The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch

Language: English
Date: 2000 CE
Translator: John R. McRae
Extent: 56 passages, 38,461 words
Text: complete digital text
Source: bdk · John R. McRae (tr.), The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, BDK English Tripiṭaka 73-II, Berkeley: Numata… · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 (Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai and Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, digital edition…

1 — 56 parts

Text

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Preface to the Platform Sutra of the

Dharma Treasure of the Great Master,

the Sixth Patriarch

by Bhikṣu Deyi of Guyun

Empty and mysterious is the wondrous Way and inconceivable, forgetting words and attaining the meaning, in the end enlightened and wise. Therefore, the World-honored One shared his seat before the Stupa of Many Sons and held up the flower at the assembly on Vulture Peak. Like fire gives fire, mind is sealed with mind.

The four sevens of the western transmission (i.e., the twenty-eight Indian patriarchs) came down to Bodhidharma, who came east to this land to point directly at the minds of human beings [so that they might] see the nature and achieve buddhahood (zhi zhi renxin jianxing chengfo). There was Great Master [Hui]ke, who in the beginning became enlightened upon [hearing Bodhidharma’s] words and at the end bowed three times and attained the marrow [of Bodhidharma’s teaching]. Receiving the robe and succeeding to the patriarch [Bodhidharma], he opened forth the correct doctrine (zhengzong).

In three transmissions [the teaching] arrived at [Hongren of] Huangmei. Although there were seven hundred eminent monks within the assembly, the only one [appropriate to receive the transmission] was the layman of the pestle (i.e., Huineng).2 With a single verse the robe was transmitted, and he became the Sixth Patriarch. Escaping south for more than ten years, one morning at the encounter of neither the wind nor the banner moving did he touch and open Yinzong’s correct eye [of the Dharma]. Thus did the layman cut his hair and ascend the [ordination] platform. This was in response to the prediction of [Guṇa]bhadra. [Huineng] opened forth the East Mountain teaching, and Lord Wei ordered the Chan monk [Fa]hai to record his words. They are titled Platform Sutra of the Dharma Treasure.

Great Master [Huineng] finally went to Caoqi for the first time in the fifth year, and he preached the Dharma for thirty-seven years. Beyond recording is the number of those who were enriched by the taste of the sweet dew [of his teaching], who entered the sagely and transcended the ordinary.

Those who are enlightened to the doctrine of the mind of the Buddha

(wu foxin zong) and whose practice and understanding are in correspondence

[with the truth] are great spiritual compatriots. They are called carriers and

transmitters of the lamp. It was Nanyue [Huairang] and Qingyuan [Xingsi]

who attended [upon Huineng] the longest, completely attaining [a state of ]

unconditionality. Therefore it was that Mazu and Shitou proceeded from

[Qingyuan and Nanyue]. The wisdom of these men was perfect and bright,

like a mysterious wind great in its quaking. And then did appear the tow-

ering figures of the Linji, Guiyang, Caodong, Yunmen, and Fayan [lineages]:

surpassing all were their Way and their virtue (daode), steep were [the roads

to their] front courtyards. The revelation is of the heroic monk, who aroused

his ambitions and struck the barrier. By profoundly entering [any] single gate

[one realizes] that the five factions share the same source. Passing through-

out the forge, extensive and great is its scale. Originally the essential teach-

ings (gangyao) of the five houses all derived from the Platform Sutra.

The Platform Sutra is simple in words and rich in meaning, brilliant of

principle and provides all [that is necessary]. It is replete in the immeasura-

ble teachings of the buddhas. Each and every teaching is replete in the immeas-

urable wondrous meanings; from each and every wondrous meaning emanate

the immeasurable wondrous principles of the buddhas. It is the interior of

Maitreya’s pavilion, the interior of Samantabhadra’s pores. He who well does

enter it is identical to the youth Sudhana, who in a single moment of thought

[achieved] merit perfect and complete. He is equivalent to Samantabhadra;

he is equivalent to the buddhas.

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How unfortunate, the great abbreviation of the Platform Sutra by later

people! One cannot see the great entirety of the Sixth Patriarch’s purport. In

my youth, [I,] Deyi, once saw an old copy, which I sought everywhere for

the next thirty years and more. Recently Superior One Tong has found the

complete text, which is now being published by the Idle Leisure Chan Retreat

in Wuzhong (Wu Xian, Jiangxi). It is identical to that used by the various

superior masters. My only wish is that you will open this scroll, raise your

eyes [to the text], and enter directly into the ocean of the great perfect enlight-

enment. Let the life of the wisdom of the buddhas and patriarchs continue

without cease! Thus will my earnest wish be complete.

Recorded on a spring day in the twenty-seventh hexagenary (i.e., sixty-

Preface

year calendrical cycle) year, the twenty-seventh year of the Zhiyuan (“Reaching the Origin”) [period, or 1290].

Encomium of the Platform Sutra

of the Dharma Treasure of the

Great Master, the Sixth Patriarch

by Qisong, Great Master Mingjiao of the Song

To praise is to announce, to open up the sutra and widely announce. The Platform Sutra is that by which a Perfected Man (zhiren) revealed his mind. (“Perfected Man” refers to the Sixth Patriarch, just as in the text.) What mind? The wondrous mind transmitted by the buddhas. How great, this mind! The initial source of all transformations, yet it remains ever pure. Whether ordinary person or sage, whether hidden or revealed, there is nowhere that it does not exist of itself. The sage is said to be wise (ming, i.e., “brilliant”), and the ordinary person is said to be deluded (mei, i.e., “obscure”). “Deluded” is to be transformed [into ignorance], and “wise” is to return [to original wisdom].9 Although transformed and returning differ, the wondrous mind is one.

