Poetry of Enlightenment (eBook)

Chapter 8: Silent Illumination By Hung Chih Cheng Chueh (1091-1157) Themajor methods of Ch'an, which have survived to the present day, are theKung-an method, associated with the Lin Chi (Jap: Rinzai) sect, andSilent Illumination, associated with the Ts'ao Tung (Jap: Soto) sect.Hung Chih Cheng Chueh, the greatest advocate of Silent Illumination, isoften contrasted with his contemporary, Ta Hui Tsung Kao, the greatestadvocate of the use of kung-ans. Hung Chih, a native of Shansi,became a monk at the age of eleven. During a pilgrimage in Honan, whenhe as eighteen, he met K'u Mu Fa Ch'eng, a Ts'ao Tung master. Heattained some realization under K'u Mu but was only thoroughlyenlightened twenty-three under K'u Mu's Dharma brother, Master Tan HsiaTzu Ch'un. Hung Chi considered the ideas of Shih T'ou and Tung Sahn,such as mutual interaction, equanimity, and the non-duality ofphenomena and principle, as the ultimate teachings of Mahayana. But hisstyle of practice was most influenced by his teacher K'u Mu (dry wood),so-named because when he sat, his stillness made his body resemble ablock of dry wood. Hung Chih, calling his method 'Silent Illumination,'describes it as follows: 'Your body sits silently, your mind,quiescent, unmoving. Your mouth is so still that moss grows around it.Grass sprouts from your tongue. Do this without cease, cleansing themind until it gains the clarity of an autumn pool, bright as the moonilluminating the evening sky.' Hung Chih also said, 'In thissilent sitting, whatever realms may appear, the mind is very clear asto all the details, yet everything is where it originally is, in itsown place. The mind stays on one thought for ten thousand years, yetdoes not dwell on any forms, inside or outside.' This teaching of HungChih reveals the aim of Silent Illumination: a mind unburdened withthoughts yet profoundly aware of its own state. Both silence andillumination must be present. Later, after returning from study withCh'an masters in China, Master Dogen (1200-1253) introduced a similarteaching to Japan, called Shikantaza. Silent Illumination Silently and serenly, one forgets all words, Clearly and vividly, it appears before you. When one realizes it, time has no limits. When experienced, your surroundings come to life. Singularly illuminating is this bright awareness, Full of wonder is the pure illumination. The moon's appearance, a river of stars, Snow-clad pines, clouds hovering on mountain peaks. In darkness, they glow with brightness. In shadows, they shine with a splendid light. Like the dreaming of a crane flying in empty space, Like the clear, still water of an autumn pool, Endless eons dissolve into nothingness, Each indistinguishable from the other. In this illumination all striving is forgotten. Where does this wonder exist? Brightness and clarity dispel confusion On the path of Silent Illumination, The origin of the infinitesimal. To penetrate the extremely small, There is the gold shuttle on a loom of jade. Subject and object influence each other. Light and darkness are mutually dependent. There is neither mind nor world to rely on, Yet do the two interact, mutually. Drink the medicine of correct views. Beat the poison-smeared drum. When silence and illumination are complete Killing and bringing to life are choices I make. At last, through the door, one emerges. The fruit has ripened on the branch. Only this Silence is the ultimate teaching. Only this Illumination, the universal...