Master Xuyun: The Mind is Like the Void

Long ago there was an elder practitioner who had lived for many years within a large monastic community. He was even-tempered and broad by nature, and always treated others with kindness. He often urged people to “let go, let go.” Someone once asked him, “You go around telling everyone to let go—have you managed to do it yourself?” He replied, “I cut off ignorance thirty years ago. What is there left for me to let go of?” Later, feeling that life in the community still felt too confining, he left to live in a thatched hut on a remote mountain. This time, he stayed alone on a solitary peak, with no one coming or going. He felt free and at ease, and was certain he was finally free of all affliction.

But one day, while sitting in meditation in his hut, he heard a group of shepherd boys outside chattering noisily. Some said, “Let’s go in and have a look.” Others said, “No, don’t disturb the cultivator’s state of mind.” Still others said, “He’s a cultivator—his mind won’t be stirred at all.” In the end, the boys all went inside. The old practitioner sat on his cushion and ignored them completely. The boys snooped around looking for something to eat and drink, raising a racket the whole time. He didn’t move or speak a word. The boys, sure he was dead, shook him, but he didn’t budge. When they touched his body, though, they found he was still warm. One of them said, “He’s entered samadhi!” Another said, “I don’t believe it.” So one of the boys grabbed a straw and poked his leg—he didn’t move. They poked his hand: nothing. His navel: nothing. His ears: nothing. But when they poked his nostril, he couldn’t hold it in any longer, let out a loud sneeze, and burst out cursing: “I’ll knock your little heads off, you pests!” Right then, Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva appeared in the air and said, “You said you cut off ignorance thirty years ago—do you still have something you can’t let go of, even now?”

This shows that talking a zhang is not as good as practicing a chi, and talking a chi is not as good as practicing a cun. Remaining truly unmoved by external circumstances is no small feat! Master Hanshan wrote in his Song of Idle Effort:

Speaking of the Way is easy; walking it is hard. If wandering thoughts are not laid to rest, all effort is for naught. The dust and toil of the world constantly bind and block us — Even sitting in silence on a remote mountain is useless.

We who are disciples of the Buddha: if we do not put in the earnest effort required, and merely spout words without acting on them, all our talk is of no real benefit.

— Lunar April 22, 1955 A dharma talk given by Master Xuyun at Yunju Mountain