The Buddhist Perspective on Cause and Condition
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Huineng struck a chord with the Fifth Patriarch.<br />
He reflected <strong>and</strong> replied, “Okay! You are allowed to<br />
stay here <strong>and</strong> work. Report to the threshing mill.”<br />
Everyday for the next eight m<strong>on</strong>ths, Huineng<br />
used a huge axe to collect firewood. Everyday, he<br />
wore st<strong>on</strong>e weights around his waist to act as ballasts<br />
in helping him thresh grains. Not <strong>on</strong>ce did the Fifth<br />
Patriarch visit him; not <strong>on</strong>ce did the Fifth Patriarch<br />
teach him <strong>on</strong>e word. Huineng did not complain or get<br />
upset. It was late <strong>on</strong>e night when the Fifth Patriarch<br />
finally h<strong>and</strong>ed Huineng his robe <strong>and</strong> bowl, making<br />
him the Sixth Patriarch. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> Fifth Patriarch explained<br />
himself with this verse:<br />
Those with sentience come to sow<br />
In fields of causati<strong>on</strong>, fruits will grow.<br />
Ultimately without sentience,<br />
Having nothing to sow,<br />
Without nature, there is nothing to grow.<br />
What the Fifth Patriarch was saying through this<br />
verse is this: When you first arrived from the distant<br />
l<strong>and</strong> of Lingnan to learn the Truth from me, the cause<br />
was ripe <strong>and</strong> you were sincere. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> envir<strong>on</strong>ment <strong>and</strong><br />
c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s, however, were inadequate. I first needed<br />
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