"HSIN"
Mind (Jap.: 'Shin')
By Gesshū, Japan, 1618
"KŪ - SHŪNYATĀ"
- Non-Substantiality
By Isshi Bunshu, 1608-1646
Hui-neng Destroying the Sutra
By Liang-k'ai, 13th century
'WU'
The Non-Dual (Jap.: 'Mu')
By Isshi Bunshu, 1608-1646
Hui-neng Cutting Bamboo
By Liang-k'ai, 13th century
'HSÜ'
Non-DUality (Jap.: 'Kyo')
By Isshi Bunshu (?), 1608-1646
Various meanings of "Hsü":
False, untrue, unreal;
Hollow, empty;
Vacant, insubstantial,
Figurative, abstract.
P'u-k'o Ch'an-shi's poem on 'Myōan' -
The Duality of the Obvious and the Obscure
By Tanikita Muchiku, 1875-1957
'CH'AN'
In Sanskrit: "Dhyana"
In Japanese: "Zen"
Female court musician
Pottery tomb figurine
T'ang Period, 618-906
Female court musician
Pottery tomb figurine
T'ang Period, 618-906
Female court musician
Pottery tomb figurine
T'ang Period, 618-906
P'i-p'a/biwa plectrum guard
Preserved in the Shōsōin
Imperial Treasury, Nara, Japan
T'ang Period, 618-906
P'i-p'a/biwa plectrum guard, detail
Preserved in the Shōsōin
Imperial Treasury, Nara, Japan
T'ang Period, 618-906
'Chun' zither
Chu Tsai-yü's tuning device
In the 'Lü Hsüeh Hsin Shuo'
1584
'Lü'
Rule, standard (Jap.: 'Ritsu')
By Isshi Bunshu, 1608-1646
|
Chronology
CHINA 2 • 500 CE ...
BUDDHISM, TAOISM & THE CHINESE SCIENCE OF SOUND
5th to 6th CENTURY onwards:
The AVATAMSAKA SUTRA
大方廣佛華嚴經
Ta-fang-kuang fo-hua-yen ching / Dafang Guang Fo Huayan Jing
"The Flower Garland Sūtra", or: "Huayan Sutra".
In Japan: KEGON KYŌ, 華厳経
Acc. to WikiPedia,
"The earliest texts associated with the Avatamsaka sutra are the Dousha jing,
佛說兜沙经,
(Taisho 280), produced by Lokaksema in the latter part of the second century CE and the Pusa benye jing
佛說菩薩本業經,
(T. 281), translated by Zhi Qian in the early to mid third century.
There is evidence that these small Buddhavatamsaka sutras circulated on their own as individual scriptures. - - -
The translation of the large Avatamsaka sutra is often dated to the Southern Dynasties (420-589) when a translation team led by
Gandharan master, Buddhabhadra worked on the sutra. - - -
There is also evidence of this sutra tradition in the Northern Dynasties (386-581) where a certain Xuangao (402-444) taught the Huayan samadhi. - - -
The Huayan School is known as Hwaeom in Korea and Kegon in Japan.
This tradition also had a strong influence on Chan Buddhism. - - - "
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatamsaka_Sutra
In the Avatamsaka Sutra, these two essential Mahayana Buddhist terms/concepts are appearing in remarkable abundance:
1 - 不生不滅, Bù shēng bù miè; in Japanese:
Fu-shō Fu-metsu - "Not Born Not Perished", alt.: "Non-born Non-perished" and "Unborn Unperished".
Acc. to Tsuge Gen'ichi, quoting Yamamoto Morihide writing in the Kyotaku denki kokujikai (publ. 1795) in 1977, in some cases and areas of Japan, the characters Fu-shō Fu-metsu were written on wooden boards that were placed on the graves of deceased komu-sō, i.e. at least during the late 18th century.
Keyword counts, acc. to The SAT Daizōkyō Text Database, in the entire Taishō Tripitaka: 3695.
Link: The SAT Daizōkyō Text Database
2 - 不二, Bù èr; in Japanese: Fu-ni - "Not Two", "Non-Dual", "Non-Duality",
"Non-Dualism", "Non-Dividedness".
