Daikan Enō — Huineng

The thirty-third ancestor, Great Mirror Zen Master. While serving in the hulling room at Huangmei, Great Plenitude Zen Master once

entered the hulling room at night and said, 'The rice is white.'The Master said, 'The white has not yet been sifted.'Plenitude struck the mortar three times with his staff.

The Master winnowed the rice three times with a basket and entered the room.

His family name was Lu. His ancestors were from Fanyang. His father was Xingtao. During the Wude era, he was appointed as an official in Xinzhou of Nanhai, and eventually settled there. His father passed away. His mother maintained her resolve and raised him. When he grew up, the family was extremely poor. The Master gathered firewood to provide for them. One day,

while carrying firewood to the market, he heard a customer reciting the Diamond Sutra.

Upon reaching the line 'One should produce a mind that is not attached to anything,'he was deeply awakened.

The Record of the Transmission of the Lamp of the Jingde Era states: His surname was Lu. His ancestors were from Fanyang. His father, Xingtao, during the Wude period, served as a minor official in the south, in Nanhai. They then settled in Xinzhou, where they registered as residents. At three years old, he lost his father. His mother remained chaste and raised him. When he grew up, the family was especially poor and destitute. The master gathered firewood to provide for them. One day, while carrying firewood to the market, he heard a guest reciting the Diamond Sutra. The Tian sheng Expanded Lamp Record states: One day, while carrying firewood to the market, he heard a guest reciting the Diamond Sutra. Upon reaching the passage 'one should produce that thought which is nowhere supported,'he was moved. He asked the guest, 'What sutra is this? From whom did you obtain it?'The guest replied, 'This is called the Diamond Sutra. I obtained it from the great master Ren of Huangmei.'The master promptly informed his mother of his intention to seek a teacher for the Dharma. He went directly to Shaozhou, where he met a man of lofty conduct named Liu Zhilue, and they became friends. The nun Wujinzang was Zhilue's aunt. She often recited the Nirvana Sutra. The master listened for a while and then explained its meaning for her. The nun then took the scroll and asked about the characters. The master said, 'I do not recognize the characters.'

The nun was astonished and informed the village elders, saying, 'This man is truly a person of the Way. He should be invited and provided for.'Thereupon, the residents vied to come and pay their respects. Nearby was the old site of the ancient Baolin Monastery. The assembly discussed restoring it, and had the master reside there. The fourfold assembly gathered like clouds and mist, and soon it became a precious sanctuary. One day, the master suddenly thought to himself, 'I seek the great Dharma; how can I stop halfway?'The next day, he departed and arrived at the rocky cave on the western mountain of Changle County. He met the Chan master Zhiyuan. The master then sought instruction. Yuan said, 'Observing you, your spirit and bearing are outstanding and sharp; you are hardly an ordinary person. I have heard that Bodhidharma from the Western Regions transmitted the mind seal to Huangmei. You should go there to investigate and resolve your doubts.'The master bid farewell and went directly to Huangmei.

The Record of the Transmission of the Lamp of the Jingde Era states: He asked the guest, 'What teaching is this? From whom did you obtain it?'The guest replied, 'This is called the Diamond Sutra. I obtained it from the great master Ren of Huangmei.'The master promptly informed his mother of his intention to seek a teacher for the Dharma. He went directly to Shaozhou, where he met a man of lofty conduct named Liu Zhilue, and they became friends. The nun Wujinzang was Zhilue's aunt. She often recited the Nirvana Sutra. The master listened for a while and then explained its meaning for her. The nun then took the scroll and asked about the characters. The master said, 'I do not recognize the characters.'

He thought to himself, 'I seek the great Dharma; how can I stop halfway?'The next day, he departed and arrived at the rocky cave on the western mountain of Changle County. He met the Chan master Zhiyuan. The master then sought instruction. Yuan said, 'Observing you, your spirit and bearing are outstanding and sharp; you are hardly an ordinary person. I have heard that Bodhidharma from the Western Regions transmitted the mind seal to Huangmei. You should go there to investigate and resolve your doubts.'The master bid farewell and went directly to Huangmei. He paid respects to the Fifth Patriarch, the great Chan master Daman.