In the beginning was Śākyamuni Buddha, who transmitted it (i.e., the mind) to Mahākāśyapa. The thirty-three generations of Mahākāśyapa’s transmission transmitted it to Great Mirror (Dajian, i.e., Huineng). (The Sixth Patriarch’s posthumous title is Great Master Great Mirror.) Great Mirror transmitted it, and it was transmitted on even further.

In the first place, the ways of speaking of [the mind] are varied. Fundamentally, there are names that are identical even though the reality varies; fundamentally, there are many meanings even though the mind is one. It is called “mind of flesh and blood,” it is called “mind of dependent cognition,” it is called “mind of correlation and activating,” and it is called “mind of firm reality.”10 Since mental states (xinsuo) are [often referred to as the] mind, there is an even greater [variety of usage]. These are cases where the names are identical even though the reality varies. It is called “mind of suchness,” it is called “mind of generation and extinction,” it is called “mind of the afflictions,” and it is called “mind of bodhi (bodhicitta).” Those of this category found in the various sutras could hardly be counted! These are cases where the meanings are many even though the mind is one.

Of meanings, there is the meaning of enlightenment (jue) and the mean-

ing of nonenlightenment (bujue). Of minds, there is the true mind (zhenxin)

and the false mind (wangxin). All of these are [just different] distinctions of

the correct mind (zhengxin). Of course, the mind referred to in the Platform

Sutra is, of [the two] meanings, the meaning of enlightenment and, of [the

two] minds, the true mind (shixin).

In the past, when the Sage [Śākyamuni] was about to secret himself [in

nirvana], he commanded Mahākāśyapa to transmit the essential Dharma

outside the teachings. Thinking that people then were stagnating in traces

and would forget to return [to the fundamental], he deeply wanted those of

later times to behold the fundamental and correct the implications. There-

fore does the Nirvana Sutra say, “I have an insurpassable correct Dharma,

which I bestow entirely on Mahākāśyapa.”

The Way of heaven resides in change, the Way of earth resides in selec-

tion, and the Way of the sages resides in the essential (yao). The essential

is a term for the most wondrous. The essential is the Way of the sages, and

is therefore the hingepin of the gate of the dharmadhātu, the meeting of the

immeasurable doctrines, the unembellished [original] vehicle of the Maha-

yana. How could the Lotus [Sutra] not but say, “You should understand that

the wondrous Dharma is the essential secret (miyao) of the buddhas.” How

could the Flower Garland [Sutra] not but say, “With a bit of expedient means,

quickly does one achieve bodhi.” The essential, then—how great is its ben-

efit in the Way of the sages!

Therefore, the central doctrine (zong) of the Platform Sutra is the honor-

ing of the essential of the mind (xinyao). The mind is as if bright, as if dark,

as if empty, as if numinous, as if serene, as if awakened. It possesses things

and is without things. Say it is a single thing, and it originally extends over the

ten thousand things. Say it is the ten thousand things, and it is originally uni-

fied in a single thing. A single thing resembling the ten thousand things, the

ten thousand things resembling a single thing: such descriptions [imply that

the mind] is conceivable, but it can neither be thought of nor conceived of.

The world (tianxia) calls it the mysterious understanding (xuanjie), they

call it the divine comprehension (shenhui), they call it beyond relativities

( juedai), they call it the silent essence (moti), they call it the obscure pene-

tration (mingtong). Transcend all of them, do away with them, do away with

them, and away again! Furthermore, how could one reach such [a state]?13 Were it not ultimately attained by solitary transmission from the Perfected Man, who could sincerely embody it? Inferring, he explicates it, and there is nowhere he cannot go. Probing, he resolves it, and there is nowhere he is not correct.

Applying it to realization of the nature, his views are perfectly intimate. Applying it to cultivation, his proceedings are perfectly correct. Applying it to the elevation of virtue and the discrimination of illusions, the true and the false are easily manifested. Applying it to transcendence of the world, the enlightenment of buddhahood is quickly achieved. Applying it to saving the world, the enervating defilements are easily ended. This is the central doctrine (zong) of the Platform Sutra, which may be disseminated throughout the world without opposition [from anyone].

Those who say [the dictum] “the mind is buddhas” is shallow do not know the extent [of their own minds]! It is as if they were to measure the earth with a broken auger and call the earth shallow; it is as if they were to probe heaven through a hole in the back corner of a roof and call heaven small. How could heaven and earth be so! Therefore, although the [masters of the] hundred houses may be a little better than this, they are not like [the perfection of the Platform Sutra]. The Perfected Man penetrates and permeates it, and his determination [of the truth] is seen to be in accord with the scriptures. The Perfected Man transforms and penetrates it, being unembodied in names (i.e., words) and inscrutable.

Therefore, there is moral and meaning in [Huineng’s] manifest preaching; there is no beginning or end of his secret preaching. Those whose natural abilities are sharp will attain it profoundly; those whose natural abilities are dull will attain it shallowly. Could it be described? Could it be expressed? If one were constrained to approximate it, then it is equivalent to the perfect and sudden teaching, the Supreme Vehicle, the Pure Chan of the Tathāgata,

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the Correct Doctrine of the Bodhisattvas’ Storehouse. Those who discuss it call it the Learning of the Mystery (xuanxue), and is this not exactly the case? The world refers to it as a school (zongmen), and is this not appropriate?

When the Platform Sutra says, “Meditation and wisdom are the fundamental,” [it is because] these are the beginning of one’s progress to enlightenment (dao, the “Way”). Meditation is tranquility, and wisdom is illumination

(ming). Illuminating, one contemplates; tranquil, one pacifies. Pacifying the mind, one understands the mind (tixin). Contemplating the Way, one may speak of the Way.

