中國禪
Dharma Master Fa-Chan’s Teachings –
So today, what we want to talk about is the core essence of Chinese Chan (中國禪, Zhōngguó Chán). This topic is extremely important in Chinese Chan. If you don’t understand the core of Chinese Chan, then trying to enter the highest vehicle Dharma gate (最上乘法門, zuì shàng chéng fǎ mén) of Chinese Chan will be extremely difficult.
Everyone should know that Chinese Chan is very different from the teachings below or mainstream teaching (教下, jiào xià). The mainstream teaching refer to the doctrinal/exoteric Buddhist schools. However, we’ve discovered that many people who come to practice Chinese Chan are still trapped inside the conceptual framework of the mainstream teaching without realizing it.
Today, we want to thoroughly clarify the core of Chinese Chan and help most practitioners step out of the conceptual trap of “cultivating the path through the teachings below.” The problem is that even if you think you’ve entered Chinese Chan and are practicing its highest sacred mind method, you may still be operating within the framework of “cultivating through the teachings below.”
Chinese Chan comes from the highest sacred transmission within the teachings but is known as “a special transmission outside the teachings” (教外別傳, jiào wài bié chuán). It does not follow the cultivation methods of the doctrinal schools. Everyone should already know that within the teachings below there are also Chan cultivation schools, so we don’t need to elaborate on that.
Chinese Chan is a very unique school. It completely transcends all the various cultivation methods of the mainstream teaching. It jumped out from within that framework. Its greatest characteristic is that it does not follow the kind of cultivation practiced in the doctrinal schools. It even says that the Way requires no cultivation (道不用修, dào bù yòng xiū). It also teaches that there is nothing to do in the Buddhadharma (佛法無你用功刺, fó fǎ wú nǐ yòng gōng cì) — everything is just ordinary and uneventful.
This is why we often say that after someone practices Chinese Chan, a simple analogy is: “Letting go is best. Having nothing to do is best. Being able to let go is the greatest.” This statement carries very heavy meaning. But if you enter Chinese Chan and still want to “do something,” then you’ve already created something to do.
What we’re pointing out is that having nothing to do is best. Yet many people are still endlessly “cultivating” and “doing practices,” which completely contradicts the fundamental essence of Chinese Chan. Many people don’t know this. In fact, when practicing Chinese Chan, you’re fundamentally not practicing Chinese Chan at all.
We’ve found that almost no one — whether lay practitioners or monastics — truly understands Chinese Chan. Even if they claim to be practicing it, they don’t know its core essence. Bodhidharma (達摩, Dámó) actually didn’t say much that you need to “practice.” We often say that when Huike (慧可, Huìkě) asked Bodhidharma to pacify his mind (安心, ān xīn), Bodhidharma said almost nothing. Huike asked him to pacify his mind. Bodhidharma replied, “Bring your mind out and I’ll pacify it for you.” Huike said, “I’ve searched but cannot find my mind.” Bodhidharma then said, “There — I’ve already pacified it for you.”
In that moment, Huike had a great awakening. He realized that the unsettled mind was something he had created himself. If you don’t think about it, it doesn’t exist. This is the direct transmission of Chinese Chan. Bodhidharma never taught any method you need to cultivate. All those methods were later fabricated by people. One person makes it up, and ten thousand people pass it on as truth. This distorts Bodhidharma’s original meaning.
Many practitioners don’t understand the core principle of Chinese Chan: it never teaches you to cultivate anything. In Chinese Chan, there is actually no such thing as “correcting and cultivating” (修正行, xiū zhèng xíng). That belongs to the methods of the mainstream teaching.
Many people use the perspective of the mainstream teaching to explain the highest vehicle Dharma gate of Chinese Chan. When they do this, the more they cultivate, the more confused they become. This is truly a tragic situation. Almost all practitioners fall into this trap. If you approach Chinese Chan with the mindset of the mainstream teaching, the more you cultivate, the further you stray from the path.
We must clearly point out that you are being tightly bound by the concepts of the mainstream teaching and cannot jump out of that framework.
Even in the teachings below, it is clearly stated that practicing the Six Paramitas and myriad practices (六度萬行, liù dù wàn xíng) and seeking supreme bodhi (無上菩提, wú shàng pú tí) is not for those who have nothing to do. The mainstream teachings openly say this. If you want to cultivate according to the gradual path of the mainstream teaching, you must pass through countless stages.
