One day the Master summoned his disciples Fahai, Zhicheng, Fada, Shenxiu, Zhichang, Zhitong, Zhiche, Zhidào, Fazhen, Faru, and others, saying: “You are unlike other people. After I enter parinirvāṇa, each of you will become a teacher in one region. I shall now teach you how to expound the Dharma without departing from the fundamental tradition.” [2]

“First, you must set forth the three categories of Dharma gates and employ the thirty-six pairs. In speaking and acting, you must depart from both extremes. When expounding all dharmas, do not depart from the self-nature. Should someone suddenly ask you about the Dharma, let every utterance proceed in pairs, taking paired dharmas as its basis. Their coming and going are mutually conditioned; ultimately, when the two dharmas are both removed, there is nowhere further to go. [3] The three categories of Dharma gates are the aggregates, realms, and entrances.”

“The aggregates are the five aggregates: form, feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness. The entrances are the twelve entrances: the external six objects—forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, and dharmas—and the internal six gates—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. The realms are the eighteen realms: the six objects, six gates, and six consciousnesses.”

“The self-nature can contain the myriad dharmas and is called the storehouse consciousness. Once discursive thought arises, it becomes transforming consciousness, producing the six consciousnesses, issuing through the six gates, and apprehending the six objects. Thus arise the eighteen realms, all functioning from the self-nature. If the self-nature is deviant, it gives rise to eighteen deviant states; if the self-nature is correct, it gives rise to eighteen correct states. Evil functioning is the functioning of sentient beings; wholesome functioning is the functioning of Buddhas. From what does this functioning arise? It arises because the self-nature contains paired dharmas.” [4]

“There are five pairs among the insentient external objects: heaven and earth, sun and moon, brightness and darkness, yin and yang, water and fire. These are the five pairs. There are twelve pairs in the language of dharma characteristics.”

“Language and dharmas, existence and nonexistence, form and formlessness, characteristics and lack of characteristics, defiled and undefiled, form and emptiness, movement and stillness, purity and impurity, ordinary beings and sages, monastics and laity, old and young, great and small—these are the twelve pairs. There are nineteen pairs in the functioning of the self-nature.”

“Long and short, deviant and correct, delusion and wisdom, foolishness and intelligence, distraction and samādhi, kindness and malice, precepts and non-precepts, straight and crooked, real and unreal, perilous and level, afflictions and bodhi, permanence and impermanence, compassion and harm, joy and anger, equanimity and miserliness, advance and retreat, arising and cessation, dharmakāya and form-body, nirmāṇakāya and sambhogakāya—these are the nineteen pairs.”

The Master said, “If you understand how to use these thirty-six pairs of dharmas, the Way will penetrate all sūtras and teachings, and in going out and coming in you will depart from both extremes. When the self-nature functions and you speak with others, outwardly be free of characteristics amid characteristics; inwardly be free of emptiness amid emptiness. If you cling entirely to characteristics, deviant views will increase; if you cling entirely to emptiness, ignorance will increase.” [5] Those who cling to emptiness slander the sūtras and plainly say that writing is unnecessary.

“Yet if they say that writing is unnecessary, people should likewise not speak, for speech itself is a characteristic of writing. They also say that the direct Way does not establish writing, but the very two words ‘does not establish’ are themselves writing. [6] When they see others speaking, they immediately slander them, saying that they are attached to writing. You must know that being deluded oneself is still tolerable, but slandering the Buddhist sūtras is not. Do not slander the sūtras; the karmic obstacles of doing so are countless.”

“If one clings outwardly to characteristics and seeks truth through practices, or extensively establishes practice halls and speaks of the faults of existence and nonexistence, such a person will not see the nature for kalpas. Simply listen and practice according to the Dharma. Nor should you cease thinking of all things and thereby obstruct your own Way-nature. [7] If you listen but do not practice, you will instead give rise to deviant thoughts. Simply practice according to the Dharma and bestow the Dharma without abiding in characteristics. If you awaken, speak according to this, use it according to this, practice according to this, and act according to this, you will not depart from the fundamental tradition.” [8]

“If someone asks you about meaning, answer a question about existence with nonexistence, and a question about nonexistence with existence. Answer a question about ordinary beings with sages, and a question about sages with ordinary beings. The two ways are mutually conditioned, giving rise to the meaning of the Middle Way. If one question is answered with one counterpart, and all other questions are handled in the same way, you will not depart from principle. Suppose someone asks, ‘What is called darkness?’ Answer: ‘Brightness is the cause, and darkness is the condition. When brightness disappears, there is darkness. Brightness reveals darkness, and darkness reveals brightness. Their coming and going are mutually conditioned, forming the meaning of the Middle Way.’ All other questions are likewise answered in this way. When you transmit the Dharma in the future, teach one another accordingly, and do not lose the essential teaching.” [9]

In the renzi year, the first year of the Taiji era, in the seventh month of the Yanhé era, the Master ordered his disciples to build a stūpa at Guoen Monastery in Xinzhou and urged them to complete the work quickly. It was finished late in the summer of the following year. On the first day of the seventh month, he gathered the disciples and said: “By the eighth month, I wish to leave this world. If you have doubts, ask them promptly, so that I may resolve them for you and put an end to your delusion. After I have gone, there will be no one to teach you.”

When Fahai and the others heard this, they all wept. Only Shenxiu remained composed and shed no tears. [10] The Master said: “The young monk Shenxiu has attained equanimity toward good and ill; praise and blame do not move him, and sorrow and joy do not arise. The rest of you have not attained this.”

