link="#d9d9b8" vlink="#d9d9b8" alink="#d9d9b8"> <p align="left"><strong><font color="#FF8040" size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">ZEN IRODALOM </font><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">ZEN LITERATURE</font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> </font></strong><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font color="ccccff"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><a href="index-2.html" target="_parent"> Zen foldal </a><br> </b></font><font color="#BFA493" size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><a href="https://terebess.hu/index.html" target="_top"> vissza a Terebess Online nyitlapjra</a></b></font></b></font></font></p> <p align="center"> <font size="5" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Chuanzi Decheng (820-858)</font></p> <p align="center"><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">[ Huating Chuanzi Decheng]</font></p> <p align="center"><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><em>(</em></font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="3"><em>Rmaji</em></font></font><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><em>:)</em> <font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Sensu Tokuj</font><br> <em>(Korean:)</em> </font> <font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Seonja Deokseong</font><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <br> <em>(English:)</em> The Boatman Monk</font><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> </font><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><em>(Magyar:)</em> Csuan-ce T-cseng, a rvsz szerzetes </font></p> <p align="center"> </p> <div align="center"> <TABLE WIDTH="71%" BORDER="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"> <TR> <TD width="2%"><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="https://terebess.hu/zen/magyar.gif" width="36" height="25" border="0"> <b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font size="3"><br> Tartalom</font></strong></font></font></b></font></div></TD> <TD width="2%"><div align="center"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="https://terebess.hu/zen/angol.gif" width="36" Pgina 1 boatmonk.txt height="25" border="0"> <b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font size="3"><br> Contents </font></strong></font></font></b></font></div></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><div align="left"> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="#m1"><strong>Csuan-ce T-cseng, a rvsz szerzetes verse <br> </strong></a></font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Fordtotta: Terebess Gbor</font> </p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="#m"><strong>A csnakos szerzetes</strong></a><br> Fordtotta: Szigeti Gyrgy</font></p> </div></TD> <TD><p align="left"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><a href="#a1">Chuanzi Decheng</a></strong></font><br> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">by Andy Ferguson</font></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="#luk">Ch'an Master Teh Ch'eng The Boat Monk at Hua Ting</a></font></strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> by Lu K'uan Y (Charles Luk)</font></p> <p align="left"><font size="2"><strong><a href="#a2"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Boat Monk </font><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></font></a><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> </font></strong><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <font size="2">by William Bodri</font></font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong></strong></font></font></p></TD> </TR> </TABLE> </div> <p> </p> <p align="center"><img width="197" height="500" src="https://terebess.hu/zen/boatmonk1.jpg"> </p> <p align="center"> <img width="441" height="810" src="https://terebess.hu/zen/boatmonk2.jpg"> <br> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> , 32.37 x 12.87 cm, <br> painted by Kan Josen Chikanobu (1660-1728), <br> eldest son of Tsunenobu of the Kobiki-ch branch of the Kan school, <br> succeeded his father as third head of the school in 1713, <br> and in 1719 was awarded the highest court title, hgen ('Eye of the Law').</font><br> <br> </p> <div align="center"></div> <p align="left"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Boat Monk is Huating Decheng, a student of the Caodong master Yaoshan Weiyan (745828). Decheng resided on a boat, ferrying people across the Pgina 2 boatmonk.txt river and teaching them Chan. One day a young monk named Shanhui (805881) came to seek out this monk for instructions. After some exchange of words, Decheng realized the potential of Shanhui, so he posed a question to him. When Shanhui tried to answer, Decheng knocked him off the bot into the river and retorted, Speak, speak! At this point the young monk became enlightened. Decheng pulled him up and said,Today I have finally caught a big golden fish! The two stayed all night on the river, sometimes talking, sometimes silent. In the morning Decheng bade farewell to Shanhui and left him on the shore. He said to him,I studied under Yangshan for thirty years. Today I have repaid his kindness. From now on, you need not think of me again.Then he rowed the boat to the middle of the river and tipped it over and disappeared without a trace. Shanhui later became a Chan master at Mount Jia. </font></p> <p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Cf. <em>Five Lamps Meeting at the Source</em>. See T.no.1565, 80: 115a. <br> <em>Attaining the Way: A Guide to the Practice of Chan Buddhism </em><br> By Sheng Yen (Shambhala, 2006) </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan Shanhui [Kassan Zen`e] (805881) was born in Xianting in Guangzhou ; his surname was Liao . While still a child he became a monk on Mount Longya , in modern Hunan. Later he went to Jiangling in modern Hubei, took the precepts, and became a lecture master . One night when Shanhui was lecturing in Jingkou , where he had subsequently gone to live, a monk asked, What is the dharmakya? Shanhui answered, The dharmakya is without form. What is the dharma eye? the monk then asked. Shanhui said, The dharma eye is flawless. Before the eyes there are no dharmas. Though the meaning exists before the eyes, it cannot be reached by the eyes or ears. At this point the visiting monk laughed. When Shanhui asked why he had laughed, the monk, Daowu Yuanzhi (769835), suggested that he go to Huating to see Chuanzi Decheng (n.d.), a monk who was at that time working as a ferr yman. Decheng, Daowu said, hasn't a tile to cover his head above, nor a gimlet point of earth to stand on below. Shanhui went straightaway to Huating and found Decheng in his boat on the river. In the subsequent encounter Shanhui thoroughly penetrated Decheng's dharma. Decheng told him to avoid crowded cities, live in the mountains, and concentrate on finding a successor to keep the dharma alive. He then tipped over his boat and was never seen again. Shanhui lived in seclusion for over thirty years. In 870 he and the assembly that had gathered around him built a monastery, Lingquan yuan , on Mount Jia . </font></p> <p align="right"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Note in <em>The Record of Linji</em> <br> by Ruth Fuller Sasaki </font></p> <p> </p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font color="#FF8040"><a name="a1" id="a1"></a></font></b></font></b></font></b></font></b></font><font size="3">CHUANZI DECHENG</font></strong><br> by Andy Ferguson <br> In: <em>Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings</em>, Wisdom Pgina 3 boatmonk.txt Publications, pp. 163-166.</font> </p> <blockquote> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> CHUANZI DECHENG (805881 [sic!]), also known as the Boatman or Boat Monk, was a disciple and Dharma heir of Yaoshan. His lay home was located in Suining (now a place in modern Sichuan Province). Decheng studied with Yaoshan for thirty years and received the mind seal. Later, he lived in relative seclusion at Huating, on the bank of the Wu River (in the area of modern Shanghai), where he used a small boat to ferry people across the river.