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LETTERS TO THE ZEN PRIEST IGUCHI I 181fasting. Relinquishment of delusion in the wholehearted practice ofZen-this is self-purification. To desire abnormal experiences1 is asmisguided as wanting to appear different from ordinary people. Youhave but to keep your mind steadfast yet flexible, ..:oncerning yourselfwith neither good nor evil in others and not obstructing them.If you remind yourself that this world is but a dream in which thereis no grief to avoid and no joy to look fo r, your mind will becomevisibly serene. Not only this, but your illnesses will disappear asyour delusive feelings and perceptions fall away. You must evendiscard whatever you realize through enlightenment. What is more,you must not attach yourself to or be repelled by visions of any kind,for they are all illusional. Don't involve yourself in such fantasies butonly inquire: "What is the master who sees all this?"I have fully answered the questions you have raised. Should younot realize your True-self in this lifetime even though you practiceZen exactly as I now advise you, you will unquestionably meet a perfectlyenlightened Zen master in your next life and attain Self-realizationa thousand times over through one Sound [ofTruth].I dislike writing you in such detail, but since you have written mefrom a sickbed to which you have long been confined, this is the onlyway I can answer so you will readily understand.8 / FIRST LETTER TO THE ZEN PRIEST IGU­CHI / I have read your presentation at length, but it misses thepoint of the koan. The Sixth Patriarch said: "The flag doesn't move,the wind doesn't move, only your mind moves."2 To realize thisclearly is to perceive that the universe and yourself are of the sameroot, that you and every single thing are a unity. The gurgle of thestream and the sigh of the wind are the voices of the master. Thegreen of pine, the white of snow, these are the colors of the master,the very one who lifts the hands, moves the legs, sees, hears. One whograsps this directly without recourse to reason or intellection can besaid to have some degree of inner realization. But this is not yet fullenlightenment.An ancient Zen master [Rinzai] said: "You should not cling to the1 That is, hallucinations or fantasies arising from prolonged fasting.2 Mumonkan No. 29.