Day 2 Dropping Theories and Experiences | The Sword of Wisdom

Speak without fear,
As the lion roars,
All animals hearing it cringe in fright.
Losing his composure, the fragrant elephant gallops;
With quiet joy, the heavenly dragon listens.

Yung-chia often uses animal analogies to describe different types of people who come in contact with Buddhadharma. Demons and evil spirits tremble in fear when they hear the Dharma. Philosophical scholars and teachers of great religions become confused. But people who accept Buddhadharma feel joy when hearing it. Such people follow and protect Buddhadharma.

I heard about a Christian minister who was puzzled after reading about Ch’an practice. He read stories about practitioners who yelled at the Buddha and defiled the patriarchs. In one story, a group of monks was discussing Buddhism. One monk said, “If I were to say the Buddha’s name even once. I’d wash out my mouth for three days.” Another monk said, “Go get Buddha. When I see him, I’ll beat him to death and feed his corpse to the dogs.”

The Christian minister was disconcerted. On one hand, Buddhists claimed to believe in Buddha and his teachings. On the other hand, they refused to utter the Buddha’s name even once for fear of defiling their mouths; and in the next moment, they continued to pray and prostrate to him. The minister wondered what kind of people Ch’an practitioners were, and thought that perhaps they were insane.

During my last trip from Taiwan to New York, my flight stopped in Seoul, Korea. Enroute, I sat next to another Christian minister. In a book he was reading there were pictures of Buddha statues in Korean Ch’an monasteries. The minister pointed to these and asked me, “Do you believe in Buddha statues?”

I answered, “I make use of Buddha statues, but I don’t believe in them.”
The minister asked, “Do you pray?”
I said, “I do not pray myself, but I teach others to pray.”
The minister said, “You say you don’t pray, and yet you teach others to do just that. Don’t you think you are deceiving them?”

I explained that in Buddhism there are many levels of teaching. At a particular level, there are appropriate methods for a person to practice and appropriate guidelines for a person to follow.

“For instance, ” I said, “many of my students and disciples are Christians, and some still go to church. I think that it’s a good idea. They study and practice with me because they believe Buddhism has something to offer which their religion lacks.”

“What do you teach them?” he asked.

“I teach them not to believe in Buddha, not to believe in God, not even to believe in themselves.”

The minister was shocked. “That’s absolutely crazy!” Then he grew quiet. A while later, he asked, “Will you teach me some things about Buddhism?”

I said, “If you really want to learn something, come to the Ch’an Center in New York City. Now, however. I’m tired, so if you don’t mind, I think I’ll go to sleep.”

I have conversations like this quite often with people of other faiths. Oftentimes they begin by bemoaning the fact that I follow Buddhism. Later, however, many of them ask me to teach them Buddhadharma.
The Dharma of Ch’an is difficult for many people to accept, especially if they are accustomed to conventional religion and philosophy. Before they understand basic Buddhadharma, they are afraid of Ch’an teachings. After they gain a fundamental understanding of Ch’an teachings, they are often intimidated, because they realize how distant they are from being a true follower of Buddhadharma.

Ch’an Buddhism is not interested in converting people or conquering other people’s ideas and beliefs. It allows you to choose ─ to accept or reject the Dharma. It is your responsibility, your concern, your choice.
A person who hears Buddhadharma for the first time may have great respect for it, but he may still find it difficult to change his attitudes and beliefs. Each person has a unique point of view and unique, personal karma. It would be wrong to force people to accept what they are not ready or willing to accept.

Traveling over rivers and oceans or crossing mountain streams,
Seeking teachers, asking the way to investigate Ch’an.
Since I recognize the path of Ts’ao Ch’i,
I realize all those do not relate to birth and death.

Yung-chia traveled to many different places, practiced many methods and visited many masters. When he finally met Sixth Patriarch Hui-neng, who is here referred to as Ts’ao Ch’i, he realized that everything he had done up to that point had not brought him any closer to solving the problem of birth and death. Nothing he had done in the past had been genuine practice. In the T’ang dynasty, there was a Ch’an master named Huang-po. He was a disciple of Pai-chang, who, in turn, was a disciple of Ma-tzu. All three monks were famous Ch’an masters. Huang-po said, “In the T’ang empire there is not one Ch’an master.”

