A Bird in Flight Leaves No Trace

by Seon Master Subul

  At this moment, Pei Xiu, who had become quite clever, asks, “How can he sever the very mind that cuts through views?” His question, in fact, is profound, essentially asking, “How can we discover the causes and conditions that will remove even wisdom?” If you cling to this sword of wisdom, you must be really careful because, unawares, it can change into a subtle delusion.

  Huangbo explains that, even though nondiscriminative wisdom eradicates the views of existence and nonexistence, this nondiscriminative wisdom is also unascertainable. Pei Xiu then asks him another incisive question, pointing out that people can neither remove wisdom with wisdom nor cut through a sword with a sword.

  Huangbo then reveals the inconceivable, sublime dharma — which comes alive as the everyday mind after the one great death — by quoting the line, “Doe and fawn died together.”

  33. Seeing the Nature

  [Pei Xiu] asked, “What is ‘seeing the nature’?”

  The master answered, “The nature is seeing and seeing is the nature; you cannot see the nature with the nature. Hearing is the nature; you cannot hear the nature with the nature. If you generate a view of the nature and presume that the nature is something that can be heard or can be seen, you immediate produce dharmas that are either identical or different. It has been clearly stated that that which perceives cannot itself be perceived. How can you add a head atop your head? Also clearly stated is that it is akin to loose pearls scattered on a tray: large ones have a large round shape and small ones have a small round shape. None is aware of the other and none impedes the other. When one is produced, it does not say, ‘I am produced’; when one ceases, it does not say, ‘I cease.’ Therefore there has never been a time when this was not so for the four modes of birth and the six rebirth destinies.

  問 如何是見性 師云 性即是見 見即是性 不可以性更見性 聞即是性 不可以性更聞性 祗你作性見能聞能見性 便有一異法生 他分明道 所可見者 不可更見 你云何頭上更著頭 他分明道如盤中散珠 大者大圓 小者小圓 各各不相知 各各不相礙 起時不言我起滅時 不言我滅 所以四生六道 未有不如時.

  The nature is not an object to be perceived. It is so completely revealed in the world that everyone is constantly perceiving it, so it would be foolish to try to find it again. “The Buddha cannot see the Buddha; the Buddha does not worship the Buddha.”

  All big and small matters in the world are not estranged from the nature. They appear, change, and disappear in accord with causes and conditions. It is a natural law that the interplay of causes and conditions inevitably entail change. The fundamental reality of the self-nature cannot be explained through such words as “changing” or “unchanging.” Expedient descriptions are offered to help sentient beings understand — “things change without actually changing” or “things change but are in fact unchanging.” But there is a limit in taking such words as a golden rule. Only when you transcend all limitations and realize the actual self-nature can you remove all traces and extinguish all illusory sounds.

  In Vimalakīrti’s Instructions, when Mañjuśrī asks Vimalakīrti about his illness, Vimalakīrti greets the bodhisattva, saying, “Mañjuśrī! Do you come without any sign of coming and see without any sign of seeing?” Mañjuśrī answers,

  Yes! If I’ve come, there is no more coming; if I’ve gone, there is no more going. Why is this so? I may come, but there is nowhere from which I’ve come; I may go, but there is nowhere to which I go. I may see, but there is nothing I perceive.195

  If there were any signs of coming, going, and seeing, the dharma would be far removed from the nonduality that Vimalakīrti’s Instructions emphasizes. The myriad dharmas have no independent natures of their own; at their root, they are nondual. Therefore, even though they blossom in all kinds of forms and shapes, they do not interact haphazardly but coexist harmoniously.

  “By the same token, sentient beings do not perceive buddhas and buddhas do not perceive sentient beings. The four fruitions do not perceive the four candidacies [for that fruition]; the four candidacies do not perceive the four fruitions. The three levels of sagacity and the ten stages of sanctity do not perceive virtual enlightenment and sublime enlightenment; virtual enlightenment and sublime enlightenment do not perceive the three levels of sagacity and the ten stages of sanctity. This remains the case even up to the fact that water does not perceive fire and fire does not perceive water. Earth does not perceive wind and wind does not perceive earth. Sentient beings do not access the dharma realm and buddhas do not leave the dharma realm. Therefore the dharma nature is free from going and coming; there is no perception of subject or object. This being so, how can you say that I see or I hear?