Keyword counts, acc. to The SAT Daizōkyō Text Database, in the entire Taishō Tripitaka: 12056.
Link:
The SAT Daizōkyō Text Database
No later than 606 CE
信心銘 - HSIN-HSIN MING / Xin-xin Ming - Jap.: SHINJIN-MEI
Attributed to the 3rd Chinese Ch'an (Zen) patriarch Chien-chih Seng-ts'an, died 606
不二 - Bù èr / Fu-ni - Not Two / Non Dual / Non-Duality / Non-Dualism
SELECTED QUOTATIONS, translated by R.H. BLYTH (1960)
" - - - ."
二由一有
一亦莫守
一心不生
萬法無咎
"Duality arises from Unity,
But do not be attached to this Unity.
When the mind is one, and nothing happens,
Everything in the world is unblameable."
" - - - ."
迷生寂亂
悟無好惡
一切二邊
良由斟酌
夢幻空華
何勞把捉
得失是非
一時放卻
"Illusion produces rest and motion;
Illumination destroys liking and disliking.
All these pairs of opposites
Are created by our own folly.
Dreams, delusions, flowers of air,
Why are we so anxious to have them in our grasp?
Profit and loss, right and wrong,
Away with them once for all!"
" - - - ."
泯其所以
不可方比
止動無動
動止無止
兩既不成
一何有爾
"No description by analogy is possible
Of this state where all relations have ceased.
When we stop movement, there is no-movement
When we stop resting, there is no-rest.
When both cease to be,
How can the Unity subsist?"
" - - - ."
真如法界
無他無自
要急相應
唯言不二
不二皆同
無不包容
十方智者
皆入此宗
"In the World of Reality,
There is no self, no other-than-self.
Should you desire immediate correspondence (with this Reality)
All that can be said is "No Duality!"
When there is no duality, all things are one,
There is nothing that is not included.
The Enlightened of all times and places
Have entered into this Truth."
" - - - ."
一即一切
一切即一
但能如是
何慮不畢
信心不二
不二信心
言語道斷
非去來今
"One thing is all things;
All things are one thing.
If this is so for you,
There is no need to worry about perfect knowledge.
The believing mind is not dual;
What is dual is not the believing mind.
Beyond all language,
For it there is no past, no present, no future."
Quotations from the Hsin-hsin-ming, "Inscribed on the Believing Mind",
by Seng-ts'an [Jap.: Sōsan], died in 606.
Trsl. by R.H. Blyth Vol. 1, 1960, pp. 100-103.
Links: terebess.hu -
sacred.texts.com
SELECTED QUOTATIONS, translated by D.T. SUZUKI (1970, 1973)
" - - - ."
二由一有
一亦莫守
一心不生
萬法無咎
"The two exist because of the one,
But hold not even to this one;
When the one mind is not disturbed,
The ten thousand things offer no offence."
" - - - ."
迷生寂亂
悟無好惡
一切二邊
良由斟酌
夢幻空華
何勞把捉
得失是非
一時放卻
"Ignorance begets the dualism of rest and unrest,
The enlightened have no likes and dislikes:
All forms of dualism
Are ignorantly contrived by the mind itself.
They are like unto visions and flowers in the air:
Why should we trouble ourselves to take hold of them?
Gain and loss, right and wrong -
Away with them once for all!"
" - - - ."
泯其所以
不可方比
止動無動
動止無止
兩既不成
一何有爾
"Forget the wherefore of things,
And we attain to a state beyond analogy:
Movement stopped is no movement,
And rest set in motion is no rest.
When dualism does no more obtain,
Even oneness itself remains not as such."
" - - - ."
真如法界
無他無自
要急相應
唯言不二
不二皆同
無不包容
十方智者
皆入此宗
"In the higher realm of True Suchness
There is neither 'other' nor 'self' :
When a direct identification is asked for,
We can only say, 'Not two'.
In being not two all is the same,
All that is is comprehended in it;
The wise in the ten quarters,
They all enter into this absolute faith."
" - - - ."
一即一切
一切即一
但能如是
何慮不畢
信心不二
不二信心
言語道斷
非去來今
"One in all,
All in one -
If only this is realized;
No more worry about your not being perfect!
