..续本文上一页d. It has the great world of emptiness mixed with the great world of form so seamlessly you can”t tell the difference.

　　And then everybody really acknowledged that Lin-chi was something. And here”s the kind of thing he did. This is the sesshin commemorating Shakyamuni”s enlightenment. So it”s an occasion of respect and reverence. Here”s how Lin-chi respected and reverenced things. He arrived at Bodhidharma”s memorial tower.

　　When the master of the tower said to him, "Venerable sir, will you pay your homage first to Buddha or to Bodhidharma

　　, Lin-chi said, "I don”t pay homage to either the Buddha or Bodhidharma."

　　"Venerable sir, why are Buddha and Bodhidharma your enemies

　　" asked the master of the tower.

　　Lin-chi swung his sleeves and left.

　　And that was how he paid homage to Buddha and Bodhidharma.

　　So if Buddha and Bodhidharma are stuck there in the memorial tower, they”re not a lot of use to us, are they

　　 If they are right down here in every action you take, then they have something. That”s how Lin-chi was able to strike Huang-po and say, "Well, here it is. Right now." And that”s of utmost importance.

　　And here is a sample of the kind of dharma he came out with after he was more mature. He said to his own assembly, when he became a teacher:

　　There is a true person of no rank who is always coming and going through the portals of your face.

　　(Always coming in and going out through your own face.)

　　Beginners who have not yet witnessed it, Look! Look! It is always here. (It”s always here.) Look! Look! It”s all around.

　　So this is why we do this. It”s why we do sesshin. Because it is all around and we just need to become in harmony with it.

　　Someone came to Lin-chi and said, "Do you teach the sutras here

　　"

　　Lin-chi said, "No, nobody learns the sutras here."

　　He said, "Do you teach zazen here

　　"

　　Lin-chi said, "No, nobody learns zazen here."

　　"What do you teach

　　"

　　Lin-chi said, "I just teach people to become buddhas and great ancestors."

　　So, no need to have any fancy ideas, just truly enter this moment with great sincerity. And like Lin-chi, do not be afraid of hardship. Do not grumble too much to yourself about any hardship that arises. That is somehow to be distracted by what could be a blessing. Treat everything that comes as the grace of the Tao. Everything, without exception, is the voice of buddha”s own enlightenment. And whoever you are, you are open to it. Do not be persuaded that it is not for you. Everybody has the great nature of the Buddha and you just attend. It is inexorable. It will take you over. It will appear before your very eyes. It will look out from your very eyes.

　　Please be faithful in your zazen.

　　Some supplementary notes:

　　Encounters of Lin-chi with his teacher Huang-po and Huang-po”s friend Kao-an T”ai-yŸ, Ta Yu (Jap. Koan Taigu) are fully described in the original commentaries to the Case Eleven of "The Blue Cliff Record" (Chin. Pi Yen Lu, Jap. Hekiganroku) and in the Lin-chi”s biography given in a Biographical supplement (pages 253-255) in: Thomas and J.C Cleary (transl.) 1977. The Blue Cliff Record. Shambhala: Boulder and London.

　　Kao-an T”ai-yŸ, Ta Yu (Jap. Koan Taigu) (active 9th c.) was a dharma heir of Kuei-tsung Chih-ch”ang (Jap. Kisu Chijo) and a cousin-in-dharma of Huang-po Hsi-yŸn (J. Obaku Kiun) [see Ch”an Lineage Chart, in: Rider Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion, 1989. London: Rider.]

　　The "banana incident" is also described in the Dialogue #2 (pages 8-9) in: Philip Kapleau. 1980. Zen: Dawn in the West. London: Rider. (tmc 7.03.93)

《Preseverance in the Tao》全文阅读结束。