Dōshin

Mind cannot be grasped.

'Mind cannot be grasped'is precisely all buddhas; they themselves have maintained and upheld anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.

The Diamond Sutra says: 'Past mind cannot be grasped, present mind cannot be grasped, future mind cannot be grasped.'This is the manifestation of the maintenance and upholding of 'mind cannot be grasped'by all buddhas. They have maintained and upheld that 'the three realms are mind cannot be grasped'and 'all dharmas are mind cannot be grasped.'Clarifying this maintenance and upholding: without learning from all buddhas, one does not realize and attain it; without learning from all ancestors, one does not receive the true transmission.

To learn from all buddhas means to learn from the sixteen-foot golden body and to learn from a single blade of grass. To learn from all ancestors means to learn from skin, flesh, bones, marrow, and to learn from the broken-face smile. In this essential teaching, the Shobogenzo has been clearly and truly transmitted; the mind-seal of buddha after buddha, ancestor after ancestor, is precisely direct pointing, transmitted singly from legitimate heir to legitimate heir. In learning through inquiry, their marrow, face, and eyes are inevitably transmitted, and one receives their body, limbs, hair, and skin.

Without learning the buddha way and without entering the ancestral chamber, one neither sees nor hears, neither meets nor apprehends; one does not reach the dharma of inquiry, nor has one ever glimpsed, even in a dream, the portion of speaking the way. In former times, when Deshan was not yet a true man, he was skilled in the Diamond Sutra; people of the time called him Zhou Diamond King, a king among over eight hundred families. Not only was he particularly adept at the Commentary of the Escaping Dragon, he further compiled and collected twelve loads of books and commentaries; there were no lecturers who could match his shoulder. Hearing incidentally that in the south there was the legitimate, single transmission of the unsurpassed way, he carried his books and crossed mountains and rivers. On the road, to the left of the path as he approached Longtan, he stopped to rest. An old woman came and met him.

Deshan asked, 'Who are you?'

The old woman said: I am an old woman selling rice cakes.

Tokusan said: I too should buy some rice cakes.

The old woman said: What does the reverend intend to do with them?

Tokusan said: I will buy them to refresh myself.

The old woman said: What is it that the reverend is carrying so much of?

Tokusan said: Have you not heard? I am the Diamond King of Chou, skilled in the Diamond Sutra, with no point I have not penetrated. What I am carrying is commentary on the Diamond Sutra.

Hearing this, the old woman said, 'This old woman has a question. Will the reverend permit it?'

Tokusan said, 'I permit it. Ask as you wish.'

She said, 'I once heard the Diamond Sutra say: Past mind is ungraspable, present mind is ungraspable, future mind is ungraspable. Now, with which mind will you receive the offering? If the reverend can speak, you shall receive the offering. If the reverend cannot speak, you shall not receive the offering.'

At that moment, Tokusan was at a loss and could not respond. The old woman immediately shook her sleeves and left, never giving the offering to Tokusan.

It is regrettable: hundreds of volumes of commentaries, decades of lecturing—yet when faced with a single question from an old woman, he immediately fell into defeat. Whether one has a lineage or not, whether one visits the room of a true master or not—the difference is vast, and thus it is like this.

Hearing the words 'ungraspable,'they only understand that both sides are the same and there is nothing to attain, with no further living path. Some also think that saying 'cannot'is because it is originally inherent. All these are entirely mistaken.

At that time, Tokusan for the first time realized that a painted rice cake cannot satisfy hunger, and also realized that the practice of the Buddha Way must meet with that person. He also realized that merely being attached to sutras and commentaries cannot be the true power. Finally, he visited Ryutan, and from the time the way of teacher and disciple was fully realized, he truly became that person. Now he is not only the great ancestor of Unmon and Hogen, but also a guide among humans and devas.