</font></p> </blockquote> <blockquote> <blockquote> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> Zen master Chengzi Decheng of Huating in Xiuzhou possessed great integrity and unusual ability. At the time when he received Dharma transmission from Yaoshan he intimately practiced the Way with Daowu and Yunyan. When he left Mt. Yao he said to them, You two must each go into the world your separate ways and uphold the essence of our teachers path. My own nature is undisciplined. I delight in nature and in doing as I please. Im not fit [to be head of a monastery]. But remember where I reside. And if you come upon persons of great ability, send one of them to me. Let me teach him and Ill pass on to him everything Ive learned in life. In this way I can repay the kindness of our late teacher.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Then Decheng departed and went to Huating in Xiuzhou. There he lived his life rowing a small boat, transporting travelers across the river. People there didnt know that he possessed farreaching knowledge and ability. They called him the Boat Monk.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Once at the boat landing at the side of the river an official asked him, What do you do each day?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Decheng held the boat oar straight up in the air and said, Do you understand?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The official said, I dont understand.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Decheng said, If you only row in the clear waves, its hard to find the golden fish.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Decheng composed a verse that said:</font></p> <blockquote> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thirty years on the river bank,<br> Angling for the great function,<br> If you dont catch the golden fish, its all in vain.<br> You may as well reel in and go back home.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Letting down the line ten thousand feet,<br> A breaking wave makes ten thousand ripples.<br> At night in still water, the cold fish wont bite.<br> An empty boat filled with moonlight returns.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sailing the Pgina 4 boatmonk.txt sea for thirty years,<br> The fish seen in clear water wont take the hook.<br> Breaking the fishing pole, growing bamboo,<br> Abandoning all schemes, one finds repose.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Theres a great fish that cant be measured.<br> It embraces the astonishing and wondrous!<br> In wind and thunder transformed,<br> How can it be caught?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Others only seek gathering lotus flowers,<br> Their scent pervading the wind.<br> But as long as there are two shores and a lone red boat,<br> Theres no escape from pollution, nor any attainment of emptiness.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">If you asked, Is this lone boat all there is in life?<br> Id say, Descendants will each see the results.<br> Not depending on earth or heaven,<br> When the rain shawl is removed, nothings left to pass on.</font></p> </blockquote> <p> </p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">[Later,] Daowu went to Jingkou where he happened to see Jiashan Shanhui give a lecture. A monk attending the talk asked Jiashan, What is the dharmakaya?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan said, The dharmakaya is formless.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The monk asked, What is the Dharma eye?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan said, The Dharma eye is without defect.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">When he heard this, Daowu laughed loudly in spite of himself.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan got down off the lecture platform and said to Daowu, Something I said in my answer to that monk was not correct and it caused you to laugh out loud. Please dont withhold your compassionate instruction about this!</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Daowu said, You have gone into the world to teach, but have you not had a teacher?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan said, Ive had none. May I ask you to clarify these matters?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Daowu said, I cant speak of it. I invite you to go see the Boat Monk at Huating.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan said, Who is he?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Daowu said, Above him theres not a single roof tile, below him theres no ground to plant a hoe. If you want to see him you must change into your traveling clothes.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">After the Pgina 5 boatmonk.txt meeting was over, Jiashan packed his bag and set out for Huating.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">When Decheng saw Jiashan coming he said, Your Reverence! In what temple do you reside?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan said, I dont abide in a temple. Where I abide is not like</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Decheng said, Its not like? Its not like what?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan said, Its not like the Dharma that meets the eye.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Decheng said, Where did you learn this teaching?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan said, Not in a place which the ears or eyes can perceive.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Decheng said, A single phrase and you fall into the path of principle. Then youre like a donkey tethered to a post for countless eons.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Then Decheng said, Youve let down a thousand-foot line. Youre fishing very deep, but your hook is still shy by three inches. Why dont you say something?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As Jiashan was about to speak Decheng knocked him into the water with the oar. When Jiashan clambered back into the boat Decheng yelled at him, Speak! Speak!</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan tried to speak but before he could do so Decheng struck him again. Suddenly Jiashan attained great enlightenment. He then nodded his head three times.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Then Chuanzi said, Now youre the one with the pole and line. Just act by your own nature and dont defile the clear waves.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan asked, What do you mean by throw off the line and cast down the pole?</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chuanzi said, The fishing line hangs in the green water, drifting without intention.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan said, There is no path whereby words may gain entry to the essence. The tongue speaks, but cannot speak it.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chuanzi said, When the hook disappears into the river waves, then the golden fish is encountered.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan then covered his ears.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chuanzi said, Thats it! Thats it! He then enjoined Jiashan, saying, Hereafter, conceal yourself in a place without any trace. If the place has any sign dont stay there. I stayed with Yaoshan for thirty years and what I learned there Ive passed to you today. Now that you have it, stay away from crowded cities. Instead, plant your hoe deep in the mountains. Find one person or one-half a person who wont let it die.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan then bid Chuanzi goodbye. As he walked away he looked back at Chuanzi.</font></p> Pgina 6 boatmonk.txt <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Suddenly Chuanzi yelled, Your Reverence!</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Jiashan stopped and turned around.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chuanzi held up the oar and said, Do you say theres anything else? He then tipped over the boat and disappeared into the water, never to be seen again.