  且眾生不見佛 佛不見眾生 四果不見四向 四向不見四果 三賢十聖不見等妙二覺 等妙二覺不見三賢十聖 乃至水不見火 火不見水 地不見風 風不見地 眾生不入法界 佛不出法界 所以法性無去來 無能所見 能如此 因什麼道我見我聞.

  If you mistake an expedient description for truth, you will cling to that account and become foolish. Understanding this, you will come to know that even the phrase “seeing the nature” is illusory, because no sentient being has not already seen that nature. But they see it without realizing they see it, so they lose the fundamental root.

  To give an example, all things associated with the self-nature are associated with the six perfections. You should know that the six perfections are established in order to lead sentient beings to attain awakening through practice when the time is right, so that they will not be separated from the real characteristic of things.

  The four fruitions refer to the four ārya stages in the Hīnayāna path: stream-enterer, once-returner, nonreturner, and arhat. The four candidacies (pratipannaka) refer to the four candidates for these four fruitions. The three levels of sagacity refer to bodhisattvas on the three preliminary levels of the Mahāyāna path: the ten abidings, ten practices, and ten dedications. The ten stages of sanctity refer to advanced bodhisattvas on the ten “grounds,” or bhūmi. Virtual enlightenment indicates the fifty-first of the fifty-two stages of the bodhisattva path, while sublime enlightenment is the fifty-second. The bodhisattva who has reached the stage of virtual enlightenment enters this stage after eradicating all ignorance. Sublime enlightenment is the realm of the buddhas, who have eradicated all types of defilements.

  Gradual advancement in practice involves a series of stages. However, since there are originally no stages in the dharma nature, you may practice all you want, but there is nothing actually to practice and there is neither coming nor going.

  “We gain awakening where there is a spiritual mentor. A spiritual mentor preaches the dharma to us. All the buddhas appear in the world in order to preach the dharma to sentient beings. Since Kātyāyana transmitted the dharma of the real characteristic of things with only the mind that is subject to production and cessation, he was reprimanded by Vimalakīrti.

  於善知識處 得契悟 善知識與我說法 諸佛出世 與眾生說法 迦旃延祇為以生滅心 傳實相法 被淨名呵責.

  Mahākātyāyana came from South India. He was one of the ten chief disciples of the Buddha and famous for his skill in explicating the meaning of the Buddha’s sermons. In Vimalakīrti’s Instructions, when the Buddha asked him to visit Vimalakīrti and inquire about his illness, Kātyāyana replied,

  World Honored One, I am not qualified to visit him and inquire about his illness. Why? Because I recall how in the past the Buddha had briefly addressed all the bhikṣus on the essentials of the dharma. Later, I elaborated on the meaning of what he had said, discussing the meaning of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, nonself, and tranquil extinction. At that time, Vimalakīrti approached me and said, “Ah, Kātyāyana! You must not expound on the dharma of the real characteristics of things with mental factors that are associated with production and cessation. Kātyāyana! Utimately, all dharmas are not produced and do not cease; this is the meaning of impermanence. The five agg
regates are utterly empty, without anything arising; this is the meaning of suffering. All dharmas ultimately involve nothing that exists; this is the meaning of emptiness. Self and nonself are not two; this is the meaning of nonself. Dharmas originally are not burning and now are unextinguished; this is the meaning of tranquil extinction.” When he expounded this teaching, the minds of all the bhikṣus gained liberation. This is why I say I am not qualified to visit him and inquire about his illness.196

  “I say as clearly as I can that all dharmas are originally unbound, so what need is there to free them? They are originally immaculate, so what need is there to purify them? Therefore, it is said, ‘The real characteristic of things is just so.’197 How then can it be expressed? Currently, you simply master states of mind that involve right and wrong or stains and purity, or gain knowledge of this and understanding of that, or travel all over the world, watching people and trying to determine who has the mind’s eye, or who is strong and who weak. If this is what you are doing, the difference will be as huge as that between heaven and earth. What then is all this talk about ‘seeing the nature’?”