The believing mind is not divided,
And undivided is the believing mind -
This is where words fail,
For it is not of the past, future, or present."
Quotations from the Hsin-hsin-ming, "Inscribed on the Believing Mind",
by Seng-ts'an [Jap.: Sōsan], died in 606.
Trsl. by D.T. Suzuki, 1970, 1973, Vol. I, pp. 197-201.
Around 520 CE - no later than 527 CE
Bodhidharma pictured by Hakuin Ekaku, 18th century
Bodhidharma (470-543, in Japanese: Daruma, the 28th Buddhist patriarch after Sakyamuni Buddha himself) arrives and begins to teach Dhyana, "meditative Buddhism", in China around the year of 520.
This saying, this very central "Ch'an/Zen credo", is dated in the 12th century,
however attributed to Bodhidharma, 6th century:
教外別傳
Jiào wài biézhuàn,
"Teaching Beyond Specific Transmission."
不立文字
bù lì wénzì,
"Not Based (on) Scripture (nor) Word."
直指人心
zhí zhǐ rénxīn,
"Direct Point (at) Mankind's Nature."
見性成佛
jiàn xìng chéng fó.
"See (one's) Nature, Become (a) Buddha."
Trsl. by Torsten Olafsson, 2017.
The character 'Mu' by Hakuin Ekaku, 18th century
527 CE:
This anecdote about Bodhidharma was recorded in the Blue Cliff Record, dated 1125, Case 1:
教外別傳
舉梁武帝問達摩大師：
「如何是聖諦第一義？」
Jǔ liáng wǔdì wèn dámó dàshī,
'Rúhé shì shèng dì dì yī yì?'
Emperor Wu of the Liang (Kingdom) asked Master Bodhidharma,
"What is The Noblest Truth (of Buddhism)?"
摩云：「廓然無聖！」
Mó yún: 'Kuò rán wú shèng.'
Bodhidharma replied, "Wide open, that is to say： No Noblest Truth!"
帝曰：「對朕者誰？」
Dì yuē: 'Duì zhèn zhě shuí?'
The Emperor asked, "Facing me, who is that person?"
摩云：「不識。」
Mó yún: 'Bù shí.'
Bodhidharma replied, "(I do) Not know."
帝不契，達摩遂渡江至魏。
Dì bù qì, dámó suí dù jiāng zhì wèi.
The Emperor did not understand.
Daruma crossed the river and entered the Kingdom of Wei.
Source: Chinese Text Project, http://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&chapter=510028
Trsl. by Torsten Olafsson, 2017.
T'ANG DYNASTY
Late 7th CENTURY - THE PLATFORM SUTRA by HUI-NENG:
"The 6th Patriarch Cutting Bamboo"
by Liang-k'ai, late 12th to early 13th century:
四十六。
外境無情對有五對。
天與地對。
日與月對。
暗與明對。
陰與陽對。
水與火對。
- - -
暗不自暗、以明故暗。
以明顯暗、以暗現明。
來去相因。
- - -
"46.
"There are five pairs concerning external objects that are insentient, namely,
heaven and earth, sun and moon, light [myō/mei, 明]
and darkness [an, 暗],
passive element (yin) and positive element (yang), water and fire."
- - -
"Darkness does not become darkness by itself;
it is dark because there is brightness.
Darkness is manifested by brightness, and brightness is revealed by darkness.
One is the cause of the other."
Quotations from Ch. 46 in the Platform Sutra, Chin.:
'Fa-pao-T'an Ching', by the 6th Ch'an patriarch Hui-neng,
638-713. Trsl. by Wing-tsit Chan, 1963, pp. 125 & 127.
The 6th Patriarch's Platform Sutra - Tun-huang edition, page 1
Original work established in c. 780.
One of two Tun-huang Caves versions dated c. 830-860
"All things are unreal.
We should not regard what we see as real.
If we view them as real,
Such a view is entirely false.
If one is to discover reality himself,
He must be free from falsehood and his mind will then be reality itself.
If one's own mind is not free from falsehood,
There will be no reality and where can one find it?
Sentient beings know to be active.
Insentient beings are the same as inactivity [immovability].
