I
encountered hardships, and my meditation work regressed.

I came to Master Guchan's place at Tiancheng Temple and went back to
the meditation hall. I swore to myself that I would not move again
until I attained illumination.

For a month and more I did meditation work as I had before. At that
time, my whole body was covered with ulcers, but I paid no
attention. I had abandoned my life to pursue the work, and naturally
I found power Again I was doing meditation work in the midst of
sickness.

Once I went out to attend a vegetarian feast, holding my attention on
the koan as I walked along, and unknowingly walked past the house
where the feast was being held. So I was also doing meditation work
while moving.

When I reached this point, it seemed that I had reached the state
described in the Zen saying: "The moonlight shining through the water
can meet the rapids without being scattered and wash through the
chaotic waves without being lost." I was leaping with life.

On the sixth day of the third month, as I was sitting with my
attention correctly focused on the word "No," the head monk entered
the hall to burn incense. He struck the incense bowl and it made a
sound: suddenly at the sound of the blow, I know that I had found
myself, and that I had captured Zhaozhou the Zen teacher who
originally posed the koan "No".

Then I spoke a verse:

Unexpectedly, the road ends
I kick it over: the waves are water
Old Zhaozhou goes beyond the crowd
His face is just like this.

That autumn in the city of Linan I met several great Zen elders: Qin
of Xueyan, Ning of Tuigeng, Yan of Shifan, and Du of Xuzhou. Du of
Xuzhou urged me to go to visit Zen master Wanshan.

When I got there Wanshan used a classical Zen verse to question
me: "Glorious light silently shining, pervading countless worlds':
aren't these the words of Zhang Zhuo?" As I opened my mouth to
speak, Wanshan gave a shout and left. From then on, whether I was
walking, sitting, eating or drinking, I had no thoughts at all.

Six months passed. In the spring of the following year, as I was
returning from a trip to the city, I was climbing up some stone
stairs, when suddenly the obstruction of doubt in my breast melted
away forever. I was walking along the road unaware of having a body.

When I met with Wanshan, he asked me the same question as before. I
immediately overturned the meditation bench. I clearly understood
every one of the koans I had previously found extremely obscure.

Good people, studying Zen requires careful, thorough work. If I had
not become sick at Chungking, I probably would have passed my life in
vain.

The crucial thing is to meet a person with correct knowledge. This
is why the ancients studied and asked for instruction from morning to
night, to get mind and body decisively sorted out. They worked hard
and worked urgently to investigate and illuminate this affair of
attaining enlightenment.

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