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The Ch'an Masters' Mission

WHEN Shih T'ou first met Ch'an master Ch'ing Yuan, the master tested him by saying, "You are a disciple of Patriarch Ts'ao Hsi (Hui Neng), aren't you? Tell me, what did you not have before you were taught by Ts'ao Hsi?"

"On receiving the patriarch's teachings I had nothing I didn't have before," was the reply.

"Suppose it was so," assented the master, "in such a case, why did you ask Ts'ao Hsi for his teachings?"

"If I didn't do that," the reply came, "then how could I be sure I had nothing I didn't have before being taught by the patriarch?"

Commentary: Here we see the essence of the Ch'an masters' mission. They force their disciples to focus their thinking or consciousness, and then demand that they find their way out. In such a situation, if one can break through the barrier of one's mind, one can see the nature of the self and attain the unfathomable and all-pervading Buddhahood. The virtuous masters of olden times used to say, "A virile person has the determination to break through the sky and will not follow the way of the Buddha." This kind of pioneer spirit is the basis of Ch'an teaching. Not to be dragged around by others; to shoulder one's own responsibility for practicing; to seek the self; to attain self-perfection, and so on. All of this just proves the fact that the practice of Ch'an is totally self-dependent. No one can teach Ch'an. The Ch'an master's mission is to act as a medium whereby the practitioner is drawn to look for himself or herself into the world of the True Mind.