(Continued from the previous article) Ordinary Mind Is The Way
However, it is important to emphasize that the “Ordinary Mind” is not a passive or despondent resistance to the suffering and brevity of life. On the contrary, it embodies an active and relentless spirit, akin to the Linji School’s meditative practice of contemplating the question: “Who is chanting the Buddha?” Whether in walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, the practitioner must resolutely contemplate this question without yielding to drowsiness or distraction, persevering no matter how long and treacherous the path, until finally they break through the veil of doubt and clearly realize their true nature.
The Chan Master Huangbo Xiyun (d. 850) composed a poem to describe the perseverance required in Chan practice:
“It’s no simple task to disentangle from worldly toil;
So grip the rope tightly and make a stand.
If not by enduring the bone-piercing cold,
How could one ever enjoy the plum blossoms’ scent?”
Chan practitioners often experience countless failures on their spiritual path before reaching enlightenment. Do you possess the tireless perseverance of the “Ordinary Mind” to see this through?
Practitioners of the Pure Land tradition recite the Buddha’s name continuously each day, upholding “Faith, Vows, and Practice” as their lifelong pursuit. For instance, Chan Master Yongming Yanshou (904–976) and Master Sheng’an (1686-1734) recited the Buddha’s name a hundred thousand times a day. Such relentless perseverance is the ultimate example for those wishing to cultivate the Ordinary Mind.
2) The Transcendental Aspect of the Ordinary Mind
The phrase “The Ordinary Mind is the Way” was first introduced by Chan Master Mazu Daoyi (709-788) of the Tang Dynasty.
According to Volume 28 of the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, one day, Chan Master Mazu Daoyi addressed the assembly:
(Paraphrased)
“The Way does not require deliberate cultivation, but simply that you stop defiling your mind. What is defilement? Defilement is having a Discriminating Mind, holding concepts of life and death, and harboring desires. You should realize that the Ordinary Mind is the Way. This Ordinary Mind is without fabrications, without right or wrong, without grasping or rejecting, without permanence or impermanence, without mundane or sacred… As long as you maintain this Ordinary Mind, whether in walking, standing, sitting, lying down, or responding to circumstances, you are on the Way.”
In Chan Master Mazu Daoyi’s view, one only needs to eliminate all false distinctions from the mind, live diligently with a proper perspective on life, and let go of the dualistic concepts of right, wrong, gain, and loss, in order to settle into the tranquility of the Ordinary Mind.
So how does one realize this “Ordinary Mind”?
There is a famous gong’an (koan) in Volume 4 of The Compendium of the Five Lamps about Chan Master Nanquan Puyuan (749-835) enlightening Chan Master Zhaozhou Congshen (778-897):
(Paraphrased)
During the Tang Dynasty, one day, Chan Master Zhaozhou asked his master Chan Master Nanquan,
“What is the Way?”
Nanquan answered,
“Ordinary Mind is the Way.”
Zhaozhou inquired further,
“Are there some directions I can follow to realize it?”
Nanquan replied,
“If you insist on directions, then you are straying far from the Way!”
Zhaozhou, puzzled, asked again,
“Without directions, how can I know the Way?”
Nanquan then said,
“How can one realize the Ordinary Mind by thinking in terms of ‘knowing’ and ‘not knowing’? The Way is not subject to ‘knowing’ or ‘not knowing.’ ‘Knowing’ arises from the delusional Discriminating Mind of the unenlightened person, and ‘not knowing’ is but a blank, indeterminate state. When you’ve truly realized the Ordinary Mind, you will sense that it is clear and boundless, like space, undefiled by dualistic notions of good, bad, right, or wrong.”
Upon hearing this, Chan Master Zhaozhou Congshen was suddenly enlightened. From then on, “The Ordinary Mind is the Way” became the essence of Zhaozhou’s Chan teachings.
The Ordinary Mind is the realization of the state where:
“Mind’s activities cease, and the path of words is ended.”
It transcends the dualistic thinking of the mundane world (of right and wrong, love and hate, beauty and ugliness), is freed from the shackles of delusion and worry, and is moving towards the state of Nirvana.
In this state, where not even a speck of “idle thought” hangs upon the mind, it is truly “the finest season in the world.”