The “samādhi of the single practice” ( yixing sanmei) is a term for the one characteristic of the dharmadhātu (fajie yixiang). Although the ten thousand forms of good are said to be different, they are all within the single practice.

“The formless is the essence” (wuxiang wei ti) is to honor the great precepts. “Nonthought is the doctrine” (wunian wei zong) is to honor the great meditation. “Nonabiding is the fundamental” (wuzhu wei ben) is to honor the great wisdom. Precepts, meditation, and wisdom constitute the Way penetrated by the three vehicles. The wondrous mind (miaoxin) is the great source of precepts, meditation, and wisdom; with the single wondrous mind one unifies the three Dharmas. Therefore, it is called great.

The “formless precepts” (wuxiang jie) are to constrain one so as to definitely attain correct realization. The “four great vows” (si hong yuan) are to vow salvation—salvation from suffering; to vow eradication—the eradication of the accumulation [of the afflictions]; to vow learning—to learn the Way; and to vow attainment—attainment of serene extinction (i.e., nirvana). Extinction is without anything that is extinguished, and therefore there is nothing that is not extinguished. Enlightenment is without anything one is enlightened to, and therefore there is nothing that is not saved.

The “formless repentances” (wuxiang chan) are to repent that which is not to be repented. The “three refuges” are to take refuge in the One. The One is the source of the three treasures. To explain mahāprajñā (great wisdom) is to refer to the very center of the mind. Prajñā is the expedient means of the Sage, the great wisdom of the Sage.

Fundamentally, it can be tranquilized, illumined, made provisional, and actualized. The people of this world use its tranquilization to subjugate a host of evils; the people of this world use its illumination to collect a host of goods; the people of this world use its provisionalization to make great their conditioned [activities of teaching]; the people of this world use its actualization to make great their unconditioned [attainment of nirvana]. How ultimate, this prajñā! The Way of the Sage, without prajñā, would not be illuminated and would not be attained. The tasks of those under heaven, without prajñā, would

not be appropriate and would not be correct. The Perfected Man’s actions [of teaching] use prajñā to elicit [interpretations]. Is this not abstruse?

[Huineng says that] “my Dharma is preached for those of the highest abilities” because he appropriately [matches person and Dharma].23 To make heavy use of those [capable of only] light loads would be unsuccessful, and to bequeath the great method to those of small [capacities] would be an error. That which has been transmitted silently and bequeathed from the past is a secret teaching. “Secret” is not to imply one’s own realization without speaking but to [base oneself on] suchness while [practicing] in secret. To not understand this Dharma and revile it readily, to eradicate one’s seeds of buddhahood for a hundred eons and a thousand lives, is to lose the [fundamental] mind even as one [attempts to] protect the people of this world.

How great, the appearance of the Platform Sutra! Its fundamentals are correct and its traces effective. Its cause is true and its results unerring. Previous sages and later sages have thus generated it, have thus manifested it,

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and have thus returned to it. Vast and surging, it is like the flowing of a great river, like the omnipresence of space, like the illumination of sun and moon, like the lack of contact between form and shadow, like the ordered flight of geese. Wondrous to attain it—and it is called the fundamental; extrapolate and make it function—and it is called the traces. Begin that which is without beginning—and it is called the cause; attain that which cannot be attained— and it is called the result. The result is not different from the cause—and it is called the correct result; the cause is not different from the result—and it is called the correct cause. The traces [of the teaching] must consider the fundamental—and this is called the great function; the fundamental must consider the traces—and this is called the Great Vehicle. “Vehicle” is the Sage’s metaphor for the Way; “function” is the Sage’s generation of the teaching. The Way of the Sage does not approach the mind [that is the source of the teachings]; the teaching of the Sage does not approach [the actual practice of spiritual] cultivation. To regulate the spirit and enter the Way (i.e., enlightenment) does not approach the concentration and insight [meditation] of the single characteristic [that is without characteristics];25 to pattern oneself on good and attain virtue does not approach the samādhi of the single practice. To accept all the precepts does not approach that which is without characteristics; to make correct all the meditations does not approach nonthought; to

penetrate all the wisdoms does not approach nonabiding. To generate good and extinguish evil does not approach the formless precepts; to expand on the Way and elicit virtue does not approach the four great vows. Well to contemplate transgressions does not approach the formless repentances; to correct one’s tendencies does not approach the three refuges. To correct the great essence and resolve the great function does not approach great prajñā; to generate the great faith and toil at the great Way does not approach the great ambition. [The attempts of people] under heaven to exhaust principles and eliminate the natures [of things] does not approach the silent transmission; to want one’s mind to be without transgression is not better than to not revile [Buddhism]. To make meditation and wisdom the beginning is the foundation of the Way; the samādhi of the single characteristic is the origin of virtue. The central doctrine of no-mind is the expression of emancipation; the fundamental of nonabiding is the expression of prajñā; and the essence of the formless is the expression of the dharmakāya. The formless precepts are the utmost of the precepts; the four great vows are the zenith of vows; and the formless repentances are the ultimate among repentances. The precepts of the triple refuge are [to take] refuge in [ultimate] truth. Great wisdom is the great model for the ordinary person and sage; what is preached for those of highest abilities is the straightforward teaching. The silent transmission is the ultimate of transmissions; to constrain against revilement [of Buddhism] is the appropriate [task of] the precepts.

