
                                   19

                            Leaving No Trace
                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



        Nothing lingers behind,
        Nothing can be remembered.
        Bright and empty, functioning naturally,
        The mind does not exert itself.

 After a bird has flown from one tree to another, what trace did it
 leave in the air? Again, when you stand in front of a mirror,you see
 your image reflected in it. But after you have gone, what is left in
 the mirror? Your mind should be like this;  any event that occurs
 should leave no trace in your mind.We cannot deny that the bird has
 actually flown a certain distance, or that the mirror has reflected
 you. But it is precisely because the bird did not leave a trace that
 other birds are free to fly over the same route, and it is precisely
 because the mirror does not retain your image that other people can
 also see their images. If traces were left in the sky, would it look as
 spacious as it does to us now? If the mirror retained images, would it
 still be able to reflect?
       
 Likewise, the accumulation of knowledge and experiences only adds
 obstructions. For instance, whatever you have learned previously from
 other teachers is like the trace of a bird, or the image left behind on
 a mirror. If these things stay in your mind on retreat, you will not be
 able to absorb my teachings because there will be an overlap of images.
 On the first evening I told you to forget everything that happened in
 the past; do not attempt to compare what happens on this retreat with
 your former experiences.

 Not remembering anything does not mean that you are like a stone or a
 piece of wood. Your mind is still clearly aware of knowing certain
 things but does not try to bring up these memories as criteria for
 comparing and judging. The bird did fly from tree to tree, and the
 mirror did reflect people, but they have nothing to do with you.
 Phenomena may change, but your mind is not moved by them.

 Today someone found the Ch'an hall too hot, and so kept taking off
 layers of clothing; but when he looked around, it seemed that everyone
 else did not mind the heat. Finally he could bear it no longer and came
 to talk to me. I told him that he felt so hot because he was thinking
 that it was hot. If his mind was on practice he would not be aware of
 the heat. He took my advice and it worked. It is the mind that
 generates these vexations. The environment may contribute, but if your
 mind does not cooperate, it will not pose a problem for you.

        It is not a place of thinking,
        Difficult for reason and emotion to fathom.

 It is impossible to explain the state when there is nothing left in the
 mind. For the past few evenings, I have been talking about no mind. A
 few people have asked me, "What is this no mind you are talking about?"
 I said, "No mind is just no mind. Even if I were to tell you, you still
 would not know. You cannot use your reasoning or knowledge to imagine
 it. You can only know by personal experience."

 When I was in my teens someone told me he had a ringing in his ears. I
 asked him to describe it, and he explained it was like the humming of
 bees. I still did not understand what it felt like. Later when I was
 forty, I experienced it myself. If physiological experiences are
 difficult to imagine, all the more so with Ch'an, which is beyond all
 normal experience.


        In the Dharma Realm of true suchness,
        There is no other, no self.

 True suchness refers to things as they really are, without eternal
 existence. Some think that true suchness is something eternal that can
 be held on to, but actually there is no such thing. Neither is there
 any Dharma Realm. True suchness is neither self nor other. Many
 practitioners seek to discover their self-nature, which they identify
 with Buddha nature, or true suchness. But this implies a certain
 existence. True suchness is neither yourself nor another.

 Someone said to me, "I know that the self I am familiar with is an
 illusion. I want to find the true one." I replied, "The self you have
 now is illusory. But even the true self is illusory.  Nevertheless, you
 must try to find it. If you don't find it, you won't know it is an
 illusion."

        To accord with it is vitally important;
        Only refer to "not-two."
        In not-two all things are in unity;
        Nothing is excluded.

 To be in accord with true suchness, two things cannot be different;
 they are "not-two" in the sense of not being more than one. However, it
 would not be meaningful to speak of something according with itself.
 Thus, we cannot speak of one or two. We can only say "not-two." In true
 suchness, there is accordance with all sentient beings. The Buddha is
 in accord with sentient beings, and sentient beings can be in accord
 with each other. Accordance is a communication, or connection, between
 two things, such that they form a unity. For example, in marriage, two
 people come together without losing their own individuality.

 In not-two everything is included. In fact, "not-two" refers to no
 mind, the mind of bodhi.[1] If you say something is there, you would be
 wrong. If you say nothing is there, you would also be wrong. Therefore,
 existence and non-existence are not-two. If this is the case,
 everything is included. The Platform Sutra states that vexation is the
 same as bodhi. Those who do not practice Ch'an are not aware of their
 deepest vexations. When you discover the extent of your vexations and
 think that you are not making any progress, then you are really
 practicing. Only when you realize your problems is it possible to
 resolve them.

     
                                 * * *

                                  Note
                                  ~~~~

 [1] bodhi: (Sanskrit,  "awakened"). State  of enlightened mind,
     characterized by having experienced one's own Buddha nature.


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