The Way of Zen - Alan Watts [57]
2 Saraha’s Treasury of Songs, translated by David Snellgrove in Conze (2), pp. 224–39.
3 The original is:
Mi-mno, mi-bsam, mi-dpyad-ching,
Mi-bsgom, mi-sems, rang-babs-bzhag.
The translation is based upon an elucidation of the passage given me by Mr. Alex Wayman of the University of California. Mi-mno is approximately equivalent to the Zen terms wu-hsin or wu-nien, “no-mind” or “no-thought.” Bsam is the equivalent of the Sanskrit cintana, i.e., discursive thinking about what has been heard, and dpyad of mimamsa, or “philosophical analysis.” Bsgom is probably bhavana or the Chinese hsiu, “to cultivate,” “to practice,” or “intense concentration.” Sems is cetana or szu, with the sense of intention or volition. Rang-babs-bzhag is literally “self-settle-establish,” and “self-settle” would seem to be an almost exact equivalent of the Taoist tzu-jan, “self-so,” “spontaneous,” or “natural.”
4 Quoted by Fung Yu-lan (1), vol. 2, p. 240, from Seng-yu, Ch’u San-tsang Chi-chi, 9.
5 Liebenthal (1), p. 49.
6 The same idea was used even before Dogen by the Zen master Ma-tsu (d. 788): “So with former thoughts, later thoughts, and thoughts in between: the thoughts follow one another without being linked together. Each one is absolutely tranquil.” Ku-tsun-hsü Yü-lu, 1. 4.
7 Liebenthal (1), pp. 71–72.
8 385–433. His Discussion of Essentials (Pien Tsung Lun) is our principal source of information about Tao-sheng’s ideas. See Fung Yu-lan (1), vol. 2, pp. 274–84.
9 Hu Shih (1) and T’ang Yung-t’ing have suggested that Bodhidharma was in China at the earlier date of 420 to 479. See also Fung Yu-lan (1), vol. 2, pp. 386–90, Pelliot (1), and Dumoulin (2).
10 The traditional sources are Tao-hsüan’s Sung-kao Seng-chuan (Taisho 2061), composed between 645 and 667, and Tao-yüan’s Ching Te Ch’uan Teng Lu (Taisho 2076), written about 1004.
11 Works attributed to Bodhidharma will be found in Suzuki (1), vol. 1, pp. 165–70, and Senzaki and McCandless (1), pp. 73–84. The style is always Indian and lacks Taoist “flavor.”
12 Hui-neng’s Tan Ching, for example, records several instances of the Sixth Patriarch’s interviews with dhyana masters who obviously did not belong to his own “sudden school” of dhyana. Furthermore, it was not until the time of Po-chang (720–814), or even later, that the Zen School had monasteries of its own. See Dumoulin and Sasaki (1), p. 13.
13 Ch’uan Teng Lu, 3.
14 Suzuki (1), vol. 1, pp. 170–71.
15 Wu-men kuan, 41.
16 In modern Chinese the first two characters mean something like “worldly” or “outside the fold.” In the present context they are usually taken to mean that the truth of Zen cannot be expressed in any form of doctrine, or that a teacher can do no more than show how to get it for oneself. However, the marvelous ambiguity of Chinese might intentionally allow both meanings. Consider the predominantly “secular” form of Zen expression, and such sayings as “Wash out your mouth every time you say, ‘Buddha!’ ”
17 Translations will be found in Suzuki (1), vol. 1, p. 182, and a revision in Suzuki (6), p. 91. Another by Arthur Waley is in Conze (2) p. 295.
18 The last two lines carry the same point as Hui-k’o’s interview with Bodhidharma.
19 Ch’uan Teng Lu, 3.
20 Ch’uam Teng Lu, 3.
21 Ta-ch’eng Chih-kuan Fa-men, Taisho 1924.
22 T’an-ching, 1. The full title of the work which records the life and teaching of Hui-neng is the Platform-Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, or Liu-tsu T’an-ching, Taisho 2008. For translations, see Bibliography under Wong Mou-lam and Rousselle.
23 A state of total confusion prevails among writers on Zen as to the naming of the great T’ang masters. For example, Shen-hui’s full name is Ho-tse Shen-hui, of which the Japanese pronunciation is Kataku Jinne. Shen-hui is his monastic name, and Ho-tse designates his locality. Japanese writers usually refer to him as Jinne, using the