The wondrous mind is not formed through cultivation, nor is it illumined through enlightenment; it is formed fundamentally. Those who are deluded as to wisdom (ming, i.e., “illumination”) return to wisdom and are thereby enlightened; those who have turned their backs on its formation return to that formation and therefore cultivate [the mind]. It is cultivated through noncultivation, and hence it is called correct cultivation; it is illumined through nonillumination, and hence it is called correct enlightenment. The Perfected Man was reticent and did not reveal [the grandeur of ] his deportment, but he formed virtue and performed practices that were luxuriant [throughout the world]. The Perfected Man was decrepit and seemed unable to maintain any [teaching], but his Way is manifest [everywhere] under heaven. Presumably, he cultivated with correct cultivation and was enlightened with correct enlightenment. In this regard [there are those who] say, “there is no cul-

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tivation and no enlightenment, no cause and no result,” boring away at trivia and vying to offer their own explanations; [such people are] mistaken as to the teachings of the Perfected Man. Ah, they abandon the precepts, meditation, and wisdom and hence necessarily drift off into murky space, and there is nothing I can do about them!

How utterly unfortunate, those sentient beings who inundate their minds and float along with their consciousness, consciousness and action driving each other, following the various directions (i.e., modes of existence) with no stop from the [very] beginning. They become phenomena, they become forms, they are born along with humans and [the myriad] things, rampant throughout heaven and earth, so numerous they could never be counted. Those who attain human form are truly only one in a hundred million, and those who as humans are able to become enlightened are virtually nil. The Sage [Śākyamuni] pondered this and generated a great variety [of teachings], but there are still those under heaven who have not attained wisdom. The Sage, in order to save such as these, used many methods to heal them, but there are still those under heaven who have not awoken. The clever have disrupted themselves with wisdom, the fools have hung themselves with stupidity, and the average people have beclouded themselves in blankness. They are moved to respond to things, becoming happy at them and angry at them, sad about them and pleased about them, and their impediments increase by the myriad. Like [those] walking in the dark of night, they know not where they go. Hearing the words of the Sage, they speculate upon them and become aggrieved by them, as if they are trying to look afar through a fog. They talk about being and talk about nonbeing, they talk about not being and talk about not nonbeing, [and then] they talk about being again and talk about nonbeing again. But they only become more obscured by their improper views, and until the end of their days they never understand. The ocean is what it is because there is water, and the fish and dragons who live and die in the ocean do not see the water. The Way is what it is because of the mind, and such persons speak of the Way all the time but never see the mind. How sad!

The mind is fundamentally subtle and wondrous, abstruse and remote, difficult to illuminate and difficult to reach. Thus it is [not easy to understand].31 The Sage [Śākyamuni] has secreted himself [in nirvana], and for a hundred generations, even though there were written transmissions, [the people of this

world] under heaven were not able to understand and experience [the enlight-

enment of which they speak]. Therefore the central doctrine of the Platform

Sutra specified and straightforwardly described the mind, so that all under

heaven were for the first time able to render correct their [fundamental]

natures and [karmically endowed] life forces. It is as if you eliminate the

clouds and mists and see the great sky, or as if you climb Mount Tai and can

see all around without restriction.

According to Wang [Wenkang], who borrowed from a profane text to

say, “With a single change [the mantle] passed from Qi to Lu, and with a

single change it changed from Lu to the Way.”32 This saying is close [to the

truth]. The Nirvana [Sutra] says, “From the Deer Park in the beginning to

the Ajivatā River at the end, for fifty years [the Buddha] never spoke a sin-

gle word.” The manifestation of the Dharma is not done in words, and this

saying is to prevent us from seeking his message in words. [The Nirvana

Sutra also] says, “Rely on the Dharma, do not rely on the man”—this is

because the Dharma is true and the man (i.e., Śākyamuni) is provisional. It

says, “Rely on the meaning, do not rely on words”—this is because the

meanings are real and the words provisional. It says, “Rely on wisdom, do

not rely on knowledge”—this is because wisdom is the ultimate and knowl-

edge is false. It says “Rely on sutras that are comprehensive in meaning,

do not rely on sutras that are not comprehensive in meaning”—this is because

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sutras that are comprehensive in meaning exhaust the principles [of things].

And as Bodhisattva [Mahākāśyapa] said, “this is the preaching of the great

nirvana,” meaning that his own preaching was identical to that [of the

Buddha] in the sutra.

As the Sage [Śākyamuni] said, “These four persons (i.e., the four

reliances) have appeared in the world to maintain and protect the correct

Dharma, and you should realize them [as such].” Since [the Buddha said]

“you should realize them [as such],” the Perfected Man [Huineng] extrapo-

lated from the fundamental to correct the derivative. Because [Kāśyapa said]

“My preaching is the same as [the Buddha’s in] the sutra,” the Perfected

Man’s preaching of a sutra is identical to a sutra. Because [the Nirvana Sutra

says] “Rely on meanings” and “rely on sutras that are comprehensive in

meaning,” the Perfected Man has preached openly and was in accord with

the meanings and in accord with the sutras [of the Buddha]. Because [the

Nirvana Sutra says] “Rely on the Dharma” and “rely on wisdom,” therefore the Perfected Man has preached secretly, transforming and penetrating, but not becoming stagnated in the slightest. Because “the manifestation of the Dharma is not done in words,” the central teaching of the Perfected Man reveres the silent transmission.

The Sage was like the spring, gently bringing forth, and the Perfected Man was like the autumn, cleanly maturing. The Sage commanded, and the Perfected Man effected. The Perfected Man is therefore the one great in marvelous virtue and outstanding heroism of the school of the Sage. That perfected one began in insignificance, revealing that he did not understand the words of this world. And what did he achieve! With only a single preaching, he revealed the Way and saved the world, quite identically to the achievements of the Great Sage. Fundamentally, with mysterious virtue and superior wisdom, he understood things innately. Wanting to demonstrate the Dharma, he manifested illiteracy!

