One day a monk by the name of Xiang Yan paid a visit to
Chan master Wei Shan and asked him for his teachings.
"I heard you are a successor of the Venerable Master Bai Zhang
and that your quick wit lets you give ten answers to one question
and one hundred answers to ten questions, right? So, will you
tell me," questioned the master, "what was your face before
you were given birth by your parents?"
Xiang Yan had nothing to say in reply to the master.
As soon as he reached his place, he started to turn over pages
of the Buddhist scriptures in order to find the most appropriate
answer, but was unsuccessful. Finding nothing, he heaved a sigh.
"Truly," he thought to himself, "a painted cookie can never fill
somebody." In vain he insisted on the explanation for a long time.
Every time Wei Shan refused, saying, "If I prompt you to see
the true meaning of this now, I will be scolded by you then.
Anything I tell you now, actually, has nothing to do with you."
At that Xiang Yan was very disappointed. The result was that
he burned all his books and said, "I take an oath not to cultivate
my Dharma anymore. I give a promise never to become a monk
again!" So saying, he took his leave of Wei Shan to wander
the four corners freely.
Later, passing by Nanyang, he decided to pay his respects
to the tombstone of the celebrated Patriarch Hui Zhong,
staying for a time not far from the Patriarch's mound. One day,
Xiang Yan was weeding in the garden near his hut.
Finding a piece of a tile on the bed, he threw it away. The piece
stuck against a bamboo tree, making a sound, and Xiang Yan
became instantly enlightened upon hearing it.
After that, he entered his hut, washed himself, and burned
the joss sticks. Gazing far off in the distance, he exclaimed,
"O, master! Your kindness to me was much greater than
the kindness of my own parents! That day, if you had told me
the true meaning of your question, how could I have attained
realization today?!"
Owing a debt of gratitude, he sent a message to the master
Wei Shan with the following lines of his verse:
"A tap on bamboo made me forget all that I'd known;
That which I found in return was much more real.
That day, by keeping silent, you showed me the way,
To this ancient place where I have had my chance
Of obtaining sudden illumination."
Brief Comment:
In fact, the question of Wei Shan meant, "What is your original
nature?" However, self-nature cannot be spoken of.
When the Chan masters beat their disciples and shout at
them, they are teaching Chan without explanations through
spoken language. The task is to raise the disciples' doubts,
through the use of which they can go step further,
contemplating diligently and breaking down the opposing
concepts of duality with all previous experience.
Hearing the tap, Xiang Yan attained realization, because
at that moment his mind was purified from every concept,
teaching or image. The reason Wei Shan didn't use verbal
explanations to teach Xiang Yan was not only because of
his wish to let the young monk come to an understanding on
his own, but also to save Xiang Yan's original wisdom from
influence outside. The elder master wanted Xiang Yan to let
go of all the delusion and distractions of knowledge and seek
from within. That's why, realizing the truth of the master's
refusal to explain, Xiang Yan was so much more grateful
and thus dedicated his verse to Wei Shan in reward for his
final realization.