If you cultivate the practice of inactivity,
You will be as inactive as insentient objects.
If you want to see true inactivity,
You must be inactive in your activity.
Inactivity is nothing but inactivity.
Therefore there are no Buddha seeds in insentient objects. - - - "
(Chapter 48.)
Hui-neng (Jap.: Enō), 638-713, in the Platform Scripture (Chin.:
'Fa-pao-t'an-ching'). Trsl. by Wing-tsit Chan, 1963.
Around 750 CE:
Musicians pictured in a wall painting in Cave 25, 'Yulin',
at Tun-huang on the Silk Road, in the Kansu Province, W. China.
The Yulin grotto system was built since the N. Wei Dynasty, 356-534 CE.
The player at the top appears to be blowing a very long, quite thin flute that quite much
resembles the modern Chinese 6-holed 't'ung-hsiao'/'dong-xiao',
洞簫, Jap.: 'dōshō'.
Source: Izumi Takeo, 2016, p. 5
8th CENTURY:
參同契 - SANDŌKAI
闇合上中言 明明清濁句
(8) "High and middle words unite in the dark,
clean and dirty sentences, in the brightness."
當明中有暗 勿以暗相遇
(14) "Right in the middle of light there is dark,
don’t use the mutuality of darkness to meet it."
當暗中有明 勿以明相睹
(15) "Right in the middle of dark there is light,
don’t use the mutuality of the light to see it."
明暗各相對 比如前後歩
(16) "The light and dark are mutual polarities,
For example, like front and back steps."
Shih-t'ou Hsi-ch'ien (Jap.: Sekitō Kisen, 700-790) in the
Ts'an-t'ung-ch'i (Jap.: Sandōkai).
Translation by Gregory Wonderwheel quoted from the web page:
'An Agreement for Participating Together'.
For more translations of the Sandōkai visit ibid.:
"Various English Translations
of 'An Agreement for Participating Together'."
" - - - Refined and common speech come together in the dark,
clear and murky phrases are distinguished in the light. - - - "
" - - - In the light there is darkness,
but don't take it as darkness.
In the dark there is light,
but don't see it as light.
Light and darkness oppose one another
like the front and back foot in walking. - - - "
Shih-t'ou Hsi-ch'ien (Jap.: Sekitō Kisen, 700-790) in the
Ts'an-t'ung-ch'i (Jap.: Sandōkai). Translation quoted from
the website www.sacred-texts.com, entry: "Buddhism: Zen
Buddhism:
Archives: 'Harmony of Difference and Sameness'".
" - - - Darkness is a word for merging upper and lower.
Light is an expression for distinguishing pure and defiled. - - - "
" - - - Right in light there is darkness,
but don't confront it as darkness.
Right in darkness there is light,
but don't see it as light.
Light and dark are relative to one another
like forward and backward steps. - - - "
Shih-t'ou Hsi-ch'ien (Jap.: Sekitō Kisen, 700-790) in the
Ts'an-t'ung-ch'i (Jap.: Sandōkai). Translation quoted from
the website www.berkeleyzencenter.org, entry: "Texts:
Liturgy &
basic texts: 'Merging of difference and unity/Sandokai'".
"DER TANZ DER GÖTTER -
Zu meiner Flöte, die aus Jade ist,
sang ich den Menschen tief bewegt ein Lied -
die Menschen lachten, sie verstandens nicht.
Da hob ich schmerzvoll meine Flöte, die
aus Jade ist, zum Himmel auf und brachte
mein Lied den Göttern dar. Die Götter waren
beglückt und huben auf erglühenden Wolken
nach meinem Lied zu tanzen an . . .
Nun singe ich mein Lied den Menschen auch
zur Freude, nun verstehen sie mich auch,
spiel' ich das Lied auf meiner Flöte, die
aus Jade ist . . . "
Li Tai-po, 702-763. Trasl. by Hans Bethge, 1923.
Quoted from Kurt Reinhard, 1956.
9th CENTURY:
" (Zen is) like one's wielding the sword in the air, one does not ask
whether it hits the object or not; the air is not cleft, the sword is not broken."