It has been almost four hundred years since he died, and his Dharma has flowed into the four seas without cease. Emperors and kings, sages and wise men, have for thirty generations sought out his Way and have become increasingly reverential. If he had not attained that which had been attained by the Great Sage, heaven would long ago have come to despise him. [If so], how could it have become like this?

I, [Qisong,] am a stubborn [narrow-minded] person—how could I have exhausted his Way? Fortunately, even a mosquito drinking from the ocean knows its taste. Thus do I dare to bow my head and disseminate it, bequeathing it to students to come.

Platform Sutra of the Dharma Treasure

of the Great Master, the Sixth Patriarch

Compiled by Bhikṣu Zongbao, successor to the patriarch

and abbot of Baoen Guangxiao Chansi (“Retribution of

Grace and Refulgence of Filiality Meditation Monastery”),

[where occurred the incident involving] the wind and the banner

When the Great Master arrived at Baolin[si] (“Treasure Grove Monastery”), Prefect Wei (whose given name was Qu) and his official staff entered the monastery and invited the master to come to the lecture hall at Dafansi (“Great Purity Monastery”) within the city, where he could tell his story and preach the Dharma for those assembled. After the master took his seat, the prefect and official staff, more than thirty in number, the Confucian scholars, more than thirty in number, and the monks, nuns, and laypeople, more than a thousand in number, simultaneously did obeisance to him and beseeched him to relate the essentials of the Dharma.

The Great Master told the assembly, “Good friends, bodhi is fundamentally pure in its self-nature. You must simply use this mind [that you

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already have], and you will achieve buddhahood directly and completely. Good friends, listen well! This is the story of how I practiced and attained the Dharma.

“My father was a native of Fanyang (Zhuo Xian, Hebei), but he was banished to Lingnan and became a commoner in Xinzhou (Xinxing Xian, Guangdong). I have been unfortunate: my father died early, and my aged mother and I, her only child, moved here to Nanhai. Miserably poor, I sold firewood in the marketplace.

“At one time, a customer bought some firewood and had me deliver it to his shop, where he took it and paid me. On my way out of the gate I saw someone reciting a sutra, and as soon as I heard the words of the sutra my mind opened forth in enlightenment. I then asked the person what sutra he was reciting, and he said, ‘The Diamond Sutra.’ I also asked, ‘Where did

you get this sutra?’ He said, ‘I have come from Dongchansi (“Eastern Meditation Monastery”) in Huangmei Xian in Qizhou (Qizhun, Hubei). The Fifth Patriarch, Great Master Hongren, resides at and is in charge of instruction at that monastery. He has over a thousand followers. I went there, did obeisance to him, and received this sutra there. Great Master [Hongren] always exhorts both monks and laymen to simply maintain the Diamond Sutra, so that one can see the [self]-nature by oneself and achieve buddhahood directly and completely.’

“My hearing this was through a karmic connection from the past. Someone then gave me ten liang of silver to pay for my aged mother’s food and clothing and told me to go to Huangmei to do obeisance to the Fifth Patriarch. I then left my mother for the last time and departed. In less than thirtyodd days I arrived at Huangmei, where I did obeisance to the Fifth Patriarch.

“The patriarch asked me, ‘Where are you from, and what is it you seek?’ I replied, ‘Your disciple is a commoner from Xinzhou in Lingnan, and I have come this far to pay reverence to you. I wish only to achieve buddhahood and do not seek anything else.’ The patriarch said, ‘If you’re from Lingnan, then you must be a hunter. How could you ever achieve buddhahood?’ I said, ‘Although people may be from north or south, there is fundamentally no north and south in the buddha-nature. Although this hunter’s body is different from Your Reverence’s, how can there be any difference in the buddhanatures [within]?’

“The Fifth Patriarch wanted to speak further with me but, seeing that his followers were gathered all around, he told me to go with them to work. I said, ‘If I might address Your Reverence, your disciple constantly generates wisdom in my own mind. To not transcend the self-natures is equivalent to the field of blessings. I wonder what work Your Reverence would have me do?’ The patriarch said, ‘Some Glao barbarian! You’re very sharp! Don’t say anything else! Go to the work shed.’43 I then retired to a chapel in the rear [of the monastery].

“A practitioner had me break up kindling and tread the hulling pestle. After more than eight months of this, the patriarch came unexpectedly one day to see me. He said, ‘I thought your views might have been of use, but I was afraid there were evil people who might have harmed you. That was why I haven’t spoken to you. Do you understand this?’ I replied, ‘I understood

your intentions. I have not dared go by the main hall, so as to not remind people.’46

“One day the patriarch called all of his followers together [and addressed them, saying], ‘I preach to you that life and death is the great concern for people of this world. But you spend all your time seeking only the fields of

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blessings, rather than seeking to escape the ocean of suffering of birth and death! If you are deluded as to the self-natures, how can you be saved by blessings? You should each go reflect upon your own wisdom. Taking the essence of prajñā within your own fundamental minds, you should each compose a verse and come show it to me. If you are enlightened to the great meaning, I will transmit the robe and Dharma to you and make you the patriarch of the sixth generation.

“‘Go quickly—this is an emergency, and you must not delay! Thinking is of no use—he who is to see the [self]-nature will see it immediately upon hearing these words! If there is such a one here, he will see it even if encamped on top of a circle of knives!’47 (This is a metaphor for one of excellent abilities.)

