Blue Cliff Record 2

74
Blue Cliff Record (Hekiganroku, Biyan Lu) #2
Zhaozhou's 'The Real Way Is Not Difficult"

Personnel

• ZHAOZHOU Congshen (Joshu Jushin, 778-897, 10th gen), disciple of Nanquan .
• An unnamed monastic

Yuanwu's Preface

Heaven and earth are narrow; the sun, moon, and stars are suddenly dark.
Were blows of the staff to fall like raindrops, and shouts to peal like thunder, still you would not touch the point of the supreme teaching.
Even the Buddhas of the three worlds can know it only by themselves; even the patriarchs of the successive generations cannot present it fully.
Neither can the great treasury of all the sutras expound it adequately.
Even the clearly enlightened monk is helpless.
When you are at this stage, what other instruction could you expect?
To say the word “Buddha” is to pour muddy water over yourself; to say the word “Zen” is to shame your face.
For advanced students who have been practicing for a long time, it is unnecessary to say anything more.
Recent beginners should investigate and apprehend it right away.

Case

Zhaozhou, instructing the assembly, said, “'The supreme way is not difficult: It simply dislikes choosing’. If even a word is uttered, it is already [an action of] choosing or [of] ‘clarity.’
This old monastic does not dwell in clarity. Do you monks want to keep a firm hold on it (clarity) or not?”
At that time there was a monastic attending who asked, “You say that you do not dwell in clarity. If so, what is there to keep a firm hold on?”
Zhaozhou said, “I do not know, either.”
The monastic said, “If you say you do not know, why do you say that you do not dwell in clarity?”
Zhaozhou said, “You have already asked fully. Bow and withdraw.”

T. Cleary and J.C. Cleary, BCR: Chao Chou, teaching the assembly, said, "'The Ultimate Path is without difficulty; just avoid picking and choosing.' As soon as there are words spoken, 'this is picking and choosing,' 'this is clarity.' This old monk does not abide within clarity; do you still preserve anything or not?" At that time a certain monk asked, "Since you do not abide within clarity, what do you preserve?" Chao Chou replied, "I don't know either." The monk said, "Since you don't know, Teacher, why do you nevertheless say that you do not abide within clarity?" Chao Chou said, "It is enough to ask about the matter; bow and withdraw."
T. Cleary, Secrets of BCR: Joshu said, “‘The supreme way has no difficulty, it just rejects discrimination.’ As soon as there are words spoken, ‘This is discrimination,’ ‘This is clarity.’ I do not remain within clarity; do you preserve anything?” Then a monk asked, “Since you do not remain within clarity, what do you preserve?” Joshu said, “I don’t know either.” The monk said, “Since you don’t know, why do you say you are not in clarity?” Joshu said, “You’ve posed the question; now you can go.”
Hinton: Instructing the assembled sangha, Visitation-Land said: "It isn't hard to inhabit Tao's Way. Simply stop picking and choosing. The moment even a first word or thought appears -- that's already picking and choosing, already the clarity of understanding. This old monk doesn't abide in the clarity of understanding. But it's still the treasure you cherish, isn't it?" A monk interrupted and asked: "If not the clarity of understanding, what is your cherished treasure?" "I really don't know," replied Land. "But if you don't know, Master, how can you say that you don't abiod in the clarity of understanding?" "Asking is itself the realization," replied Land. "Just ask, then bow reverently and leave."
Sekida: Jōshū spoke to the assembly and said, “The real Way is not difficult. It only abhors choice and attachment. With but a single word there may arise choice and attachment or there may arise clarity. This old monk does not have that clarity. Do you appreciate the meaning of this or not?” Then a monk asked, “If you do not have that clarity, what do you appreciate?” Jōshū said, “I do not know that, either.” The monk said, “If you do not know, how can you say you do not have that clarity?” Jōshū said, “Asking the question is good enough. Now make your bows and retire.”
Shaw: Jo-shu spoke to the assembly and said: The Real Way is not difficult, but it dislikes the Relative. If there is but little speech it is about the Relative or it is about the Absolute. This old monk is not within the Absolute. Do you value this or not? At this point there was a monk who said: If you are not within the Absolute how can you assess its value? Jo-shu said: Neither do I know that. The monk said: Your Reverence, if you do not yet know, how is it that you say you are not within the Absolute? Jo-shu said: You are effective in your questioning. Finish your worship and retire.

Yuanwu's Interjections

Chao Chou, teaching the assembly, said,
     (What's the old fellow doing? Don't create complications!)
"'The Ultimate Path is without difficulty;
     (Not hard, not easy.)
just avoid picking and choosing.'
     (What's in front of your eyes? The Third Patriarch is still alive.)
As soon as there are words spoken, 'this is picking and choosing,' 'this is clarity.'
     (Two heads, three faces. A little boasting. When a fish swims through, the water is muddied; when a bird flies by, feathers fall.)
This old monk does not abide within clarity;
     (His thieving intent already shows; where is the old fellow going?)
do you still preserve anything or not?"
     (He's defeated. Still there's something, or a half.)
At that time a certain monk asked, "Since you do not abide within clarity, what do you preserve?"
     (The monk presses him well; his tongue is pressed against the roof of his mouth.)
Chao Chou replied, "I don't know either."
     ((The monk) crushed this old fellow dead; he has to fall back three thousand miles.)
The monk said, "Since you don't know, Teacher, why do you nevertheless say that you do not abide within clarity?"
     (Look! Where is he going? He's chased him up a tree.)
Chao Chou said, "It is enough to ask about the matter; bow and withdraw."
     (Lucky thing he has this move; the old thief!