"There are no dharmas [that is, objects] in the triple world, and where do
we search for the Mind? The four elements are from the first empty, and where
could the Buddha find his abode? The heavenly axle remains unmoved, all is quiet
and no words are uttered. It is presented right to your face, nothing more is to
be done."
P'an-shan Pao-chi (Jap.: Banshan Hōshaku, Fuke Zenji's master,
early 9th century). Trsl. by D.T. Suzuki, 1973.
コモト云フソノ水上ヲタスヌルニ
古モナク、 今モナシ、
亦云、 三界ハ無法、
見モノノママニ、
柳ハ緑、花ハ紅トモ申ナリ、
"If you inquire about the Komo's place of origin, the answer is:
'Neither in the Past nor in the Present!'
Or, to put it in the words of Banzan,
'The Three-fold World is Immaterial!'
Any attempt at answering the question would be just as meaningless as saying,
'the willow is verdurous, the flower is crimson'!"
P'an-shan Pao-chi quoted in the 'Kaidō Honsoku', 1628.
Trsl. by Torsten Olafsson, 1987.
" - - - The six supernatural powers of the Buddha - - - are:
entering the realm of form without being deluded by form;
entering the realm of sound without being deluded by sound;
entering the realm of smell without being deluded by smell;
entering the realm of taste without being deluded by taste;
entering the realm of touch without being deluded by touch;
entering the realm of Dharma without being deluded by Dharma.
Therefore, we can tell that these six - form, sound, smell, taste, touch and Dharma - are all empty.
They can never bind the independent person of the Way.
Though one's body composed of the five skandas is defiled, one has the supernatural power of walking on the earth."
Quoted from the Rinzai roku (Lin-chi lu), 9th cent.,
Chapter 19. Trsl. by Eido Shimano, 2005, p. 51.
Fuke's 'Myōan' poem in Rinzai roku, Ch. 29, 9th century.
Calligraphy by Matsumoto Kyozan, 1985
明頭来 明頭打
暗頭来 暗頭打
四方八面来 旋風打
虚空来 連架打
Míng tóu lái,
Míng tóu dǎ,
Àn tóu lái,
Àn tóu dǎ,
Sìfāng Bā Miàn lái,
Xuànfēng dǎ,
Xū-Kōng lái,
Lián jià dǎ.
"Bright Head comes - Bright Head strikes,
Dark Head comes - Dark Head strikes;
Four Directions Eight Sides come - Whirlwind strikes;
Non-Duality comes - Flail strikes."
A very literal, word-to-word rendition of Fuke's myōan poem
in correct accordance with Chinese subject-verb-object syntax.
Trsl. by Torsten Olafsson, 2010.
Textual source: Eido Shimano, 2005, p. 98.
明頭来 明頭打
暗頭来 暗頭打
四方八面来 旋風打
虚空来 連架打
Myō-tō rai,
Myō-tō da,
An-tō rai,
An-tō da,
Shihō Hachimen rai,
Senpū da,
Ko-Kū rai, Renga da.
Translation by Ruth Fuller Sasaki (1892–1967):
"VI
Puhua was always going around the streets ringing a little bell and calling out:
Coming as brightness, I hit the brightness;
Coming as darkness, I hit the darkness;
Coming from the four quarters and eight directions, I hit like a whirlwind;
Coming from empty sky, I lash like a flail.
The master told his attendant to go and, the moment he heard Puhua say
these words, to grab him and ask, “If coming is not at all thus, what then?”
[The attendant went and did so.]
Puhua pushed him away, saying, “There’ll be a feast tomorrow at Dabei
yuan.”
The attendant returned and told this to the master. The master said, “I’ve
always held wonder for that fellow.”
Source: info.stiltij.nl/publiek/meditatie/leraren/_historisch/linji-sasaki.pdf
"Coming from brightness, hit the brightness.
Coming from darkness, hit the darkness.
Coming from the four cardinals
And the eight Directions,
Hit like a whirlwind.
Coming from the empty sky, hit repeatedly."
Fuke Zenji's statement on the duality of 'The Bright' and 'The Dark'
quoted in the Lin-chi Lu Chapter 29 (Jap.: Rinzai Roku, 9th century).
Trsl. by Eido Shimano, 2005.
"When brightness comes, hit the brightness.