  分明道 一切法本來無縛 何用解他 本來不染 何用淨他 故云 實相如是 豈可說乎 汝今祇成是非心染淨心 學得一知一解 遶天下行 見人 便擬定當取 誰有心眼 誰彊誰弱 若也如此 天地懸殊 更說什麼見性.

  The original real characteristic of things cannot be sullied, divided up, burned, or augmented. It is originally just so. All sorts of mirages are created in accord with causes and conditions. The mirages that have been so created include all types of distinctions, such as right and wrong or pure and defiled. However, the real characteristic of things is always the same, being neither produced nor extinguished. Without according with this original source, you cannot overcome conceptual understanding, and you will find yourself weighing the spiritual level and strength of every person you meet. And once you generate such distinctions, you will be as far from the original ground as heaven is from earth. Therefore Seon masters seek to awaken their students by saying, “Do not choose between this and that,” or “Do not allow yourself to become tainted.”

  If you attain a penetrating, great awakening, then all distinctions and discriminations will disappear. Once even subtle delusions vanish, all delusions will be revealed to be the mind’s sublime functions, not stained by any mirages.

  [Pei Xiu] asked, “You’ve noted that ‘the nature is seeing and seeing is the nature,’ which means that the nature itself is free from obstructions and restrictions. Why is it, then, that if something is blocking our view, we can’t see beyond it; or if something in the sky is close, we can see it, but if it is distant, we can’t?”

  [The master] replied, “This [question] derives from a view of differentiation that you have mistakenly raised. ‘If something is blocking our view, we can’t see beyond it’ means that, if nothing were there, you would say you could see. But you would then presume that the nature can be blocked or obstructed when there is actually no connection at all between them. The nature neither sees nor does not see. The dharma also neither sees nor does not see. For those who have seen the nature, where wouldn’t their original nature be? Consequently, the six rebirth destinies and the four modes of birth, as well as mountains, streams, and lands, are all the pristine, luminous essence of our natures. Therefore, it is said, ‘Seeing a visual object is seeing the mind,’198 for a visual object and the mind are not different.

  問 既言性即見 見即性 祇如性自無障礙無劑限 云何隔物即不見 又於虛空中近即見 遠即不見者 如何 師云 此是你妄生異見 若言隔物不見 無物言見 便謂性有隔礙者 全無交涉 性且非見非不見 法亦非見非不見 若見性人 何處不是我之本性 所以六道四生山河大地 總是我之性淨明體 故云見色便見心 色心不異故.

  Seeing everything is ultimately the mind seeing everything, because without the mind, you wouldn’t see anything. You are able to see everything else because you have already seen the mind. Believe, therefore, that you are seeing the mind. This is not easy to believe, because sentient beings do not realize the reality that they are seeing the nature. Before being told to believe in this prospect, you should believe that you are in fact already seeing the nature.

  The nature originally is free from obstructions or restrictions. In that case, if you aroused the views of “identity” or “difference,” then those views would become obstructions and would create false forms. No one is separate from the nature, so everyone is able to see, hear, sense, and know.

  The cognizing mind creates illusory mirages, doing useless things that in turn are deceiving and deceptive. If you illuminate the nature, it’s enough just to put it all down. However, Layman Pei Xiu gave rise to intellectual views and interpretations and created unnecessary troubles for himself by trying to apply reason.

  There is originally no discrimination among the five types of eyes — physical eye, divine eye, wisdom eye, dharma eye, and buddha eye — that the Buddha mentions in the Diamond Sūtra.199 Discrimination appeared because of false views. Since the real characteristic of things is nondual, everything is identical from the standpoint of the origin. The physical eye is the divine eye and is also the buddha eye.

  Pei Xiu misunderstood because, as Vimalakīrti said above, he expounded the dharma of the real characteristic of things while using the discriminating mind that is associated with production and cessation. If you thoroughly accord with original reality, all doubts will naturally disappear, like a snowflake falling onto a red-hot brazier.

