Chan Praise of Ancient Verses Collection (禪宗頌古聯珠通集)

Chan Song of Ancient Masters Linked Pearls Collection Volume 4: Rooster 4

Chief Monk of the Right Propaganda Office and Abbot of Linggu Chan Monastery, Jingjie, Re-collated

The Venerable Bodhidharma,(Patriarch of the Formless School in Western India)was asked by King Yijian, "What is a Buddha?"

He replied, "To see one's true nature is to be a Buddha."

The king asked, "Do you see your true nature?"

"I see the Buddha-nature," he answered.

"Where is this nature?" asked the king.

"It manifests in function," he said.

"What function? I do not see it now."

"It is functioning now, but you yourself do not see it."

"Does it exist within me?" asked the king.

"When you function, there is nothing it is not. When you do not function, its essence is hard to perceive."

"When it functions, in how many places does it appear?"

"When it appears, it manifests in eight ways."

"Tell me about these eight manifestations," said the king.

And so he spoke this verse:

In the womb, it is the body; in the world, it is the person. In the eyes, it is seeing; in the ears, it is hearing. In the nose, it discerns scents; in the mouth, it speaks and discusses. In the hands, it grasps and holds; in the feet, it runs and moves. It appears everywhere, encompassing the entire world of dust, Yet it is gathered within a single speck of dust. Those who know recognize it as Buddha-nature; Those who do not know call it the ordinary soul.