Interview with Ma Tsu

Interview with Ma Tsu

Hui Hai as a young man traveled to the monastery of the renowned Ch'an Master Ma Tsu (d. 788) and had the following first interview:

Ma Tsu: What do you hope to gain by coming here?
Hui Hai: I have come seeking the Buddha-Dharma [the way to Truth].
Ma Tsu: Instead of looking to the treasure house which is your very own, you have left home and gone wandering far away. What for?....
Hui Hai: Please tell me to what you alluded when you spoke of a treasure house of my own.
Ma Tsu: That which asked the question is your treasure house. It contains absolutely everything you need and lacks nothing at all. It is there for you to use freely, so why this vain search for something outside yourself?

From Blofeld's commentary on the Hui Hai Treatise:

"An important technique aimed at that perfect mind-control by which the achievementless achievement is achieved is that of dhyana (here meaning ch'an-ting or sazen [sitting meditation]), whereby the mind is turned inward upon itself and the innermost recesses of our being are so well explored that we at last come face to face with that unsullied Mind which is neither yours nor mine, nor anybody else's, and yet discoverable in all of us."

The Hound of Heaven

The Buddha does not flee from men, it is men who flee the Buddha.

The Diamond Sutra

The Diamond Sutra says: "If their minds grasp the Dharma, they will still cling to the notion of an ego (a being and a life); if their minds grasp the Non-Dharma, they will still cling to the notion of an ego. Therefore we should not grasp at and hold onto the notions either of Dharma or Non-Dharma." This is holding the true Dharma. If you understand this doctrine, that is true deliverance. That, indeed, is reaching the gate of nonduality. [Hui Hai's treatise is packed with quotes. In addition to being named the Great Pearl, he could be called the Great Quoter - another similarity to Yours Truly!]

What is Awakening to the Way?

The nature of the Absolute is void and yet not void.... A sutra says: "Understand that one point and a thousand others will accordingly grow clear; misunderstand that one and ten thousand delusions will encompass you. He who holds to that one has no more problems to solve." This is the great marvelous awakening to the Way (Truth).

Can a Despised Man Find Enlightenment?

Bodhi is attainable at the very moment we make up our minds to achieve it....

Q: Do Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism really amount to one doctrine or to three?

A: Employed by men of great capacity, they are the same.... all of them spring forth from the functioning of the one self-nature.... Whether a man remains deluded or gains Illumination depends upon himself, not upon differences or similarity of doctrine.

Once a commentator on the Vimalakirti Sutra said, It is written in our sutra: "You should regard the six heretics as your teachers. After you have joined the Order, you should be misled by them and take part in their fall.... You should vilify the Buddha and destroy the Dharma. You should not belong to the Sangha and you should not attain deliverance. If you can behave like this, you may take my food."

When Subhuti, one of Buddha's disciples, knocked at Vimalakirti's door and asked for food, the Upasaka [meditator] spoke the above words. The development of a universal mind, which alone can enable them to reach their goal, is above such dualities as avoiding heretics, revering the Buddha, protecting the Dharma, joining the Order, and so forth. The six heretics are the six senses; though they constantly mislead us, we cannot get away from them to find the Absolute elsewhere. In other words, we should realize the Absolute from the very midst of relativities and contraries.

Q: Please tell us how to achieve deliverance.

A: Never having been bound, you have no need to seek deliverance. Straightforward functioning and straightforward conduct cannot be surpassed.

Q: Does this apply even to those who have yet to perceive their own nature?

A: Your not having perceived your own nature does not imply that you lack that nature. Why so? Because perception itself IS that nature....