When
it was time to pick the Sixth Patriarch Hung-jan announced that he would pass
on the robe to whoever produced a poem demonstrating the most perfect understanding
of Zen. Shen-hsiu, the chief monk, produced the following poem.
The
body is the Bodhi Tree;
The
mind like a bright mirror standing.
Take
care to wipe it all the time,
And
allow no dust to cling.
However,
Hui-neng, a mere kitchen worker, came up with the following.
There
never was a Bodhi Tree,
Nor
bright mirror standing.
Fundamentally,
not one thing exists,
So
where is the dust to cling?
To
the chagrin of all the monks Hui-neng was picked to be the Sixth Patriarch.
Shen-hsiu's poem inadvertently sets up the idea of 'self'. Who is it that
is comparing the mind to a mirror?
Hui-Neng