From the first ground to the tenth ground, and finally to Buddhahood, it requires incalculable eons (阿僧祇劫, ē sēng qí jié) of cultivation. This is an extremely long and arduous path. Of course, our school (Chinese Chan) does not follow this approach at all.
Even if you cultivate from the first ground to Buddhahood according to the mainstream teaching, in our school we still consider that you haven’t escaped the framework of birth and death (生死, shēng sǐ). Birth and death is the master, and the master comes and goes by itself (生死主來法生主來, shēng sǐ zhǔ lái fǎ shēng zhǔ lái). It is not a matter of cultivation. As long as you remember this principle — that birth and death comes and goes by itself according to conditions — then there is no need to cultivate or do anything.
If you love to cultivate and do practices, that’s fine, but your true nature (真如本性, zhēn rú běn xìng) will only become more obscured the more you do so. Therefore, when we talk about “cultivating” or even “residual cultivation,” it is only a method used when there is no other choice. If you are constantly cultivating something, that is not the fundamental essence of our school.
The core principle of our school is that it never asks you to cultivate anything. This is why we often say that Bodhidharma truly didn’t teach you to cultivate anything. He only told you to find a person who is not confused by any dharma. Everyone should understand this: do not be confused or bound by any dharma spoken by others. Why? Because if you operate from within these dharmas and become confused, you will die inside this trap.
In your mind, there will be all kinds of dharma views, dharma attachments, dharma pride, and even dharma love (法見、法執、法慢、法愛). These are great obstacles for practitioners. Many cultivators never break through these points. They keep trying to practice the essence of our school using the concepts of the teachings below. This is like trying to use a square peg in a round hole — it’s completely upside down.
However, many practitioners remain confused about this without realizing it.
The core principle of our school is this: it does not ask you to cultivate anything. It asks you to personally verify and awaken for yourself — to see whether there is truly anything in your mind that needs to be cultivated or pacified. It is not in the realm of gradual cultivation or progressive practice. Whether you practice gradually or suddenly, or even if you don’t practice at all, if you can return to your original nature (本性, běn xìng), then all these methods and principles become completely useless.
When you truly have a great awakening one day and see through everything, you will thoroughly see through all these words and principles — whether from scriptures or from teachers. You will realize that your original face (本來面目, běn lái miàn mù) and your true nature fundamentally have none of these things. There are no principles, no problems, and even the distinction between “inside the teachings” and “outside the teachings” is completely seen through and dropped.
All the thousands of problems you have in your deluded thinking have never actually existed in your true nature. Your true nature has never had any of these fabricated events or maintained dharmas. All of these are seen through when you have a great awakening.
From this perspective, the nature of this school is truly nothing that can be cultivated, no path that can be transmitted, nothing real that can be obtained, and none of these various profound and wonderful states. In simple terms, Chinese Chan has already completely seen through and dropped all events and all the seeds of events.
This principle is extremely simple. It doesn’t require you to do anything at all. However, many practitioners still want to “do something” — they want to figure out how to practice, how to exert effort, how to “catch” or “grasp” something. This is called “wearing clothes and eating food while still calculating and grasping.”
Ordinary people’s rest usually has a beginning and an end — it is a process with a time frame. But Chinese Chan does not play this game. From the very beginning, it has no emperor and no beggar. It simply tells us that the Way requires no cultivation. Yet many people still want to cultivate endlessly.
If you keep wanting to cultivate, you are actually creating a problem. The fact that you feel the need to cultivate means something is already off. If you don’t cultivate, there is actually no problem.
Bodhidharma clearly stated in the Transmission of the Lamp that ordinary people’s rest is like coming and going with conditions. You were originally free — isn’t it ridiculous that you’re now looking for a new kind of freedom? This is what Bodhidharma taught.
He also said that a true practitioner rests in the unconditioned (無為, wú wéi) and abides in the infinite light, with the original mind naturally at ease in its own place. Even in the Platform Sutra, it says that the supreme vehicle does not establish stages. Why? Because for those of superior capacity and highest root, none of these gradual methods apply. We have already seen through them.
The Platform Sutra tells us that one dharma is not established (一法不立, yī fǎ bù lì) and not one thing is obtained (一物不得, yī wù bù dé). This means there is nothing to cultivate, nothing to do, nothing to walk toward, and nothing to think about. If you still want to do something, you’re creating more complications.
The core experience of our school is this: if you can put down your concepts and truly wash away your deluded thinking, then naturally there will be nothing to do. Otherwise, even if you cultivate until your head splits open, your original nature is still right there — but you can’t see it because you’re trapped in endless cultivation.