“Over these years in the mountains, what Way have you practiced after all? You now weep—but for whom are you grieving? If you grieve because you do not know where I am going, I myself know where I am going. If I did not know where I was going, I would not have foretold it to you. You weep because you do not know where I am going. If you knew where I was going, you should not grieve. The Dharma-nature is originally without arising or ceasing, coming or going. All of you sit down. I shall speak you a verse called the Verse on True and False, Movement and Stillness. Recite and retain this verse. If your understanding accords with mine, and you practice accordingly, you will not lose the essential teaching.” The assembly of monks bowed and requested the Master to compose the verse. The verse said: [11]

Nothing whatsoever is true; do not take what is seen as true.

If one sees something as true, that seeing is entirely untrue.

If one can possess true reality within oneself, then, free from the false, the mind itself is true.

If one’s own mind is not free from the false, where can truth be found?

Sentient beings understand movement; insentient things do not move.

If one cultivates the practice of immobility, one is like an insentient thing that does not move.

If you seek true immobility, within movement there is immobility.

Immobility that is merely immobility belongs to the insentient and has no Buddha-seed.

Be skilled at discerning characteristics, while remaining unmoved in the ultimate truth.

To hold such a view is the functioning of suchness.

I tell all students of the Way: make every effort and apply your minds.

Do not, at the gate of the Mahāyāna, cling instead to the wisdom of birth and death.

If your words accord at once, then discuss the meaning of Buddhahood together.

If they truly do not accord, join your palms and let them depart happily.

This tradition is originally without contention; contention means losing the intent of the Way.

To cling to opposites and contend over Dharma gates is for the self-nature to enter birth and death.

When the assembly heard the verse, they all bowed. Having understood the Master’s meaning, each gathered in his mind, practiced according to the Dharma, and no longer dared to contend. [12]

Knowing that the Great Master would not remain in the world much longer, the senior monk Fahai bowed twice and asked: “After the Venerable enters parinirvāṇa, to whom will the robe and Dharma be entrusted?” The Master said: “From the time I expounded the Dharma at Dafan Monastery until now, it has been copied, recorded, and circulated under the title The Platform Sūtra of the Dharma-Treasure. Guard and protect it, transmit it from one to another, and liberate all sentient beings. To rely solely on this teaching is called the true Dharma. [13] I now teach the Dharma to you but do not transmit the robe, because the roots of your faith are already mature, you are resolute and free from doubt, and you are capable of undertaking this great task. Yet according to the meaning of the transmission verse of the former patriarch, Master Bodhidharma, the robe should no longer be transmitted.” The verse said:

I originally came to this land to transmit the Dharma and save deluded beings.

One flower opens into five petals; the fruit naturally comes to maturity. [14]

The Master further said: “Good spiritual friends, each of you purify your minds and listen as I expound the Dharma. If you wish to perfect all-knowing wisdom, you must realize the samādhi of one characteristic and the samādhi of one practice. [15] If in all places you do not abide in characteristics, and amid those characteristics give rise to neither love nor aversion, neither grasping nor rejecting, and do not think of such matters as benefit and harm, success and failure, but remain at ease, calm, open, and unassuming, this is called the samādhi of one characteristic.”

“If, in all places, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, you maintain a single, direct mind, without moving from the bodhimaṇḍa, then you truly make the Pure Land. This is called the samādhi of one practice. If a person possesses these two samādhis, it is like seed in the ground: it is contained, nurtured, grows, and matures into fruit. The samādhi of one characteristic and the samādhi of one practice are likewise so. The Dharma I now teach is like timely rain, universally moistening the great earth. Your Buddha-nature is like seeds that, upon receiving this moisture, all sprout and grow. Those who receive my teaching will certainly attain bodhi; those who follow my practice will surely realize the wondrous fruit. [16] Listen to my verse:”

The mind-ground contains every seed; when universal rain falls, all sprout.

Once one suddenly awakens and false attachments are gone, the fruit of bodhi naturally ripens. [17]

After speaking the verse, the Master said: “The Dharma is not two, and the mind is likewise so. The Way is pure and has no characteristics. Be careful not to contemplate stillness or empty your minds. This mind is originally pure, with nothing to grasp or reject. Each of you should strive diligently and depart well according to conditions.” [18] At that time, the assembly bowed and withdrew.

On the eighth day of the seventh month, the Great Master suddenly said to his disciples: “I wish to return to Xinzhou. Quickly prepare a boat for me.” The assembly pleaded earnestly for him to remain. The Master said: “Even when Buddhas appear in the world, they still manifest nirvāṇa. Whatever comes must go; this is the constant principle. This bodily frame of mine must have a place to which it returns.” The assembly asked, “After the Master leaves, when may we expect you to return?” The Master said: “Fallen leaves return to their roots; when it comes, it has no mouth.”

They further asked: “To whom will the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye be transmitted?” The Master said: “One who has the Way obtains it; one without a mind comprehends it.” [19] They said: “We do not know how many generations of transmission there have been since the Buddhas and patriarchs of old first appeared in the world. We pray that you will kindly explain.” The Master said: “The ancient Buddhas who have appeared in the world are numberless and cannot be counted.”

“Now, beginning with the Seven Buddhas: in the past Adornment Kalpa there were Vipāśyin Buddha, Śikhin Buddha, and Viśvabhū Buddha; in the present Worthy Kalpa there are Krakucchanda Buddha, Kanakamuni Buddha, Kāśyapa Buddha, and Śākyamuni Buddha. These are the Seven Buddhas.”

