When the Sixth Patriarch Huệ Năng (Huineng) came to the Fifth Patriarch Huệ Khả (Hongren) for Dharma learning, the latter told the resident monks in Huỳnh Mai (Huang Mei) Temple to compose and present their own gathas (short poems; stanzas) to show the merits they gained in their practice, so he could pass down the bowl and robe transmission to the next successor. Venerable Thần Tú (Shenxiu) then was the Dharma instructor of the sangha of 500 monks. Although Venerable Thần Tú (Shenxiu) was a respected monk of good talents and wide knowledge, he was not quite sure about his spiritual practice and merits. Because he was not quite sure about his gatha, he dared not directly submit it to the Fifth Patriarch, but only posted it on a wall in the Temple. Below is his gatha:
身是菩提樹， The body is a Bodhi tree,
心如明鏡臺。 The mind a bright standing mirror.
時時勤拂拭， At all times polish it diligently,
勿使惹塵埃。 And let no dust alight.
Thân thị Bồ-đề thọ,
Tâm như minh cảnh đài,
Thời thời cần phất thức,
Vật sử nhạ trần ai.
(Chinese)
Thân như cây Bồ-đề,
Tâm như đài gương sáng,
Luôn luôn phải lau chùi,
Chớ để dính bụi nhơ.
(Vietnamese)
It is a beautiful gatha. He compared the body to the Bodhi tree, and the mind, to the mirror which we need to polish diligently to make sure it has no dust. We ordinary people may find this gatha very close to us with regard to our spiritual practice. Our mind is not bright, for it is covered with worldly dust and illusory thoughts. Therefore, we need to polish it. That is why we find Shenxiu’s gatha very beautiful and meaningful.
But for Huineng, then a lay novice who worked in the temple kitchen at the rice mill, it was different. Upon listening to the gatha read by another novice, Huineng immediately created another gatha in response to Shenxiu’s:
菩提本無樹， Bodhi is fundamentally no tree;
明鏡亦非臺。 The bright mind is also not a standing mirror.
本來無一物， Fundamentally there is not a single thing —
何處惹塵埃。 Where could any dust be attracted?
Bồ-đề bổn vô thọ,
Minh cảnh diệc phi đài,
Bản lai vô nhất vật,
Hà xứ nhạ trần ai.
(Chinese)
Bồ-đề vốn không cây,
Gương sáng cũng chẳng đài,
Xưa nay không một vật,
Chỗ nào dính bụi nhơ.
(Vietnamese)
With this gatha Huineng brushed aside everything Shenxiu had presented. Shenxiu mentioned the Bodhi tree; Huineng confirmed that Bodhi was no tree. Our body is merely a form, so are the Bodhi tree and the mirror on a stand. If the mirror mind is bright, it shines naturally, and does not need polishing. Thus, the Sixth Patriarch did not mention forms. He simply pointed to the True Mind (True Emptiness/Void)directly. Through the two lines he pointed out that Bodhi is our enlightened True Nature, which is not in the tree or any form. The mirror represents our True Mind or Nature. Our clear Mind is not the stand. Thus our enlightened and pure True Mind has no form. Shenxiu still got stuck in forms.
The third line “bản lai vô nhất vật” (Fundamentally there is not a single thing) and the fourth “hà xứ nhạ trần ai” (Where could any dust be attracted?) mean that the Bodhi Mind has no form; therefore, it cannot be contaminated or covered with dust. The Bodhi True Mind is not an object. When we say our mind is contaminated, we mean the mind that is chasing after worldly phenomena. It is the illusory and impermanent mind. As for the True Mind, it never becomes contaminated. Every day we live with the impermanent mind, not with the True Mind. We take the illusory as the real, and perceive that our mind is not pure. Shenxiu wrote that our mind is dusty in that meaning. But if we realize our True mind, we will find it pure and permanent (never born nor dead). That is why the Sixth Patriarch said, “bản lai vô nhất vật, hà xứ nhạ trần ai.” (Fundamentally there is not a single thing/Where could any dust be attracted?)
The Sixth Patriarch realized the True Mind, while Shenxiu only saw the illusory mind and the necessity of diligent spiritual practice. That was why the Fifth Patriarch knew that Huineng got enlightened, and silently passed down the alms bowl and the robe to him. When we mention the Sixth Patriarch, we refer to a person who has realized the no-birth-and-death True Nature. The Sixth Patriarch once taught his disciples: “The Buddha taught all the Dharma methods only to help cure all the (sick) minds. I have no (sick) mind, therefore I need no Dharma method.” He meant because humans have sick or illusory minds, they need the Dharma methods. Now that his illusory mind had become purified and calm, his True Mind appeared, and he needed no Dharma methods. Only sick people need medicines, healthy ones do not. Dharma methods are medicines for those who are sick; otherwise, the medicinal methods are redundant.
(To be continued)
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huineng
http://www.thientongvietnam.net/kinhsach-thike/dirs/tmdoitoi/index.pdf
