seventh world of chan buddhism - Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun

Eventually he realizes that he is beaten. "What is the sound of one hand clapping? I
don't know. I don't care. Lord," he prays, "let me hide in some quiet corner. Let me serve
you in peace. Get me out of this nightmare and I will be your humble servant forever." He
stops going to darshan. What's the point?
He takes refuge in menial tasks. They content him. Though he has ceased to be
ashamed, there is still something triste about him. He has lost his buoyancy and has settled
down to a calm bottom. Nobody pays him any attention anymore. He is grateful for his
anonymity.
Then, miraculously, one day as he is sweeping the kitchen floor, the cook drops a
round pot lid and as it rotates - rrrhah, rrrhah, rrrhah - the reverberating sound captures
Ming's attention. Someone sitting in the rear of Ming's head blows his ego-candle out. That
person then looks out of Ming's eye sockets. Ming experiences the world as an exquisite,
sublimely serene creation! The cook is still there working. His knife still flashes in the
sunlight. The fire still gives off heat. A breeze still blows in through the window. But Doe
Ming is gone and nothing that is seen is distorted by Doe Ming's ego. The world is pure! His
candle flame reignites and he returns, dazzled. "Gadzooks!" he shouts. What has happened?
Is it possible that for a couple of glorious seconds he has seen the world as God sees the
world... that during his own demise he, in fact, has been God? Was this Nirvana? Of
course! This is Satori! Ultimate reality! Non-duality! Unity of seer and seen! Emptiness!
He skips around dazed. He was emptied of himself! Kenosis! When he is able to recollect
himself, he understands that in the real world, he, Doe Ming, has no more substance than a
ghost. Well! If he doesn't exist neither does the Chan master. Hah! He is jubilant,
triumphant! Hah! The other monks `believe' that there is a buddha inside themselves, but
they don't `know' it. And most assuredly, they have never `been' it!
Tossing aside his broom, the man who has been God strides into the assembly, kicks
aside a monk who is kneeling in darshan, plops down on his haunches in front of Master and,
remembering perhaps how his fictional self suffered at the hands of his fictional master, says
defiantly, "Eat shit and die, you old fake!" Then he bursts out laughing. Master and the head
monk join in merrily. They love the punch line but nobody else gets the joke.
Again and again, throughout the early history of Chan, this scenario, more or less and
in infinite variety, replayed itself.
What steps prepare a person for this experience? l. Understanding of the first truth:
Life is bitter and painful. 2. A ripe (mature) mind, i.e., one that has become unattached. 3.
Enough of an ego to accept a challenge. 4. Humiliation and a prolonged period of stress
caused by intellectual frustration (any subject - not just a Koan - will do). 5. The release of
stress by the relief of success, or by surrender, or by a vanquishing kick, blow or fearsome
shout.
CHAPTER 18 SATORI, THE KOAN, AND MONASTIC POLISHING
S EVENTH W ORLD O F C HAN B UDDHISM
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