“Śākyamuni Buddha first transmitted the Dharma to the Venerable Mahākāśyapa; second, to the Venerable Ānanda; third, to the Venerable Śāṇakavāsa; fourth, to the Venerable Upagupta; fifth, to the Venerable Dṛtaka; sixth, to the Venerable Micchaka; seventh, to the Venerable Vasumitra; eighth, to the Venerable Buddhanandi; ninth, to the Venerable Buddhamitra; tenth, to the Venerable Pārśva; eleventh, to the Venerable Puṇyayaśas; twelfth, to Aśvaghoṣa.”

“The thirteenth was the Venerable Kapimala; the fourteenth, Nāgārjuna; the fifteenth, the Venerable Kāṇadeva; the sixteenth, the Venerable Rāhulata; the seventeenth, the Venerable Saṅghānandi; the eighteenth, the Venerable Gayaśata; the nineteenth, the Venerable Kumāralāta; the twentieth, the Venerable Jayata; the twenty-first, the Venerable Vasubandhu; the twenty-second, the Venerable Manorhita; the twenty-third, the Venerable Haklenā.”

“The twenty-fourth was the Venerable Siṃha; the twenty-fifth, the Venerable Basiasita; the twenty-sixth, the Venerable Puṇyamitra; the twenty-seventh, the Venerable Prajñātāra; the twenty-eighth, the Venerable Bodhidharma; the twenty-ninth, Great Master Huike; the thirtieth, Great Master Sengcan; the thirty-first, Great Master Daoxin; the thirty-second, Great Master Hongren; and Huineng is the thirty-third patriarch. Each of the patriarchs above received a transmission.”

You must pass this on from generation to generation hereafter; do not let it go astray or become distorted. [20] He was further asked, “Will there be any calamity after this?” The Master said, “Five or six years after my passing, someone will wish to take my head. Listen to my verse:”

On his head he supports his parents; in his mouth he must eat.

When the calamity of “fullness” comes, willow and poplar will be officials.

On the third day of the eighth month in the guichou year of the second year of Xiantian of the Great Master, after the meal at Guoen Monastery (the era name was changed to Kaiyuan in the twelfth month of that year), he said to the assembled disciples, “Each of you sit in your proper place. I am about to take leave of you.” Fahai respectfully said, “What teaching will the Venerable Master leave behind, so that deluded people of later generations may see the Buddha-nature?” The Master said, “Listen carefully.”

If deluded people of later generations recognize sentient beings, that is Buddha-nature; if they do not recognize sentient beings, they may seek the Buddha for ten thousand kalpas and still find him hard to encounter. I now teach you to recognize the sentient beings of your own mind and to see the Buddha-nature of your own mind. If you wish to see the Buddha, simply recognize sentient beings. It is only because sentient beings are deluded about the Buddha, not because the Buddha is deluded about sentient beings. When one’s own nature is awakened, sentient beings are Buddhas; when one’s own nature is deluded, Buddhas are sentient beings.”

When one’s own nature is equal and impartial, sentient beings are Buddhas; when one’s own nature is crooked and perverse, Buddhas are sentient beings. If your minds are crooked and devious, then the Buddha is among sentient beings; when a single thought is even and straight, sentient beings become Buddhas. My own mind contains a Buddha; the Buddha within oneself is the true Buddha. If one lacks a Buddha-mind within oneself, where else can one seek the true Buddha? Your own minds are Buddha; do not harbor further doubts. Outside there is not a single thing that can be established; it is the original mind that gives rise to the myriad dharmas.”

Therefore, the sūtra says: “When mind arises, the various dharmas arise; when mind ceases, the various dharmas cease.” I now leave you a verse as my farewell. It is called the Verse of the True Buddha of One’s Own Nature. Those of later generations who understand the meaning of this verse will themselves see their original mind and themselves accomplish the Buddha Way. The verse says: [21]

The suchness of one’s own nature is the true Buddha; wrong views and the three poisons are the demon king.

When one is deluded by wrong views, the demon dwells in the house; when right view is present, the Buddha sits in the hall.

When wrong views and the three poisons arise within one’s nature, the demon king has come to dwell in the house.

Right view itself removes the mind of the three poisons; the demon becomes Buddha—this is truly not false.

The dharmakāya, sambhogakāya, and nirmāṇakāya—the three bodies—are originally one body.

If you can see for yourself within your own nature, this is the cause of attaining Buddhahood and bodhi.

Pure nature originally arises from the nirmāṇakāya, and pure nature constantly abides within the nirmāṇakāya.

Nature causes the nirmāṇakāya to follow the right path; in the future, its perfection will truly be inexhaustible.

The nature of sexual desire is originally the cause of pure nature; eliminating sexual desire is the body of pure nature.

Let each depart from the five desires within their own nature; in the instant of seeing one’s nature, one is true.

If in this life one encounters the gate of sudden teaching, one may suddenly awaken to one’s own nature and see the World-Honored One.

If you wish to cultivate practice and seek to become a Buddha, not knowing where can you intend to seek the true?

If you can see the true for yourself within your mind, possessing the true is the cause of attaining Buddhahood.

Those who do not see their own nature and seek the Buddha outside are, in every thought, greatly deluded people.

The dharma gate of sudden teaching has now been left behind; to save people of the world, one must cultivate it for oneself.

I tell you, future students of the Way: without this view, you will drift on in great confusion. [22]

Having spoken the verse, the Master said, “All of you, take good care. After my passing, do not act with worldly grief, weeping and shedding tears, receiving condolences from others, or wearing mourning garments. Such people are not my disciples, nor do they accord with the true Dharma. Simply recognize your own original mind and see your own original nature: neither moving nor still, neither arising nor ceasing, neither coming nor going, neither right nor wrong, neither abiding nor departing. I fear that your minds may be deluded and fail to understand my meaning, so I again instruct you, enabling you to see your nature. After my passing, cultivate in accordance with this; it will be as though I were still alive. If you go against my teaching, then even if I were still in this world, there would be no benefit.” [23] He again spoke a verse:

Steadfast and unmoving, do not cultivate goodness; at ease and untroubled, do not create evil.