From the perspective of our school, almost all of us who have cultivated the path have been using the mind wrongly and misapplying effort. Even in our delusional world, we are probably no exception. You all seem to be quietly cultivating on the surface, but if we continue like this, it will become an endless road.
We are not saying you cannot study or understand the Dharma we teach. However, the main purpose of what we say and write is only to help you untie the knots in your mind — to release the various attachments and fixations in your heart. We ultimately have no dharma to give you.
If you cannot jump out of the Dharma we teach and write about, and instead get trapped by these very teachings, then that is not what we want. Everything we say is meant to help you untie the knots yourself. If you become confused by these teachings and start grasping at them, then you are still caught in the same trap.
We are not trying to give you a fixed method. What we say is only to help you release the knots in your mind from within. Don’t remain trapped in the delusions of dharma views, dharma attachments, dharma pride, and dharma love. This is truly confusing people in a very subtle way. A practitioner who stays on the surface and cultivates endlessly without clarity is not what we want for you.
We have taught many methods and various skillful means. We ask everyone how to see through all of this. To be honest, this is because sentient beings have all kinds of fixations, problems, and blind spots. We are simply helping you untie these knots. We are not trying to give you some ultimate truth to cling to.
Don’t remain confused by these dharmas without realizing it. If you can return to your original nature (本性, běn xìng), then all these methods and principles become completely useless. You still have to rely on yourself to directly verify and awaken from within. Don’t get trapped in the Dharma we teach, the Dharma we write, or even the Dharma you receive and understand. Whether it’s the Dharma we receive or the Dharma you receive, in simple terms, it is all just helping to untie the knots.
The Platform Sutra clearly states this. Huineng (六祖, Liùzǔ) said: “I have no Dharma to give to people.” He also said that the mind has no abiding place. Even later he said “one dharma is not established” and “not one thing is obtained.” To be honest, he was saying that you shouldn’t want to do anything or achieve anything. Don’t keep cultivating endlessly. This way, you can truly rest for thousands of kalpas.
Truly, those who have realized the highest sacred mind of our school have a noticeable characteristic: they seem to have almost no “cultivation” left. Everything has been seen through and dropped. This is what we often call “nothing that can be said” (無法可說, wú fǎ kě shuō), “nothing that can be transmitted” (無道可傳, wú dào kě chuán), and “no birth and death to be doubted” (無生死可疑, wú shēng sǐ kě yí). These are all phenomena established within the framework of skillful means. All dharmas are established as skillful means within that framework.
We must honestly tell everyone: in your original nature (本來自信, běn lái zì xìn) and your original mind (本心本信, běn xīn běn xìn), none of these things actually exist. You must firmly remember this: in your original mind and original nature, there is not one dharma that can be obtained, and there is nothing that can be cultivated. In your original mind and original nature, there is fundamentally no such thing as birth and death, and no doubt about birth and death.
From the perspective of your original nature, whether you are an ordinary person or a practitioner, all problems disappear the moment you return to your original mind and original nature. A practitioner who has seen through this will suddenly realize that there was never any problem to begin with. We were all deceived on a grand scale.
If you continue cultivating endlessly on the surface, that is truly endless. There is nothing that can be cultivated, no path that can be accomplished, and no birth and death to be doubted. But ordinary people are still operating on the surface, and it truly becomes endless. This is very serious.
We ask you: until when do you plan to cultivate? You should reflect on this yourself. Are you truly using the mind to cultivate, or are you cultivating while remaining confused? We have repeatedly emphasized that almost all of you fellow practitioners are cultivating while using the mind and remaining confused. You cultivate and yet you don’t know what you’re truly seeking.
What we want is for you to reach the point where “one dharma is not established and not one thing is obtained.” In the end, it’s simply about letting go of everything — putting down whatever you’re holding onto in your mind, and then continuing to cultivate endlessly inside. Many people only feel at ease when they have something to cultivate or something to attain. But if there is nothing to cultivate and nothing to attain, then what? If you still don’t know what you want, and you keep cultivating in confusion on the surface, caught in the delusions of dharma views, dharma attachments, and dharma love without realizing it, then opening your mouth to talk about cultivation or moving your body to practice is pointless.
To put it plainly, you have never lacked anything. So why are you still trying to “do” something? In this realm, there is nothing at all. When you transcend all events and even transcend all “transcending of events,” there is no heaven and earth, no beginning or end, and no distinction between you, me, and others. All of this arises from the discrimination and grasping of your deluded mind. In your original nature, none of these problems have ever existed.