The Patriarch asked, 'Where do you come from?'The master said, 'From Lingnan.'The Patriarch said, 'What do you seek?'The master said, 'I only seek to become a buddha.'The Patriarch said, 'People from Lingnan have no buddha-nature; how can they attain buddhahood?'The master said, 'People may be from the south or north, but how could buddha-nature be so?'The Patriarch, knowing he was an extraordinary person, then scolded him, saying, 'Go to the threshing room!'Huineng bowed at his feet and withdrew, then entered the rice-hulling shed and labored among the pestle and mortar, without rest day or night, for eight months. The Patriarch, knowing the time for transmission had arrived, then addressed the assembly, saying, 'The true Dharma is difficult to understand. Do not merely memorize my words and hold them as your own responsibility. Each of you, according to your own understanding, compose a verse. If the words and meaning correspond in depth, then I will transmit both the robe and the Dharma.'At that time, among the more than seven hundred monks in the assembly, the senior monk Shenxiu, whose learning penetrated both internal and external teachings, was revered by all. Everyone jointly praised him, saying, 'If not the venerable Xiushou, who would dare to undertake this?'Shenxiu, secretly hearing the assembly's praise, did not further deliberate.

The Record of the Transmission of the Lamp of the Jingde Era states: He asked, 'Where do you come from?'He said, 'From Lingnan.'The master said, 'What do you seek?'He said, 'I only seek to become a buddha.'The master said, 'People from Lingnan have no buddha-nature; how can they attain buddhahood?'He said, 'People may be from the south or north, but how could buddha-nature be so?'The master, knowing he was an extraordinary person, then scolded him, saying, 'Go to the threshing room!'Huineng bowed at his feet and withdrew, then entered the rice-hulling shed and labored among the pestle and mortar, without rest day or night, for eight months. The master, knowing the time for transmission had arrived, then addressed the assembly, saying, 'The true Dharma is difficult to understand. Do not merely memorize my words and hold them as your own responsibility. Each of you, according to your own understanding, compose a verse. If the words and meaning correspond in depth, then I will transmit both the robe and the Dharma.'At that time, among the more than seven hundred monks in the assembly, the senior monk Shenxiu, whose learning penetrated both internal and external teachings, was revered by all. Everyone jointly praised him, saying, 'If not the venerable Xiushou, who would dare to undertake this?'Shenxiu, secretly hearing the assembly's praise, did not further deliberate. After completing the verse, he wished to present it several times. He went and reached the front of the hall. His mind was unsettled, and sweat flowed all over his body. He intended to present it but could not. After four days had passed, he was unable to present the verse thirteen times. Shenxiu then thought, 'It would be better to write it on the corridor wall. If the venerable master sees it and suddenly says it is good, I will come forth, bow, and say it is my composition. If he says it is not adequate, I will have wasted my years facing the mountain. Having received people's bows, what path would I cultivate further?'That night, during the third watch, without letting anyone know, he himself took a lamp and wrote the verse on the wall of the southern corridor, presenting the insight of his mind.

The verse says: 'The body is the bodhi tree, the mind is like a clear mirror stand. At all times diligently wipe it clean, do not let it attract dust.'

The Patriarch, walking in meditation, suddenly saw this verse and knew it was composed by Shenxiu. He then praised it, saying: 'If later generations cultivate according to this, they will also attain excellent fruit.'

He had everyone recite and remember it. The Master [Huineng], who was in the rice-hulling shed, suddenly heard the verse being recited and asked a fellow student: 'What passage is this?'The fellow student said: 'Do you not know? The Abbot is seeking a Dharma heir, having each compose a mind verse. This is what the Venerable Shenxiu composed. The Abbot deeply praised it. He will surely transmit the Dharma and robe.'The Master said: 'What does the verse say?'

The fellow student recited it for him. The Master, after a long pause, said: 'It is beautiful, but it is not yet fully realized.'The fellow student scolded him: 'What does a common fellow know? Do not speak wildly.'The Master said: 'Do you not believe me? I wish to harmonize it with a verse of my own.'The fellow student did not reply; they looked at each other and laughed. When night came, the Master told a young attendant to lead him to the corridor. The Master, holding a candle himself, had the attendant write a verse next to Shenxiu's verse, saying: 'Bodhi originally has no tree, the clear mirror also has no stand. Originally there is not a single thing—where could dust alight?'

The Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp verse says: 'The body is the bodhi tree, the mind is like a clear mirror stand. At all times diligently wipe it clean, do not let there be any dust.'

The Master, while walking in meditation, suddenly saw this verse. He knew it was composed by Shenxiu. He then praised it, saying: 'If later generations cultivate according to this, they will also attain excellent fruit.'

You do not know that the Master sought a Dharma heir. He ordered each to present a mind verse. This is the verse composed by the senior monk Xiushangzuo. The Master deeply praised and admired it, and was certain to transmit the Dharma and the robe. Neng asked: 'What is the verse?'A fellow student recited it for him. After a long while, Neng said: 'Beautiful it is, but not yet fully realized.'The fellow student rebuked him: 'What does a mediocre person know? Do not utter such wild words.'Neng said: 'If you do not believe me, I wish to compose a verse in response.'The fellow student did not reply, but they looked at each other and laughed.

At night, Neng secretly told a young attendant to lead him to the corridor. Neng himself held a candle and had the attendant write a verse beside Xiushangzuo's verse, which said: 'Bodhi is fundamentally not a tree, the mind-mirror is also not a stand. Originally there is not a single thing—why bother wiping away dust?'Seeing this verse, the entire monastery, high and low, all said: 'This is truly the verse of a flesh-body bodhisattva.'Inside and outside, there was much clamorous praise. The Patriarch, knowing it was Lu Neng's verse, then said:

'Who composed this? It is someone who has not yet seen their nature.'And with that, he immediately wiped it away. Because of this, the whole assembly paid no further attention to it.

When night fell, the Patriarch secretly entered the rice-hulling room and asked: 'Is the rice white yet, or not?'

The teacher said: 'It is white, but it has not yet been sifted.'The Patriarch struck the mortar three times with his staff. The teacher, using a winnowing basket, winnowed the rice three times and then entered the room.

He showed and said: 'All Buddhas appear in the world for the sake of one great matter. According to the capacity, great or small, they guide beings. Thus there are the tenets of the Ten Grounds, the Three Vehicles, sudden and gradual, and so on, which constitute the teaching gates. Yet the unsurpassed, subtle, secret, perfectly bright, true and real Right Dharma Eye Treasury was entrusted to the foremost elder Mahakashyapa.'

Transmission passed down through twenty-eight generations until reaching Bodhidharma, who came to this land and obtained Master Ke. Inheriting this, it reached me. Now, with the Dharma treasure and the transmitted robe, I entrust them to you. Protect them well and do not let them be severed.

The Fifth Ancestor secretly went to the rice-hulling hut at night. He asked, 'Is the rice white yet?'Hui-neng said, 'It is white, but it has not yet been sifted.'The Ancestor struck the mortar three times with his staff. Hui-neng then entered the room at the third drum.

He knelt and received the robe and Dharma, then asked, 'The Dharma has been received, but to whom shall the robe be entrusted?'The Ancestor said, 'When Bodhidharma first arrived, people did not yet believe, so the robe was transmitted to clarify the attainment of the Dharma. Now faith is already mature. The robe is a source of contention. Let it stop with you and not be transmitted further. For now, go far into hiding and await the time to teach. It is said that the one who receives the robe will have a life hanging by a thread.'The Master asked, 'Where should I hide?'The Ancestor said, 'When you encounter Huai, stop; when you meet Hui, conceal yourself.'The Master bowed at the Ancestor's feet, then holding the robe, he departed.

There was a river at the foot of Huangmei. The Ancestor personally escorted him to this place. The Master bowed and said, 'Venerable One, please return quickly. I have attained the Way and should cross by myself.'The Ancestor said, 'Though you have attained the Way, I will still ferry you across.'Taking the pole himself, he ferried him to the other shore. The Ancestor alone returned to the monastery. None of the assembly knew of this.

After that, the Fifth Ancestor did not ascend the hall. When people came to inquire, he said, 'My Way has gone.'Someone asked, 'Who obtained the Master's robe and Dharma?'The Ancestor said, 'The capable one obtained it.'Thereupon the assembly discussed, 'The lay practitioner Lu, named Neng.'They searched but he was already gone. Knowing clearly that he had obtained it, they pursued him together.

There was a fourth-rank general who had aroused the bodhi-mind, named Hui-ming. He went ahead of the others and caught up with the Master at Dayu Ridge. The Master said, '...'