Quiet and still, cut off seeing and hearing; vast and open, let the mind have no attachment. [24]

After speaking the verse, the Master sat upright until the third watch of the night. Suddenly he said to his disciples, “I am going.” Then he quietly passed away. At that time an extraordinary fragrance filled the room, a white rainbow stretched down to the earth, the forest trees turned white, and birds and beasts cried mournfully. In the eleventh month, officials of the three prefectures of Guang, Shao, and Xin, together with monastic and lay disciples, contended to receive the true body, but could not decide where it should go. They then burned incense and prayed, “Wherever the incense smoke points, there the Master shall return.” At that time, the incense smoke rose straight toward Caoxi.

On the thirteenth day of the eleventh month, they moved the shrine containing his remains, together with the robe and bowl that had been transmitted, back there. On the twenty-fifth day of the seventh month of the following year, they brought the body out of the shrine, and the disciple Fangbian covered it with fragrant clay. Remembering the prophecy concerning the taking of the head, the disciples first protected the Master’s neck with iron sheets and lacquered cloth before placing him in the stūpa. Suddenly, white light appeared within the stūpa and shot straight up into the sky; it dispersed only after three days. The authorities of Shaozhou reported this to the throne, and by imperial decree a stele was erected to record the Master’s conduct in the Way.

The Master lived to the age of seventy-six. He received the robe at twenty-four, shaved his head at thirty-nine, and for thirty-seven years expounded the Dharma and benefited living beings. Forty-three people received authorization to succeed to the Dharma; the number of those who awakened to the Way and transcended the ordinary is unknown. The robe of faith transmitted by Bodhidharma, the jeweled bowl and patched robe bestowed by Emperor Zhongzong, the true likeness of the Master made by Fangbian, and the Master’s ritual implements were all entrusted to the stūpa attendant for perpetual preservation at the Baolin place of practice. The Platform Sūtra was transmitted to make manifest the essential teaching. All this serves to flourish the Three Jewels and universally benefit the multitude of living beings.

(Note: What follows is the exposition of the essential meaning by the Second Patriarch.)

[1] This section first speaks of the functioning of the Dharma: it is not solely for benefiting others, but also benefits oneself. Whoever can bring forth this functioning thereby demonstrates attainment of the essence. Mahāyāna Buddhadharma lies in great capacity and great functioning; thus, when applied to worldly dharmas, there is nothing it cannot penetrate perfectly. All the distress, suffering, and afflictions of the world arise from nothing beyond interpersonal dealings and mutual confrontation.

First is hard collision: each side opposes the other and refuses to yield; one is likewise obstinately attached to one’s own position and will not retreat, so the matter cannot be dissolved. Here yielding is the means of release. Second is blockage: each clings to a single view, leaving no room for accommodation; both sides are obstructed. Here one uses understanding and transformation, as when people are jammed together in a crowd and cannot move through it: it is difficult to proceed straight ahead. The wondrous function of prajñā is to follow the situation and bend rather than oppose it, and one will naturally find a way through.

Third is rigid adherence: the other person’s view of self is firmly fixed, and they cling unchangingly to it, holding that there is a fixed dharma. Here non-abiding is taken as the principle. If I do not cling, the other has no power over me, and that person’s fixed dharma will naturally be transformed by me. Thus one responds according to the occasion and thereby transforms them. Prajñā transforms worldly dharmas so that one may transcend the world. Suffering belongs to involvement in the world; to transcend the world is to be free of suffering. Yet without suffering there is no means to turn toward joy. In all cases, one must not depart from one’s own nature; thus one can remain such as one is.

[2] Dharma-transmission empowerment is the method of instruction between master and disciple. Only one who has realized the true aspect of reality, knows one’s own habitual tendencies, and can assess the habitual tendencies of others may serve as a master. Realizing the true aspect of reality is to attain fundamental wisdom; penetrating the habitual tendencies of others, and bringing it into function through wondrous contemplation, is differentiated wisdom. This is precisely the supernormal power of knowing others’ minds.

To discern what kind of capacity another person possesses is the wisdom eye; to know what Dharma to employ in guiding and liberating that person is the dharma eye. Together these are called the wisdom of exhausted outflows; the heavenly eye is secondary to them. Anyone who serves as a teacher must possess these two eyes before transmitting a Dharma that liberates people. Because the Sixth Patriarch saw that these people differed from others and that each could serve as a teacher in one region, he taught them the Dharma. One must first receive its benefit oneself before one can benefit others. Otherwise, both parties may lose the essential teaching, and the harm will not be slight.

[3] The Buddha appeared for the one great cause and condition; it was not merely for his own liberation. Benefiting others is precisely self-benefit, and it depends upon cultivation and training. Yet since one wishes to liberate others, one cannot avoid using dharmas; and the very purpose of using dharmas is to break their attachment to dharmas and return them to empty quiescence.

Using a responsive dharma means meeting an opposition with an opposition. Whoever comes must be holding some view. For instance, when someone asks, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?” that person holds this view in mind with great firmness. Now, by pointing without explanation to the cypress tree in the courtyard, one first leaves the person bewildered, causing them to set aside this meaning of coming from the West and loosen the confines of their mental state. What was fixed becomes lively; attachment to views is dissolved, and one enters comprehensive contemplation. If the person’s capacity can accord with it, they will naturally respond.