“The assembly [of followers] received these instructions and retired, saying to each other, ‘We followers do not have to purify our minds and work to compose verses. What advantage would there be in showing anything to His Reverence [Hongren]?48 Elder Shenxiu is now our instructor, and he will certainly attain [the rank of sixth patriarch]. If ones such as us tried to compose verses, we would only be wasting our energies.’ The others heard these words, and all of them gave up [working on the problem]. They all said, ‘Afterward, we will rely on Master Shenxiu. Why trouble to compose verses?’

“Shenxiu thought, ‘They are not going to submit verses, thinking that I am their instructor. I must compose a verse and submit it to His Reverence. If I do not submit a verse, how will His Reverence know the profundity of understanding within my mind? If I submit a verse with the intention of seeking the Dharma, it would be good. But if I am seeking to become patriarch, it would be bad. How would that be any different from one with an ordinary mind usurping the sagely status? But if I don’t submit a verse, I’ll never attain the Dharma. What a problem! What a problem!’

“There was a hallway three bays in length in front of the Fifth Patriarch’s hall, where Auxiliary Lu Zhen was to be asked to paint episodes

from the Laṅkāvatāra Sutra and a diagram of the Fifth Patriarch’s lineage, [all

for] wider dissemination and offerings. When Shenxiu had finished making

up his verse, he tried several times to go to the front of the hall [to offer his

verse in person]. But his mind was in a daze and his body covered with sweat,

and he was unable to submit [his verse]. Over the space of four days he tried

thirteen times to submit his verse but couldn’t. He thought, ‘It would be bet-

ter to write it in the hallway. After His Reverence sees it, if he says it is good,

I will come forward and bow to him, saying that it was mine. If he says it is

unacceptable, I will have wasted several years at this monastery. I will have

received the obeisance of others, but what Way will I have cultivated?’

“On that night, in the third watch (about 1:00 A.M.) so that no one else

knew, [Shenxiu] took a lamp and wrote his verse on the wall of the south cor-

ridor, submitting [to the patriarch] the viewpoint of his mind. The verse read:

The body is the bodhi tree;

The mind is like a bright mirror’s stand.

Be always diligent in rubbing it—

Do not let it attract any dust.

“After Shenxiu finished writing his verse, he returned to his room, with-

out anyone knowing. Shenxiu thought, ‘Tomorrow, if the Fifth Patriarch sees

my verse and is pleased, it will mean I have a karmic connection with the

Dharma. If he says it’s unacceptable, it will mean I am deluded by the lay-

ered barriers of past karma and am not fit to attain the Dharma. The sagely

intention is difficult to fathom!’ He remained in his room, thinking, but unable

to rest either sitting or lying down.

1.26

“When it came to be the fifth watch (about 5:00 A.M.), the patriarch

knew that Shenxiu had not been able to enter the gate and had been unable

to see the self-nature. When morning came, Hongren called Auxiliary Lu to

come paint the lineage and episodes on the wall of the south corridor. Unex-

pectedly seeing the verse, he announced, ‘There is no need for you to paint

anything. I am sorry we have troubled you to come so far. The [Diamond]

Sutra says, “All that which has characteristics is false.” We should just leave

this verse here for people to recite. By cultivating in reliance upon this verse,

they will avoid falling into the unfortunate modes of existence. To cultivate

according to this verse will be greatly beneficial!’

“[Hongren then] commanded his followers to burn incense and do obeisance [to the verse, saying], ‘All who recite this verse will be able to see the nature.’ The followers recited it, all of them sighing at how excellent it was.

“But in the third watch [that night] the patriarch called Shenxiu into the hall and asked him, ‘Is the verse yours?’ Shenxiu said, ‘Yes, it is mine, but I am unable to seek the status of patriarch. I seek Your Reverence’s compassion. Do I have some small wisdom or not?’

“Hongren said, ‘When you composed this verse you had not seen the fundamental nature. You have come only as far as outside the gate; you have not yet come inside. With understanding such as this you will not be able to attain the unsurpassable bodhi. The unsurpassable bodhi is to be able, at these very words, to recognize your own fundamental mind and to see that your own fundamental nature is neither born nor extinguished. It is to see this naturally in every moment of thought and at all times: the myriad dharmas are without obstruction; the one is true and all are true. The myriad realms are naturally thuslike, and the thuslike mind is the true. If what you see is like this, then it is the self-nature of the unsurpassable bodhisattva.

“‘Go now, and meditate upon this for a day or two. Compose another verse and bring it to me. I will see from your verse whether you have been able to enter the gate and whether I should transmit to you the robe and Dharma.’ Shenxiu bowed and went out. But even after several days he was unable to create another verse. His mind was in a daze and his spirit was disturbed, as if he were in a dream, and he could take no pleasure in either walking or sitting.”

[Huineng continued,] “After a couple of days an acolyte passed by the hulling room reciting the verse. Upon hearing it, I immediately knew that [the author of] the verse had not seen the fundamental nature. Although I had never received any instruction, I had already recognized the great intention [of the sages], so I asked the acolyte, ‘What verse is it you’re reciting?’ The acolyte said, ‘What a [disgusting] hunter you are! Don’t you know that Great Master [Hongren] has said that life and death is the great concern for people of this world, and, wanting to transmit the robe and bowl, he commanded his followers to compose verses and show them to him? If there were one who was enlightened to the great intention, he would transmit the robe and Dharma and make that one the sixth patriarch. Elder Shenxiu wrote

a formless verse on the wall of the south corridor. Great Master [Hongren]

has commanded us all to recite it, [saying that] if we cultivate on the basis

of this verse, we will avoid falling into the unfortunate modes of existence,

that it will be very beneficial to cultivate on the basis of this verse!’