Reflecting on this kōan, it is now clear what Tokusan did not understand in the past. Even if the old woman now silences Tokusan, it is uncertain whether she is truly that person. It seems that upon hearing the phrase 'mind cannot be grasped,'he merely thought there should be no mind, and thus questioned in this way. Since Tokusan was a man of capacity, he must have had the power to consider. If he had considered, he might have heard that the old woman was that person, but because Tokusan was not yet Tokusan at that time, the old woman being that person was not yet known or seen.

Also, doubting the old woman is not without reason. If Tokusan could not speak the Way, why did she not face Tokusan and say, 'Venerable, you cannot speak the Way now; you should further ask the old woman, and the old woman will reply for you'? If at that time, having received Tokusan's question, she had spoken facing Tokusan, the true power of the old woman might have been revealed.

Thus, the marrow and the face of the ancients, the light of the ancient buddhas, and the auspicious signs—through the effort of fellow practitioners, not only are Tokusan, the old woman, the ungraspable, the graspable, the rice cake, and the mind not troubled by being fixed, they are also not troubled by being let go.

The so-called buddha-mind is the three times. Though there is not a hair's breadth of separation between mind and the three times, when discussing their separation and distance, it is deeper and more remote than one hundred eight thousand. How about this? If one says 'past mind,'one should say to it, 'this cannot be grasped.'How about this? If one says 'present mind,'one should say to it, 'this cannot be grasped.'How about this? If one says 'future mind,'one should say to it, 'this cannot be grasped.'

The meaning of the saying is not that there is a mind that temporarily names mind as ungraspable, but that it is temporarily ungraspable. It does not say mind cannot be, but solely says ungraspable. It does not say mind can be, but solely says ungraspable. Also, what is meant by 'past mind cannot be grasped'? One should say 'birth and death, coming and going.'Also, what is meant by 'present mind cannot be grasped'? One should say 'birth and death, coming and going.'Also, what is meant by 'future mind cannot be grasped'? One should say 'birth and death, coming and going.'

Generally, walls, tiles, and pebbles are the Buddha-mind; all Buddhas of the three times together realize this as ungraspable. There are only walls, tiles, and pebbles that are the Buddha-mind; all Buddhas of the three times realize this as ungraspable. How much more so are mountains, rivers, and the great earth themselves ungraspable. There are grasses, trees, wind, and water that are ungraspable, which are precisely mind; there is also 'having no abode, that mind arises'being ungraspable; and also all Buddhas of the ten directions, in one lifetime, expound eighty thousand dharma gates. The ungraspable mind is like this.

Also, at the time of Great Master Zhenguo, the Great Ear Tripitaka Master came from distant Western Heaven to the capital, claiming to have attained the power of reading others'minds. Emperor Suzong of Tang, taking the occasion, ordered the National Master to test him. The Tripitaka Master, upon merely seeing the National Master, promptly bowed and stood to the right.

The National Master finally asked, 'Have you attained the power of reading others'minds or not?'

The Tripitaka Master said, 'I dare not.'

The National Master said, 'You should say where this old monk is now.'

The Tripitaka Master said, 'The Venerable is the teacher of a nation; why go to West River to watch the boat race?'

The National Teacher, after a long pause, asked again, 'Where do you say this old monk is now?'

Tripitaka said, 'The Master is the teacher of a nation. Why go to Tianjin Bridge to watch monkeys play?'

The National Teacher asked again, 'Where do you say this old monk is now?'

Tripitaka, after a long pause, had nothing to say and saw nothing.

The National Teacher scolded him on the spot, saying, 'This wild fox spirit! Where is your telepathy now?'

Tripitaka again had no reply.

