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<\/a><\/p>\nThey prayed to the good gods for a child. But without success. Finally, they turned to the Awakened one. They offered incense and flowers and prayed for a child. They made donations to the support of the Awakened One\u2019s community. Not long after, one morning at breakfast, they saw the inside of their house gradually grow light. It continued ever brighter, until it was impossible to see for the shining brightness. Strangely they were not afraid. Then, as suddenly as it arose, light passed away. And everything was normal again.<\/p>\n
Not long after the woman knew she was pregnant. The couple decided when the child came, they would name it, boy or girl, Light. Nine months later their son, Light was born.<\/p>\n
Light was an unusual child. He seemed completely uninterested in worldly matters. Instead he would wander into the nearby forest and climb up the mountain. He read the sacred texts of the intimate way and began to compose poetry.<\/p>\n
When he came of age, he decided to formally inter the intimate way as a monastic. He went to Fragrant Mountain and entered the Dragon Gate monastery. There his hair was cut, and he took his vows. Light began by studying the sacred texts both those of the Elders and those of the Great Way. In time his renown as a scholar began to spread. But he knew something was missing. There continued to be a wound in his heart. Some sense things were wrong that no matter what he did, he could not shake off. He began to wander among the temples and monasteries speaking with various masters. And he spent increasing amounts of time alone in the mountains.<\/p>\n
After several years of wandering, at the age of thirty-two he returned to Fragrant Mountain. There while deep in meditation a spirit appeared before him. It looked like an old nun, but he wasn\u2019t sure. He could see her and right through her a the same time. She smiled gently at him, he could see the wall behind her smile, and said, \u201cThis is not where you will open your heart. Go south, my child.\u201d<\/p>\n
The spirit reminded him of his mother. Something about how its hair curled. Or, maybe it was that smile. At the same time Light was sure it was not her. Still. He felt the words were true. He told the master of Dragon Gate about his vision. The old monastic listened to the story, then ran her hand gently across Light\u2019s shaved head, touching the seven unusal bumps that ran from his forehead and back. They reminded her of mountain peaks.<\/p>\n
She said, \u201cGo south, dear one. Head for the monastery of the Wooded Mountain. There you\u2019ll find the master Bodhidharma. He will open your heart for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next day Light packed up what little he owned, a second robe, a thin blanket, a toothbrush, a razor, his bowls, and three books, and began to walk south. It was a hard journey. Things happened. At one encounter he thought he might die. But, he continued, and finally he arrived. At the monastery of the Wooded Mountain.<\/p>\n
There Light was introduced to the master, who set him to the practices of intimacy. Light learned to sit quietly, present, noticing. He began his practice in earnest, sitting with a burning heart, seeking the secrets of the great matter. But instead of seeking trough books, or seeking by wandering in nature, he simply watched the currents of his mind. Light met regularly with his teacher. But, even with all this he couldn\u2019t see through.<\/p>\n
One day it all felt too much. His whole life seemed a waste. Desperate, he went to his master\u2019s hut. But the door was closed. He knocked, but there was no answer. He felt a wave of panic. Of desperation. He knocked again, harder. And still there was no answer.<\/p>\n
Not knowing what else to do. Not having any sense of somewhere else to go, he pounded and kicked the doorjamb. \u201cMaster!\u201d Master!\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally the old teacher opened the door. \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
Light didn\u2019t realize until that moment he was holding his razor. With a flash of the blade he cut his arm and bleeding, presented it to the teacher. \u201cPlease, please. My mind is afire. Please set my anxiety to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watching his disciple holding his arm to staunch the bleeding while listening desperately for a turning word, Bodhidharma said to Light, \u201cBring me your mind, and I will set it to rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Light wailed. \u201cI have searched. Deeply. Broadly. With all my heart. But I cannot find any place where there is some thing I can actually call my mind. It is just thoughts and feelings arising and passing away. I find no one thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bodhidharma sighed. \u201cYes. Yes. That\u2019s it. Knowing that, your mind is at rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the moment, Light understood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/b><\/div>\n
The Case<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Bodhidarma sat facing the wall.
