We now turn to the meaning of 'Mind' in Zen Buddhism. The 'Mind' with which Zen is concerned is neither mind in a psychological sense nor consciousness in its ordinary sense. It is Self-Awakening of the Dharma through which one becomes an Awakened One.
It is this Mind, the source of the scriptures, which was referred to in the previously cited phrases. "Directly pointing to man's Mind", and "Awakening his (Original-) Nature, and thereby actualizing his Buddha-
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hood". By the word 'Nature' in the phrase 'Awakening his (Original-) Nature' is meant man's true way of being. In Buddhism, this is generally called, Buddha-Nature or Mind-Nature which is simply another term for Dharma. In Zen, however, it is called 'self-nature' or 'One's Original Face', expressions which are far more intimate. This is because, in Zen, Buddha-Nature or Dharma is by no means something foreign to one's true Self-Nature. For Zen, it is precisely the original nature of man which is the Buddha-Nature; it is precisely 'man's Mind' which is the 'Buddha-Mind'. Apart from this 'Mind of man', there is nothing which can be truly called 'Buddha' or 'Dharma'. Again, we do not see for Buddha or Dharma outside of 'Mind'.
In spite of `Saakyamuni's emphasis on reliance on oneself as a lamp, most followers (and the later Buddhist Schools) idealized `Saakyamuni as an object of worship or took the teaching of suutras (which were regarded as his own work) as the authoritative basis for Buddhism. Yet, in so doing, they relied on something in the past, i.e., the historical `Saakyamuni, or the suutras as the record of his reputed teachings. They searched for ultimate salvation more or less as a future ideal not to be actualized in the present. In contrast to this attitude, Zen emphasizes: "Directly pointing to man's Mind, Awakening his (Original-) Nature and thereby actualizing his Buddhahood." 'Directly' in this phrase does not necessarily mean 'immediately' in a temporal sense, but 'right now' in the absolute present which is beyond past, present, and future. Hence Zen insists on entering directly into the source 'prior to' the suutras. Radically criticizing every other form of Buddhism, Zen faithfully returns to the realization of `Saakyamuni, that is, to Self-Awakening of the Dharma.[10]
Christianity too is not, needless to say, the religion of a book. What is important for a Christian is the divine Revelation as the living Christ ever present and effective rather than the Bible. The Christ-experience, which a Christian reenacts in himself, is the foundation of his faith. In this sense, Christianity too is based on something beyond the Bible, something prior to the Bible. However, a Christian can rightly approach what is beyond the Bible only through the biblical canon. With the exception of the Society of Friends, which often does not rely on the Bible, Christianity may be said to be of the same type of religion as most forms of Buddhism which Zen calls Kyoo.
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V. TRANSCENDING THE SCRIPTURES
The Zen position of transcending the Scriptures is seen in the following cases. Chung-feng (1263-1323), a Chinese Zen master of the Yuan dynasty said, "With words of Mahaayaana Scriptures and discourses, memories exist in the mind. This is, what is called gaining understanding by something other (than oneself). It hinders the way of Self-Awakening."
One day the Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty, a devoted Buddhist follower, requested Fu Ta-shih (497-569), an outstanding lay Zen Buddhist of that day to discourse on the Diamond Suutra. Taking a chair, Fu Ta-shih sat solemnly in it, but uttered not a word. The Emperor said: "I asked you to give a discourse, so why do you not begin to speak?" Shih, one of the Emperor's attendants, said: "Your Majesty, Fu Ta-shih has finished discoursing." What kind of a sermon did this silent Buddhist
philosopher deliver? One Zen master, commenting on this story later on said: "What an eloquent sermon it was!"[11]
The following story clearly shows the contrast between Zen and Kyoo:
A monk once asked Lin-chi (?-866), a famous Chinese Zen master of the T'ang dynasty: "The twelve divisions of the Three Vehicles of the Buddha's teaching reveal the Buddha-nature, do they not?" Lin-chi answered : "This weed-patch has never been spaded." This puzzled the monk who was a lecture-master and who made his living by discoursing on the various scriptures. The twelve divisions of the Three Vehicles of the Buddha's teaching are nothing but the foundation of that Buddhism which Zen called Kyoo. Wondering why Zen intentionally found its position outside of the twelve divisions of the Buddha's teaching, the monk had raised the qestion which was quite understandable to ordinary Buddhists of those days. What, then, did Lin-chi's answer mean? For Lin-chi, such things as the twelve divisions of the Buddha's teaching were merely weeds. Elsewhere, Lin-chi even said: "The twelve divisions of the Three Vehicles of the Buddha's teaching are all toilet paper." Lin-chi was telling the monk two things: first, that the monk had not yet begun to 'spade the weed patch' of his own mind, and secondly, that Lin-chi had never bothered, since his own awakening, to seek the Buddha-nature in the 'weed patch' of scriptural verbiage. With this implication in his answer, Lin-chi directly pointed to what we call 'man's Mind' by breaking through the bondage of the monk to the scriptures. Studying the scriptures, religious