Xuedou's Verse

The supreme way is not difficult.
A little speech – that's it; a little word – that's it.
In one there are many kinds;
In two there are not two.
On the horizon, the sun rises and the moon sets;
Beyond the balcony, the mountains are deep, the waters cold.
Where the skull's consciousness comes to an end, how could joy come up?
The withered tree is giving a dragon's groan:
Though dead, it is still not dried up.
Difficult, difficult!
Choosing or clarity?
See for yourself!

T. Cleary and J.C. Cleary, BCR: The Ultimate Path is without difficulty: /The speech is to the point, the words are to the point. /In one there are many kinds; /In two there's no duality. /On the horizon of the sky the sun rises and the moon sets; /Beyond the balustrade, the mountains deepen, the waters grow chill. /When the skull's consciousness is exhausted, how can joy remain? /In a dead tree the dragon murmurs are not yet exhausted. /Difficult, difficult! /Picking and choosing? Clarity? You see for yourself!
T. Cleary, Secrets of BCR: “The supreme way has no difficulty” — the words are straight, the speech is straight. /One has many kinds, two have no duality. /At the horizon, the sun rises and the moon sets; /Before the balustrade, the mountains deepen and the water chills. /When consciousness ends in the skull, how can joy exist? /The dragon howl in the withered tree has not evaporated. /Difficult, difficult: discrimination or clarity — you see yourself.
Hinton: It isn't hard to inhabit Tao's Way, /but words begin, thoughts begin, /and in one lies the seed of many, /in two the nature of all before it. /At the edge of heaven, sunrises and moonsets, /at the fence, deep mountains and cold streams: /when the skull stops making distinctions, how can joy survive? /It's just the dragon-cry of an age-torn tree, faint but never gone. /Hard, hard: the clarity of /understanding, picking and choosing. It's how we see ourselves.
Sekida: The real Way is not difficult. /Direct word! Direct speech! /One with many phases, /Two with one. /Far away in the heavens the sun rises, the moon sets; /Beyond the hills the high mountains, the cold waters./The skull has no consciousness, no delight; /The dead tree sings in the wind, not yet rotten. .Difficult, difficult! /Attachment and clarity; watch, and penetrate the secret!
Shaw: ‘The Real Way is not difficult.’ Words accord. Speech accords. Though it is One it has many aspects. Even if it be two, it is not only of double aspect. On the far side of the sky the sun rises, the moon sets. Outside the window the mountains are distant, the water is cold. Even though the skull’s consciousness has ended why should joy have ceased? The decayed tree’s dragon-moan may have been stopped, but it is not yet dried up (dead). Difficult, difficult! The Relative and the Absolute. Do you yourselves ponder them.

from Sengcan's "Xinxinming"

Zhaozhou is quoting from the "Xinxinming," composed by the 3rd Patriarch, Sengcan (d. 606). The title, "Xinxinming," variously translates as "A Poetical Manuscript on Belief in the Mind," or "Song of Trusting the Heart," and, most commonly, "Faith in Mind." A verse translation is in the Boundless Way Zen Sutra Book, 3rd Ed., as "Heart of True Entrusting," p. 21. The first verse in the Boundless Way translation is:

The Great Way is not difficult for
those who do not pick and choose.
When pref'rences are all seen through,
the Way stands clear and undisguised.

Sato Migaku gives this translation:

"The supreme Way is not difficult; it simply dislikes choosing.
Only if there is no love or hatred, all is complete clarity."

Sekida gives this translation:

"The real Way is not difficult. It only abhors choice and attachment.
If you have no attachments, you have positively attained clarity."

Hakuin's Comment

Discriminations like "delusion," "enlightenment," and "sentient beings" are wrong. If you abide in clarity, you need to preserve it, but if you do not remain in clarity, there's nothing to preserve, is there?

Sekida's Comment

Here "clarity" means enlightenment. In other words, if you have no attachments you are enlightened -- a simple precept which forms the theme of the poem. Zhaozhou admired these lines but gave them a characteristic twist when he quoted them.
"With but a single word there may arise choice and attachment or there may arise clarity." If you come out into the world of the activity of consciousness (if you say but a single word), there may arise either delusion or enlightenment.
"This old monk does not have that clarity." I have no attachment, even to enlightenment. Enlightenment is valued, but if you are content with it and stick to it, then a new trouble will arise, namely, Dharma-sticking blindness. Zen students are supposed to throw away whatever they achieve as it is achieved. This is called, "leaving no trace."
"Do you appreciate the meaning of this or not?" Do you value the attitude of mind that does not stick to anything? But valuing this attitude is itself open to criticism, since it implies attachment to that state of mind. Zhaozhou knew this, but opened himself to criticism for the sake of teaching. This is called "trudging through the mire."
"If you do not have that clarity, what do you appreciate?" The monastic, in fact, levels just that criticism.