What did Huang-po mean? Ma-tzu and Pai-chang had many outstanding disciples, so there were indeed many Ch’an masters teaching Buddhadharma. Monks and nuns spent most of their lives going on pilgrimages, visiting temples and monasteries, and studying under great masters. Huang-po meant that if people cannot grasp the essence of Buddhadharma, then for them there are no Ch’an masters. Whether or not there are true Ch’an masters is a completely different question. You may study with many masters, but if you do not understand the Dharma they teach, then they are not really your masters.

Many practitioners become attached to their practice or to experiences arising during the course of practice. Often, practitioners have studied under several masters, have read sutras, and have attended lectures and retreats. They have encountered several religious traditions and have tried different methods of practice. Practitioners can develop strong attachments to their previous experiences and learning. If they cling to their spiritual experiences, their practice will suffer. When people decide to study exclusively with one master, they should put aside everything they learned before and practice their new methods diligently.

When people with previous practice come to study with me, I warn them not to be proud. I advise them to leave behind everything they learned before and act as if this were the first moment they had ever heard the Dharma. If they can forget all that they learned in the past, and accept even one line of Dharma that they hear from me, they can make quick progress. However, if they cannot do this, then all their previous years of practice, experience and learning will rise up, and whatever I say will have minimal effect. The residue piled up from the past will prevent them from learning from me.

When you come on my retreats, I tell you to leave behind not only what you learned from other teachers, but also what I myself have told you in the past. What I said yesterday is not necessarily useful to you today. What I said two weeks past has no bearing on your practice now. Only what I say today is useful to you today. What I say this moment is useful to you this moment. Furthermore, what I say to you is useful to you only. What I say to another person has nothing to do with you.

The correct attitude is to put aside all ideas of the Dharma, all methods that you have learned in the past, and all of your past experiences. Leave all of it behind and just work on your current method. Whatever you have learned in the past has given you a foundation to work from, but if you try to connect it with what you are learning now, you will create obstructions in your mind. The power of the past is with you, but you should detach yourself from it.

On the other hand, if you can retain one line of Dharma and understand it with your entire being, then no other teachings are necessary. Only exceptional practitioners, however, are capable of doing this. Ma-tzu had a disciple named Fa-ch’ang. Ma-tzu told him, “The mind is Buddha.” Fa-ch’ang took the words to heart; he remembered them and practiced them. Years later, Fa-ch’ang left Ma-tzu and took up residence on Plum Mountain.

One day, Ma-tzu sent a disciple to visit Fa-ch’ang and deliver a message: “Ma-tzu has modified his Buddhadharma. He used to say ‘The mind is Buddha.’ Now he says, ‘It is not the mind, it is not the Buddha.’ What do you think?”

Fa-ch’ang replied, “Is this guy still up to his old tricks? He can change his Buddhadharma as often as he likes, but for me, I’ll stick with what I have. For me, the mind is Buddha.”

When the messenger returned and related Fa-ch’ang’s reaction, Ma-tzu was satisfied. He praised Fa-ch’ang’s achievement: “This plum is ripe.”

When Ma-tzu told Fa-ch’ang that the mind is Buddha, Fa-ch’ang benefited. He recognized the benefit and retained the sentence. Later, Ma-tzu could say anything he wanted to other people, but it had nothing to do with Fa-ch’ang.

If you benefit from even one line of Buddhadharma, you should hold onto it and never forget it. If you can penetrate one word of true Dharma, you do not have to seek other teachers. One word can be enough for enlightenment. On the other hand, if you learn many methods of practice, but cannot solve the problem of birth and death, what good are those methods?

Do not waste your time on theory and concepts. Apply yourself directly to the method. Retrieve your method when you lose it. Everything I say during lectures will always come back to this point. If I do not say anything, your minds will turn forever with thoughts and fantasies. The purpose of these lectures is to bring your minds together, to focus your thoughts until there are no thoughts left. Until you accomplish this, I will continue to lecture.

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