A true practitioner who has seen through this is in a truly inconceivable state. Once they have a great awakening and turn around, they can completely see through and drop all the traps of events and even all the traps of “transcending events.” They are no longer bound by any of these traps and no longer need to cultivate or do anything. That would truly be laughable.
If you still haven’t touched the core of Chinese Chan, then Chinese Chan has never asked you to cultivate anything. “The Way requires no cultivation” — this was said by Bodhidharma, not by us. If you keep cultivating endlessly, you are truly going against the fundamental essence.
We fellow practitioners who have no cultivation — we don’t concern ourselves with them. There’s really nothing more to say. Chinese Chan has no fixed method. If you come to Chinese Chan wanting to cultivate, then that’s that. You walk your own single-plank bridge. We don’t interfere that much.
However, if you are truly practicing Chinese Chan according to its original teaching and are willing to practice the highest sacred mind method of our school, then we must honestly tell you today: there is no fixed method for you to cultivate here. We are not asking you to cultivate anything. You should look within your own mind and see for yourself whether there is anything that needs to be cultivated or pacified. Don’t rely on other people’s苦衷 (kǔ zhōng, heartfelt explanations) or want to understand everything through others.
You have to personally verify and awaken from within your own mind. This is completely up to you to do the real work yourself. Simply put, this is your own inner verification and awakening. Even saying this is still a skillful means. We have said before that self-verification and awakening is still a skillful means — something said out of necessity — because you haven’t truly entered your original nature yet. You are still turning within the realm of mind-consciousness. This is a major problem.
If your mind is still trapped and running around within the framework of mind-consciousness, then it will be endless. Whether it’s the methods of the mainstream teaching or the Dharma we teach, if you keep running around within them, it will only become more and more severe. We are telling you this out of concern. Don’t do this. If you stay there, it will truly become endless.
Sometimes what we say may seem ordinary, but if you think about it carefully, there is deep meaning within. We don’t want you to go down the wrong path or get lost in delusion. The core of our school is this: everything is unnecessary — there is no need to wash anything, no need to do anything afterward, and certainly no need to calculate and grasp afterward. Having nothing to do is best. Letting go is the greatest.
This is not about external affairs. What we mean by “affairs” are the matters of your mind — the various problems, attachments, and things you can’t let go of in your heart. All of these are “affairs.” Having nothing to do is best, and letting go is greatest.
If you keep cultivating endlessly on the surface, what are you doing? You’re just creating more mental afflictions for yourself. This is why we want you to step back. Stepping back is actually moving forward. The 12-character verse we often teach is also about the skill of stepping back.
From cultivating slanted views and the ten grounds all the way down — why? Because we’re afraid you’ll keep cultivating endlessly. If you continue like this, you will still be very far from the highest vehicle of our school. You’ll keep circling on the surface endlessly, and it will truly become endless. We don’t want that for you.
You need to go through how much money? You need to prepare how much money for your rest? Or do you want to do it this way — to thoroughly understand everything with 金剛般若 (Vajra Prajna) and cut through all dharmas completely? This requires thorough understanding. Even Huineng (六祖) was the same. He completely understood his own original nature and self-nature.
In simple terms, the noble task of our school is to help you jump out from within all dharmas — not to have you write or cultivate endlessly. Those endless cultivations are just the hands and feet of your deluded mind, the bombs of文字 (wén zì, words and letters), and the bombs of principle and views. Most people are secretly married to these and trapped within the framework of “affairs” without realizing it.
Because in reality, no dharma can depend on a person (實在無一法依人, shí zài wú yī fǎ yī rén). At most, what we do is help untie the knots and release the fixations in your mind. We don’t want to give you any dharma for you to depend on.
Today, even in our school — and even on this great mountain — you should never get trapped in the framework of the Dharma we teach. We truly have no Dharma to transmit. What we can transmit is only the various fixations in your mind — the various things you can’t jump out of. We resolve them one by one.
Everything we say is ultimately to help untie the knots. The Platform Sutra says the same thing. Huineng also received the Dharma, but he was very good at releasing it. He didn’t use Dharma to bind people. He said it very clearly.
Today, we must honestly tell all of you fellow practitioners: in reality, there is not one dharma that depends on a person. We absolutely do not want to use Dharma to bind you. If you truly get trapped by what we teach, that would be very serious. I personally would also feel regretful.