But if they become rigidly attached to the tree, then the illness is incurable, and there is no need to waste words. This uses opposition to break through, and breaking through to guide. The patriarchs’ intentions were indeed most painstaking. “Coming and going condition one another” means that the threefold classification of dharma gates is provisionally used and then completely swept away. The phrase “there is nowhere further to go” is wonderfully efficacious indeed. It shows that the empty characteristics of all dharmas still return to the original field of nature, which cannot be grasped.

This is the essential teaching. The method of instruction must be thorough, just as saving a person must be thorough; one must never abandon the work halfway and fail to complete one’s virtue. Giving Dharma instruction is truly a last resort, but one must always guard against a person’s rigid attachment turning into illness. Whether or not they can receive it, one must fully explain what one has to say in order to prevent later problems; one must never fail to reveal the ultimate meaning. Do not slight beginners or withhold it because you regard it as too profound and secret; to cherish them in this way is precisely to mislead them. Instruction differs from authorization. Authorization should not be given early or lightly; but regarding the ultimate point, there is no harm in explaining it repeatedly, so that they do not forget the original. This is the teaching of the Dharma.

[4] What responsive dharma could there be within one’s own nature? One’s own nature is originally empty and quiescent; ultimately there is no dharma to oppose. Yet karma is constructed by the illusory mind, and one must still borrow illusory dharmas to counteract it. Everything arises from emptiness, and everything returns to emptiness. Within empty nature, one temporarily raises responsive dharmas, establishing them according to circumstances; once the occasion has passed, they become empty. Knowing this, when using dharmas one will not be bound by dharmas, and they become wondrous functions.

[5] The excellence of this passage lies in the fact that understanding its function penetrates everything. One employs dharmas while remaining free from dharmas, like a physician using medicine with complete mastery and applying it freely. If one is wholly attached to appearances, wrong views increase; if one is wholly attached to emptiness, ignorance increases. These four sentences fully express the wondrous functioning of prajñā.

In short, when applying dharmas to others, never begin with preconceived views. Within the emptiness of nature, one naturally attains immeasurable wisdom; the wisdom of knowing others’ minds truly arises from this. Otherwise, one loses skillful means and cannot be a master. Although this Dharma is used to liberate others, it truly liberates oneself as well. To liberate all sentient beings and thereby attain Buddhahood means to understand the habitual tendencies of all sentient beings; it also means sweeping away one’s own habitual tendencies. This is the method of practice after seeing one’s nature. Practitioners should constantly embody and reflect upon this meaning. When the conduct of mind becomes thoroughly mature, wondrous functioning will be present; moreover, one may awaken to the principle that conditioned opposites are empty, naturally grasping at nothing, while function does not depart from essence.

[6] Not establishing written words and language does not mean discarding them. Writing is language on paper, and language is writing spoken aloud. Whenever something can be conceived and is to be expressed, one relies on writing or language. But at the point that is inconceivable, it cannot be expressed by writing or reached by language—what use, then, can writing and language have? What is called “the path of language is cut off” means that the activity of mind has ceased. Whenever the mind has an activity, there is a dharma that can be conceived; only then is language not cut off.

People today may have a deep grounding in Chan practice, yet at every turn they aspire to lofty and distant things, bent on displaying the loftiness and subtlety of the Chan school. They do not realize that its loftiness and subtlety lie precisely in the ordinary: in movement and stillness, speech and silence, there is nowhere that is not language and words. Though the voice may thunder like thunder pouring into one’s ears, those who do not understand remain bewildered in the end. Even the Buddha could do nothing about the five thousand who left their seats.

【7】 The two characters dao and xing should be clearly distinguished and explained. Nature pervades the dharma realm; there is nowhere that is not nature, and thus nowhere that is not the Way. From the substance of nature arise all the functions of the Way—how lively and perfectly interpenetrating they are! If one abides in a state in which one thinks of nothing among the hundred things, taking it to be empty quiescence, one does not realize that abiding itself is already an affair. Whoever clings to empty quiescence: that very clinging is not emptiness. When functioning does not flow freely, the Way is obstructed. How could this be suchness or the true aspect of reality?

【8】 The sūtra says, “Thus know, thus see, thus believe and understand”: this means practicing in accordance with the wondrous functioning explained here. The sūtra also says, “Do not give rise to dharma appearances”: this means not departing from the non-abiding substance of nature by falsely establishing views of dharmas. In this way, one does not lose the essential principle.

【9】 “Accomplishing the meaning of the Middle Way” is also an expedient expression. One must understand that once the two extremes are abandoned, there is no Middle Way to be established either. The Middle Way, too, arises dependently; it is merely one coming and going among illusory dharmas. This passage refutes the other party’s attachment to views of dharmas and gives the essential instruction for curing the disease of dharmas. Whoever comes must first hold some view, and this view is precisely the disease. Earlier it spoke of opening, showing, awakening, and entering. This is opening the Dharma: opening the door of self-view and showing the correct path. The words “opening” and “showing” depend on the teacher; “awakening” and “entering” depend entirely on oneself.

【10】 The root of attachment is the basis of birth and death. This root of attachment belongs to ignorance; ignorance belongs to the absence of wisdom; and the absence of wisdom is due to not having clarified the root. To clarify the root is to clarify the principle of the unborn. Once one fully comprehends the unborn, one knows that people are originally unborn—how, then, could there be death? What is called birth and death is merely the illusory arising and ceasing, coming and going, of an illusory body. Knowing that all is illusory, and that the dharma nature which is not illusory originally has no arising,

cessation, coming, or going, one should not cling to the present illusory body as birth, nor, when this illusory body changes and perishes in later years, need one cling to it as death. Since there is no birth or death, how could I give rise to aversion or attachment? For several years they cultivated the Way in the mountains, intending to cultivate freedom from being moved by praise or blame and freedom from the arising of sorrow or joy. Yet now, hearing that the Patriarch wished to leave the world, they all wept. Outwardly, it was grief for the Patriarch; inwardly, it was attachment to themselves. They had still not forgotten the self, for his departure went against their wishes and made them uneasy.

