In this, the eighth picture titled: Forget Both Self & Ox — there is no Satori or awakening, no Dharma to be awakened to, and no Self awakened. Here, Buddha nature stands completely and totally revealed. This is the culmination of practice, and the completion of discipline. It is, in other words, the perfect circle.
Zen monks have been drawing the circle since ancient times, and to the drawing of the circle, they have appended verses like:
Is this a rice cake, or a dumpling, or a barrel hoop?
And,
Eat this, and then go have some tea.
These verses are saying, these perfect things are our Buddha Nature. Perfect roundness suggests vast emptiness. It lacks nothing, and has nothing in excess. It is neither male nor female, neither young nor old, neither rich nor poor, neither learned nor unlearned, neither good nor bad. It is the complete just-so world of Satori…
“Shedding worldly, erasing holy thoughts…” Those worldly feelings like needing a drink, or desiring a pretty girl, have long ago disappeared. Now you are like a completely polished mirror, like the frosty moon shining with its cold clear light. And, if you are asking, is there here anything that smells of something wonderful like Satori, that too, is gone.
If you go around thinking, “I’ve had Satori, I’m enlightened” — this is not really Satori or enlightenment. If you think, “I am pure in mind” — then you have just muddied it.
“You do not linger where the Buddha is. You dash right past where the Buddha is not.” You must not loiter around any place where the Buddha is, or where there is Satori. These days there seems to be a lot of ‘thank you,’ and ‘I am much obliged to you,’ and ‘you shouldn’t do that for my sake’ — on every occasion. There is nothing wrong in all this; there is a lot of religious feeling here. But so long as there is any feeling of gratitude left, it is not genuine. People who say such things have not yet returned to their original home. They are still guests in the house of Buddha. That is why they go around being so polite.
There was once a devout follower named Shomatsu, who one day was taking an afternoon nap in front of the image of the Buddha. One of his companions came upon him and scolded him, “Hey, Shomatsu, you fool! You are displaying improper behavior in front of the Buddha. No one lies down and takes a nap in front of the Buddha. At this, Shomatsu drowsily propped himself up and said, it is just because this is right in front of our parent that I was taking my nap here. You think that you musn’t take a nap in front of our parent? But that shows you are only a step-child of the Buddha.” So long as you are still going around saying ‘Thank you’ and ‘Excuse me,’ you still have not gone home to your mother and father, to your parents. You are just visiting, as a guest…
‘The preface says not to remain in any place where the Buddha is, not to stay in any place so restricted and confined. If so, does that mean we should stay in some place where the Buddha is not, where there is no truth?’ Not at all. The preface continues, “You do not linger where the Buddha is. You dash right past where the Buddha is not.” Where there is no Buddha, run smartly past without a backward glance. You should not associate with the ‘Thank you, thank you’ group — but that does not mean you should join the half-wits always hanging around the railway station. Making a display of being considerate towards your parents is bad, but being inconsiderate towards your parents is even worse. Things that smell of Buddhism are disagreeable. But things that have absolutely no whif of Buddhism are even worse. What then should one do? Be complete. Be round. Not thinking is best.
“Don’t cling to duality, or the thousand-eyed one will soon find you.” No attachment to being grateful, and no attachment to being ungrateful. No lingering where the Buddha is, and no lingering where the Buddha is not. If you can understand this state, then not-even the thousand-eyed one can find you. Thousand-eyed one refers to the Bodhisattva Canon, who is said to have a thousand hands and a thousand eyes. Not even the many-eyed Canon will notice you. Not even Shakyamuni Buddha will know of you.
“My daughter these days is acting a little strange. She goes to the temple a lot. She’s not like the other girls her age. I don’t know what’s going on inside her head.” Well, you are not supposed to know what’s going on; because nothing is going on — just that, is a state you must attain.
“If birds were to bring you flowers, what a disgraceful scene.” This verse refers to an anecdote about the Chinese monk Gozu Hōyū Zenji (Master Niutou Farong), who went on to receive Dharma-transmission from the Fourth Patriarch, Dōshin Zenji (Dayi Daoxin). Gozu Hōyū retired to the mountains in order to devote himself to relentless practice and discipline. Many people came to see him, seeking refuge in the Buddha-Dharma. It is not surprising that people came to him. His power and attainment were so apparent that it is said that even the birds in the mountain forests came bearing flowers in their beaks to lay before him. Now this is the interesting part. When finally he penetrated the great matter, under the Fourth Patriarch Dōshin Zenji, the birds stopped bringing flowers to him.
