六祖大師法寶壇經 1.23

1.23

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.