Читать книгу Pointing at the Moon - Alexander Holstein - Страница 21

You Still Have This in Mind?

ONE morning, a Buddhist nun came to visit Ch'an master Chao Chou and asked him what the meaning of "the innermost mystery of all mysteries" was. Chao Chou pinched her in reply. The nun was most indignant at this saucy behavior. "Do you still have this in your mind?" she exclaimed. "No," roared the master, "it is you who still have this in your mind!"

Commentary: "The innermost mystery of all mysteries" is the most important and highest principle of all teachings. It is the essence of attaining the nature of the self. Through his pinch, Chao Chou prompted the nun to realize the fact that the innermost mystery for her was her own nature, her body, her self. In saying, "Do you still have this in your mind?" she proved her blunder of dividing people into male and female, as well as all other things into two distinct halves. One who had achieved complete realization couldn't have any opposing concept of duality in his or her mind. Thus, the Enlightened mind doesn't discriminate between male and female. Chao Chou proved the impossibility of attaining the innermost mystery while retaining the opposite halves of duality in the mind. The Ch'an masters of olden times were fond of saying, "A pure mind will produce a pure land."

Those who seek from within attain realization of "the innermost mystery of all mysteries" instantaneously.