</font></p> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p> </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"> <strong><font size="2"><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Gatha by the Boatman Monk</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></font></strong></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <br> <br> <br> </font></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A thousand-foot fishing line hangs straight down. <br> One wave moves, ten thousand follow. <br> The night is still, the water cold, the bait untouched. <br> The empty boat carries home a full load of moonlight. </font></strong></p> <blockquote> <p align="left"><font size="2"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Translated by Mary M.Y. Fung and David Lunde <br> A poem by the 9th-century Zen Master Decheng</font></font></p> </blockquote> <p align="left"> </p> <p><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A thousand-foot-long fishing line drops straight down. <br> One wave no sooner rises than it is followed by tens of thousands. <br> The night is quiet, water is cold, the fish won't take the bait, <br> The boat returns, empty of fish but full of moonlight. </font></strong></p> <blockquote> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Translated by Gang Liu, 2010<br> The poem can be found in Shi Decheng's <em>Chuanzi heshang bozhao ge </em> (Songs of Rowing a Boat by the Buddhist Monk Chuanzi; Shanghai: Huandong shifan daxue chubanshe, 1987), p. 11. This book also contains a short biography of Shi Decheng, see pp. 89-91. </font></p> </blockquote> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"><br> </p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font color="#FF8040"><a name="luk" Pgina 7 boatmonk.txt id="luk"></a></font></b></font></b></font></b></font></b></font></strong></font> <font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ch'an Master Teh Ch'eng The Boat Monk at Hua Ting</font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></font></strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> In: <em>Ch'an and Zen Teaching</em>, Series One<br> by Lu K'uan Y (Charles Luk)<br> Rider & Co., London, 1960, pp. 123-128.<br> Translated from <em>The Imperial Selection of Ch'an Sayings</em> (Yu Hsuan Yu Lu) <br> [Yuxuan yulu (<em>Imperial Selections of Recorded Sayings</em> /
<em>Emperor's Selection of Quotations</em>)]</font></p>
<blockquote> <p align="left"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> <strong>MASTER TEH CH'ENG arrived at Hua Ting in the Hsiu Chou district.<br> He sailed a small boat, adjusted himself to circumstances and passed his<br> days in receiving visitors from the four quarters. At the time, as no one<br> knew of his erudition, he was called the Boat Monk.</strong></font></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">One day, he stopped by the river bank and sat idle in his boat. An<br> official (who was passing) asked him: 'What does the Venerable Sir do?'<br> The master held up his paddle, saying: 'Do you understand this?' The<br> oflicial replied: 'I do not.' The master said: 'I have been rowing and stirring<br> the clear water, but a golden fish is rarely found.'</font></strong></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">When Chia Shan had dismissed his followers, he packed and went<br> straight to Hua Ting. Master Teh Ch'eng saw him and asked: 'Virtuous<br> One! At what temple do you stay?' Chia Shan replied: 'That which is<br> like it does not stay (and) that which stays is not like it.' Master Teh Ch'eng<br> asked: 'If there is no likeness, what is it like?' Chia Shan replied: 'It is not<br> the dharma (thing) before the eyes.' Master Teh Ch'eng asked: 'Where<br> have you learned all this?' Chia Shan replied: 'Neither the ear nor the<br> eye can reach it.' Master Teh Ch'eng said: 'A good sentence is a stake to<br> which a donkey can be tethered for ten thousand aeons.' He again<br> asked:'When a thousand feet of fishing line is let down, the quarry is<br> deep in the pond. Three inches beyond the hook, why don't you speak?'<br> Chia Shan (guessed and) was on the point of opening his mouth,<br> when the master gave him, with the paddle, a blow that knocked him<br> into the water. When Chia Shan was about to scramble back into the<br> boat, the master said again: 'Speak! Speak!' Before Chia Shan could<br> open his mouth, the master hit him again. Thereupon, Chia Shan was<br> Pgina 8 boatmonk.txt instantaneously enlightened and nodded thrice (in approval and<br> gratitude).</font></strong></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The master said: 'You can play with the silken line at the end of the<br> rod, but so long as you do not disturb the clear water, the meaning will<br> be different.'</font></strong></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chia Shan then asked: 'What is your idea about letting down the line<br> and throwing in the hook?'</font></strong></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Master Teh Ch'eng said: 'The line dangling in the green water allows<br> all ideas of existence and non-existence to float up to the surface until<br> both become still.'</font></strong></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chia Shan said: 'Your words lead to abstruseness but follow no paths;<br> the tip of your tongue talks but is speechless.'</font></strong></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The master said: 'I have been letting my line down in every part of this<br> river and only now have I found a golden fish.'</font></strong></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">(Upon hearing this), Chia Shan closed his ears (with his hands).<br> Master Teh Ch'eng said: 'It is so! It is so !' and then gave him the following<br> instruction:</font></strong></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">'In the future, your hiding place should have no traces and where there<br> are no traces, you should not hide. I spent thirty years at master Yo Shan's<br> monastery and understood nothing but this. You have got it now. From<br> now on do not stay in towns and villages, but search deep in the mountains<br> for one or two men with mattocks at their sides to continue (the transmission)<br> and not allow it to be broken off.'</font></strong></p> <p align="left"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chia Shan took leave of the master but turned back repeatedly to see<br> (him). Master Teh Ch'eng called out: 'Venerable Sir!' When Chia Shan<br> turned his head the master held up the paddle and said: 'Do you think that<br> I still have something else?' Then he upset the boat and disappeared in<br> the water.</font></strong></p> <blockquote> <blockquote> <blockquote> Pgina 9 boatmonk.txt <blockquote> <blockquote> <blockquote> <p align="left"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">* * * </font></p> </blockquote> </blockquote> </blockquote> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p align="left"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The boat monk sailed a small boat, adjusted himself to circumstances<br> and passed his days in receiving and enlightening men from all quarters<br> for it is the duty of every Ch'an master to enlighten and liberate all living<br> beings. He may use anything he can pick up, such as a paddle in this story,<br> or a dust-whisk, a cup of tea, a staff, etc.<br> In reply to the official's question, the boat monk held up his paddle to<br> show him that in one's daily activities, one should not stray from one's<br> self-nature which was that which ordered his hand to raise the paddle.<br> A man of high spirituality would understand the move and become<br> awakened to the truth. However, the official was deluded and did not<br> understand it.