PRACTICAL ZEN
"Whatismeantby'thereisnoabiding'?"
"When themindis not abidingin anypartioilarobject,
wcsaythatitabideswherethereisnoabiding."
"WTiatismeantbynotabidinginanyparticularobject?"
"Itmeans notto beabidingin thedualismofgoodand
evil,beingandnon-being, thoughtand matter;itmeansnot
tobe abiding in emptinessor in non-emptiness, neither intranquillitynorinnon-tranquillity.Wherethereisnoabiding
place,thisistrulytheabidingplaceforthemind."
Seppo (Hsueh-feng,822-908) wasoneofthemostearnest
truth-seekersinthehistoryofZenduringtheT'angdynasty.
Heissaidtohavecarriedaladlethroughoutthelongyearsofhis
disciplinaryZenperegrinations. Hisideawastoserveinoneof
themostdespisedandmostdifficultpositionsinthemonastery
life—thatis,ascook—andtheladlewashissymbol.Whenhe
finallysucceededTokusan (Teh-shan) as Zenmasteramonk
approachedhimandasked: "Whatisthatyouhaveattained
under Tokusan? How serene and self-contained you are!"
"Empty-handedIwentawayfromhome,and empty-handed
Ireturned."Isnotthisapracticalexplanationofthedoctrine
of"noabidingplace"?ThemonkswantedtheirmasterHyakujo
(Pai-chang)togivealectureonZen.Hesaid,"Youattendto
thefarmingandlateronIwilltellyouallaboutZen."Afterthey
hadfinishedthework themaster wasrequested to fulfil his
promise,whereuponheopenedoutbothhiaarms,butsaidnot
aword.Thiswashisgreatsermon.