The Platform Sutra 2
Greetings, friends of Nan Zen!
A few days ago I mentioned a certain gongan; based on the feedback,
it seems
that further clarification is necessary.
It’s a statement by the Sixth Patriarch: “Thinking of neither good nor
evil, at that very moment, what is Venerable
Ming’s original face?”
Now, lots of people ask how one cultivates this practice of thinking
neither good nor evil, since it’s human nature to gravitate towards
the good and to reject what’s evil.
Our default way of thinking is to make a choice between good and
evil, but now we are being told to think of neither good nor evil, but
just what does that mean?
I once asked a physician if he had ever treated a patient who most
people would consider a scoundrel. He answered, “Of course I
have!”
Good and evil typically come into play together, and the Sixth
Patriarch’s admonition to think of neither good nor evil clearly has
great significance for how we are to live.
In Case 35 in the Blue Cliff Record Asaṅga asks Mañjuśrī, “How is it
[buddhadharma] maintained around here?” Mañjuśrī answers,
“When ordinary people and sages dwell together, dragons and
snakes intermingle in confusion.” Then Asaṅga asks, “How many
assemblies of monks are there?” Mañjuśrī answers, “Three threes in
front; three threes in back.”
Now this
gongan is even more challenging!
First he says, “When ordinary people and sages dwell together,
dragons and snakes intermingle in confusion,” and his very next
reply is “Three threes in front;
three threes in back.”
The ancient commentators take it as a way of indicating nonduality
or the equality of front and back, but it remains a highly enigmatic
statement!
Master Ban Ji
Translated by Ken Kraynak
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