This robe represents faith; how can it be contended for by force? He placed the robe and bowl upon a flat rock and hid among the grasses. When Huiming arrived and tried to lift them, he exhausted his strength but could not raise them. At that moment, Huiming trembled greatly and said, 'I have come for the Dharma, not for the robe.'The Master then emerged and sat upon the flat rock. Huiming made a bow and said,

'I beseech the practitioner to show me the essential Dharma.'The Master said, 'Do not think of good, do not think of evil—

at this very moment, what is the original face of the venerable Ming?'Ming, upon hearing these words, experienced great awakening.

He further asked, 'Apart from the secret words and secret meaning transmitted from above, is there any further secret meaning or not?'

The Master said, 'What I speak for you is not secret. If you turn your light inward, the secret lies with you.'Ming said, 'Although Huiming was at Huangmei, I truly had not yet realized my own original face. Now, having received your instruction, it is like drinking water—one knows for oneself whether it is cold or warm. Now, the practitioner is Huiming's teacher.'The Master said, 'If it is thus, then you and I alike take Huangmei as our teacher.'

Ming bowed in gratitude and departed. Later, when he appeared in the world, he changed his name from Huiming to Daoming, to avoid using the Master's personal name. When people came to study, he directed them all to the Master.

After transmitting the robe and dharma, the master hid among hunters in four counties for ten years. Then, according to the Jingde Chuandeng Lu, on the eighth day of the first month in the bingzi year of the Yifeng era, he arrived at Nanhai and met Master Yinzong at Faxing Temple, who was lecturing on the Nirvana Sutra. The master stayed in the temple corridors. At night, wind blew the temple banners. He heard two monks debating: one said the banner moved, the other said the wind moved. Their back-and-forth discussion never reached the true principle.

The master said, 'May a layperson venture to join your lofty discussion?' He directly stated that it was neither the wind nor the flag moving, but the mind moving. Yinzong secretly heard these words and was astonished. The next day, he invited the master into his room and questioned him about the meaning of the wind and flag. The master fully explained the principle. Yinzong unconsciously stood up and said, 'Practitioner, you are certainly no ordinary person. Who is your teacher?' The master concealed nothing and directly recounted how he attained the dharma. Thereupon, Yinzong took the disciple's courtesy and requested instruction in the essential points of Zen. He then announced to the fourfold assembly, 'Yinzong is a complete ordinary person. Today I have met a flesh-and-blood bodhisattva.' Pointing to the layman Lu below the seat, he said, 'This is he.' He then requested the transmission robe to be brought out for all to see and pay respects. On the fifteenth day of the first month, he assembled various virtuous ones to shave the master's head.

On the eighth day of the second month, the master received the full precepts from Vinaya Master Zhiguang at Faxing Temple. This ordination platform was the one established by Tripitaka Master Gunavarman of the Song dynasty. The Tripitaka master had recorded, 'Later, there will be a flesh-and-blood bodhisattva who receives precepts at this platform.'Also, at the end of the Liang dynasty, Tripitaka Master Paramartha planted two bodhi trees by the platform with his own hands and told the assembly, 'After one hundred and twenty years, a great enlightening being will expound the supreme vehicle under these trees and liberate innumerable beings.'After receiving the full precepts, the master opened the Dongshan dharma gate under these trees, as if fulfilling a past vow. The following year, on the eighth day of the second month, he suddenly told the assembly, 'I do not wish to stay here. I must return to my former seclusion.'At that time, Yinzong,

together with over a thousand monastics and laypeople, escorted the master back to Baolin Temple. The prefect of Shaozhou, Wei Ju, requested him to turn the wonderful dharma wheel at Dafan Temple and also received the formless mind-ground precepts. Disciples recorded this and titled it the Platform Sutra, which circulated widely in the world. Then, returning to Caoxi, he rained down the great dharma rain. Those who awakened numbered no less than a thousand.

I do not wish to stay here. I must return to my former seclusion.

together with over a thousand monastics and laypeople, escorted the master back to Baolin Temple. The prefect of Shaozhou, Wei Ju, requested him to turn the wonderful dharma wheel at Dafan Temple and also received the formless mind-ground precepts. Disciples recorded this and titled it the Platform Sutra, which circulated widely in the world. Then, returning to Caoxi, he rained down the great dharma rain. Those who awakened numbered no less than a thousand.