“I said, (One text has “I also want to recite this, in order to make cer-

tain my conditions for rebirth.”) ‘Holy One, I have been treading the pestle

here for more than eight months, and I’ve never even gone past the front of

the hall. I would like you to take me to this verse so that I might do obei-

sance to it.’ The acolyte took me to the verse so that I could do obeisance to

it. I said, ‘I am unable to read. Holy One, would you read it for me?’ At the

time Zhang Riyong, Administrative Aide of Jiangzhou, was there, and he

read [the verse] to me aloud.

1.29

“After hearing it I said, ‘I also have a verse, and would like the Admin-

istrative Aide to write it for me.’ The Administrative Aide said, ‘You’ve

composed a verse? How unusual!’ I said to the Administrative Aide, ‘If you

wish to study the unsurpassable bodhi, you should not make light of begin-

ners. The lowest of the low may have the most supreme wisdom, and the

highest of the high may be without [spiritual] intention or wisdom. To make

light of others is a transgression unlimited and infinite.’

“The Administrative Aide said, ‘Just recite your verse. I will write it for

you. If you attain the Dharma, you must save me first (i.e., before teaching

anyone else). Don’t forget what I say!’

“My verse went:

Bodhi is fundamentally without any tree;

The bright mirror is also not a stand.

Fundamentally there is not a single thing—

Where could any dust be attracted?

“After I finished this verse everyone around there became agitated and

couldn’t help sighing with amazement. They all said to each other, ‘How

strange! You just can’t go by looks alone! Why is it always that people like

that are living bodhisattvas!’55 Seeing that they were getting excited and wor-

ried that someone might harm me, the patriarch rubbed out the verse with

his sandal and said, ‘This [person] too has not seen the nature.’ Those pres-

ent accepted this.

“The next day, Hongren secretly came to the hulling room, where he saw me with a rock on my back pounding rice and said, ‘He who seeks the Way forgets his body on behalf of the Dharma. Is that how it is [with you]?’ He then asked, ‘Is the rice ripe yet?’ I replied, ‘The rice has been ripe for a long time. It only lacks sifting [the hulls from the grain].’ The patriarch struck his staff on the pestle three times and left. I understood what he meant—that I should enter his room at the third drum (i.e., the third watch of the night, about 1:00 A.M.).

“The patriarch kept his robe (kaṣāya) hidden and would not let anyone see it. He preached the Diamond Sutra for me. When he reached the words ‘responding to the nonabiding, yet generating the mind’ I experienced a great enlightenment, [realizing that] all the myriad dharmas do not transcend their self-natures. I thereupon informed the patriarch of this, saying, ‘No matter when, the self-natures are fundamentally and naturally pure. No matter when, the self-natures are fundamentally neither generated nor extinguished. No matter when, the self-natures are fundamentally and naturally sufficient unto themselves. No matter when, the self-natures are fundamentally without movement. No matter when, the self-natures are able to generate the myriad dharmas.’

“Knowing that I had been enlightened to the fundamental nature, the patriarch said to me, ‘If one does not recognize the fundamental mind, studying the Dharma is of no benefit. If one recognizes one’s own fundamental mind, one sees one’s own fundamental nature. This is to be called a great man, a teacher of humans and gods, a buddha.’

“At the third watch of the night I received the Dharma. No one knew of this. He then transmitted the sudden teaching and the robe and bowl, saying, ‘You have become the patriarch of the sixth generation. You should maintain your own mindfulness well, and you should save sentient beings extensively. Do not allow the dissemination [of the Dharma] to be cut off in the future. Listen to my verse:

Sentient beings cast their seeds;

Because of the earth the fruits are born.

Insentient objects have no seeds,

No natures, and no birth.

“The patriarch went on, ‘When Great Master [Bodhi]dharma came to

this land long ago, people did not yet come to rely upon him. Therefore he

transmitted this robe as the embodiment of reliance [upon him]. It has been

handed down for generation after generation. The Dharma, moreover, is the

1.34

transmission of the mind with the mind. [The mind] must always enlighten

itself, emancipate itself. From ancient times, the buddhas have only trans-

mitted the fundamental essence; the masters have secretly handed on the

fundamental mind.

“‘The robe [however] has become the focus of conflict, and beginning

with you it should not be transmitted. If you transmit this robe, your life

expectancy will be like a hanging thread. You should go quickly! I fear peo-

ple will harm you!’ I addressed him, ‘Where should I go?’ The patriarch

said, ‘When you encounter destruction (huai), you should stop. When you

come upon a group (hui), you should secret yourself.’

“In the third watch I took the robe and bowl and said, ‘I am from south

China and do not know the mountainous roads around here. How do I get to

the mouth of the [Yangzi] River?’ The Fifth Patriarch said, ‘Do not be dis-

heartened, I will see you off.’ The patriarch accompanied me as far as Jiu-

jiang station, where he had us get on a boat. The Fifth Patriarch took the oar

and rowed [the boat] himself. I said, ‘Your Reverence, please sit. Your dis-

ciple should row!’ Hongren said, ‘I should take you over [to the other shore].’

I said, ‘When one is deluded, one thinks teachers take [sentient beings over

to the other shore], but when one is enlightened, one realizes one crosses

over by oneself. Although “cross over” is only a single term, its uses are var-

ied. Since I was born in a border region, my pronunciation is not correct. I

have received transmission of the Dharma from you, Master, and I have now

become enlightened. Can it be anything other than that the self-natures have

crossed themselves over?’

“The patriarch said, ‘So it is, so it is. In the future, Buddhism will flour-

ish greatly because of you. Three years after you go, I will depart this world.