If one does not know such things, it is regrettable; if one does not hear them, one will surely be perplexed. Buddhas and patriarchs cannot be equated with Tripitaka masters; they are as far apart as heaven and earth. Buddhas and patriarchs have clarified the Buddha Dharma, while Tripitaka masters have not yet clarified it. Indeed, even among laypeople, there are those who are Tripitaka masters, like one who has attained a place in literary refinement. Therefore, not only have they broadly clarified the languages of India and China, but they are also said to have cultivated the power of reading others'minds. However, because they have never even dreamt of the body and mind of the Buddha Way, when they encounter a national teacher who has realized the stage of the Buddha Way, they are immediately seen through.

In learning the mind in the Buddha Way, all dharmas are precisely mind, the three realms are mind-only; mind-only must be mind-only, this Buddha must be mind. Whether it is oneself or others, one must not mistake the mind of the Buddha Way. One must not idly drift in the western river, nor must one brood over the Tianjin Bridge.

To maintain and uphold the body and mind of the Buddha Way, one must learn the wisdom and power of the Buddha Way.

In the Buddha Way, the entire ground is all mind, not startled by arising and ceasing; all dharmas are mind, one must learn the entire mind as wisdom and power. Tripitaka masters have not yet seen this; they are merely fox spirits. Therefore, even in the past two instances, they have not yet seen the mind of the national teacher, nor have they penetrated the mind of the national teacher. They are but fox cubs idly playing at the western river, the Tianjin Bridge, boat races, and monkeys—how could they see the national teacher?

Moreover, the principle of why one cannot see the national teacher's whereabouts is clear. When the old monk repeatedly asks, 'Where am I now?'one does not hear these words. If one hears them, one should inquire; if one does not hear them, one misses the opportunity. If Tripitaka masters had studied the Buddha Dharma, they would have heard the national teacher's words and seen the national teacher's body and mind. Because they have not studied the Buddha Dharma ordinarily, even though they are born as guides among humans and devas, they pass by idly—pitiable, lamentable.

Generally, how could scholars of the Tripitaka ever reach the conduct of Buddhas and patriarchs, or know the limits of the national teacher? Moreover, the debaters of the western heavens and the Tripitaka masters of India certainly cannot know the conduct of the national teacher. What Tripitaka masters know, even the heavenly emperor may know; the debaters may know. What the debaters and the heavenly emperor know—could the wisdom-power of a bodhisattva in his last life not reach it? Could the ten saints and three worthies not reach it? The body and mind of the national teacher cannot be known even by the heavenly emperor; even a bodhisattva in his last life has not yet clarified it. To discuss body and mind in the Buddha's house is like this—know it, believe it.

Our great master Shakyamuni's dharma is not the same as the wild fox spirits of the two vehicles and external paths. Yet this particular karmic circumstance has been investigated by venerable masters of old in each generation, and there are records of their words.

A monk asked Zhaozhou: 'Why did Tripitaka not see the National Teacher the third time?'

Zhaozhou said: 'The National Teacher is on Tripitaka's nostrils, therefore he does not see him.'

Another monk asked Xuansha: 'Since he is on his nostrils, why does he not see him?'

Xuansha said: 'It is only because it is too close.'

Haihui Duan said: 'If the National Teacher is on Tripitaka's nostrils, what difficulty is there in seeing? He especially does not know that the National Teacher is in Tripitaka's eyes.'

Again, Gensha interrogated Sanso, saying, 'Do you say that the first two times you returned, you saw?'

Setcho commented, 'A defeat, a defeat.'

Again, a monk asked Kyozan, 'Why, the third time, did Sanso, though he had been there a long time, not see the place where the National Teacher was?'

Kyozan said, 'The first two times were this: the mind involved with the environment. Later, he entered the samadhi of self-enjoyment; therefore, he did not see.'

These five venerable masters, though all are accurate, have missed the National Teacher's conduct. They only discuss that the third time he did not know, and seem to allow that the first two times he knew. This is precisely where the ancients missed; it is what later learners should know.

Kosho now doubts the five venerable masters in two ways. First, he says, 'They do not know the meaning of the National Teacher testing Sanso.'Second, he says, 'They do not know the National Teacher's body and mind.'Briefly, as for not knowing the meaning of the National Teacher testing Sanso: the first time, the National Teacher said, 'You say, where is this old monk right now?'