  “If you are one who sees, hears, senses, and knows only by grasping at sensory characteristics, and you presume you will be able to gain a vision [of the mind] only by removing the things before your eyes, you fall into two-vehicle adherents’ intellectual understanding, which derives from dependent power.200 You presume you can only see something nearby in the sky but not far away — this [view] is associated with the non-Buddhists. I say as clearly as I can that it is neither inside nor outside; it is neither nearby nor far away. The nature of the myriad things is nearby but invisible. If we can’t see it even when it’s nearby, what’s the point of saying that you can’t see it when it’s far away?”

  祇為取相作見聞覺知 去卻前物 始擬得見者 即墮二乘人中 依通見解也 虛空中 近則見 遠則不見 此是外道中收 分明道 非內亦非外 非近亦非遠 近而不可見者 萬物之性也 近尚不可見 更道遠而不可見 有什麼意旨.

  Since most people only see, hear, sense, and know things that belong to the world of appearances, those who can see things that are behind other things are presumed to have “dependent power.” People also say that they can see things that are nearby but not things that are far away, because their perception of visual forms is dependent on their physical eyes. Such sensory perception has nothing to do with whether they can see the nature.

  Similarly, people think that they cannot see the nature because it is obscured by defilements and false thoughts, so they just try to remove those defilements in order to see it. Bear in mind that the sky remains the same whether clouds appear or disappear.

  Although buddhas and sentient beings both make use of the nature, this nature cannot be seen by their physical eyes; it can be seen only by their dharma eyes. This nature is neither nearby nor far away. Even though it is always clearly present right before your eyes, you are called a “blind fool,” because you let it slip away.

  34. If One Thought Does Not Arise, That Is Bodhi

  [A monk] asked, “How will you instruct practitioners who do not comprehend what you’ve said, master?”

  The master replied, “I do not have a single thing and have never conveyed a single thing to anyone else. Since time immemorial, you have received others’ instructions and sought insight and understanding. Does this mean that both master and disciple have fallen into royal difficulties? This is all you need to know: if you do not sense even a single thought, you will be free from the body of sensa
tion (vedanākāya); if you do not perceive even a single thought, you will be free from the body of perception (saṃjñākāya); if you absolutely do not move and act, you will be free from the body of volitional factors (saṃskārakāya); if you do not conceptualize, conjecture, and discriminate, you will be free from the body of consciousness (vijñānakāya).

  問 學人不會 和尚如何指示 師云 我無一物 從來不曾將一物與人 你無始巳來 祇為被人指示 覓契覓會 此可不是弟子與師俱陷王難 你但知 一念不受即是無受身 一念不想 即是無想身 決定不遷流造作 即是無行身 莫思量卜度分別 即是無識身.

  The true meaning of “leaving the household life” to become a monk has nothing to do with leaving the house. If you are awakened, you have left the household life, even if you are a layperson; if you are not awakened, then you are still living in the household, even if you are a monk. The real meaning of “leaving the household life” is to stay separate from characteristics. If you just follow others’ teachings, there is no chance for you to escape the house of the five aggregates. If you do not stay separate from characteristics, whatever it is you are doing, you are not free from the fetters of your body.

  If you open your eyes to the Buddhadharma and stay separate from characteristics, then notions of both freedom and restraint are irrelevant. These words are a severe instruction and, at the same time, a primary phrase (yiju/ilgu 一句) that directly reveals the real characteristic of things.

  “When, like now, you discretely give rise to a single thought, you enter back into the twelvefold chain of dependent origination (pratītyasamutpāda): with ignorance (avidyā) as condition, there are predispositions (saṃskāra), which serve as both a cause and an effect. This chain continues on up to old age and death, which also serves as both a cause and an effect. Therefore Sudhana may have [traveled on pilgrimage] to 110 places seeking a spiritual mentor, but he was only searching within the twelvefold chain of dependent origination. At the end, he met Maitreya, who instructed Sudhana to go back and visit Mañjuśrī [his very first mentor]. ‘Mañjuśrī’ refers to the ignorance of your original ground.