[Original Koan]

The Fifth Patriarch said: “People of the three vehicles escape from the prison of the three realms. Those of the lesser fruits must rely on expedient means, such as tunneling through the ground, breaking through a wall, or climbing out through a skylight. Only bodhisattvas who have realized the Way, from the moment they first enter the prison, arouse no suspicion in the prison guards; everything remains as usual. One day, they send out a message, obtain wine and meat, and give them to the guards until they are thoroughly drunk. They take the guards’ clothes, leg bindings, and headcloths and put them on themselves. Then they put their own ragged clothes on the guards, place the cangue around the guards’ necks, and leave them sitting in the prison. Taking the guards’ rattan whips in their own hands, they openly walk out through the main gate. Those who practice Chan must be like this.”

[The Elder’s Marginal Note]

So this is how easy it is!

[Sawing Apart a Scale Weight]

People of the three vehicles are śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas.

The lesser fruits refer to śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.

To tunnel through the ground, break through a wall, or climb out through a skylight is to leave clear traces of liberation behind.

“Prison guards” refers to the warders who guard a prison. They symbolize the delusions of views, the delusions of thought, dust-like delusions, and the delusions of ignorance. Like prison guards, these afflictions bind us, causing us to shut ourselves away, obscuring our Buddha-nature and depriving us of freedom.

This analogy by Chan Master Wuzu Fayan is interesting to read. The Elder praised it, saying, “So this is how easy it is!” Below, the Fifth Patriarch’s analogy is correlated, point by point, with the Tiantai school’s Six Identities with Buddhahood, as an offering to all:

“From the moment they first enter the prison, they arouse no suspicion in the prison guards; everything remains as usual.” — Buddhahood in Principle:

In movement and stillness, principle is wholly present; in activity and repose, all phenomena are entirely absent. Silently, they follow things along; dimly, they do not know how to return.

“One day, they send out a message, obtain wine and meat, and give them to the guards until they are thoroughly drunk.” — Buddhahood in Name:

Only now do I hear the song of the unborn; only now do I hear the deathless hymn. Now I know that this very reality is so; instead, I regret having squandered my time.

“They take the guards’ clothes, leg bindings, and headcloths and put them on themselves.” — Buddhahood in Contemplative Practice:

Thought after thought illuminates the constant principle; mind after mind brings illusory dust to rest. Contemplating the nature of all dharmas everywhere, there is neither the false nor the true.

“Then they put their own ragged clothes on the guards, place the cangue around the guards’ necks, and leave them sitting in the prison.” — Buddhahood in Resemblance:

Though the four abiding delusions have first fallen away, the six sense objects have not yet become wholly empty. There is still a cataract in the eye; in empty space, red flowers are seen.

“Taking the guards’ rattan whips in their own hands, they openly walk out through the main gate.” — Buddhahood through Partial Realization:

Suddenly the mind opens in awakening, and all is lucidly penetrated. Yet the source has not been exhausted; the moon is still seen through a haze.

“Those who practice Chan must be like this.” — Ultimate Buddhahood:

What has always been true is itself delusion; today, all delusions are true. One need only return to one’s original nature; not a single dharma is new.

Go one step further: there is no need to go out. Jieyuan 23:01:03 7/26/02 (157)

Great wisdom, great courage, great practice. Shancai 23:19:56 7/21/02 (no content)

May I ask the teacher: what does “tunneling through the ground, breaking through a wall, or climbing out through a skylight” mean? yzhj01 08:05:02 7/19/02 (no content)

Digging a way out through holes at the upper, middle, and lower levels. lvm 08:17:56 7/19/02 (36)

Discussing my reflections with Brother [haha] on “Valuing Cause and Effect: Three Awakenings and Reflections” — Zhongbushuo 11:51:51 7/22/02|09 (6K)

Last night, I awoke from a dream; today... — chen 17:52:52 7/22/02|(35)

Using this passage to explain case 64 of The Chan School Armory is excellent: — lvm 12:37:47 7/22/02|09 (342)

^o^ — Zhongbushuo 16:31:14 7/22/02| (no content)