Because Zhaozhou asked Nanquan, “What is the Way?”

Nanquan said, “Ordinary mind is the Way.”

Zhaozhou said, “Can one direct oneself toward it?”

Nanquan said, “The moment you intend to direct yourself toward it, you go astray.”

Zhaozhou said, “If one does not intend to direct oneself toward it, how can one know that it is the Way?”

Nanquan said, “The Way does not belong to knowing or not knowing. Knowing is deluded awareness; not knowing is indeterminate. If you truly reach the Way beyond intentional direction, it is like vast empty space, open and unobstructed. How could it be forcibly judged as right or wrong?”

At these words, Zhaozhou suddenly awakened.

[Wumen said]

Pressed by Zhaozhou’s question, Nanquan’s words collapsed like tiles and melted away like ice; he could not offer any further explanation. Even though Zhaozhou awakened, he still had to continue his investigation for thirty more years before he truly attained it.

[Verse]

In spring there are a hundred flowers; in autumn, the moon. In summer there is a cool breeze; in winter, snow. If no idle matters hang upon the mind, every season is a fine season in the human world.

When we study Chan and cultivate the Way, we must first have a basis for awakening. The key to this basis lies in the guidance of a good spiritual friend. Chan Master Zhaozhou was no exception. One day, while studying under Chan Master Nanquan, he asked, “What is the Way?” Nanquan instructed him, “Ordinary mind is the Way.” The three words “ordinary mind” refer to the affairs of everyday life; this is where the great Way is found.

If this were not so, then when one breath no longer comes, though the physical shell remains, why would it be unable to speak, laugh, or move? Layman Pang said in his verse on awakening to the Way: “The affairs of daily life are no different... I alone am in harmony with them; spiritual powers and wondrous functioning are carrying water and hauling firewood.” Thus, all laughing, scolding, coughing, and swinging of the arms are none other than the wondrous functioning of the true mind. Ordinary people are merely deluded by forms and appearances and do not know it.

In terms of the literal wording, ping means “not crooked,” and chang means “unbroken.” If a Chan practitioner’s mind can remain straight and unbent at all times, responding continuously in every circumstance, then the luminosity and free wondrous functioning that manifest in its very being are the Way. This interpretation is passable, but it is not the orthodox explanation of the Chan school.

But where is this Way? Can it be realized through some method? Therefore, Zhaozhou again asked, “Can one direct oneself toward it?” Nanquan replied, “The moment you intend to direct yourself toward it, you go astray!” This means that once the mind forms an intention or directs itself toward something, it turns away from the Way. How, then, can one realize the Way? The great Way is formless, and the great sound is scarcely heard. There is nothing toward which one can direct oneself or that one can seize. When thoughts cease, it is luminously present before one; when the mind stirs, it is obscured by shadows. Therefore, there is nothing toward which one can direct oneself.

Unfortunately, many people who study Buddhism and cultivate practices fall into intending and directing themselves toward something. When reading sūtras or listening to Dharma teachings, they believe there is some real Dharma to be gained; when practicing diligently, they imagine that there are sacred states to be attained. Bustling about in pursuit of such aims, they labor fruitlessly. Is this not a needless and bitter suffering? In truth, the Way is originally complete and ready at hand; it does not belong to cultivation or realization, and it is no different in anyone. It depends only on whether you are deluded by forms and appearances. Therefore, the ancient worthies said: the Way lies in awakening, not in cultivation.

Then, if one does not use thought to form intentions, how can one know that it is the Way? Thus Zhaozhou again asked, “If one does not intend, how can one know that it is the Way?”

Nanquan replied, “The Way does not belong to knowing or not knowing. Knowing is deluded awareness; not knowing is indeterminate. If you truly reach the Way beyond doubt, it is like vast empty space, open and unobstructed. How could it be forcibly judged as right or wrong?”

The great Way is vast and open, like empty space. Not a single dharma is established; it is utterly bare. It is clear and distinct, and its wondrous functioning is boundless. Knowing adds a head on top of one’s head, utterly distorting one’s original face; not knowing is like wood or stone, incapable of wondrous functioning. In terms of the Chan school, “not belonging to knowing” means that not even a needle can enter by official permission; “not belonging to not knowing” means that horses and carts may pass through by private access. Since neither knowing nor not knowing affords any foothold, why speak of Way or no Way, Buddha or no Buddha, right and wrong, gain and loss?

Under Nanquan’s instruction, Zhaozhou awakened to the principle of Chan. Those of us who study Buddhism and cultivate practices should do likewise. Clarify the mind through principle, reveal principle through the mind, and respond to conditions at all times and in all places with ordinary mind. Then the Way is right within it.

—Excerpted from Master Yuanyin’s lectures on the Blue Cliff Record