Zen Buddhism and Martial Arts
Home » Literature Archives » Chan-shih Tai Yuan's Dung
CHAN-SHIH TAI YUAN'S DUNG
(The secret of the Hua-tou Method)
by Zenmar
To decide how Bodhisattvas should best save sentient beings, the quarreling monks agreed to ask the Master the following questions.
First they inquired, "Master, how do you regard sentient
beings?"
(Putting a dung-like mental conception in front of
the Master's nose.)
"The same as worthless dung," came the reply.
(Seeing
all mental images to be like dung - he responded appropriately.)
"Are you saying that we shouldn’t save sentient
beings?" they asked.
(How can one save a mental conception
which must suffer death as it was born?)
"The effort, itself, spreads more dung!" he said.
(How
true. Gouging out flesh to save flesh is foolish. How does one put
away mental conceptions using more?)
"Then how do we save sentient beings?" they asked.
(How do we transcend our mental conceptions reaching the
othershore of thusness?)
"Put aside the conception of sentient being," spoke
the Master.
(Makes perfect sense. Oh, what a logical reply!)
"And what is that like?"
(In other words, what is
*that* which is free from all conceptions.)
"Dung!" the Master shouted.
(The sheer
enunciativeness which utters "Dung" is truly free of
every thought determination. This, incidentally, is the
vadapatha/wordpath of the Buddha. In Zen we call it the Great
Function. When one fully merges with it, Bodhicitta is born like unto
a great energy according to Asanga.)