What I want is for you to jump out from within all dharmas. If you have no problems, then you don’t even need to look at or listen to any Dharma. If you still have various fixations in your mind — that is, dharma views, dharma attachments, dharma pride, and dharma love — and you can’t jump out of them, then out of concern for you, we help untie the knots. As things stand, we truly have no fixed Dharma to transmit to you. We have never used fixed words to transmit anything to you.
When you untie the knots, everything afterward is up to you to see for yourself — not to remain trapped in the framework of our words, constantly playing and chatting, listening to what we say, and reading what we write. That would also be incorrect.
Today we discover that you are fundamentally different from what we originally intended. Our true intention is to release the knots in your mind. But if you remain endlessly trapped within the Dharma we teach, that is not what we want.
You have been on this path for so long. You should know that we truly have no intention of controlling you. We even want to completely liberate you — to help you truly see through and drop all dharmas completely, so you are no longer bound by any dharma. This is what we truly want.
If you are still bound hand and foot by all these dharmas, then no matter how much you cultivate or how many kalpas pass, you will never truly have a great awakening and see through everything. You will forever be unable to jump out of the trap of these dharmas.
What we receive in our school is the transmission of the lamp (傳燈, chuán dēng) — the mind-to-mind transmission. Sometimes it may seem a bit harsh, but these are all skillful means of light and transformation. This is not something we can fully express in words. In other words, returning to your true mind and original nature depends on your own inner verification and awakening.
You must do the work of inner verification and awakening yourself — not keep running around endlessly on other people’s words. What we are truly talking about today is helping you see through and completely drop everything from within all dharmas — to thoroughly cut through and release all dharmas from within your own mind.
Whether it’s events inside the teachings, events outside the teachings, or events within events — put all of them down. Thoroughly release all of these dharmas from within all dharmas and see what kind of state your mind reveals. Remember: release them thoroughly from within all events and all dharmas inside and outside the teachings, and see what kind of state appears. Don’t keep cultivating endlessly on the surface.
On the path of our school, we must tell you honestly and straightforwardly: “Wisdom can harm itself” (聰明反被聰明誤, cōng míng fǎn bèi cōng míng wù). You are too clever and keep cultivating endlessly on the surface. Besides these “affairs,” what else do you have? If we ask you this — besides these “affairs,” what else do you have? Tell us yourself. Think about it.
Most of you fellow practitioners are probably still caught in these delusions without realizing it. Today we want to wake you up thoroughly, so that hopefully you can completely see through and drop everything from within all dharmas.
All dharmas ultimately require no cultivation — isn’t that right? Bodhidharma also said this. He spoke of “no emotion, no virtue” (無情無德, wú qíng wú dé). This “no emotion, no virtue” was said by Bodhidharma in response to Emperor Wu of Liang (梁武帝, Liáng Wǔdì). Bodhidharma was quite harsh with Emperor Wu. He gave him some methods involving effort and color before transmitting the Dharma to him, because Bodhidharma knew very well that Emperor Wu was just a big confused person who hadn’t even touched the edge of it. But Emperor Wu was sincere — he made offerings and requested the Dharma, which is why Bodhidharma transmitted it to him.
But looking at it, Emperor Wu was truly someone who hadn’t cultivated much or had any real attainment. When he asked those mediocre questions, you can see that Bodhidharma didn’t even want to answer. This is how it is, isn’t it? Because answering mediocre questions is not compassion. So he used very direct speech. No matter what you asked, before you even finished speaking, he would hit you. Isn’t that the most core essence of Chinese Chan?
You’re still there trying hard to figure out what the highest vehicle or the highest sacred activity is, but before you’ve even finished speaking, Bodhidharma has already hit you — hit you three times until your face is covered in dust. Everyone knows this public case, so we don’t need to explain it further.
From the very beginning, this tells us something. We’re telling you a great secret: in the core essence and core thought of Chinese Chan, having no “affairs” at all is the best. This statement carries extremely heavy meaning. If you keep wanting to cultivate endlessly on the surface, it is truly a path of no return — it will always be endless.
This is why we draw this line for you: don’t remain trapped in the delusions of dharmas without realizing it, generating all kinds of dharma views, dharma attachments, dharma pride, and even dharma love. What is dharma love (法愛, fǎ ài)? It means being attached to the Dharma you are practicing. When you’re like this, you become bound by these “affairs.”
In Chinese Chan, if you are attached to “nothing,” you become attached to nothing. If you are attached to “affairs,” you become attached by affairs. Don’t stay in this place. If you keep going on endlessly about what we say, it will become endless. We don’t want that for you.
