The Great Supreme (2)

1 Nu Yu had practiced for sixty years. If he were an ordinary man, he could be a senile and weak old man, with skin rugged and back hunched. Nevertheless, he walked fast and stably, went upstairs and downstairs as swift as swallow and felt easy in breath and pulse after playing a round ball. The indexes of his body such as cholesterol, blood fat, liver function, pulse, and blood pressure were the same as the young’s.

2 Nanbo Ziquei was very curious to Nu Yu’s health. Someday, he asked him at the side of playground during break, “You should be seventy. Why does your skin look like the kid’s, rosy and tight. What do you do for it?”

3 Nu Yu said, “Because I keep practice.”

4 Nanbo Ziquei had toiled for a life. Now he succeeded in business, lived a rich life, and had many grandsons and granddaughters. He however became senile and seemed to have less time to enjoy the nice but aged life.

5 Hence on hearing Nu Yu had ways of prolonging life and rejuvenation, he got excited and happy, asked Nu Yu, “Can I practice and get the same results?”

6 Nu Yu learned well about NanBo Ziquei’s life. He knew that though this old fellow had been over the age of retirement, he still held on the wealth and business tightly. In playing, he stopped to talk about business on mobile phone and his partners had to wait. He totally was unaware that the retirement should be arranged early, otherwise, it would be tedious. He bustled in and racked his brain in the petty profit. He was wavy all the day. People without a sound and tranquil mind is impossible to practice.

7 Hence Nu Yu answered, “Well, You can’t. You aren’t the one suitable for practice. Among our friends, Zi Liangyi is the suitable one but he doesn’t know the way how to start it. I know somewhat the way but my gift is too bad. Therefore, I had practiced for years but I can’t bear a real fruit yet.

8 I placed my hope on Zi Liangyi and helped him to do the practice of Nirvana.

9 In the beginning I thought that it should be easier for a gifted man to practice. The fact is to the contrary. I made some efforts to help him. First, I must be patient to enlighten him. Within the first three days, Zi Liangyi had excelled all the ordinary people in the world. After other seven days, he exceeded all things in universe. After another nine days, he strode over past the door between life and death, after which he made clear that:

“Those five heaps are, in reality, by their very nature completely empty. Form is empty. Emptiness is form. The action of form is not other than emptiness, nor is the action of emptiness other than form. Of this nature are also feeling, cognition, conception, and consciousness. In this way all dharmas are empty; without essential characteristic, not born, not ceasing, without defilement or expiation of defilement, undiminished, uncompleted. In this way, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no cognition, no conception, and no consciousness. There is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind, no shape, no sound, no color, no flavor, no feeling, nor any property. There is no dhatu of eye...no dhatu of mind; nor is there mind-vijnana dhatu. No ignorance; from no cessation of ignorance to no old age and death; including no cessation of old age and death. Of that nature are also suffering, misery and sin, and cessation. There is no path, no wisdom, no attainment, and no non-attainment. In this way all buddhas, because of their non-attainment, abiding firmly by Prajnaparamita, are without mental obscurations and are unafraid; they are truly passed beyond confusion, and are finally passed beyond suffering. All buddhas residing in the past, present, and future, through firmness in Prajnaparamita, have become buddhas of supreme and complete enlightenment.”

When he beheld such real image, he had no discrimination between the past and future, jumped out of the destiny of life and death and walked out of the whirl of transmigration. He formally obtained the Tao of Nirvana. Having been a man of perfect practice, he was not a component of universe any more. The business and honor were not his goal. On the contrary he matched seamless with everything, dealing with the worldly affair to the point.

10 Nanbo Ziquei, our gifts are insufficient. We only look and sign for it. As for the health of body by exercise, it is easy to do. Health is the free extra gift of practice and everyone can get it.”

11 Nanbo Ziquei was dubious of what Nu Yu said. He asked, “Who told you?”

12 Nu Yu answered, “The son of Fu Mo told me. The grandson of Luo Song told him; the grandson of Luo Song heard it from Zhang Min; Zhang Min was taught by Nie Xu; Nie Xu learned from Xu Yi; Xu Yi from Yu Ou; Yu Ou from Xuan Min; Xuan Min from Seng Liao; Seng Liao from Yi Shi. My sect descended down like this.”