Monday, March 23, 2009
Searching for the Dharma--Hsu Yun
Searching for the Dharma
Hsu Yun(1839 - 1959)
You've traveled up ten thousand steps
in search of the Dharma.
Hsu Yun(1839 - 1959)
You've traveled up ten thousand steps
in search of the Dharma.
So many long days in the archives, copying, copying.
The gravity of the Tang and the profundity of the Sung
The gravity of the Tang and the profundity of the Sung
make heavy baggage.
Here! I've picked you a bunch of wildflowers.
Their meaning is the same
but they're much easier to carry.
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about Hsu Yun:
When he was fourteen years old, he announced that he wished to renounce the material world in favour of monastic life. His father did not approve of Buddhism and had him instructed in Taoism instead. He found two girls to be his wives. Hsu Yun lived with them, but did not consummate either marriage. From the start, Hsu Yun was dissatisfied with Taoism, which he felt could not reach the deeper truths of existence. He secretly studied the sutras and taught Dharma to his wives.
When he was nineteen, Hsu Yun fled with his cousin F.U. Kuo to Kushan monastery. It was here that his head was shaved and he received ordination as a monk. When his father sent agents to find him, Hsu Yun concealed himself in a grotto behind the monastery, where he lived in austere solitude for three years.
(Hsu Yun went on to become one of the most significant teachers of Clhinese Chan as well as one of the most celebrated Buddhists of his time.)
Picture from Wikipedia)