If you have no fixations in your mind, the best thing to do is to sincerely and honestly return to your original nature and see for yourself (回歸本性, huí guī běn xìng) — to see whether there is anything that needs to be cultivated or pacified. Don’t keep extending and shrinking. Extending and shrinking is only for people of average and lower capacity. In other words, what we openly teach is only doing some immigrant work (helping those who need support).
Most people can at most receive some Dharma on the surface level. So don’t think that because we teach a lot of Dharma and talk about a lot of methods, we are harming you as your teacher. We would never do that to you. We only speak when there is something to say. At most, we are doing the work of untying knots.
If you have no fixations, then you don’t even need those methods. You can reach the point where “one dharma is not established.” Because even one dharma is better than you cultivating endlessly every day. Even one sentence can help you see through events inside and outside the teachings. Isn’t that even better?
Think about it — if you can thoroughly see through and release both events inside the teachings and events outside the teachings, I mean your mind is no longer bound or counted by these events inside and outside the teachings — not that these events don’t exist, but that your mind is completely no longer bound or counted by any events inside or outside the teachings. At that time, when you turn back and reflect, what do you see?
You have to ask yourself. We can’t say it for you. When you are no longer bound by any “affairs,” and then you turn back and reflect — what is it like? What kind of mind-state and clear mirror appears? You have to work hard on this aspect yourself.
We sincerely hope that all of you fellow practitioners will stop sliding endlessly on the surface. We have repeatedly collected and pointed this out. This is relative to the previous public case you all should know about — the one with “一路” (Yīlù). He was originally at the place where he was sliding on the surface in this life and cultivating in this life. While he was at that place, he heard that after sliding on the surface, one becomes very clever and sharp. How sharp? He could ask questions that could kill people — ask until they die or slide until they die. He had the chance to be very clever and sharp, but he just couldn’t reach Bodhidharma (答我, though contextually Bodhidharma/Huike story).
He went to explain to Bodhidharma. After he finished sliding on the surface with his eyes, he went to the mountain and told the master he had cultivated until his blood was exhausted from residual cultivation. Then Huishan (or the master) told him: “I’ve heard that after you finished sliding on the surface, you became very clever and sharp — asking questions that could kill people and sliding until they die.” Huishan’s meaning was: “This is all created by your own mind. These words you’ve been talking about for so long — I won’t discuss these with you. When you come, I won’t discuss these superficial problems with you.”
Then Huishan told him: “Today I only ask you — when your parents had not yet given birth to you, what was it like? What did it look like before your parents gave birth to you? Tell me.” Later he went to see if there was any answer in books or anything. He kept being confused and went to look for answers in books and writings about what it was like before his parents gave birth to him — what it looked like. He couldn’t find an answer.
Before your parents gave birth to you — what did it look like when you look with your hands? What was it like? Tell us what it looks like when you look with your hands. He couldn’t say anything. He thought for several days, wanting to find words to answer, but he couldn’t find any answer in his mind. Not only could he not find an answer, he kept going back to the mountain master and said, “Since you asked the question, you must know the answer. The master must know the exam answer.” He couldn’t produce an answer, so he asked the master. Since the master asked the question, he must know the answer. Otherwise, if the master asked him, he must know what the answer is. Otherwise, the master should show it to him with his hands or tell him with his mouth.
The mountain master said: “I received this matter, and it has nothing to do with you at all. If I show it to you, you will scold me.” At this point, it was like “hands and feet entering the product” (手骨入品) — one計外不收 (one plan outside not received). Really, he would scold him. Being asked like this by the mountain master, he didn’t know what to say from the beginning. Then he left that mountain master’s place and said he had realized a principle himself: “painted cakes cannot satisfy hunger” (畫餅不能充飢, huà bǐng bù néng chōng jī).
Even if he understood many principles on the surface, in the end those principles are all useless. But he still cried as he left that mountain master’s place. He said he no longer wanted to write about “living and living” — it was meaningless. He might as well become a Zhou Hui student at the corner of the street. Then he sighed and rested midway on the road. While resting, he dropped a piece of tile and it hit a bamboo. This one sound caused him to have a great awakening and dance with joy. He was so happy and said, “I finally understand! The master on the mountain was really stingy with me back then. He had the chance to say it clearly, but he didn’t break through the city. He had the opportunity to point out the trace of awakening, but later I got the great awakening and danced anyway.”