<br> When Chia Shan said to his disciples: 'The Dharma-kaya has no form<br> and the Dharma eye has no flaws', Tao Wu, also an enlightened master,<br> laughed. This laugh caused a doubt to arise in the mind of the speaker who<br> asked Tao Wu about his error and was urged by the latter to go to Hu<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ting and call on the boat monk for instruction. What Chia Shan said<br> to his disciples was not wrong but Tao Wu laughed because the speaker<br> was merely repeating other people's sayings but did not himself have a<br> personal experience of the teaching. Chia Shan was urged to go to the<br> boat monk because there was an affinity between them which could ensure<br> Chia Shan's enlightenment. (Literally - 'for there existed between the<br> two a co-operating cause'.)<br> The boat monk's first question was to probe Chia Shan's understanding<br> of absolute wisdom (prajna). Chia Shan who had read and probably<br> learned by heart many sutras, knew that 'staying at a temple' meant<br> 'attachment to a place' and that such attachment to the phenomenal was<br> wrong and could obstruct his wisdom. So he replied: 'That which is like<br> the truth does not stay and that which stays is not like the truth for the<br> truth is all-embracing and does not stay at a particular place.' The boat<br> Pgina 10 boatmonk.txt monk asked: 'If it is not like that, what is it like?' Chia Shan replied that<br> what he meant was not the visible and could not be heard or seen. The<br> boat monk said: 'If you cling to the words with which you have learned<br> to interpret the truth, you will be held in bondage by them and will never<br> realize the truth.'<br> As he was called 'boat monk' and since every boat - called sampan in<br> China - contained a fishing rod, the master naturally mentioned the line<br> to teach Chia Shan and said: 'When I let down a thousand feet of line,<br> I expect to hook a dragon at the bottom of the deep pond but I do not<br> want to catch a small fish.' This means that he expected to receive a pupil<br> of high spirituality and not a man of dull disposition.<br> The sentence 'Three inches beyond the hook, why don't you talk?'<br> is a literal translation of the text which can also mean 'Beyond the hook<br> and three inches, why don't you talk?' According to ancient scholars,<br> that which measures three inches is the tongue which is therefore called<br> 'the three-inch tongue'. The Chinese language favours sentences with a<br> double meaning and all masters availed themselves of this facility when<br> probing their disciples. His idea was this: 'Why don't you throw away<br> all that you have memorized and can be expressed by words and by means <br> of the tongue? Why don't you talk about that which is beyond hook<br> (i.e. word) and tongue?'.<br> As Chia Shan was making use of his discriminating mind to find a<br> reply and was about to open his mouth, the master gave him with the<br> paddle a blow that knocked him into the water. The teacher gave the<br> blow to cut off the pupil's chain of thought. When Chia Shan returned to<br> the boat, the monk pressed him again: 'Speak! Speak!' and as Chia Shan<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">was again thinking about a reply, the master hit him once more with the<br> paddle. The master wanted to press the pupil hard, so that the latter's<br> mind would have no time to discriminate and to think about an answer.<br> This time, the boat monk succeeded in wiping out the pupil's last thoughts.<br> As Chia Shan was stripped of thoughts, his real nature was exposed and<br> could now function freely without further obstruction. It was now the<br> self-nature which received the second blow, and when its function could<br> operate without hindrance, his self-nature manifested itself simultaneously.<br> Thereupon, Chia Shan realized instantaneous enlightenment and nodded<br> thrice to thank the master.<br> Usually when one has no worries, one's discriminating mind gives<br> rise to all kinds of thoughts, but in time of danger, one will try to Pgina 11 boatmonk.txt save<br> one's life first. When Chia Shan saw he was about to drown, he immediately<br> applied the brake to his mind and thus realized singleness of<br> thought, as taught by Ch'an masters who urged their disciples to hold<br> firm a hua t'ou. Before receiving the first blow, it was a discriminating<br> Chia Shan who merely repeated what he had learned to answer the<br> boat monk's question. After the first blow, it was another Chia Shan<br> who realized singleness of thought, that is he only thought of saving<br> his own life, but he still clung to this single thought. The boat monk,<br> who was a skilful teacher, gave the second blow to disentangle Chia Shan's<br> mind from this last thought so that it became pure and free from this last<br> bondage. After the second blow, Chia Shan, now free from discrimination,<br> became instantly enlightened. It was not the discriminating Chia<br> Shan but his real self-nature which received the second blow and clearly<br> perceived the boat-monk's self-nature which struck his own nature.<br> When the function of Chia Shan's self-nature could operate normally<br> without obstruction, at that moment his self-nature manifested. This was<br> the cause of his complete enlightenment.<br> From the above, we can see that the master was a very skilful teacher<br> and that the disciple was also a man of very high potentiality. The whole<br> training took less than ten minutes.<br> So far, only Chia Shan had been enlightened. What about the enlightenment<br> of others? Every Ch'an practiser should develop a Bodhisattva<br> mind before undergoing his training, and if he does not think of the<br> welfare of others, he will never succeed in his self-cultivation.<br> Now the master gave his advice as to the disciple's future conduct.<br> He said: 'You can play with any device or method you like, but if you<br> do not disturb the clear water, that is if your mind does not give rise to<br> discrimination, the result will transcend everything.' Chia Shan, who had<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">only just been enlightened and had not fully recovered from his fright,<br> asked the master: 'What do you mean by letting down the line and<br> throwing in the hook?' He meant: 'If the teaching does not rely on words<br> and phrases, how does one receive and enlighten others?' The boat monk<br> replied: 'The angler dangles his line in the green water to find out whether<br> a fish is feeding. If there is a (hungry) fish, it will certainly come to the<br> baited hook. In future, when you receive disciples, you should use the<br> Pgina 12 boatmonk.txt same kind of words and phrases that I did a moment ago, to see if they<br> still hold the dual conception of "existence" and "non-existence", that is<br> if they still split their undivided self-nature into selfness and otherness,<br> and teach them until they wipe out all dualisms so that their minds can<br> become still.'<br> Chia shan said: 'Your words lead to abstruseness but follow no paths<br> and the tip of your tongue talks but is speechless.' Here the disciple<br> praised the master for his marvellous way of teaching because the boat<br> monk used, in illustration, only words and phrases which did not give<br> rise to discrimination and could not be clung to by the disciple's mind.<br> This was really an unsurpassed way of training a pupil.<br> In return, the boat monk praised Chia Shan's instantaneous enlightenment,<br> saying: 'I have been letting my line down in every part of this river<br> and only today have I caught a golden fish.'<br> Upon hearing his master's words of praise, Chia Shan closed his ears,<br> for even these words of praise were basically wrong because self-nature<br> can neither be praised nor censured. Instead of listening to these words, he<br> found it better to close his ears as the best way to preserve the reality and<br> brightness of his self-nature. The boat monk confirmed his pupil's correct<br> conduct and said: 'It is so! It is so!' These words were the best praise<br> a master could give to his enlightened disciple.<br> Then, the boat monk gave his disciple the following instruction: 'In<br> future, your hiding place should have no traces, and where there are no<br> traces, you should not hide.' In other words, 'You have now realized the<br> Dharma-kaya which is immaterial and leaves no traces. However, you<br> should refrain from giving rise to the idea of "no traces" or absolute voidness<br> within which you should not abide, for in that case, you would give<br> rise to the idea of "no traces", both "traces" and "no traces" being in the<br> realm of dualism and having no place in absolute reality. I spent thirty<br> years with my master Yo Shan and learned only this truth which you have<br> now acquired.'