You should go now. Make an effort to go south, and don’t be in a hurry to

preach [the Dharma]. It is difficult to propagate Buddhism!’

“After I left the patriarch, I started out walking toward the south. In the

second month [of traveling] I reached the Dayu Mountains. (Hongren

returned [to the monastery] and for several days did not go into the hall.

The assembly [of followers] was in doubt about this and proceeded to him to ask, “Is Your Reverence ill or discomforted in some small way?” He said, “I am not ill. The robe and Dharma are in the south.” They asked, “To whom have you transmitted them?” He said, “One who is able has received them.” Thus did the assembly learn of it.)

“Coming after me were several hundred people, who wanted to take away the robe and bowl. One monk, of the lay surname Chen and named Huiming, had previously been a general of the fourth rank. He was coarse and excitable by nature, and he really wanted to find me. He reached me before the rest of the group chasing me. I threw the robe and bowl down on a rock and said, ‘This robe emblematizes reliance [upon the patriarchs]. How can you struggle for it?’ I hid in the underbrush, and Huiming tried to lift it without success. Then he called to me, saying, ‘O practitioner, O practitioner! I have come for the Dharma, not for the robe.’ I then came out and sat on the rock.

“Huiming bowed to me and said, ‘I wish that you would preach the Dharma for me.’ I said, ‘You say you’ve come for the Dharma. [If so], you must eliminate the various conditions and not generate a single thought. [If you do], I will preach the Dharma for you.’ Huiming was quiet for a time. I said, ‘Do not think of good, and do not think of evil. At just such a time, what is Elder Huiming’s original face?’ At these words, Huiming [experienced] a great enlightenment. He then questioned me again, saying, ‘Other than the secret words and secret intention [you expressed] just now, is there any other secret intention?’ I said, ‘What I have preached to you is not secret. If you counter-illuminate [your own original face you will realize that] the secret was on your side.’

“Huiming said, ‘Although I was at [Hongren’s monastery in] Huangmei, I actually never thought about my own [original] face. To receive your instructions now is like a man who drinks water knowing [immediately] whether it

1.35

is cold or warm. Now you are my teacher.’

“I said, ‘If this is the case, then we share the same teacher of Huangmei. Well should you protect and maintain [the teaching]!’ Huiming asked further, ‘Where should I go now?’ I said, ‘When you encounter ampleness you should stop, when you come upon munificence you should reside.’59 Huiming bowed and left. (Huiming returned to the foot of the mountain. He addressed the

group that had come after me, saying “I just climbed this mountain of boulders, and there was no trace of him. We should try searching by another road.” The group of those chasing [Huineng] all did as he said. Huiming later changed [his name] to Daoming, in order to avoid the first character of his teacher’s name.)

“After this I went to Caoqi. There too I was beset by evil people searching for me and so fled to Sihui [Xian],60 where I spent fifteen years in all [living] with a group of hunters. During this time I preached the Dharma to the hunters when the occasion arose. The hunters had always had me guard their nets, but whenever I saw living animals in them I set them free. Whenever it was mealtime, I put vegetables in the pot for boiling the meat. They asked me about this sometimes, and I would answer, ‘These are just vegetables to go with the meat.’

“One day I realized that the time had come to disseminate the Dharma, that I could not hide forever. Accordingly, I left [the mountains and] went to Faxingsi (“Monastery of the Dharma-nature”) in Guangzhou, where I encountered Dharma Master Yinzong lecturing on the Nirvana Sutra.

“At that time the wind was blowing and the banner [announcing the lecture] was moving. One monk said that the wind was moving, while another monk said the banner was moving. They argued on and on, so I went forward and said, ‘It is not the wind that is moving, and it is not the banner that is moving. It is your minds that are moving.’ Everyone listening was amazed. Yinzong had me brought up to the dais, where he examined me on the import of what I had said. Hearing me say that the discrimination of the truth did not depend on written words, Yinzong said, ‘You are certainly an extraordinary person. Long ago I heard that the robe and bowl of Huangmei had come south—might you be the one [who received them]?’ I said, ‘In all modesty, [I am].’

“At this Yinzong bowed to me and asked me to bring forth the robe and bowl to show to the assembly. He questioned me further, saying ‘What instructions did you receive at Huangmei?’ I said, ‘I received no instructions. [Hongren and I] only discussed seeing the nature, we did not discuss samādhi and emancipation.’ Yinzong said, ‘Why did you not discuss samādhi and emancipation?’ I said, ‘Because the dualistic dharmas are not Buddhism. Buddhism consists of nondualistic dharmas.’

“Yinzong also asked, ‘How is it that Buddhism consists of nondualistic dharmas?’ I said, ‘You lecture on the Nirvana Sutra’s elucidation of the buddhanature, which is a nondualistic dharma of Buddhism. Just as when Bodhisattva King of Lofty Virtue asked the Buddha, ‘Do those who break the four major prohibitions and commit the five perverse transgressions, as well as the icchantikas, eradicate their good roots and buddha-natures?’ The Buddha said, ‘There are two types of good roots. One is permanent and the other is impermanent. The buddha-nature is not permanent and not impermanent.’ Therefore, not to eradicate is said to be nondual. One type [of roots] is said to be the good, and the other is the nongood. The buddha-nature is not the good and not the nongood. This is called nondual. The skandhas and sensory realms are seen as two by ordinary people, but the wise comprehend their natures to be nondual. The nondual nature is none other than the buddha-nature.

“When Yinzong heard this explanation, he joyfully held his palms together and said, ‘My lecturing on the sutra was like a [worthless piece of] roof tile or rock, while your explanation is like gold.’ At this, he adminis-

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