The Patriarch said, “If you knew where I am going, you should not grieve and weep.” This means that if one knew that dharma nature originally has neither arising nor cessation, coming nor going, one should not give rise to such emotional views. Why? Because nothing whatsoever is real. Shenxiu’s expression also remained unmoved, and he shed no tears; but can this alone be taken as proof that he had seen his true nature? Not necessarily.

For seeing one’s true nature cannot be measured from outward appearances. Because everyone was weeping, Shenxiu deliberately responded in a counteractive way. But one who truly sees one’s nature may weep, or may not weep. To weep is movement without movement; not to weep is likewise movement without movement. Movement without movement means not being deluded when encountering circumstances, and thus being able to transform them.

Those who have not seen their true nature are moved when they encounter circumstances; once moved, they cannot transform them. Or they forcibly suppress themselves from moving—this is non-movement that is itself movement. Therefore, it cannot be determined from outward appearances. If it were, among the Patriarch’s disciples Shenxiu alone would have seen his true nature; could that be so? One should understand that the Sixth Patriarch spoke thus for those whose root of attachment had not been cut off, and for later generations. This must be understood.

【11】 The verse means that nothing whatsoever is real: everything is wholly illusory and without true reality. One must not cling to “the real” and thereby form a view. If one establishes a view that there is something real, that view itself is no longer real. You should know that you yourself inherently possess what is real. You need only leave behind the false, and that is the real; when illusion departs, the real naturally becomes manifest.

If your own mind cannot leave behind the false, from where could you see your own reality? Therefore, sentient beings can comprehend the meaning of movement and explain it well. Inanimate things cannot move, much less understand movement. Those who now cultivate the practice of non-movement should not be unmoving like inanimate things. Those seeking true non-movement should see non-movement within movement. Movement is function; non-movement is essence. Function does not depart from essence, and movement still returns to non-movement, for it is fundamentally unstained and ultimately pure.

“Non-movement is non-movement” means that non-movement is originally the state of inanimate things, which from the outset have neither sentience nor Buddha-nature. “Able to distinguish appearances well” means that one who has seen their true nature is active in function. Within the ultimate meaning of the substance of nature, such a person neither abides nor clings, and is active yet unmoved. To be able to form such a perfectly interpenetrating, non-abiding view is the wondrous functioning of suchness.

I inform all practitioners of the Way: you must strive to clarify the Way. The meaning is that, within the gate of the Mahāyāna, do not cling to wisdom. Know that with no wisdom and nothing attained, one accords with the meaning of suchness and non-movement; for seeking wisdom is also birth and death. Thus, among companions cultivating the Way, those whose minds mutually confirm one another may discuss it together. With those whose minds do not mutually confirm one another, what benefit is there in disputing? Simply join your palms and let them be pleased. They may not understand, and it would only increase afflictions.

This school takes ultimate emptiness and purity as its essential principle. In emptiness there is nothing to dispute; wherever there is dispute, emptiness has not been realized, the intent of the Way has been lost, and one has become attached. Attachment runs counter to one’s intrinsic nature and vainly establishes birth and death; it is utterly pointless. This verse is concise in expression and pure in meaning, its main intent being to stop disputes. The Patriarch also clearly knew that in the degenerate age there would be many disputes, through which people would all the more mislead themselves and others. Therefore, he said that where views of dharmas are improper, they should be corrected; but if capacities do not accord, never oppose them. Instead, have compassion for them and do not dispute.

【12】 Gather in the mind and cultivate according to the Dharma. This is one’s own great matter. Do not again concern yourself with others’ idle affairs and thereby mislead yourself. This is truly how one repays the Sixth Patriarch’s kindness.

【13】 The Sixth Patriarch deliberately pointed out that this is called the True Dharma. This shows that the True Dharma, Semblance Dharma, and Degenerate Dharma are not wholly matters of time. One need not necessarily identify the first five hundred years as the period of the True Dharma and the present as the Degenerate Dharma. The True Dharma takes the mind-ground as primary; Semblance Dharma makes names and appearances its concern; and Degenerate Dharma abandons even appearances.

The Buddhadharma extends through the three divisions of time. Those who study Buddhism today have, at the very least, planted various wholesome roots before one or two Buddhas. This does not mean merely turning from evil toward good. “Roots” means the five faculties; what else could they be but the mind-ground? The following phrase, “the faculty of faith is fully mature,” means that faith has been accomplished and one is fit to undertake a great matter. This is entirely the True Dharma of the mind-ground.

【14】 “Conditions in the eastern land have ripened” means that the right opportunity has arrived. After the Sixth Patriarch, the True Dharma flourished greatly, and the flower bore fruit in China. Bodhidharma, the First Patriarch, was the flower; the following five Patriarchs were its leaves. After flower and leaves, there must be fruit. This alludes to the orthodox lineage that followed. The first two lines speak of the cause, the third of the condition, and the fourth of the fruition. At that point, the robe and bowl were no longer of use.

Thus, whatever happens in the world has its time and conditions; what benefit is there in fruitless effort? How much more so in a great matter that shakes heaven and earth! Applied to affairs, this principle can greatly assist meditative stability: act in accordance with conditions, but be careful regarding causes and do not calculate results. The power that transforms all fixed karma is simply this power of emptiness. Hence it is said that the strength of emptiness, though without sinews, is incomparably great.