This public case is recorded in many places, so we won’t elaborate further. From this public case, we want to point out to everyone: don’t keep going on endlessly about those dharmas. You don’t have that much time. Most of you are already advanced in age. How much time do you have left? You should quickly close the door and thoroughly return to inner verification and awakening. Truly see whether there is anything that needs to be cultivated or pacified. Don’t keep extending and shrinking in the trap of gradual cultivation. This is a path of no return.
We must honestly tell you that these dharmas — if you can not look at them, not receive them, and not listen to them, that would be best. Others won’t recognize you as someone who needs support anyway. Just close the door yourself — not the door of your house, but the door of your mind. Turn your mind that has been persistently seeking outward back inward and reflect. Whether it’s blood ghost, blood fragrance, or the耐計畫 (endurance plan) of blood ghost and fragrant eyes — “goods have not yet won over life and death” — turn it around and look. Ask yourself. Don’t ask others.
This is possible. It can be like fragrant eyes having that one year of his path. But I’m telling you: don’t look for answers in our Dharma. Don’t look for answers in the scriptures or in the Platform Sutra. I’m telling you very sincerely — you will never find it there. You will always be on the surface.
Take a good look at this “goods have not yet won over life and death — turn it around and look.” Suppose you are fragrant eyes and I am Huishan. Are you fragrant eyes? “Goods have not yet won over life and death — what was it like before the goods won?” Tell us what it was like at that time. You probably can’t say it right now. It doesn’t matter. You should think about it carefully yourself and find a way. Look at it yourself or rest. You can also be like fragrant eyes and later have a great awakening and dance with joy.
The fact is that you are no longer young. Most people’s sleep is no longer enough. While you still have years left in this life, you should — according to what the books say — thoroughly do the work of returning to inner verification and awakening. At that time, if you don’t know how to do it, just look at this one episode: “Goods have not yet won over life and death — turn it around and look.” This is the living episode of the noble ones. You probably all have professional roads. You can know from watching a series of professional roads. But professional roads don’t necessarily have answers in this episode. What we say also absolutely has no answer in this episode. You have to try looking at it yourself.
In short, take a good look at this episode of 日業來 (perhaps “日用事來” or daily affairs coming). This is also something said out of necessity. To put it plainly, this is all us勉强 (reluctantly) encouraging you — because you are all people who are still sleeping. We will smile at this. When you truly wake up later in this life, how will you speak? Do you want us to convey it to you?
I’m telling you: for a 金士老郎大大 (great elder of golden status), what is the point of saying these things? He is already a great elder. Why would he still say these things? Of course, there is transformation within transformation. If you can’t see through it, then forget it. But if it were换成事务的时候 (in the time of exchanging affairs), and this great elder still says these things, then of course he would answer the person who comes to ask like this. However, this is what I have no need to say. This is already something a great elder would say. Why would贵上我上 (your noble superior or I) still say these things? That’s what I said — not what you said.
If your mind has no absolute闻顾 (concern/consideration) and you can completely be the master without being confused by any arising of affairs, then by all means don’t化无路 (transform into a path of no way). I can only say this much. When the three voices see this, they will打得办事 (handle it appropriately). You look at it yourself. From here, thoroughly return and see whether there is truly anything that needs to be cultivated or pacified. This is what is truly needed.
Today, those who come to our school to practice this highest sacred mind method of our school — we have very high expectations and hopes for you. To put it bluntly, up until today we are still very disappointed. Think about it yourself. Examine yourself honestly. Does your mind have absolute闻顾? Can it completely be the master and be足 (sufficient/complete)? In your mind, are you still confused and bound by “affairs”? You haven’t achieved this yet. You need to examine yourself honestly.
You have been with us for so long. We have repeatedly pointed this out to you. Today what we are saying here is relatively higher and deeper. But we must sincerely tell you: time is running out. Even the remaining golden time of your life — you should grasp this golden time well and truly eat that meal yourself. This is the most important thing.
Close the door yourself — not the door of your house, but your mind. Your mind should never again persistently seek outward or try to understand a bunch of principles. The principles you understand will also be like the Westerners before — clever and sharp, but without any real command. What we want is for you to truly enter this great heroic mountain. What we want is for you to truly arrive in the human world today. At the very least, what you should achieve is this: your mind should have absolute闻顾, be completely able to be the master, and no longer be confused by any “affairs.”
We said long ago that this plan exists. If you can’t hear it, then there’s nothing we can do. We wrote about this plan long ago. So today, we must sincerely tell you: don’t keep cultivating endlessly on the surface. That is the thinking of the teachings below. Chinese Chan does not play this game at all. From the very beginning, it said “no need to cultivate” and “the fire has no need for work” (火火無泥用工處, huǒ huǒ wú ní yòng gōng chù). So what else are you going to do?