That consciousness that not even the thousand-handed Canon will notice doesn’t amount to much if it can still be spotted by birds in the wild. It should not be recognizeable by Tom, Dick or Harry. It’s still not good enough if your consciousness is the kind that inspires awe or gratitude in people; that makes people talk about you. If it is, this is a disgraceful scene. The word translated disgraceful here is derived from an old Indian word that originally meant shameful. For a monk in training to be praised by Tom, Dick or Harry is cause for shame. How much more unsightly are those religious movements these days, which lead people around by flaunting there humility and goodness: “He’s a living god! A miracle has occured!” If that’s what’s being said about you, that’s bad. And an even uglier spectacle are those people who deceive others into saying such things.
The state of consciousness known as Forget Both Self & Ox, is a truly elevated state that neither Canon, nor Shakyamuni knows about, or has even heard of. It is not easy to attain this state, and even should you attain it, people will not recognize it. When it comes to religion, people are really at a low level. When it comes to religion, even cabinet ministers, corporation presidents, and important officials suddenly go glassy-eyed.
“Whip and line, and you and the Ox — all gone to emptiness…” Both the whip and line, which you used to train the Ox, have now become unnecessary. Koans have become unnecessary. The person who is awakened, and the Dharma to which the person was awakened, have all turned into emptiness. All have been swept away, leaving not a speck of dust…
“Into a blue sky, for words too vast…” When clean, clear blue just fills the entire sky, there is no way to communicate that. It is too vast for words. There is no way for you to send a telegram, or write a letter. No way to get even a handhold. It is not transmitted by word of mouth. It is that totally clean state of consciousness, which transcends time and transcends space. It is that utter vastness, no holiness — of which Bodhidharma spoke.
“Can a snow-flake survive the fire of a flame pit?” No matter how much snow you put into the red flames of a burning furnace, it all melts away. Willy-nilly, it all melts away, and nothing is left behind. The snow-flake good, falls in and melts away. The snow-flake bad, falls in and melts away. Both enlightenment and ignorance, both devil and Buddha, all melt away. This is the state of consciousness called Forget Both Self & Ox.
“Attain this: truly be one with the masters of the past.” Once you attain this state, you understand Zen for the first time. It means that your mind is just the same as Bodhidharma’s immovable mind.
“No clouds or moon or cassia tree — swept clean, lost in the sky.” Up till now, clouds covered the moon, causing you worry. But now even the clouds have gone. Then the moon came out for you to admire, but it too was gone. Legend says there is a cassia tree in the moon, but it too is gone… Leaving nothing behind…
From the beginning, nothing in the heart. Dream or reality: what do you say? This is: “Fundamentally, there is not one thing.” This is the perfect circle. The Buddha, nothing in excess. The fool, nothing lacking. This is the completeness of vast emptiness. The realm of the perfect circle where all has been swept away.
There is an old story that Gudo Osho drew a circle around a great warrior, and that great warrior could not get out of it. That is what we are talking about: the inner secret of Zen.
This mind is beyond the highest peak of Everest, the world of our highest pinnacle. If you do not penetrate this state to its limit, you cannot say that you have understood Zen.
It is not a matter of passing or not passing koans. It does not matter how many koans you have passed. Grasp this sharply-honed consciousness firmly and for the first time you will experience Kensho. See your own nature, and become Buddha.
No matter what you are doing, go straight into the Samadhi of Mu, of no thing. Die cleanly, and then do it. It is because you are still trying to save some breath that you fail. You must throw your life away. Then there is no self that remains. Not even so much as the tip of a hair’s worth of self remains. Not even the Mu that you have been working on remains. There is neither training hall, nor training — just an empty mirror, honed and polished. Not even that remains. This state, when attained, is called directly pointing to one’s heart and mind, seeing one’s own nature, and becoming Buddha. For all of us, it is the goal of practice.
Everyone: you must all push yourself to the utmost, and attain this state at least once.