When darkness comes, hit the darkness.
When four sides and directions come,
give them a swirling hit.
When emptiness comes, shuck it."
Fuke Zenji's statement on the duality of 'The Bright' and 'The Dark'
quoted in Dōgen Kigen's 'Shinji (or Mana) Shōbōgenzō',
1235. Trsl. by John Daido Loori/Kazuaki Tanahashi, 2005.
"P'u-k'o was always going about the streets ringing a hand-bell and saying,
'If a bright head-comes, strike the bright-head.
If a dark-head comes, strike the dark-head.
Whatever direction or quarter it comes from,
hit it like a whirlwind.
And if it comes from emptiness, cut it down with a scythe.'
Lin-chi sent one of his attendants to have a little talk with P'u-k'o.
When he arrived, the attendant spoke the lines he had been given
[by Lin-chi],
'What do you do when absolutely nothing at all comes forth?'
P'u-k'o pushed the question aside saying, 'Tomorrow there's a maigre feast at the Ta-pei Yüan.'
The attendant returned to Lin-chi and made his report. Lin-chi said, 'I've had my suspicions about that fellow for a long time."
Chapter 29 in the Lin-chi Lu (Jap.: Rinzai Roku, 9th century).
Trsl. by James H. Sanford, 1981.
"If attacked in the light, I will strike back in the light.
If attacked in the dark, I will strike back in the dark.
If attacked from all quarters, I will strike as a whirlwind does.
If attacked from the empty sky, I will trash with a flail."
Fuke Zenji's statement on the duality of 'The Bright' and 'The Dark'
in the Lin-chi Lu (Jap.: Rinzai Roku, 9th century) as quoted in the
Kyotaku Denki, 'Transmission of the Imitated Bell', ascribed to the
monk Ton'ō, 1640s (?) Trsl. by Tsuge Gen'ichi, 1977.
"When it comes in brightness, I hit the brightness.
When it approaches in darkness, I hit the darkness.
When it comes from the four quarters and eight directions (of space),
I hit like a whirlwind,
and if it comes out of the empty sky, I thrash like a flail."
Trsl. by Irmgard Schloegl in:
"The Zen Teaching of Rinzai [The Record of Rinzai]."
Published in association with The Buddhist Society, London, 1975.
"If my common essense [lit.: a bright head] comes
I hit my common essense;
If there comes my hidden essense [lit.: a dark head]
I beat the hidden essense;
if all the four directions and all eight sides come
I beat like a whirlwind;
if heaven (or: void) comes
I beat like a pestle."
Fuke Zenji's statement on the duality of 'The Bright' and 'The Dark'
in the Lin-chi Lu (Jap.: Rinzai Roku, 9th century).
Trsl. by Max Deeg, 2007.
"Motion and motionlessness both are without self-nature. If you try to seize it [Buddha-nature] within motion, it takes a position within motionlessness.
If you try to seize it within motionlessness, it takes a position within motion ...
Virtuous monks, motion and motionlessness are merely two kinds of states; it is the non-dependent Man of the Way who utilizes motion, and utilizes motionlessness." (Discourse XVIII)
Lin-chi I-hsüan (Jap.: Rinzai Kigen, died 866 or 867) in the Lin-chi Lu
(Jap.: Rinzai Roku). Trsl. by Ruth Fuller Sasaki.
"One stroke has made me forget all my previous knowledge,
No artificial discipline is at all needed;
In every movement I uphold the ancient way,
And never fall into the rut of mere quietism;
Wherever I walk no traces are left,
And my senses are not fettered by rules of conduct;
Everywhere those who have attained to the truth,
All declare this to be of the highest order."
Hsiang-yen, 9th century - Trsl. by D.T. Suzuki, Vol. I.
"One day Hsiang-yen was weeding and sweeping the ground, and
when a piece of rock brushed away struck a bamboo, the sound
produced by the percussion elevated his mind to a state of satori."
D.T. Suzuki.
"Once a young monk called Kyosho came to Master Gensha [Chin.: Hsüan-sha] to study under him. Kyosho said, 'I have come over here seeking the Truth.