The meaning is, when testing and asking whether Tripitaka knows the Dharma or not yet knows, if Tripitaka has heard the Dharma, he should learn the Dharma with the words 'Where is this old monk right now?'Learning the Dharma means asking: Does the old National Teacher exist on this side, or on that side? Does he exist in unsurpassed bodhi, or in prajna paramita? Is he hung in emptiness, or standing on the earth? Is he in a thatched hut, or in the treasure place? Tripitaka does not know this meaning, vainly offering the views of ordinary beings and the two vehicles.

The National Teacher again asks: You say, where is this old monk right now? Here Tripitaka again offers vain words. The National Teacher asks again: You say, where is it right now? At that time, Tripitaka, though it has been a while, says nothing; his mind is blank. Thereupon the National Teacher immediately scolds Tripitaka, saying: This wild fox spirit, where is the power of knowing others'minds? Even with this said, Tripitaka still has nothing to say.

Carefully considering this incident, the ancients also thought: Now the National Teacher scolding Tripitaka is because although he knew the National Teacher's whereabouts the first two times, he did not know the third time, hence the scolding. But it is not so. Generally, it is scolding that Tripitaka is merely a wild fox spirit, and has not even dreamed of seeing the Dharma. It is not said that he knew the first two times and did not know the third. The scolding is entirely scolding Tripitaka.

The National Teacher's mind first considers whether there is such a thing as the power of knowing others'minds in the Dharma. Even if called the power of knowing others'minds, the 'other'should be raised as the 'other'that learns the Buddha Way; the 'mind'should be raised as the 'mind'that learns the Buddha Way; the 'power'should be raised as the 'power'that learns the Buddha Way. Now what Tripitaka says is not at all a place that learns the Buddha Way; how could it be called the Dharma? the National Teacher thinks. Testing means: even if there is something said the third time, if it is like the first two times, it is not the principle of the Dharma, not the National Teacher's original intent, so it should be scolded. Asking three times is again asking whether Tripitaka might have heard the National Teacher's words.

Second, not knowing the National Teacher's body-mind means: the so-called National Teacher's body-mind is not something Tripitaka can know or penetrate; the ten saints and three worthies do not reach it; it is not clarified by the stage of next-to-last enlightenment or equal enlightenment; how could an ordinary Tripitaka know it? This principle should be clearly decided. To suppose that Tripitaka might know or reach the National Teacher's body-mind is because one oneself does not know the National Teacher's body-mind. If one says that even those who attain the power of knowing others'minds should know the National Teacher, should the two vehicles further know the National Teacher? It cannot be so; people of the two vehicles can never reach the National Teacher's limits.

Now there are many two-vehicle people who read Mahayana sutras; they too cannot know the National Teacher's body-mind, nor can they see the body-mind of the Dharma even in reading. Even if they resemble reading and reciting Mahayana sutras, clearly know that they are entirely small-vehicle people.

Generally, the National Teacher's body and mind are not something that those who attain spiritual powers and realization can know. The National Teacher's body and mind—even the National Teacher himself is immeasurable. Why? Because he long practiced without aiming to become a buddha; thus, even the buddha-eye cannot see him. His comings and goings are far beyond the nest; he cannot be bound by any cage or snare.

Now, the five venerable masters should all be examined. Zhaozhou said: 'The National Teacher cannot be seen because he is on top of Tripitaka's nostrils.'What does this statement mean? When one speaks of the branches without clarifying the root, such errors arise. How could the National Teacher be on Tripitaka's nostrils? Tripitaka does not yet have nostrils. Moreover, although the National Teacher and Tripitaka have a means of seeing each other, there is no path for them to approach each other. Those with clear eyes should discern and affirm this.