Yamada's Comment

The supreme way means the highest truth. Seen from the Buddhist point of view, it is nothing but our essential nature. This is said to be "not difficult, it simply dislikes choosing." So, you should not be particular and selective, insisting that you like this or you don't like that. If you stay as you are, you are the perfect presentation of the supreme way itself. But if you start thinking in your head and get fastidious about your liking and disliking, then you spoil the supreme way. If you are hungry, you just eat; if you have some business to do, you get up and do it. It would be difficult if you insisted on sitting when you have some urgent business to do. But standing up to do something – there is nothing difficult about that. When your business is over, you may sit down again. If you are tired, you simply lie down. But usually people think that the "supreme way" is something more than that. They think the truth comes out of their brainwork. However, what comes out of their brain is not truth, but simply an idea, a concept of the truth. The real "supreme way" means standing up, lying down, talking, listening, eating, sleeping. Outside of our concrete actions in our daily life, there is no "supreme way."
"Clarity" means the world of satori, the world of equality or of essence. "An action of choosing" represents the world of discrimination, the world of phenomena. So if you utter one tiny word, you are already in one of these two worlds – either in the phenomenal world or in the essential world, either in delusion or in satori. You may think that the world of satori is by far the better one.
"This old monastic [i.e., Zhaozhou himself] does not dwell in clarity." Although he is evidently a man of satori, he does not dwell in the world of equality, in satori.
"Do you monastics want to keep a firm hold on it or not?" Although I am not in the world of equality, in the realm of satori, I wonder if you, the disciples around me, want to hold onto satori as something extremely important. – In this way, Zhaozhou is checking his disciples.
At that time there was a monastic attending who asked, "You say that you do not dwell in clarity. If so, what is there to keep a firm hold on?" The monastic is starting an argument, mixing up the two statements of Zhaozhou that his disciples might be keeping a firm hold on satori and that Zhaozhou himself is not staying in the world of satori.
Zhaozhou said, "I do not know either." How interesting! You see that the monastic is using logic to trap him, but with this "I don't know either," Zhaozhou, a truly perfected master, can sneak through any trap. Yet, the monastic, obstinate and cunning as he is, doesn't want to give up.
"If you say you do not know, why do you say that you do not dwell in clarity?" You say that you don't know. But just now you said that you didn't live in the world of satori. How could a man who knows nothing say such a thing? You said a minute ago that you were not in satori, because you knew it! You know that you are not in the world of satori. Why on earth do you maintain that you don't know? – Ordinary people would be driven into an impasse by this rigorous logic, not knowing how to find an appropriate answer. But Zhaozhou remains superb. He says, "You have already asked amply. Bow and withdraw." Is that all you have to ask? Then you are through with your questions. Make a bow and go back to your seat. Against such a surpassing master like Zhaozhou, no trap works.

Shaw's Interpretation

Jo-shu spoke to the assembly and said: The Real Way is nothing other than the Absolute. It was Seng-ts’an who told us that there is no difficulty about the Real Way, except that it is not expressible through the Relative. It dislikes the Relative. No matter how few words you may use in trying to explain this matter, you will soon find yourself talking about the Relative and the Absolute, and you will find yourself talking about differentiation. I myself am not captivated by the idea ofthe Absolute, so as to divide the real way into Absolute and Relative and to value the former very highly. And what about you? Do you distinguish between the Absolute and the Relative and value the former very highly? Here one ofthe company spoke out and said: You acknowledge that you do not value the Absolute as highly as you would wish, but if so does not that mean that you are in some measure detached from the Relative? If you neither understand the Absolute nor remain detached from the Relative how can you assess the value of either? To this Jo-shu replied: I do not even know that. The monk said: If Your Reverence has no knowledge about these matters how can you even say that you do not prize the Absolute above the Relative? Jo-shu said: You are skilful in asking logical questions. Your logic is good. It is more important for you to go and do your worship than to argue logically. You will learn more in that way, so go off to your worship and retire.

Rothenberg's Verse

The End It Is Easy

To say the word "Buddha" is to muddy your boots.
Say the word "Zen," make your face full of shame.
When a fish swims by, the water is muddied
When a bird flies by, a few feathers fall.
This is normal enough:
Just don't love or hate, you'll be lucid with fear.
Who can then do it?
Do you ask me to live stone cold!?
An upside-down question:
How dare you speak of difficulty and ease!
Dragons murmur in trees long dead.
They may exist, they may be a dream.
In two choices there's no possibility,
in one there's no hope to choose --
consciousness and point of view, chi and ching.
See for yourself, know what you see.
So far I understand nothing.

Hotetsu's Verse

Snow in the branches, on the roofs. Geese
In the sky. A gibbous moon.
Choosing is not to be found.
Disliking choosing is not to be found.