The State of Transcending Bondage

Chan Master Huanglong composed a verse: "Spring has a hundred flowers, autumn has the moon; summer has cool breezes, winter has snow. If no trivial matters linger in the heart, this is the finest season of the human realm."

This describes the state of Chan masters who have passed the barrier. Those who have passed the barrier attain a purified mind, no longer clinging to the mundane world. Though living in the world, they carry no attachments to affairs, harbor no lingering fondness for any dharma, and hold no fixation on the five aggregates of self. They do not cling even to the true suchness they have realized. Their minds are open and unburdened, retaining nothing. Though they still experience the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter while living among humans, not a single dharma stirs attachment in their hearts. Scenes remain scenes, forms remain forms, people remain people, objects remain objects. All dharmas abide in their own positions, unrelated to them. They live in the world, eating and drinking as usual, yet without craving or clinging to the mundane. Their minds have already attained liberation, free from attachments.