Xu Wugui (9)

1 Nanguo Ziqi practiced meditations in the Zen room. From the first meditation, he entered into the second, third and forth in order and then he embedded himself in the realm of emptiness, consciousness and nothingness one after another. When he reached the apex of the practice, he then retreated gradually back to the first meditation. From the first mediation he went up again into the second, third and forth and finally accomplished a complete practice of meditations.

2 At that time he raised his head with chin rising up. A vigorous breath naturally spouted out from his body. After the practice he felt smooth and comfortable. Hearing the footstep, when Nanguo Ziqi went down from the earth bed, Yan Chengzi, who stayed outside the room, knew that his master emerged from meditations, so he stepped into the room at once.

3 Yan Chengzi had practiced meditations for some time; however, he couldn’t reach the level as deep as his master. Taking this opportunity, he wanted to ask the know-how.

4 Yan Chengzi said, “If we keep on meditating at the subject that five aggregates are impermanent and the impermanence is suffering, which lead us into the thoughts of revulsion, be away from, cutting off and finally extinguishing the aggregates. Can we then go into the supreme realm where body is like deadwood and mind is like cold ash?”

5 With the attitude that man of practice usually took, Nanguo Ziqi didn’t answer his question directly. He only told him a story.

6 “In the past, I practiced in a cave in the mountain side. I usually declined visitor. For curiosity, people in the State of Qi spread the news that there was a weird old guy practicing in the cave. People, however, seldom saw me, so they became more eager to see me.

7 Once under Duke Tai of Qi’s earnest request, I broke my rules to met and chat with him for a while. Regarding it was a great event, people in the country ran around to spread the news; his ministries all went to his home and flattered him for the bliss and great honor.

8 Worldly fame, interest and vanity are all considered so. The great honor that the duke obtained is essentially nothing but the phenomenon that it is precious for people to visit me because I am closed and decline them.

9 People deemed that it was an honor for them to see me and perhaps get a kind of blessing from me at the same time. They thought that I was mysterious and it was a special honor for a simple meeting. However, if I didn’t practice in the cave, there would no mysterious phenomenon and people of Qi would not think that I was a theandric person. Then they wouldn’t think the meeting was honorable anymore.

10 The case makes me understanding that it is ridiculous for people to pursue the worldly fame, interest, power and vanity; because all of them are fundamentally weak and unrealistic in nature. The people forget the trueness, permanence and reliability from self-nature, Buddha-nature, Qi, calmness and refinement in the subjective conditions. It is rather miserable for them to seek the impermanent five aggregates.

11 Knowing the above said facts, I reflect that do I totally forget the worldly fame, interest, power and vanity? Do I extricate from the bondage of five aggregates? Do I desert avarice, wrath, obsession, worry, and confusion? I retrieve myself from worldly people and check deeply all the possible bondages in my soul. By doing this practice little by little constantly, I come to reach the highest realm of Zen practice unconsciously.”