Where can I start to get into Zen?' At this Gensha the Master asked Kyosho, 'Can you hear the murmuring of the mountain stream?' 'Yes, Master, I can hear it,'
Kyosho replied. 'Enter Zen from there!' was the Master's
answer."
Hsüan-sha, 831-906. Trsl. by Shibayama Shinkei, 1970, 1975.
10th CENTURY:
"Sound leads (back again) to ch'i; ch'i leads (back again) to (magical) power [shen]; (magical) power leads (back again) to the void [hsü, Jap.: kyo,
'emptiness'].
(But) the void has in it (the potentiality for) power. The power has in it (the potentiality for) ch'i. Ch'i has in it (the potentiality for) sound.
One leads (back again) to the other, which has (a potentiality for) the former within itself.
(If this reversion and production were to be prolonged) even the tiny noises of mosquitoes and flies would be able to reach everywhere."
"The void [hsü, Jap.: kyo, 'emptiness'] is transformed into (magical) power [shen]. (Magical) power is transformed into ch'i.
Ch'i is transformed into material things [hsing]. Material things and ch'i ride on one another, and thus sound is formed.
It is not the ear which listens to sound but sound which of itself makes its way into the ear.
It is not the valley which of itself gives out echoing sound, but sound of itself fills up the entire valley."
T'an Ch'iao (?) writing in the Taoist work Hua Shu, Southern T'ang
Dynasty, 938-975. Trsl. by Joseph Needham, 1962.
"Something dropped! It is no other thing;
Right and left, there is nothing earthly:
Rivers and mountains and the great earth, -
In them all revealed is the body of the Dharmarāja."
Yung-ming Yen-shou, 904-975 - Trsl. by D.T. Suzuki, 1970, 1973,
Vol. I, p. 250.
D.T. Suzuki's commentary: Yen-shou's realization took place
when he heard a bundle of fuel dropping on the ground.
"A monk came to Shuzan (Shou-shan) and asked, 'Please play me a tune on a stringless harp.'
The master was quiet for some little while, and said, 'Do you hear it?' 'No, I do not hear it.' 'Why', said the master, 'did you not ask louder?"
D.T. Suzuki reporting an anecdote about the Ch'an master Shou-shan,
10th century. Trsl. by D.T. Suzuki, 1970, 1973, Vol. I.
SUNG DYNASTY, 960-1279:
"Devoid of thought, I sat quietly by the desk in my official room,
With my fountain-mind undisturbed, as serene as water;
A sudden clash of thunder, the mind-doors burst open,
And lo, there sitteth the old man in all his homeliness."
Chao-pien, lay-disciple of Fa-ch'uan, Sung Dynasty, 960-1279.
Trsl. by D.T. Suzuki, 1970, 1973, Vol. II.
1125:
碧巖錄 - HEKIGANROKU / PI YEN LU / Bìyán Lù
THE BLUE CLIFF RECORD
無孔笛
In this very central work of Ch'an Buddhism the concept mu-ku-teki, 無孔笛, "flute with no holes", lit. "no-hole(s)-flute",
appears for the very first time known in history, in cases 41, 51, and 82 - in all 5 references.
In Japan the concept of mu-ku-teki is later adopted into the very comprehensive collections, Zenrin kushū, 禪林句集,
of so called "capping phrases", jaku-go,
着語 / 箸語,
being employed in true "hardcore" Rinzai Zen kōan enlightenment training.
12th CENTURY:
"The (pitch-pipes) are blown in order to examine their tones, and set forth (in the ground) in order to observe (the coming of) the ch'i.
Both (these techniques) seek to (determine the correctness of the) Huang-chung tube by testing whether its tone is high or low, and whether its ch'i (arrives) early or late.
Such were the ideas of the ancients concerning the making (of the pitch-pipes) ... "
Ts'ai Yuan-Ting, 1135-1198, in his treatise on acoustics, the
Lü Lü Hsin Shu, c. 1180. Trsl. by Joseph Needham, 1962.
13th CENTURY:
Landscape painting by Mu-ch'i - 13th century
"Out of a blue sky, the sun shining bright, a clap of thunder!
All the living things of the great earth open their eyes widely.
All the myriad things of nature make obeisance;
Mount Sumeru, off its base, is dancing a polka."
