What Is It?

Fan Hsien-chien used to sit constantly, never lying down. When she heard that Yuan-we was at Chao-cheuh temple in Ch'eng-tu [the province where she lived], she went to pay her respects to him and asked for guidance in the Way. Yuan-wu told her to contemplate the saying, "It's not mind, it's not Buddha, it's not a thing."

She contemplated it for a long time without sucess. Finally, in frustration, she asked Yuan-wu, "What expedient method do you have to make it easier for me to understand?"

Yuan-wu said, "There is a method," and he had her contemplate simply, "What is it?"

Later she had an awakening and said, "After all, it was always so close!"

Commentary
As with the last post, Chiao-an Awakens, this is a Song Dynasty story involving Yuan-wu. Both stories are notable because the woman practitioner is recognized with a name. In the stories from the earlier Tang Dynasty, most women are simply known as "a nun," "a woman," or a "grandmother."

As Fan Hsien-chien says, it is always so close. Why do we need a method?

Source: The Roaring Stream, edited by Nelson Foster and Jack Shoemaker
Photo by ex.libris

Comments

[Uku]

Nice. Method, no-method, don't know-method. Where? I think Winnie the Pooh had an answer when Tigger was finding other Tiggers but couldn't find any... Thank you, Barry!

[Taru Sharma]

Ah! Sounds so easy yet so subtle! It is always around, always close and yet it can be the most difficult thing to find or understand...:) I do like it in this story that the teacher gave another way of contemplation to student. Nothing like a compassionate teacher who can help you see the way.

[Barry]

Hi Uku - The Pooh Bear had remarkable insight into situation, relationship, and function.

Hi Taru Sharma, thanks for visiting again! Yes, indeed, a good teacher gives the right medicine at the right time!

[molly]

I need a method. That's for sure. And maybe one day I won't need a method. What is discipline without a method?

[Barry]

We're all hungry for methods, Molly. But I wonder how any method could respond fully to the remarkable diversity and "aliveness" of life?

[Taru Sharma]

I think there is no white and black answer for this. However, I have noticed that different things appeal to different people depending on their nature. Every one kind of has their own method and it is nice when a teacher is willing to work with a student in the sphere of his/her individuality.

Metta
-Taru

[Barry Briggs]

Yes, indeed, Taru. And then, when the method no longer responds to the reality of our life, we discard it and find a new one.