Translated By Tony Qin
There is a well-known koan in the Chan tradition. Once, Chan Master Wenyan wished to test the depth of his disciples’ meditative realization. He addressed the assembly and asked, “I will not ask you about the days before the full moon on the fifteenth. I ask only: what about after the fifteenth? Give me your answer in one phrase!”
No one dared to answer. After a pause, the Master answered his own question: “Every day is a good day.”
What does “every day is a good day” mean? Through this question, Chan Master Wenyan sought to sweep away his students’ deluded attachment to distinctions such as “before the fifteenth” and “after the fifteenth.” In truth, a day itself has no distinction of good or bad. It follows the rhythm of nature, moving in cycles without beginning or end, as it has through all ages. Good and bad arise only because ordinary beings give rise to discriminating thoughts.
This discriminating mind arises from consciousness. It constantly grasps at external conditions and gives rise to afflictions such as attachment and aversion, liking and disliking, approval and rejection. Because of this, we create karma, experience its results, and revolve through birth and death. Once these deluded discriminations are eliminated and the mind returns to its pure original nature, we have begun to walk the right path.
“Every day is a good day” does not mean that every day is an auspicious day in the worldly sense. Its meaning is that practitioners should free themselves from attachment to auspicious, clear days, and from aversion to inauspicious, gloomy days.
As the Faith in Mind states at the very beginning:
“The Supreme Way is not difficult,
If not for picking and choosing.
Simply refrain from aversion and craving,
And all becomes self-evident and clear.”
Whether a day is good or bad should not be measured by material comfort or by the moods of the self. Still less should we become attached to external conditions and give rise to afflictions because of them. What does it mean to be attached to external conditions? Simply put, it means that the six sense faculties cling to the six sense objects: the eyes crave forms, the ears crave sounds, the nose craves fragrances, the tongue craves flavours, the body craves touch, and the mind craves mental objects. Because of this, we cannot break free from afflictions, and so we create karma and undergo its results.
The “good day” spoken of here asks us not only to enjoy days of good fortune and success, but also to accept days of affliction and adversity. The standard for living each day well is to meet every day with an ordinary mind. This ordinary mind is calm, rational, responsive to conditions, and firm in the face of hardship.
When we encounter adversity, we must first become calm. We should not be entangled by the inner demons of our own emotions, nor should we lose sight of our original nature amid the disturbances of worldly conditions. A student of the Buddha must maintain this meditative stability in times of danger and crisis. We must have the courage to accept adverse results, learn from suffering, examine our mistakes, avoid repeating them, and then gather ourselves to move forward once again toward tomorrow’s goal.
In the preface to his lyric poem “Calming the Wind and Waves,” Su Shi wrote: “One day, I encountered rain on the road to Shahu. My companions were all in distress, but I alone felt nothing. Before long, the sky cleared.”
Therefore, in the poem itself, he wrote:
“Looking back at the bleak path I had just passed through, I go on my way;
There is neither wind nor rain, nor is there clear sky.”
These lines embody the spirit of Chan. They reveal more than Su Shi’s courage in the face of harsh conditions and hardship. They also show that when his mind was gathered in one place, he possessed the meditative strength not to be disturbed by external conditions. Whether there is wind or rain, sunshine or gloom, every day is a good day.