\nThe second patriarch [Shenguang, later called Huike], standing in the snow, cut off his arm and said, \u201cYour disciple\u2019s mind is not yet at peace. I beg you, Master, give it rest.\u201d
\nBodhidharma said, \u201cBring your mind to me; I will put it to rest.\u201d
\nThe patriarch said, \u201cI have searched for the mind but have never been able to find it.\u201d
\nBodhidharma said, \u201cI have finished putting it to rest for you.<\/p>\n
Wumen\u2019s Verse<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Coming from the West and pointing directly to it \u2013
\nAll the trouble comes from the transmission;
\nThe one who disturbs the monasteries
\nIs originally you.<\/p>\n
Nyogen Senzaki\u2019s Commentary<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n The silent master was cautious enough to try the sincerity of the newcomer before admitting him. Shenguang was not allowed to enter the temple, and had to stand in the courtyard, deep with snow. His firm resolution and earnest wish kept him standing continually in one spot until dawn, beads of frozen teardrops on his breast. At last, with a sharp knife he cut off his left arm and presented it, showing his resolution to follow the master even at the risk of his life. Thereupon, Bodhidharma admitted him into the order as a disciple, fully qualified to be instructed in the teaching of Zen. A new name was given to the disciple by the master. It was Huike, which is pronounced Eka by the Japanese. Bodhidharma had a few other disciples, but Huike was the one who received the bowl and the robe from him, becoming the second patriarch of Chinese Zen.<\/p>\n The moment we think we have taken hold of a thought, it is no more with us. So with the idea of a soul, or an ego, or a being, or a person, there is no such particular entity objectively to be so distinguished, and which remains as such eternally separated from the subject who so thinks. This ungraspability of a mind or thought, which is tantamount to saying that there is no soul-substance as a solitary, unrelated \u2018thing\u2019 in the recesses of consciousness, is one of the basic doctrines of Buddhism<\/a>. Huike was brave enough to cut of his left arm, but he did not have the nerve to use the knife upon his own mind and thought. Bodhidharma was like a good surgeon, who uses his knife as quick as a flash. The operation was finished before the nurse could give any anesthetic to the patient. Who was sick? What was the trouble? It was merely illusory; unreal. Your mind is already pacified.<\/p>\n Wumen\u2019s Commentary<\/i><\/b> Sekida\u2019s Notes<\/a><\/i><\/b> \u201cMy mind has no peace.\u201d<\/i> Only when he has emptied himself has he peace of mind. \u201cPlease pacify my mind.\u201d<\/i> You cannot pacify your mind while you are asking others to do it for you. Shibayama\u2019s Commentary<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n An old Zen Master sang: \u201cFor years I suffered in snow and frost; \/ Now I am startled at pussy willows falling.\u201d Not only Zen, but any religion in the world must have the reason for its existence in the guidance it gives to those who pursue this quest for peace of mind. By making this search one may finally be led to the realization that every effort is in vain. True peace of mind, however, can be obtained only when one is personally awakened to the stark-naked fact that every effort is<\/i> ultimately in vain. Seek, struggle, and despair! \u201cI have searched for the mind, and it is finally unattainable\u201d<\/i> \u2014 this reply comes from the experience of plunging into another dimension. It is the cry of the person who has experienced that \u201cthe whole universe has collapsed and the iron mountain has crumbled.\u201d The key to the koan is in the experience of grasping the live significance of this word \u201cfinally\u201d as one\u2019s own.<\/p>\n Anonymous Zen Master\u2019s Commentary<\/i><\/b> (quoted by Shibayama) Another Anonymous Zen Master\u2019s Commentary<\/i><\/b>(quoted by Shibayama) Koun Yamada\u2019s Commentary<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n We are all searching for truth and peace of mind outside ourselves, which is like hunting for a man on an uninhabited island. Once you have found out that the island is uninhabited, your desire to search for a man there will end. When you stop desiring, your mind will come to rest. There will be no problems, no discontent, no frustrations, no uneasiness. You will be at peace, just as you are. Is there any happiness other than this?<\/p>\n
\nThe broken-toothed old barbarian came thousands of miles across the sea with an active spirit.
\nIt can rightly be said that he raised waves where there was no wind.
\nIn later life he obtained one disciple, but even he was crippled in his six senses.
\nHa! The fools do not even know four characters.<\/p>\n
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
\n\u201cI beg you.\u201d<\/i> There is no point in begging for one\u2019s peace of mind, but one cannot help doing it all the same.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cBring your mind here.\u201d<\/i> You cannot find your mind, much less bring it forth.
\n\u201cI will pacify it for you.\u201d<\/i> Peace of mind is spontaneously brought about.
\n\u201cI have searched for my mind.\u201d<\/i> Human beings have long searched for the mind.
\n\u201cI cannot take hold of it.\u201d<\/i> You can take hold of it, but not in the way you expected.
\n\u201cNow your mind is pacified.\u201d<\/i> Your mind is pacified spontaneously, not by others.<\/p>\n
\nWhenever it may be, wherever you may be, your mind is at peace, because there is no mind outside your body; because there is no body outside your mind. Since your body and mind have already dropped away, what is there to be pacified or not pacified? How wonderful is this mind that is always just at peace!<\/p>\n
\nTo try to find a man on an uninhabited island may prove fruitless. Once, however, it is definitely established that there is no man there, the island comes into the discoverer\u2019s possession. This is international law. It is the universal law effective through the ages. The whole universe now comes into his possession!<\/p>\n