【15】 One-Mark Samādhi realizes the essence; One-Act Samādhi gives rise to its function. One mark is no mark; one mind is no mind. In every circumstance, one constantly sees the essence of empty quiescence. Naturally there arise no views of dharmas involving aversion or attachment, acceptance or rejection, formation or destruction. Empty, numinous, and tranquil—this is the accomplishment of One-Mark Samādhi: unchanging, yet able to accord with conditions. One-act means continuously remaining thus, without alteration.

In every circumstance, whether moving or still, speaking or silent, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, one never departs from this essence of empty quiescence. Even if views of dharmas involving aversion or attachment, acceptance or rejection, formation or destruction arise in response to temporary circumstances, one never clings to dharmas. This is what is called a direct mind, pure and unified, empty, numinous, and lively. This is the accomplishment of One-Act Samādhi: able to accord with conditions while ultimately remaining unchanged.

These two samādhis cannot be separated; hence it is said that this Dharma is not two, and the mind is just so. Since the One is originally pure, all is therefore pure. This is called the Way. Why then cling to pure contemplation or seek to empty the mind? Once one gives even slight deliberate attention to such contemplation and emptiness, one has a view of dharmas, vainly establishes acceptance and rejection, and instead becomes bound by dharmas. This is one who has not realized One-Mark Samādhi and has not perfected One-Act Samādhi.

Reflecting upon this, it is evidence that I have not seen the true aspect of reality. It is not called clarifying the Way, for when the essence has not been realized, its function cannot arise either.

Those who practice asceticism for decades yet ultimately fail to attain the ultimate are mistaken at the outset. They do not enter realization through One-Mark Samādhi, but vainly seek the false freedom of One-Act Samādhi; their inversion and perversity are evident. How could they easily accomplish the wisdom of all aspects? The Patriarch also said that one endowed with these samādhis truly accomplishes the Pure Land. There are now many who cultivate the Pure Land, but do they enter realization through this? This is the state of non-retrogression and the provisions for rebirth in the West. How can these be divided into separate schools? How could the Buddha’s intent have two meanings?

【16】 This section is wholly focused and is most essential. From the first section’s statement, “Bodhi-nature is originally pure; simply use this mind, and directly realize Buddhahood,” it proceeds throughout without interruption. It truly gives a detailed exposition of the method of direct realization, speaking with the utmost care and compassion. These four lines may be called the final injunction, the decisive essential principle for all people. They increase immeasurable strength and courage for the Way. If one still has doubts after this, one’s karmic offenses are indeed grave. That we have heard this supreme Dharma and encountered these excellent conditions—who knows through how many lives this has been cultivated?

【17】 The four-line verse is the Sixth Patriarch’s verse for universally transmitting the robe and bowl. Among the forty-three persons, whoever awakens to it may inherit his Dharma lineage. Its meaning is that all sentient beings possess Buddha-nature; when conditions are encountered, it manifests. Yet there must be sudden awakening: once the flower of the mind has opened, Buddhahood is certain. This is the intent of the entire sūtra.

【18】 This passage has ten lines. The first four speak of the originally pure essence; the middle four speak of functioning without contrivance, as the saying goes: the Way is realized in the mind, not in sitting. The final two speak of safeguarding realization after awakening. Its subtlety lies in striving without deliberate contrivance. This matter cannot be treated as weighty or light, rigidly or gloomily, nor can one relax one’s effort. Without a person of great blessings and capacity, one cannot undertake it.

【19】 Those who have the Way attain it; those without mind penetrate it. You should know that one who has the Way does not necessarily attain it, for if one has the thought of having the Way and the notion of something attainable, the intention of dharmas still stands. One has not entered the state of no-mind and therefore cannot penetrate it.

In these words of the Sixth Patriarch, the first sentence refutes, in accordance with their own view, people’s notion of having the Way; the second refutes, contrariwise, their disease of having mind. To refute in accordance with their view is to resolve it by following their own view. The meaning is that the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye cannot be handed over or transmitted. If the Way could be transmitted, it would not be the True Dharma. “Those who have the Way” are those who deeply understand this meaning and attain it through their own realization; it is not the Way of which you speak.

To counter by reversal means to open [a person] up by going against his intention. Since he already clings to this view, he is thereby acting with a mind of attachment; he has not yet accomplished the samādhi of one mark. It is precisely this sickness that obscures and deludes him. He thinks that this matter ought not to be questioned, and that to question it is to lose the meaning of the Way. You need only proceed without a mind of attachment, and you will accord with the Way. The earlier disputes over robe and bowl, and sectarian views, were sick because the mind had not been emptied. Yet all Buddhas and patriarchs, from above down to the present, have accorded with the single way of the empty mind. The wonder of no-mind is the same Way of every Buddha, transmitted from generation to generation; it must not be distorted or mistaken. Nor is there any dharma gate beyond this.

【20】 The Sixth Patriarch here deliberately sets forth the patriarchal succession of the true Dharma and its transmission through the generations. This is the intent of correctly establishing names and determining the Dharma, thereby fixing the central tenet for later generations. Once the true Dharma eye is established, what use is there for contention? Hence he says, “Transmit it from generation to generation; do not allow it to go astray.” This is a proper injunction; how could it have been for the old man himself? It is precisely for people like us. How can we repay such compassion and grace? After the phrase “each has its own transmission,” I propose adding the four characters “the essence of the Way is one” to complete its meaning. Though each may have a distinct transmission, the Way itself is one. Otherwise, I fear that those who cling to words may mistakenly suppose that each has its own secret.

