SUTRA SPOKEN BY
THE SIXTH PATRIARCH ON THE HIGH SEAT OF "THE TREASURE OF THE
LAW"
Chapter IX. Royal Patronage
Translated by
A.F.Price and Wong Mou-Lam |
An edict dated the 15th day of the first Moon of the first year
of Shen Lung, issued by the Empress Dowager Tse T'ien and the Emperor
Chung Tsung ran as follows: "Since we invited Grand Masters Hui An and
Shen Hsiu to stay in the palace to receive our offerings, we have studied
the 'Buddha Vehicle' under them whenever we could find time after
attending to our imperial duties. Out of sheer modesty, these two Masters
recommended that we should seek the advice of Dhyana Master Hui Neng of
the South, who has esoterically inherited the Dharma and the robe of the
Fifth Patriarch as well as the 'Heart Seal' of Lord Buddha. "We hereby
send Hsueh Chien as the courier of this Edict to invite His Holiness to
come, and trust His Holiness will graciously favor us with an early visit
to the capital." On the ground of illness, the Patriarch sent a reply to
decline the royal invitation and asked to be allowed to spend his
remaining years 'in the forest'. "Dhyana experts in the capital," said
Hsueh Chien (when interviewing the Patriarch), "unanimously advise people
to meditate in the sitting position to attain Samadhi. They say that this
is the only way to realize the Norm (Tao), and that it is impossible for
anyone to obtain liberation without going through meditation exercises.
May I know your way of teaching, Sir?" "The Norm is to be realized by the
mind," replied the Patriarch, "and does not depend on the sitting
position. The Diamond Sutra says that it is wrong for anyone to assert
that the Tathagata comes or goes, sits or reclines. Why? Because the
Tathagata's 'Dhyana of Purity' implies neither coming from anywhere nor
going to anywhere, neither becoming nor causing to be. All Dharmas are
calm and void, and such is the Tathagata's 'Seat of Purity'. Strictly
speaking, there is even no such thing as 'attainment'; why then should we
bother ourselves about the sitting position?" "Upon my return," said Hsueh
Chien, "Their Majesties will certainly ask me to make a report. Will you,
Sir, kindly give me some essential hints on your teaching, so that I can
make them known not only to Their Majesties, but also to all Buddhist
scholars in the capital? As the flame of one lamp may kindle hundreds or
thousands of others, so the ignorant will be enlightened (by your
teaching), and light will produce light without end." "The Norm implies
neither light nor darkness," replied the Patriarch. "Light and darkness
signify the idea of alternation. (It is not correct to say) that light
will produce light without end, because there is an end, since light and
darkness are a pair of opposites. The Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra says, 'The
Norm has no comparison, since it is not a relative term'." "Light
signifies wisdom," argued Hsueh Chien, "and darkness signifies klesa
(defilement). If a treader of the Path does not break up klesa with the
force of wisdom, how is he going to free himself from the 'wheel of birth
and death', which is beginningless?" "Klesa is Bodhi," rejoined the
Patriarch. "The two are the same and not different. To break up klesa with
wisdom is the teaching of the Sravaka (Arhat) School and the Pratyeka
Buddha School, the followers of which are of the 'Goat Vehicle' and 'Deer
Vehicle' standard respectively. To those of superior mental dispositions
such teaching would be of no use at all." "What then, is the teaching of
the Mahayana School?" asked Hsueh Chien. "From the point of view of
ordinary men," replied the Patriarch, "enlightenment and ignorance are two
separate things. Wise men who realize thoroughly the Essence of Mind know
that they are of the same nature. This same nature or non-dual nature is
what is called the 'real nature', which neither decreases in the case of
ordinary men and ignorant persons, nor increases in the case of the
enlightened sage; which is not disturbed in a state of annoyance, nor calm
in a state of Samadhi. It is neither eternal nor non-eternal; it neither
goes nor comes; it is not to be found in the exterior, nor in the
interior, nor in the space between the two. It is above existence and
non-existence; its nature and its phenomena are always in a state of
'Thusness'; it is permanent and immutable. Such is the Norm." Hsueh Chien
asked, "You say that it is above existence and non-existence. How then do
you differentiate it from the teaching of the heretics who teach the same
thing?" "In the teaching of the heretics," replied the Patriarch,
"'non-existence' means the end of 'existence', while 'existence' is used
in contrast with 'non-existence'. What they mean by 'non-existence' is not
actually annihilation and what they call 'existence' does not really
exist. What I mean by 'above existence and non-existence' is this;
intrinsically it exists not, and at the present moment it will not be
annihilated. Such is the difference between my teaching and that of the
heretics. "If you wish to know the essential points of my teaching, you
should free yourself from all thoughts, good ones as well as bad; then
your mind will be in a state of purity, calm and serene all the time, and
its usefulness as manifold as the grains of sand in the Ganges." The
preaching of the Patriarch suddenly awoke Hsueh Chien to full
enlightenment. He made obeisance and bid the Patriarch adieu. Upon his
return to the palace, he reported what the Patriarch had said to Their
Majesties. In that same year, on the third day of the ninth Moon, an edict
was issued commending the Patriarch in the following terms: "On the ground
of old age and poor health, the Patriarch declined our invitation to come
to the capital. Devoting his life to the practice of Buddhism for our
benefit, he is indeed the 'field of merit' of the nation. Like
Vimalakirti, he widely spreads the Mahayana teaching, transmits the
doctrine of the Dhyana School, and expounds the system of 'Non-dual' Law.
"Through the medium of Hsueh Chien, to whom the Patriarch has imparted the
'Buddha-knowledge', we are fortunate enough to have a chance to understand
for ourselves the teaching of the Supreme Vehicle. This must be due to our
accumulated merits and our 'root of goodness' planted in past lives;
otherwise, we should not be the contemporaries of His Holiness. "In
appreciation of the graciousness of the Patriarch, we present to him
herewith a Mo Na robe (a valuable Buddhist robe made in Korea) and a
crystal bowl. The Prefect of Shao Chou is hereby ordered to renovate his
monastery and to convert his old residence into a temple which is to be
named 'Kuo En' (State Munificence)."
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