No one can live your life or become enlightened for you. But how is it that prajna is inherent to the mind? How can we attain enlightenment and see our nature? We should not rely on holy water, magical talismans, or the empowerments and blessings of a guru, for we must break through the delusions within. In all things you must depend upon yourself. There is no one else who can take your place.

Once Xiangyan Zhixian had come to study with Chan Master Weishan Lingyou. Lingyou said, “I have heard that at Chan Master Baizhang Huaihai’s place you gave ten answers for every question and a hundred answers for every ten. Is this true?”

Zhixian answered, “It is, I’m ashamed to say.”

Lingyou continued, “That’ s nothing more than clever worldly repartee. It will be no help whatsoever in liberating you from the cycle of birth and death. Now I ask you, what was your original face before you were born?”

Zhixian pondered the matter for a long while, and then he asked for instruction, “Master, please be compassionate and teach me.”

Lingyou replied, “I know that if I were to reveal the answer to you now, you would curse me in the future when you truly attain enlightenment.”

If in learning Buddhism we only chase after profound spiritual experiences or only request the teacher’s instructions to help us avoid trouble, then we have wasted our mental effort. It is no different from watching an athlete train as we sit by on the sidelines; by only watching, we will not become any stronger or more agile. Any specialty requires its own systematic training, so if we wish to live a life of wisdom, how can we ever act conceited or lazy?

Once Chan Master Daoqian and his good friend Zongyuan were traveling on foot, walking to various monasteries to learn from the great Chan masters. As they journeyed, Zongyuan found the mountain and river crossings extremely difficult and tiring, so on many occasions, he complained and demanded to end their trip.

Finally, Daoqian comforted him and said, “We have decided to take this tour to study and learn, and it would be a shame to abandon it in the middle of our trip. I know you are very weary and tired, but from now on I will do whatever I can do for you. However, there are five tasks that I cannot help you with.”

“What five?” Zongyuan asked.

Daoqian smiled, “Getting dressed, eating meals, urinating, defecating, and walking.”

Zongyuan then understood what Daoqian was talking about.

There was more that Daoqian could not do for him than just getting dressed, eating meals, urinating, defecating, and walking. It is truly impossible for other people to live your life for you. So if you truly wish to live a life of wisdom, how can you slack off and rely on others?

There are some people who have been faithful Buddhists for many years and have delved into the Buddhist sutras and who can talk a great deal about the principles in those Buddhist books, but they are incapable of applying the teachings to their lives. Such people cannot let go of who is right or wrong and who wins or loses. This goes against the essence of the Diamond Sutra. If Buddhism becomes separated from life, there can be no prajna, nor can there be any understanding of “emptiness.”

Once there was a businessman who considered himself to be a Buddhist, but he suffered from a terrible temper. When angered, he would curse and shout at his own mother without realizing what he was saying. One day, he went to the Buddhist temple to light some incense, and there he saw a statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, splendid and majestic. The businessman thought, “It is said that Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva responds to every request, so if I were able to see the bodhisattva for myself, I could ask for my business to prosper and my work to go well, and I will make even more money.”

The businessman then spoke to the abbot of the temple asking, “Venerable, how can I see Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva for myself?”

The abbot thought he could free the businessman of his delusions, so he said to him, “Return home: if you see someone wearing their clothes backwards and having put their shoes on wrong, then that person is the very Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva who responds to every request.”

Overjoyed, the businessman hurried back home, but along the way he saw no bodhisattva as described by the abbot. He became furious with the venerable abbot for having deceived him, so when he finally returned home, he knocked on the door with great force. His mother heard the urgent knocking, and came to the door shaken and in great haste. As a result she had gotten dressed so quickly that her clothes were on backwards and she had put her shoes on the wrong way.

The door opened and the businessman saw his mother-was this not Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva as described by the abbot? The businessman realized the error of his ways and felt regret. His mother, who had suckled him as a baby and spent her whole life devoted to looking after him, was she not a bodhisattva who responds to every request? From then on the businessman changed; he took care of his mother with respect and devotion all the rest of
her days.

Prajna is not present only when reciting the Diamond Sutra, nor is it necessarily present during retreat. Prajna exists in the ordinary, everyday activities of eating and dressing; it is present in how one deals with the world and the people and things in it.

Longtan Chongxin went to study with Chan Master Tianhuang Daowu. Longtan Chongxin stayed with the Chan master for twenty years, yet during that time he did not feel that he had gained a great understanding of the Dharma.

Finally Longtan went before Chan Master Tianhuang Daowu to ask to leave the monastery. Chan Master Tianhuang asked, “Where are you going?”

Longtan said, “I will travel around to learn and study the Dharma.”

“The Dharma is right here. Where else would you go to learn?”

“I’ve been here over a dozen years now and have never heard you give me any instruction in the Dharma. How can the Dharma be here?”

“How could you lie like that!” Chan Master Tianhuang continued, “What do you mean there’s no Dharma here? You bring tea every day and I receive it from you and drink it. Then you bring food and I receive it from you and eat it. You join your palms together and bow, while I nod my head. In every one of these instances I am teaching you the Dharma. How could the Dharma not be here? These things are the Dharma. They are the prajna of everyday life!”

Longtan said, “Oh. That’s prajna? Let me think about it.” Chan Master Tianhuang replied, “You can’t think about it; thinking is the discriminating mind and that’s not prajna.”

From hearing these words Longtan finally understood.

Such teachings are truly beyond conception and show moments of sudden realization. In the Mind Seal Commentary to the Diamond Sutra, the great Qing dynasty scholar Puwan commented upon this passage from the Diamond Sutra:

At that time the elder monk Subhuti was among the gathering of monks. He rose from his seat, bore his right shoulder, knelt on his right knee, and with palms pressed together before him, respectfully spoke to the Buddha saying …

With the verse:

In a fiery transformation
and a churning of waves,
a dragon is born;
While the shrimps and crabs
merely exert their eyes.

Puwan explained how enlightened people are like dragons that can fly through the sky, riding the wind and rain, while those who have yet to attain enlightenment are like shrimps or crabs that can only exert their eyes, giving a stirring description of the ignorance of the unenlightened.

That opportunity for sudden realization is present throughout our lives. Every day there are opportunities for enlightenment. People who are too tired to get out of bed and suffer the daily frustrations of being late may come to the sudden realization that they should get up earlier. People who are weak may come to the sudden realization that they should start to exercise daily. But these are so often just passing thoughts, for ingrained habits are hard to change. Buddhist enlightenment is not the same as a momentary realization. It must be experienced in our lives and practiced in our daily activities. This is the only way to experience Chan in daily life, for Chan is daily life. Only by putting our realizations into practice can we gradually be freed from our affliction and suffering and attain the freedom of bodhi.

(to be continued)

Source: Hsing Yun. Four Insights for Finding Fulfillment: A Practical Guide to the Buddha’s Diamond Sutra. Los Angeles: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2012.