On the eighth day, he received the full precepts from Vinaya Master Zhiguang at Faxing Temple. The ordination platform was originally established by the Tripitaka Master Gunabhadra of the Song dynasty. The Tripitaka Master recorded: 'In the future, a bodhisattva in the flesh will receive the precepts at this platform.'Moreover, during the Liang dynasty, Tripitaka Master Paramartha planted two bodhi trees beside the platform and said to the assembly: 'After one hundred and twenty years, a great open-minded being will expound the supreme vehicle under these trees, liberating countless beings.'After the Master received the full precepts, he opened the Eastern Mountain Dharma Gate under these trees, as if by prior agreement. On the eighth day of the second month the following year, he suddenly said to the assembly: 'I do not wish to remain here; I must return to my former seclusion.'At that time, Vinaya Master Yinzong, along with over a thousand monastics and laypeople, escorted the Master back to Baolin Temple. The Prefect of Shaozhou, Wei Ju, requested him to turn the wondrous Dharma wheel at Dafan Temple and also received the formless mind-ground precepts. Disciples recorded his teachings, compiled as the Platform Sutra, which spread widely in the world. He then returned to Caoxi, raining the great Dharma rain. At the age of seventy-six, after bathing, he passed away sitting in meditation.

At the time of pouring the bottle, he said: 'Is the rice white or not yet?'This grain of rice is precisely the spiritual seedling of the Dharma King, the life-root of sages and ordinary beings. Though once in a barren field, it grew naturally without cultivation; free from impurity and unstained by defilement. Yet even so, there is still winnowing. If winnowed back and forth, it penetrates inwardly and outwardly; moving above and below. After pounding the mortar three times, the grains align themselves, and the mind-mechanism suddenly becomes clear. After winnowing the rice three times, the transmission of the patriarch is bestowed. From that time on, the night of pounding the mortar had not yet dawned; the day of handing over had not yet darkened.

Consider that the Great Master was a woodcutter from Lingnan, the lay practitioner Lu of the rice-hulling room. In the past, he engaged in chopping wood and wandered in the mountains. Though he had no learning or understanding of ancient teachings illuminating the mind under the bright window, yet upon hearing a single phrase of the sutra, the mind of non-abiding arose. Now, taking up pestle and mortar, he toiled diligently in the rice-hulling room. Though he had never participated in the end of the seat, engaging in Zen questioning and dialogue, or making decisive judgments, through merely eight months of diligent effort, he illuminated the mind of the mirror not being a stand. Thus, in the middle of the night, the transmission was bestowed, and the lifeblood of the ancestral lineage was passed on. It did not necessarily rely on many years of practice, but solely on exhausting utmost refinement and clarity in a single day. The enlightenment of all buddhas cannot be measured by the length or brevity of time; how can the transmission of the patriarchs be distinguished by boundaries of past and present?

Yet now, during these ninety days of summer, speaking horizontally and vertically, criticizing past and present; with coarse words and gentle speech, pointing out buddhas and patriarchs. Delving into the subtle and fine, falling into twos and threes, defiling the ancestral style and exposing family shame. Because of this, everyone thinks they have penetrated the principle and attained power. However, intimately, it seems they have not yet merged with the patriarchs'intent. Their conduct does not resemble that of the former sages.

Due to fortunate karmic connections from the past, we meet like this. If one dedicates oneself wholeheartedly to practicing the Way, one should accomplish it; yet many have not reached the shore. There are still those who have not glimpsed the inner hall. The time since the sages is far, and the Way has not been accomplished; life is hard to preserve. How can one hope for future days?

At the time of early autumn and late summer, it is already the season when some go east, some west. According to old ways, disperse there and go here. How can one recklessly memorize a single phrase or half a sentence and call it the Dharma way here, or lift a mere partial understanding and consider it the vehicle of the great vehicle? Even if one fully attains its power, family shame is still exposed outwardly. How much more so with falsely claiming the Way? If one truly wishes to reach refinement here, do not idly abandon day and night; do not recklessly move body and mind.

The sound of pounding the mortar rises high beyond the azure void. Sifting clouds, the white moon deepens in the clearness of the night.