Not Attaching to the Bird’s Path and Extending Our Hands

Here’s something I discovered while poking around for Dungshan’s teaching on the path of the bird. It brings together some of the themes I’ve been rolling out (or rolling around in, depending on your point of view) here recently, including not-doing, the bird thing, “thrusting ourselves through everything as empty,” and extending our hands to serve.

It’s from a talk by Shigetsu Ein, a Soto Zen master of the 18th century, presenting Dungshan’s Three Paths – the path of the bird, the hidden path, and path of extending our hands. Shigetsu called it a “Non-Talk on Three Paths” and it is included in The Blue Cliff Record, p. 634 (I’ve adjusted the translation just a tiny bit):

“…Today you must diligently walk in emptiness. Walking in emptiness is not some special art. Each day when you go into the hall, you should not-chew through a single grain of rice. Not-chewing through a single grain of rice means that there is no breaking of the fast or violation of discipline by arousing mindfulness of tasting flavor. This is called traveling the bird’s path. Travel on the bird’s path is trackless. When you don’t leave your body in the realm of tracklessness, this is a turning point for the practitioner.

“After you have arrived here and settled here, there is still one road going beyond. This road is not going or coming; it is what is called ‘moss growing in the jade palace.’ All the names of the Other Side are temporary names for this. In reality, it is the one road that cannot be touched. That is why we say ‘hidden.’ And ‘hidden’ is not a matter of giving a name as its meaning; the realm called the hidden road is the realm of no name or meaning. This is why it is said, ‘S/he has no country, s/he does not abide, dwells in not home.’

“To know this and yet be able to not remain here, to be an example for beings, to inspire and lead them, unify and teach them, is called ‘extending the hands.’ In extending the hands, there is no separate road. It does not transgress the bird’s path. Traveling the bird’s path by yourself, yet you extend your hands. In the bird’s path there is no separate road; knowing the hidden road yourself, you still don’t transgress it. Dwelling in the bird the bird’s path you don’t sprout horns on your head but always extend your hands.

“Thus the three paths are the cause and effect of the great practice; and cause and effect spreads vast and wide throughout the whole universe.”