It is like Zigong’s relation to Confucius. He said, “The Master’s writings may be heard and known. But the Master’s words concerning human nature and the Way of Heaven cannot be heard and known.” He did not realize that the Master’s teaching on human nature and the Way of Heaven was already fully contained in those writings; only Zigong could not fathom it. Moreover, human nature and the Way of Heaven cannot fundamentally be expressed by writings; yet without writings, how could they be expressed?

[21] The meaning of the passage beginning, “Listen carefully, all of you,” has not truly been made explicit, so I shall explain it here. It means that deluded people in later generations recklessly abandon [the Dharma] solely because they do not recognize that their own nature is Buddha. If they recognized that sentient beings themselves possess buddha-nature, then not only could I become a Buddha, but every sentient being, even the most evil, could unquestionably become a Buddha. If they do not recognize this, they will forever turn their backs on the Buddha Way and, through countless kalpas, will be unable to see the Buddha.

I now teach you that knowing your own mind is itself buddha-nature. If you wish to see the Buddha, ask only yourself. To recognize the true reality of your own mind-nature is to become a Buddha, for it is nondual with the Buddha. This is the first method by which to begin, and it is of the utmost importance. Deluded people today all limit themselves. This is sentient beings deluding themselves; it is not that the Buddha deludes sentient beings.

If one awakens to one’s own nature, then even while one’s body occupies the position of a sentient being, one has already become a Buddha. If one is deluded about one’s own nature, then although this very body is originally Buddha, one enters the toil of the dusts in vain and becomes a sentient being. Therefore, one who can enter the wisdom of equality is a sentient being who is Buddha.

Those who are perversely deluded and dangerous are Buddhas become sentient beings. If the mind is devious and crooked, the Buddha is hidden amid sentient beings. When every thought is even and straight, one immediately accomplishes the Buddha Way. The only difficulty is lack of familiarity: one often easily forgets and loses it. Before one has become continuous and undivided, there seem to be comings and goings, advances and retreats. But in the end, do not retreat or lose it.

You must know that your own mind is itself Buddha; this is the true Buddha. If you yourself do not regard yourself as Buddha, where else will you seek the true Buddha? The Patriarch again earnestly admonishes: “Your own minds are Buddha; do not harbor further doubt. All myriad dharmas are established from self-nature, and nothing whatsoever is lacking.”

He then left behind another verse on the true Buddha of self-nature, saying again that people of later generations who understand the meaning of this verse will see their own original mind and themselves accomplish the Buddha Way. Those sentient beings of later generations who cultivate for many years without attaining the vision of their nature all suffer from this illness: they themselves do not dare to assume responsibility, considering this humility and self-effacement. They do not understand the principle that one should not yield when righteousness calls. If they see others following the Buddha’s intent, making effort, or assuming responsibility, they instead regard them as arrogant and presumptuous.

Such people are scorched sprouts and rotten seeds, who destroy others’ wisdom-life; they are not worth discussing the ultimate truth with. Yet those harmed by them also suffer because their Dharma-obscurations from former lives are profound: they too have misled others, and thus in this life encounter these evil causes and conditions. Those who understand this meaning should quickly repent. As for the method of repenting such offenses, one need only arouse a great resolve and make great vows. After seeing one’s nature, one must certainly assume responsibility without doubt; only then is it of use. Otherwise, one will drift idly through an entire lifetime. How lamentable!

[22] The dharma gate of sudden teaching has now been left behind. This means that the Buddhadharma will endure forever without end; those who obtain it are as though they had gained the unsurpassed treasure. Thus, one may suddenly become a Buddha through four lines of verse; abundance is unnecessary. If one instead abandons oneself and drifts idly through a lifetime, how regrettable that would be.

[23] The passage beginning, “Only recognize your own original mind,” is precisely teaching people to cultivate the wondrous functioning of non-abiding. Whoever can abide nowhere will certainly not fall into the two views. Entering the gate of nonduality, one then reaches equality, and from this the world becomes peaceful. Finally, it also says, “as when I was alive”: whether present in the world or absent from it is precisely nondual. First, it makes known that becoming a Buddha depends upon one’s own efforts; second, it destroys the view of birth and death; third, it clarifies that the Buddhadharma endures forever without end. The assembly on Vulture Peak has indeed not dispersed.

【24】 These four lines of verse are exceedingly subtle, concise, and direct. By reciting them repeatedly, one may practice wherever one is. The first two lines empty the two views of good and evil. If one can be completely free of attachment, then there is no need even for these two lines, and their wondrous function has already been fully exhausted. Only the character “cut off” in the third line is inappropriate, for I fear that it may lead people mistakenly into an annihilationist view.

For seeing and hearing, in principle, cannot be cut off at all. Later generations who cultivate a dead samādhi have misunderstood this meaning, and this is extremely dangerous. Master Dayu once changed it to “Seeing and hearing are ever quiescent,” which makes it complete. Later, someone changed the character “cut off” to “and”; this meaning, too, may be used. All this is to avoid the fault of annihilationism.

It is now proposed to change it to the character xi (兮), and to change xin (心) to the character er (而), simply using function words throughout to accord with the sense of empty numinosity. Moreover, the four lines originally speak of mind and emphasize in the strongest terms that mind cannot be obtained; therefore, it is permissible to remove the character mind. When practitioners read to this point, they need not fixate on it. Nor is this true only here: this humble work, this Platform Sūtra, and even the entire Tripiṭaka and its twelve divisions may likewise be neither grasped nor clung to. This merely employs this mind to directly comprehend the essential meaning of becoming a Buddha.

“Faith robe” means something taken as a token of trust, just as an official has a seal of authentication. The robe was made of quxun cloth from the Western Regions. The robe previously transmitted to Fangbian was perhaps not this robe.