Читать книгу Pointing at the Moon - Alexander Holstein - Страница 15

The Most Open Secret

CH'AN MASTER Tsu Hsin and poet Huang Shan Ku were good friends. Once, the poet asked Tsu Hsin to initiate him into the most mysterious secret of the Way.

"Haven't you heard the old saying of Confucius which goes, 'I do not care whether the fortunetellers predict my true future or not.... I am sure only of one thing, my fate will unfold as it will'? Say, what do you think of this?" questioned the master.

When poet Huang was about to answer, he was stopped by a loud cry, "No! No!" that made him feel a little puzzled.

Some time later, during the mulberry blossom season, the friends were walking deep in the mountains. "Don't you smell the fragrance of mulberry trees flowering?" asked Tsu Hsin.

"Of course, I do."

"You see, I do not conceal anything from you."

Hearing this, the poet came to an understanding on his own and began to express his thanks to the master. He said, "O, Master, your heart is the most loving heart of an old aunt..."

Smiling, Tsu Hsin then remarked, "I wish you would come back home."

Commentary: The master let his friend, poet Huang Shan Ku, "come back home," where "home" denoted the original nature of the self. In the Ch'an tradition, sayings such as "an old host" or "the true eyes of peace and quiet" have the same meaning as "home" and "self-nature." Rivers and mountains meet one's eyes in all directions. There is no place the Way is not expressed. This is the most open secret of the universe, nothing is inexplicable. However, poet Huang didn't see the point. He was seeking the keys to forever open doors into self-nature. Using the parable of blossoming, the master showed the poet the strict way to the primal nature of the self. He showed him the way home which, for his wandering, Huang Shan Ku had abandoned long ago.