<br> The master said further: 'From now on do not stay in towns and villages<br> where you will not fmd men of high spirituality who can understand<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">your teaching. You should go to places where men have no chance of<br> Pgina 13 boatmonk.txt seeking fame and wealth because there only can you look for disciples<br> who are either wholly or at least half bent on the quest of truth. These are<br> the people you should search for and receive to enlighten them so as to<br> ensure the continuity of our Sect.'<br> Literally the sentence reads: 'But -you should- deep in the mountains<br> search for one and a half (man) with a mattock by his side.' The Chinese<br> idiom 'one or a half man' is equivalent to the Western saying, 'one or<br> two men'. Therefore, another interpretation is: 'You cannot expect to<br> enlighten more than one or two men for Ch'an is not so easy to<br> understand. It will suffice to enlighten one or two people to continue<br> our sect.'<br> Chia Shan left the boat monk but repeatedly turned his head to see<br> him. The master called him and held up the paddle, saying: 'I have only<br> this (paddle) and do not think that I still have something else.' This means:<br> 'I have only this, that is that which held up the paddle and I have taught<br> it to you. I have nothing else to teach you and do not give rise to any<br> further suspicion about it.'<br> Then the master overturned his boat and disappeared in the water to<br> show that when one is enlightened, one is free to come and free to go.<br> This is only possible after one has obtained enlightenment. This was also<br> to show Chia Shan that the transmission was actually handed down to<br> him and that he should take over the master's mission which was now<br> ended on this earth, but would begin in another world where other living<br> beings were waiting for him.</font></p> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"> </p> <p><font size="2"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font color="#FF8040"><a name="a2" id="a2"></a></font></b></font></b></font></b></font></b></font></strong></font>< font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Boat Monk <br> </font></strong><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <font size="2">by William Bodri</font></font> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><br> </strong><a href="http://www.meditationexpert.com/zen-buddhism-tao/z_boat-monk_teh-cheng.htm " Pgina 14 boatmonk.txt target="_blank">http://www.meditationexpert.com/zen-buddhism-tao/z_boat-monk_teh -cheng.htm</a></font> </font></p> <blockquote> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I love the Zen story of the Boat monk. It expresses the Zen high literary style, and the beauty of the dharma. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Seems that a group of monks attained some degree of the Tao under a famous Zen teacher, Master Yao-shan. One of them was Teh-cheng and his dharma brothers were Yun-men and Tao-wu. Master Teh-cheng knew he didn't have the personality to teach a large number of people or run a monastery, so he told his brothers to send him someone of exceptional talent when they found one rather than open up a teaching center himself. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As is the rule, his job would also be to transmit the dharma to a qualified student if he could find one, but without a teaching center, he had no way to attract a student. Therefore his dharma brothers would have to send someone who had the karmic affinity with Teh-cheng for awakening. So he told them, "You know where I am staying. If you find a student of sharp potential, send him to me so that I may transmit the dharma." </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Years later, it just so happened that Teh-cheng's dharma brother Tao-wu was attending a lecture by a famous monk, named Chia-shan, who already had a great following. Chia-shan knew all about the dharma and was extremely eloquent. He could respond to every question with the proper words, and yet he lacked the dharma eye...he lacked any true stage of attainment. Ask him any question and he could respond with the right words ... but without the dharma eye, everything was actually wrong because it could enlighten no one. He knew the words but did not know the real meaning -- he had not achieved it. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">His case was like the intellectuals today who study the Bible, Koran, Buddhist sutras, Torah, or any such book or sets of books, know all the perfect words to use so that they sound as if they are in accord with the traditional teachings, and yet everything they say lacks any touch with True Reality. Why? Because those folks have no cultivation attainment themselves. They are dogma literalists rather than enlightened sages. So while they may be intellectually brilliant they are spiritually bereft, and cannot lead anyone to liberation. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">That's the state of the world. That's 99.999999999999% of teachers and religious professionals out there. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">So while attending the lecture, Master Tao-wu just kept himself quiet and concealed, but he snickered when Chia-shan answered a question correctly ... in order to attract attention. After it was over, Chia-shan respectfully approached master Tao-wu and asked what mistake he had made that his elder had done so. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Tao-wu replied, "You answered correctly, it's just that you've never been taught by a good teacher. I never explain things. If you want to learn, you must go to visit the boatman's place at the city of Hau-ting (where the Boatman Monk Teh-cheng was staying)." <br> <br> Pgina 15 boatmonk.txt Now because he really was interested in self-improvement, Chia-shan set off right away. This, in itself, shows he was of extraordinary character and not too full of himself. Chia-shan was right in theory, but did not have a real experience of the dharma, yet didn't know it. He thought he was right, but also suspected that he was wrong, that he was missing something though everything he said was correct and according to the scriptures. Amazingly, he was willing to take advice and was anxious to find the answer despite already being established and having a great reputation, so off he went. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Would you do that? </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Now at the location, the dharma brother Teh-cheng had settled into a job ferrying people across a river, and had done so for several decades waiting for a good student. No one knew of his high stage of attainment. When the young monk arrived, with one look he knew that he had been cultivating and had some ability, but needed to be awakened to a true direct experience of the dharma. He needed a real, direct experience of the Tao. He knew all the right words, the sutras, the dharma and so forth, but he was clinging to all these explanations and his conceptualizations. He had become an intellectual master rather than reality master. He could not let go of them to realize no-self, no-ego, emptiness. Therefore he had not attained the Tao. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Upon meeting young master Chia-shan, who knew all the correct words but had no direct taste of reality, Teh-cheng opened up the conversation by asking, "What temple do you dwell in, oh virtuous one?" </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chia-shan answered with words that point to the Tao, though of course he did not have that stage of attainment: "I do not dwell in a temple. Dwelling is not like it." </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Why did he say this? Because the original nature is not a state, and if you dwell or abide in any state it is NOT the Tao. Chia-shan was saying he understood the Tao by answering in such a way because a regular monk would simply have mentioned the name of his city or monastery. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The boatman then asked, "It is not like what?" </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chia-shan once again correctly answered the correct intellectual response, "It is not the phenomena before our eyes." </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Because Chia-shan kept answering correctly, but without without possessing the true dharma experience himself, it was like someone who would respond with the right scriptural retort from the Bible ... though everything said was everything right and you could not find any fault with it, you could tell they were wrong. I'm sure you've had that experience because it is hard to explain. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A little bit disgusted at these canned responses, the Boat monk Teh-Cheng then asked, "Where did you learn all this (way of answering)?" </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chia-shan answered, "It is not something that the eyes or ears can reach," meaning it ultimately comes from the Tao. This time Chia-shan replied in such a way that you could take it as a smirk, with the hidden meaning being, "I Pgina 16 boatmonk.txt know this and you don't? Who are you that you don't know these things?" </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">With that response, the Boatman monk then uttered a famous line, "<strong>A fitting sentence can be a stake that tethers a donkey for 10,000 aeons.</strong>" </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In other words, if you just cling to scripture, or intellectualization, or the words of this or that holy text without arriving at a genuine experience of the true meaning, if you don't experience the original nature, you will tie yourself up in ignorance (non-enlightenment) for aeons and never become free. Why? Because you cling to the intellect, in which case you are wrong. Words will not save you, scripture will not save you. Only cultivation practice and realization will save you! </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">How many people follow this pattern today? They quote the Torah and cling to it, all the while being correct in words, but WRONG. They cling to the Bible, reciting verses and sentences correctly, and yet they lack any attainment or any means for getting anywhere. They cling to the Koran, the Buddhist sutras, Taoist works and they are all wrong. They never fathom the meaning of the texts. They never reach enlightenment or samadhi or any genuine stage of attainment. They can talk about things all they want, but these are just intellectuals rather than spiritual leaders, people who know a lot about religious things but cannot lead you to the Tao. This is all you find today in churches, temples, mosques and monasteries. No one has the enlightenment eye, or even an inkling that it exists ... and they are even oblivious on how to get there. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"A fitting sentence can be a stake that tethers a donkey for 10,000 aeons" -- Master Teh-cheng was saying that Chia-shan was clinging to the dharma and relying on verbal tricks, and that this was stupid. It would get you absolutely nowhere on the path of true spiritual practice and striving and progress. It was just mental games, verbal tricks and memorization. REAL accomplishment comes from the cultivation practice of letting go and detaching from the realm of mentation to get to the substrate underneath it and EVERTHING. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">"A fitting sentence can be a stake that tethers a donkey for 10,000 aeons" ... Chia-shan was stunned at this reply. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Zen master Teh-cheng then said, "The fishing line is hanging down a thousand feet, and the intent is deep in the pond. You're just three inches away from the hook. Why don't you say something?" </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">He was saying, "You've done so much meditation work your life and are so close you're ready to reach it. Why not say something expressing your original nature?" </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chia-shan was standing there, his mind emptied a bit because of the shock, and was just about to say something intellectual again when the Boat monk hit him with his oar and knocked him into the water. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wham! </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chia-shan had Pgina 17 boatmonk.txt just been ready to open his mouth again and say something that was in the scriptures when the Boat monk knocked the daylights out of him and he flew into the water. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As soon as Chia-shan's head popped up above the water again, the Boat monk once again shouted, "Speak! Speak!" and just as Chia-shan was about to open his mouth again, Wham! ... the Boat monk hit him again. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Now if you've had any sudden taste of emptiness where everything empties out (a religious experience), you can understand what happened next. Here's a man with a belly full of learning and it's all suddenly knocked out of him. He's been thrown into the water, he's worried for his life, and all his false thoughts have been whacked away. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">That's the method the Boat monk used with Chia-shan. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chia-shan could talk about anything in the dharma ... Consciousness only, the three Buddha bodies, skandhas, True Thusness, prajna wisdom, EVERYTHING. He understand all this but couldn't let go of it, so the Boat monk knocked him into the water to help him let go of everything he was clinging to. Even so, when asked to speak, Chia-shan was ready to spit out the dead scriptural words again, so Teh-cheng hit him again. When for the third time his head rose above the water, this time his mind had emptied out and he and become enlightened, so Chia-shan quickly nodded his head three times in quick succession to show Teh-cheng he had got it and he didn't need to be hit again. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Of course you cannot just hit someone to enlighten them. Don't think it's so easy. Chia-shan not only KNEW the dharma intellectually, but had spent his life meditating and had achieved some degree of emptiness, but just couldn't let go of his intellectualizations to see the path, to see the whole thing. He was close because of his previous attainments in meditation, but still clinging. He already had achieved a deep basis of cultivation beyond just studying, because of prolonged meditation work, and that basis is why Tao-wu sent him to the Boat monk. He was prepared....don't think someone can just whack you or slap you and you get it. Without countless years of meditation work, that would just get you a lawsuit today. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Master Teh-cheng was able to transmit the dharma only because Chia-shan had already spent years mixing practice with study. Master Teh-cheng was able, through the expedient means of whacking him, to help Master Chia-shan let go of everything and see the Path, see the Tao, realize self-enlightenment. If Master Chia-shan had not been a meditator, however, none of this would have been possible. So don't think that just studying scriptures and sutras -- of any kind -- will do it. You have to do the meditation work, open up your chi channels, chakras and so forth. You have to cultivate samadhi, but none of that is the Tao. It's just a preparation because those are all still illusory realms and false stations. They are not ultimate or supreme. They are there to help you clear out in a progressive sense, but when you reach enlightenment there are no stages -- you just let go of everything in one fell swoop. That's why it's called breaking through the conception skandha. