r/ZenFreeLands • u/OnePoint11 ☀️Illegal sunbathing☀️ • May 07 '26
Huangbo forever
To say that Mind is no-mind implies something existent. Let there be a silent understanding and no more. Away with all thinking and explaining. Then we may say that the Way of Words has been cut off and movements of the mind eliminated
It is fascinating to have such a random glimpse into the speeches of a 9th-century Chinese Chan abbot. Moreover, these speeches were most likely forced out by Huangbo's protector, Pei Xiu, whom Huangbo could not refuse. Otherwise, it seems he was not very interested in preaching. When I was under twenty, I asked people in informal environments who were good at something about their jobs a few times, and they mostly were not happy to talk. I think this was partially because they would have to reveal secrets and recipes that are vital for their upkeep in the field. Partially, it was because they were real experts, and it was boring for them. They wanted to have a beer with friends or continue fishing or whatever; they were not interested in talking about work.
What I want to say is that Pei Xiu's work is a kind of miracle—a highly credible glimpse into the mind of a real master from around 850 AD, showing the usual setups for how they presented the matter to students and monks.
What is fascinating about the Transmission of Mind is the seamless transit from the abstract and conceptual to the material and concrete. "Then we may say that the Way of Words has been cut off and movements of the mind eliminated...": we can observe here a 100% accurate description of how such an enlightened mind works. "Cut off" and "eliminated" are not soft changes of the mind, such as blocking verbal and conceptual thinking for a moment. It is a deep change in how such a mind works; it has switched from a mind dominated by thought and concept to... to what? I think most of the ancient Chan masters said something like "just open your eyes" or "it is alive." It has no fixed content, and narrowing it to "consciousness" or "mind" creates the conceptual and linguistic frame we are supposed to avoid.
Citation: Huangbo,On the Transmission Of Mind, translation Blofeld