Xuansha said: 'Only because it's too close.'Indeed, 'too close'may be so, but it does not hit the mark. What is meant by 'too close'? What is being raised as 'too close'? Xuansha does not yet know 'too close,'has not investigated 'too close.'In terms of the dharma, he is far, far from it.

Yangshan said: 'The first two times, mind involved with the realm; afterward, entering the samadhi of self-enjoyment—therefore, he could not be seen.'Although the reputation of 'Little Shakyamuni'resonates highly in the Western Heavens, this is not without fault. If one says that wherever there is mutual seeing, there must be involvement with the realm, then it would be as if there were no place where buddhas and ancestors meet. This resembles not having mastered the merit of receiving prediction and becoming a buddha. The first two times—indeed, Tripitaka knew the National Teacher's whereabouts—means he did not know even a hair's breadth of the National Teacher's merit.

Xuansha's probing question: 'The first two times—did he still see?'This phrase 'did he still see?'is appropriate to say, but if one intends to say 'seeing is like not seeing,'then it is not so.

Hearing this, Zen master Xuedou Mingjue said: 'A defeat, a defeat.'When Xuansha's way is taken as the way, one may say so; when it is not taken as the way, one should not say so.

Haihui Duan said, 'If the National Teacher were on the Tripitaka Master's nostrils, what would be difficult to see? He does not realize that the National Teacher is in the Tripitaka Master's eyes.'This also discusses the third instance. The previous two instances should have been criticized for not seeing, but were not criticized. How could one know that the National Teacher is on the nostrils and in the eyes?

The five venerable elders all resemble the National Teacher's merit and the power of the dharma's practice. Know that the National Teacher is precisely the buddha of his generation, clearly transmitting the treasury of the true dharma eye. The Tripitaka masters of the Hinayana do not know the National Teacher's boundaries; this is the proof. What they call 'knowledge of others'minds'in the Hinayana should be called 'knowledge of others'thoughts.'

It is a mistake to think that the power of the Hinayana Tripitaka Master's knowledge of others'minds can know even a single hair-tip or half a hair-tip of the National Teacher. The Hinayana Tripitaka Master should learn that he cannot see any of the National Teacher's merit at all. Even if the National Teacher knew his whereabouts in the first two instances, not knowing in the third instance would mean having two-thirds of the ability—not something to scold. Even if scolded, it would not be a complete deficiency. Who would believe in the National Teacher by scolding him? The meaning is that the Tripitaka Master was scolded because he still lacked the body-mind of the dharma.

The five venerable elders all have such faults because they do not know the National Teacher's conduct. Therefore, I now let them hear 'the mind of the buddha way is ungraspable.'Those who cannot penetrate this one dharma, even if they say they have penetrated other dharmas, are hard to believe. Yet know that the ancient ancestors also had such instances of 'using error to correct error.'

Once, a monk asked the National Teacher, 'What is the abiding mind of all buddhas?'

The National Teacher said, 'Fortunately, this old monk encounters the imperial audience.'

This too is to investigate the mind of ungraspability.

Once, Indra asked the National Teacher, 'How can one be liberated from conditioned existence?'

The National Teacher said, 'The Son of Heaven, cultivate the Way and you will be liberated from conditioned existence.'

Indra asked again, 'What, then, is this Way?'

The National Teacher said, 'The mind of urgency is the Way.'

Indra said, 'What is this mind of urgency?'

The National Teacher pointed with his finger and said, 'This is the Prajna Platform, that is the Pearl Net.'

The Emperor of Heaven made obeisance.

Generally, speaking of body and mind in the Buddha Way, there are many instances among the Buddhas and Ancestors. To study this together is not the thought or perception of ordinary people or sages. One must investigate 'mind cannot be grasped.'

The Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Mind Cannot Be Grasped

Written at Kōshō Hōrin Monastery on a day of the summer retreat in the second year of Ninji, cyclical sign kanoto-ushi.