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Upon being hit with the oar when in the water, Chia-shan GOT IT. His years of preparation and Pgina 18 boatmonk.txt study, together with the Boatman's excellent skillful means, enabled him to let go, empty out and see the Tao. If you know the theory, that's why the story is so beautiful, so wonderful. But then, while still in the water, Chia-shan asked, "If you throw away the hook and line, what is your intent, teacher?" </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In other words, Chia-shan then had doubts and asked about functioning. He was asking, "What about the methods for making an effort in the realm of existence if everything is empty... What do you do about them?" </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Master Teh-cheng replied, "The fishing line hangs in the water, floating to set the meaning of existence and non-existence." In other words, don't talk of emptiness and don't talk of existence. Neither is right, and thus you don't cling to either and you can do what you want independently. You are free and liberated. Cause and effect still operates amidst phenomena, but you do not cling to them or the process. You realize the inherent fundamental emptiness of phenomena but you do not cling to it either. You are independent and free. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Master Chia-shan then said, "Words carry the mystery but they have no road. The tongue speaks without speaking." In other words, speaking is the same as non-speaking, emptiness and existence are equivalent to one another. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Master Teh-cheng was VERY happy at hearing this because then he knew Chia-shan had got it. He knew that Chia-shan had finally realized the Truth and was speaking from experience rather than from some scripture he had memorized and studied. So Teh-cheng then said, "<strong>After having fished through all these rivers [having piloted this ferry day after day for decades wanting to carry someone over to the other side], I have finally encountered a golden carp [enlightened person]. </strong></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chia-shan covered his ears at hearing this, and master Teh-shan said in response, "That's right, that's right!" </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Then he told Chia-shan, "From now on you must leave no tracks where you hide yourself. But you must not hide yourself where there are no tracks." </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">He expressed in a high literary style many meanings: that Chia-shan must continually cultivate that state of no-thought/emptiness he had just achieved wherein there are no tracks. Furthermore, he must go somewhere where no one knew who he was, and leave his fame behind, and thus go into hiding in order to finish his cultivation. He also said that Chia-shan must not remain clinging to emptiness either, for that was also wrong. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The Boat monk then continued, "I was with Zen master Yao-shan for 30 years and I only took away this which you have just experienced/realized. Nothing more. You have just attained it. This is the meaning of all the teachings and nothing more. It's nothing else either than experientially realizing this. In the future you should not live in towns or villages but go deep into the mountains, find one or two people to continue the teaching and do not let it be cut off." </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chia-shan was Pgina 19 boatmonk.txt out of the water by this time, and since the dharma had been transmitted, he started off to return home. The whole thing happened just this quickly, the dharma had been passed, and there was nothing more to be done. But for a moment Master Chia-shan doubted that was all and so he turned around, wandering if there was something else he was missing, if it all came to just this? </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Upon seeing this, Zen master Teh-cheng shouted back to him, holding up an oar and saying, " <strong>Did you think there was something else? </strong>" Then he capsized the boat and disappeared under the water to show there was nothing else. You see, if you cling to all the pageantry of Tibetan Buddhism, you are wrong. It's just an expedient method created to help you REALIZE THIS. If you cling to the Torah or Bible, you are wrong. It's just to help you lay a foundation so you can experientially realize this. Nothing in the universe is absolute. The wind, the rocks, the flowers are all singing the dharma to help you awaken. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The meaning of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism, Confucianism, yoga, alchemy and all the religions is to realize our fundamental nature. All the ceremonies, scriptures, prayers, and practices are to enable you to experientially realize THIS. That's the purpose of all the scriptures. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">What else did you think it was about? Some ceremony or special belief? </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Now you finally know. Cultivate! </font></p> <p align="left"> </p> <p align="left"> </p> </blockquote> <p align="left"><strong><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font color="#FF8040"><a name="m1" id="m1"></a></font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="https://terebess.hu/zen/magyar.gif" width="36" height="25" border="0"></font></strong></font></b></font></b></font></b></font></b></font></ strong><font color="#ccccff" size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> </font></p> <p align="center"><font size="5" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style='font-family:Verdana'><img src="https://terebess.hu/zen/BoatMonk.jpg" width=557 height=502 border=0 id="_x0000_i1051"></span></font></p> <p align="center"> </p> <p align="center"><font size="2"><strong><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="2"><em>[Csuan-ce T-cseng, a rvsz szerzetes verse]</em></font></font></strong></font></p> <p align="center"><font size="2"><strong><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Harminc ven t tengersok habot szeltem <br> Van hal a vzben, de nem harap horogra<br> Pgina 20 boatmonk.txt Horgszbotom eltrt, bambuszok hajtanak <br> Nem vrok semmire, nyugalomra leltem</font></strong></font></p> <p align="center"> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Terebess Gbor fordtsa </font></p> <p align="left"><font color="#ccccff" size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <br> </font></p> <p align="left"><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><b><font color="#FF8040"><a name="m" id="m"></a></font></b></font></b></font></b></font></b></font>A csnakos szerzetes <br> </strong><font size="2">In: <em>Zen trtnetek</em>. Ford., szerk. s vl. Szigeti Gyrgy, [Budapest] : Farkas Lrinc Imre Kiad, 1996, 19-22. oldal</font></font></p> <blockquote> <p align="left"><font size="3" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><font size="2"><font color="#ccccff">[Szigeti Gyrgy fordtsban a knai nevek a <em>koreai olvasat</em> magyar trsban szerepelnek, pl. T-cseng</font> <font color="#ccccff">= Dok Szong]</font></font></font></p> <p align="left"><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Rgen Knban a nagy Jak Szn zen mesternek kt f tantv-<br> nya volt: Un Am s Dok Szong. k maguk is zen mesterekk <br> lettek, mert Jak Szn mindkettjknek tadta a Tant. Un Am <br> hatalmas, fradhatatlan ember volt, olyan hanggal, mint a <br> bronzharang, s ha felnevetett, rzkdott a fld. Tantknt <br> hamar nagy hre jrt, tantvnyok szzai jttek hozz tanulni <br> Dok Szong pedig aprcska, vkony ember volt, olyan visszafo-<br> gott termszettel, hogy msok alig vettk szre. Csak nhanap-<br> jn tett vagy mondott olyasmit, ami napokig visszhangzott a <br> tantvnyok tudatban. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Amikor Jak Szn zen mester meghalt, Dok Szong elment Un <br> Am-hoz, s gy szlt:<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Nagy zen mester vagy, sok tantvnyod, sok templomod <br> van. Ez ellen nincs semmi kifogsom, de az n utam ms. Fo-<br> lykhoz, hegyekbe, felhk kz vezet. Ha elmentem, krlek, <br> kldj utnam egy tantvnyt, hogy lerjam tartozsomat Mes-<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">ternknek.</font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ezekkel a szavakkal Dok Szong elindult Hva Dzsong tarto-<br> mny fel. ott letette szerzetesi ruhjt, hosszra hagyta a ha-<br> jt, vett egy apr csnakot, s azzal hozta-vitte az embereket <br> a foly egyik partjrl a msikra. gy Dok Szong egy egyszer<br> rvsz lett lte, teljes nvtelensgben s szabadsgban. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sok v telt el. Egy kzeli tartomnyban, Hon Am-ban lt egy <br> Pgina 21 boatmonk.txt fiatalember, akit Szon Hejnek hvtak. Kilencves korban lett <br> szerzetes, s azta lelkiismeretesen tanulmnyozta a sztrkat. <br> A tartomny minden elsrang tudsnl tanult, s a nagy jr-<br> m sokktetnyi szvegben tkletes jrtassgra tett szert. V-<br> gl mint az orszg egyik legnagyszerbb Dharma tantjt tisz-<br> teltk, s az e</font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">mberek mindenfell sereglettek templomba gya-<br> korolni s eladsait hallgatni. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Egy nap egy klnsen j elads utn, valaki megkrdezte: <br> - Mester, krlek, magyarzd el nekem: mi a Dharma-test? </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- A Dharma-test nem ltezik - vlaszolta Szon Hej. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- s mi az igazlt szem? - hangzott el a msodik krds. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Az igazlt szem hiba nlkli - vlaszolta Szon Hej. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hirtelen a terem hts rszbl hatalmas kacags hallat-<br> szott, olyan ersen, hogy beleremegett a fld. A bell dbbent <br> csendben Szon Hej vrt egy pillanatig, majd lelpett az emel-<br> vnyrl, s a terem kzepn hzd szabad tren t a terem v-<br> gbe stlt. Megllt egy reg szerzetes eltt, aki az elbb neve-<br> tett, meghajolt, s megkrdezte:<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Bocssson meg, tisztelend uram, de hol kvettem el hibt? <br> A szerzetes mosolygott, rtkelve Szon Hej alzatt. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- A tantsod nem helytelen - mondta -, de mg csak nem is <br> sejted a vgs igazsgot. Egy les szem mester tancsra van <br> szksged. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Lenne szves tantani engem? - krdezte Szon Hej. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Elnzsed krem, de ez szba sem jhet. Mirt nem msz<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">el Hva Dzsong tartomnyba? Van ott egy rvsz, aki megmu-<br> tatja neked az utat. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Egy rvsz? Mifle rvsz lehet az? </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Oly hatalmas, hogy felette nincs hely a tetnek, s oly pa-<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">rnyi, hogy alatta nincs hely amnek. Lehet, hogy gy nz ki, <br> mint akrmelyik rvsz, de menj s beszlj vele. Gyzdj meg <br> rla. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">gy ht Szon Hej otthagyta sok-sok tantvnyt, letette szer-<br> zetesi kpenyt, s elindult Hva Dzsongba. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Tbb nappal ksbb Szon Hej megtallta a csnakos embert. </font></p> Pgina 22 boatmonk.txt <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">reg volt, elnytt ruhban, s tnyleg egyszer rvsznek tnt. <br> Csak biccentett, amikor Szon Hej a csnakba lpett. Prat h-<br> zott a lapttal, majd hagyta a csnakot sodrdni, s gy szlt:<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Tiszteletremlt uram, mely templomban idzik? </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Szon Hej megltta a krdsben rejl kihvst. Fellt, figyelt, <br> s ezt mondta:<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Ami hasonlt hozz, nem tartzkodik; ami tartzkodik,<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">nem hasonlt hozz. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">-Akkor mi lehet az? - krdezte Dok Szong. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Nem az, amit ltsz. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Hol hallottad ezt? </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Idig Szon Hej becslettel llta a sarat, de a mester tklete-<br> sen ltta a tudatt. Majd hirtelen elkiltotta magt:<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- KACU! </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Erre Szon Hej nem tudott mit mondani. Pr pillanatig csend <br> volt. Akkor a mester megszlalt:<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Mg a legigazabb llts is fldbe vert kar, melyhez tz-<br> ezer vilgkorszakon t ki lehet pnyvzva a szamr. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ekkor Szon Hej teljesen elvesztette lba all a talajt. Halott-<br> spadt lett, alig kapott levegt. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A mester ismt megszlalt:<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Ezer mter zsinrt engedtem a vzbe, a hal itt ficnkol a <br> horog szaklln. Mirt nem szlsz? </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Szon Hej kinyitotta a szjt, de egy hang sem jtt ki a torkn. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ekkor a mester kezben svltve lendlt az evez, s eltallta, <br> olyan ervel, hogy Szon Hej a vzbe replt. Mlyen lemerlt, s <br> amikor feljtt, fjtatva s kpkdve, a haj oldalba kapaszko-<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">dott. Ahogy felhzdzkodott, a mester rkiltott:<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Mondd meg! Mondd meg! - s visszasjtotta a folyba. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ekkor Szon Hej tudata az evez kemny tsre kitrult, s <br> mindent megrtett. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Amikor feje a Pgina 23 boatmonk.txt vz fl kerlt, taposni kezdett, s hromszor <br> blintott. A mester rmtl sugrz arccal nyjtotta az evezt, <br> s visszahzta Szon Hejt a csnakba. Pr percig ltek s nztk <br> egymst. Akkor a mester ezt mondta:<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Jtszhatsz a selyemfonllal a rd vgn, amg nem zava-<br> rod meg a tiszta vizet, mindent jl csinlsz. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Mit akarsz elrni ezer mter zsinrral? </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Az hes hal egyszerre nyeli le a horgot s a csalit - felelte <br> a mester. - Ha ltben s nemltben gondolkodsz, elkapnak, s <br> megfznek vacsorra. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Szon Hej nevetett, s gy szlt:<br> </font><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Egyetlen szavadat sem rtem. Ltom, hogy mozog a nyel-<br> ved, de hol van a hang? </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Hossz vekig halsztam ebben a folyban, de csak ma <br> fogtam aranyhalat. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Szon Hej a flre csapta a kezt. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Ez az. Olyan, mint ez. Milyen csodlatos! - folytatta a mes-<br> ter. - Szabad ember vagy. Akrhov msz, ne hagyj nyomot. Jak <br> Szn mester mellett vekig nem tanultam mst, csak ezt. Te <br> most megrtetted, n pedig lerttam tartozsomat. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A kt ember egsz nap s egsz jszaka a vzen volt. Beszl-<br> gettek s hallgattak. Hajnalban kieveztek a partra, s Szon Hej <br> kiszllt a csnakbl. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">- Viszontltsra - ksznt el tle a mester. - Tbbet ne gon-<br> dolj rm. Minden ms szksgtelen. </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Szon Hej elindult. Kis id mlva megfordult, hogy utoljra <br> visszanzzen. A mester a foly kzeprl integetett neki, azu-<br> tn hintzni kezdett elre-htra, mg a csnak fel nem fordult. <br> Szon Hej figyelte a vizet, hol bukkan fel a mester feje, de nem <br> ltta sehol. Csak a felfordult csnakot vitte az r a szeme eltt, <br> lassan, lefel, amg teljesen el nem tnt. </font></p> <p> </p> <p align="left"> </p> </blockquote>
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