Wu-men Hui-k'ai (Jap.: Mumon Ekai), 1183-1260.
Trsl. by R.H. Blyth, 1966, 1974, Vol. IV.
(R.H. Blyth's commentary: "Wu-men studied the kōan 'Mu' for six
years, but after six years he had still not solved his problem.
He swore he would not sleep until he understood Mu, and when he
felt sleepy he would go out into the corridor and bash his head
against a post.
One day, when the noon drum was struck, he suddenly came to
a realization, and composed the above verse.")
"In general, learning the way and grasping Zen means avoidance of attachments to sounds and forms.
Though through hearing a sound there may be realization, or from seeing the form of an object the mind may be enlightened,
nevertheless this is the ordinary way of things. Especially you Zen monks do not understand how to guide sound, use form,
see clearly the value of each thing, each activity of the mind.
But though this is so, just tell me! Does the sound come to the ear, or does the ear go to the sound?
But when sound and silence are forgotten, are both forgotten, what can you say of this state?
If you listen with your ear, it is hard to hear truly, but if you listen with your eye, then you begin to hear properly."
Wu-men Hui-k'ai (Jap.: Mumon Ekai), 1183-1260, commenting
on the
Shûramgama Samâdhi Sûtra in the Wu-men-kuan,
12th century.
Trsl. by R.H. Blyth, 1966, 1974, Vol. IV.
" - - - All of a sudden the sound of striking the board in front of the
head monk's room reached my ear, which at once revealed me the 'original' man in full."
- - -
"With one stroke I have completely smashed the cave of the ghosts;
Behold, there rushes out the iron face of the monster Nata!
Both my ears are as deaf and my tongue is tied;
If thou touchest it idly, the fiery star shoots out!"
Tsu-yüan alias Fo-kuang, 1226-1286 - Trsl. by D.T. Suzuki, 1970, 1973, Vol. I.
16th CENTURY:
"The thoughts must be serious, the mind peaceful, and the will resolute. Open the lips and emit lightly a small (jet of) breath in blowing,
causing the air to enter the tube continuously; then its correct note will be sounded ...
For persons to blow the pitch-pipes, do not employ the old or the very young; their ch'i is not the same as that of (persons who are) youthful and strong."
Prince Chu Tsai-yü, born in 1536. Trsl. by Joseph Needham, 1962.
"I had made an attempt with the theory of the Sung (scholar) Chu Hsi, based on the ancient up-and-down principle,
and using this tried to get the positions for the standard pitches on the zither. But I noticed that the (normal) notes of the zither were not in consonance with
(those produced from) the positions of the standard pitches, and suspicions therefore arose in my mind.
Night and day I searched for a solution and studied exhaustively this pattern-principle.
Suddenly early one morning I reached a perfect understanding of it and realised for the first time that the four ancient sorts of standard pitches all gave mere approximation to the notes.
This moreover was something which pitch-pipe exponents had not been conscious of for a period of two thousand years.
Only the makers of the zither [ch'in] in their method of placing the markers at three-quarters or two-thirds
(etc. of the length of the strings) had as common artisans transmitted by word of mouth (the way of making the instrument)
from an unknown source. I think that probably the men of old handed down the system in this way, only it is not recorded in literary works."
"I have found a new system. I establish one foot as the number from which the others are to be extracted, and using (square and cube root) proportions I extract them. Altogether one has to find the exact figures for the pitch-pipes in twelve operations."
Prince Chu Tsai-yü, born in 1536, in his treatise on the equally
tempered octave of twelve notes, the Lü Hsüeh Hsin Shuo, 1584.
Trsl. by Joseph Needham, 1962.
T.O. comment: Prince Chu Tsai-Yü discovered the mathematical
formula for the precise calculation of the equal-tempered twelve-tone
scale: The twelfth root of two, as the first in the world. In Europe,
this formula would only, independently, be calculated shortly
afterwards, in 1636, by the French mathematician Marin Mersenne.
20th CENTURY:
"A cup fell to the ground
With a sound clearly heard.
As space was pulverized,
The mad mind came to a stop."
Hsu Yun, d. 1959. Trsl. by Lu K'uan Yü, 1964, 1975.
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