The key point is your this可心 (this mind that can be the master). The key is whether this mind of yours has absolute闻顾, can completely be the master, and is no longer confused or bound by any “affairs.” Once you achieve this, then there is nothing to do. Once you achieve this, I will tell you — having nothing to do is best, and letting go is the greatest.
This statement — don’t think it’s just something nice to say. This statement carries very heavy meaning. Because too many of you are finished — not in external matters. What I mean by “finished” is that your mind is finished. How to speak, what to do, what “affairs” to leave behind, what principles to leave behind — all of these are mental affairs. We say “having nothing to do” — it’s not that we have nothing to do. What we are talking about is mental talk. It must be spoken from the mind. Your mind should have nothing to do as best, and your mind should completely let go as greatest.
Firmly keep this statement in your heart. Having affairs in the mind is not very good — in fact, it’s very bad. If you don’t let go, it’s not good. If you can today courageously and vigorously return and see whether there is anything that needs to be cultivated or pacified, then this is truly helping your life. What we are talking about today is to help you achieve this true life-saving. We are not here to talk about those萝莉巴斯尔德 (nonsensical) “affairs.” Those “affairs” — we usually don’t talk about them. Today we honestly tell you: whether it’s your琴瓦开世路 (perhaps your own path) or the Chinese Chan path we teach, at most we are only doing the work of untying knots and releasing.
But if untying knots and releasing becomes endless, then because you have many problems — in fact, many problems on the level of Dharma — you keep asking me and asking endlessly, and I have to keep talking endlessly. Really, if this continues, it will truly become endless forever. We don’t play this game. We don’t play this双 game with you.
What we want from you is for you to sincerely look at “when your parents had not yet given birth to you, what was it like?” — see what it looks like. If you can’t say it, look at it yourself. Don’t keep sliding on “when your parents had not yet given birth to you,” talking endlessly, listening endlessly, speaking endlessly, or cultivating endlessly. Then you will forever be endless.
We sincerely ask you to put in real effort from within your mind — to reach the point where you can be the master and no longer extend and shrink, no longer seek outwardly, no longer rely on what others say, and certainly no longer rely on all the “affairs” we say. You should just look at it yourself — that’s correct.
If you can truly reach the point where your mind has absolute闻顾, can completely be the master, and is no longer confused or bound by any “affairs,” then there will be nothing to do. The conclusion will definitely be that there is nothing to do. But I’m telling you — truly, having nothing to do is best and greatest. Not being confused or bound by any “affairs” is very important.
That is to say, being confused by “affairs” means a person is confused afterward — meaning the mind is bound and controlled by these “affairs” and trapped within the framework of these “affairs.” This is why we say 贵朝业 (noble task of seeing through) in Chinese Chan — to see through from within all “affairs.” How do you see through “affairs”? From within events and from outside events — the meaning of seeing through events from within events. From within events and from outside events, from within叫 (perhaps “教” or teachings) and from outside叫, from within the factory and from outside the factory, from within the Chinese Chan factory and even transcending further, and even from within blessings and from outside blessings — one by one from within your own mind. Don’t be confused or bound by any of these “affairs.” Separate yourself from within all “affairs” and become a true original问那生 (original问那生 — perhaps “本来问那生” or true inquirer) or a true 本受到人 (person who has truly received).
This is the hope we give to you. You need to become a true 本受到人. A renunciant should become a true 本问那生. What we hope for you is that you all become true 本受到人 instead of cultivating endlessly on the surface.
We sincerely tell you that this is not a bad thing. We can tell you a plan — the first plan that a householder has truly arrived at — and we’ve already said it very clearly: absolute non-action (絕協無為, jué xié wú wéi). Why is it absolute non-action? Because everything requires no cultivation, everything requires no writing, and nothing is different. That is what absolute non-action means.
Why do you write so much? The first plan of a householder has already破滑ed you (broken and slid you) and completely burned you. Ask yourself — have you written too much? Until when do you plan to write? How much time do you have left in your room? In an instant, it’s enough to气 you down. How do you still have time to go on endlessly with these “affairs”? You don’t have enough time.
If you have time, that’s fine — but in reality, you don’t anymore. You should always close the door and sincerely do the work of returning to inner verification and awakening. This is not a bad thing that we哭哭欠 (cry and owe) you. It is truly to help you achieve real life-saving. Don’t keep living day to day secretly crying over events. This is our most sincere hope for you.
Leave a Reply