Faith and Words in Master Boshan's writings

 

For the June 22 Dharma Talk, Chang Yuan Fashi reviewed by suggesting that previous chapters focused on diligence. By comparing the huatou to a cat chasing a mouse, Master Boshan alludes to the strong sense of purpose and “quest” that we must evoke when using these direct practice methods. That is, we must use huatou with the clarity and determination of wanting to know the answer to an existential question that deeply impacts us. Subsequent chapters are more devoted to the importance of faith and not using intellect and word analysis to “figure out” gong’ans. But ChangYuan Fashi cautioned that even when we believe we are living up to our roles, responsibilities and duties in life, it’s the scattered mind that prevents us from having the firm resolve to carry out our purposes. Since the mind is constantly fluctuating, we need to use calming methods to stabilize mind before we can effectively transform the mind using huatou method. This is why a clear mind is the first step to Chan practice.

Master Boshan remarks, “do not guess or measure the gong’ans of the ancient worthies and make deluded interpretations”. What does it mean “do not measure”? Ven. Chang Yuan used the analogy of trying to use the words of another person’s experience to validate one’s own. Gong’ans were records of what ancient masters experienced and imparted to their students, and are not to be confused with the experiences themselves, which each practitioner can only discern through their own personal Chan practice. The investigation of huatou is neither a verbal one, nor one undertaken by the conscious mind. For instance, in answer to the question, “Who is reciting the Buddha’s name?” practitioners may easily get caught in the deluded thinking that there is an object (a “me”) that recites the Buddha’s name. This is using “illusory mind” to answer huatou rather than using huatou to point to the true mind that is beyond words and language. This is not the way to practice direct investigation but is rather a kind of default consciousness that we use to generate the samsaric existence and actions. “Do not measure” also refers to an ancient Chinese form of fortune telling which used turtle shells to divine the future. “Reading” fortune through the turtle shell was thought to be one way of discerning the future. However, gong’ans are not meant to be read in this similar way. This is because the words of gong’an have no connection with your own experience, and you must practice intensely to find your own resonance with what the words connect to. Adding deluded interpretations to the words is no different from the account of the emperor who, after asking Bodhidharma what merit he accumulated through his good deeds, was told “no merit”. There is no merit to be gained in emptiness because there are no absolute good and evil and there are no marks. In fact, however, while Ven. Guoxing has taught that “the mother of your mind is not your true mother”, he simultaneously taught that the mother in your mind is the true mother. That is, we use forms and words to generate good merit, but we should not think that merit exists absolutely or as a static, unchanging thing or quality.

ChangYuan Fashi pointed to the importance of discerning the difference between serving the objects of consciousness, including the self or “I” and accumulating merit through serving as a volunteer. Both are forms of human activity, but which of these is more meritorious? For a retired person, time spent volunteering is different from the time spent at home cleaning or doing other activities. In the former case, the aim is to uplift all sentient beings, which creates a sense of inner uplift. To emphasize t, his point, ChangYuan Fashi drew from his own experiences in helping to rescue an elderly lady. Fashi recalls doing this as a young person, and how peaceful he felt within when he was able to do something with the pure intention of wanting to help and save another sentient being. Giving to others plants virtuous seeds in the mind, which thereby results in a peaceful state of mind. However ChangYuan Fashi also cautioned that there are a total of 51 mind actions, only 10 of which are wholesome actions. The remaining 41 are the kinds of actions that feed a sense of separate self, including jealousy, anger etc. An earnest sense of determination is needed to overcome unwholesome actions and plant the good seeds of wholesome deeds in our mind.

ChangYuan Fashi explored yet another important aspect of huatou practice, which is faith. Chapter 9 begins thus: “If you have faith, then you are a vessel [of the Dharma]”. A vessel is said to be a great container, and this is an apt metaphor for faith. When we have great faith, we don’t need to be filled with so much knowledge, and, like an empty glass, our mind can be receptive and humble.  In contrast, a mind full of its own views and knowledge cannot take advantage of new opportunities or novel ways of seeing life.  This also means having a mind that does not cling to special experiences, even meditative ones. ChangYuan Fashi distinguished between three kinds of faith: faith in yourself, faith in Buddhadharma, and faith in our teachers. Many people’s faith is, as Boshan suggests, “in the Dharma gate and not in their own minds”. People cling tenaciously to sutras and words from gong’ans, as though the words themselves granted people power. Even the word “emptiness” can turn into an object of mind, which means one is still using deluded mind to contemplate it. In fact, according to Chan teachings, there is neither form nor emptiness, and nor is there even a middle way between these two. ChangYuan Fashi used the example of how we sometimes try to advise people in our lives to accept a difficult situation as “just empty”, when in fact we are only using a concept of emptiness that is divorced from a genuine realization of emptiness. Fashi compared this to someone who forces someone else to wear their shoes. Again, the caution is not to substitute words for true realization. Only when all conditions have ripened will we be able to experience genuine emptiness, not just a verbal concept, temporary experience, or mental object.