Transcend the Thinking Mind
There was Master Fahui. He went to the famous Mazu Daoyi and asked:
“What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?”
Mazu replied:
“Come closer quietly.”
As soon as Fahui respectfully approached, Mazu struck him with his fist. Then, in a very low voice, he said:
“With six ears present, we cannot make subtle plans. Come again tomorrow.”
Fahui asked: What was the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West? What did he bring that made the Zen wind blow so high? What is the mind-to-mind transmission that came down from the Buddha?
Fahui was already ripe. Mazu knew this. To break down the final wall, he cast a net:
‘Come closer quietly.’
Fahui fell for it. He approached with a reverent and awe-filled posture, expecting some profound truth to descend secretly upon his head. What fell on Fahui’s head was not the words of truth he expected, but Mazu’s heavy fist.
Why did Mazu strike him? It was to break Fahui’s questioning mind. He was saying, ‘Whatever realm you’re asking about, whether enlightenment or anything else, if you still have something to ask about and are waiting for an answer, that’s not the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West. Break that expectation right now.’
When that questioning world, the world of wanting to know, the world of seeking confirmation is struck hard, stars flash and the questioning world is forgotten. The world of questions flies away, leaving only pure existence. One only needs to recognize that moment. However, please don’t go home, take out a hammer, and ask “What was that about emptiness?” while hitting your own head (Laughter).
To the bewildered Fahui, Mazu whispered:
‘With six ears present, we cannot make subtle plans.’
‘Six ears’ refers to the five senses plus the sixth consciousness (thinking consciousness) that prevent direct experience of the fundamental state. Fahui was still rolling thoughts within thoughts. He was still living through and seeking through his thinking faculty. Fahui wasn’t so clever. When told to come back tomorrow, he didn’t understand and simply came back the next day.
The next day, Fahui came and respectfully said to Mazu, who was sitting on the Dharma seat:
“Master, I have come. Please teach me.”
Mazu looked down at him with compassionate eyes and said:
“Go away and come back when I ascend the Dharma seat. Then I’ll teach you.”
At that moment, Fahui was suddenly enlightened.
Fahui dutifully came back the next day. Though not skilled in Zen dialogue, he was sincere. Despite his unconscious state already being in the Buddha realm, he didn’t realize it himself.
There was nothing to say and nothing to hear. Mazu, suppressing a smile, said casually:
‘Go away and come back when I ascend the Dharma seat.’
Mazu was clever. While seeming to dismiss Fahui, he gave him a subtle prod. He was clearly already sitting on the Dharma seat while saying “when I ascend the Dharma seat.” At that moment, Fahui’s final wall crumbled. Fahui broke into laughter. He burst into spontaneous laughter. He felt both embarrassed and amused.
What did it mean when Mazu, already sitting on the Dharma seat, told him to come back when he ascended the Dharma seat?
Source: “선문답의 정수 전등록 강의: 더 나아갈 수 없는 길 1” (The Essence of Zen Questions and Answers – Lectures on the Transmission of the Lamp: The Path of No Further Progress, Vol. 1)
Original text from: 6gaknara.com
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