The True Dharma Eye and Wondrous Mind of Nirvāṇa Transmitted Outside the Teachings

At the assembly on Vulture Peak, the World-Honored One held up a flower offered by a deva and smiled faintly at the assembly of disciples. The multitude of humans and devas were bewildered, but only Mahākāśyapa responded to the World-Honored One with a smile. With his flesh eye, heavenly eye, dharma eye, and Buddha eye, the World-Honored One saw that Mahākāśyapa had suddenly awakened to the mind of the Chan school, and so he said: "I have the treasury of the true dharma eye, the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa, the true mind of suchness without marks, which I now entrust to Mahākāśyapa." This confirmed Mahākāśyapa's sudden awakening, and thus Mahākāśyapa became the first patriarch of the Chan school in the Sahā world.

The wondrous mind of nirvāṇa refers to each sentient being's own true mind and self-nature, which constantly abides in nirvāṇa, subtly manifesting phenomena. It is the most real dharma-mark, yet this dharma-mark has no worldly marks whatsoever—no marks of form, sound, smell, taste, touch, or dharmas. Because the seven consciousnesses of sentient beings are obscured by ignorance, they do not recognize this wondrous mind of nirvāṇa. In this koan, not only was the World-Honored One's wondrous mind of nirvāṇa manifesting at every moment, but Mahākāśyapa's wondrous mind of nirvāṇa was also manifesting at every moment, and even the wondrous minds of nirvāṇa of the countless humans and devas in the assembly were manifesting at every moment. Alas, sentient beings simply fail to recognize it! Their minds are blocked by ignorance, their spiritual wisdom cannot be opened, and the eye of wisdom does not manifest—what can be done?

Only Mahākāśyapa was worthy of being the Buddha's foremost disciple, understanding the Buddha's mind. When he saw the Buddha holding up a flower to show the assembly, his eye of wisdom saw through the Buddha's wondrous, luminous mind, and so he smiled; his own wondrous, luminous mind was likewise seen through by the Buddha. Thus there was an exchange of minds between master and disciple—mind to mind sealed upon mind, without the use of words or language. The wondrous dharma of the Chan school was thus transmitted in full view of everyone. There is a passage of text afterward that supplements this, namely what the World-Honored One said: "I have the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa..."

Why can the dharma of the Chan school be transmitted outside the teachings? Because what is transmitted is the wondrous mind and wondrous dharma. If it were confined only to words and language, it would not be wondrous. The wonder of the wondrous mind lies in its ability to function within all dharmas, without picking and choosing any dharma. The wondrous mind and wondrous dharma have nothing to do with words and language; they work within every dharma—He is everywhere. Where is He not? In the pure and the defiled, in the audible and the silent, in the written and the unwritten—He vividly manifests in all dharmas.

For forty-nine years the World-Honored One used words and language to expound the Tripitaka and the twelve divisions of scriptures, and everywhere the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa was manifest. This is the path of the teachings and the path of principle, but it is still somewhat roundabout. This time, the World-Honored One showed the assembly the most direct, the most decisive, the most refreshing, pointing straight at the human mind—without saying a single word, just swaying a single flower before the assembly. Ah! The assembly fretted anxiously! They thought: What is this about? What medicine is hidden in the World-Honored One's gourd? They could not figure it out. Mahākāśyapa did not need to think—he suddenly awakened in an instant. This was the sudden awakening of the manas. The mind consciousness awakens gradually, because the mind consciousness has to think! Whatever involves thinking is not real; when the patriarchs see it, they would strike it dead with a single blow. You fellow who churns out sentimental thoughts and intellectual interpretations—what future do you have? The dharma transmitted outside the teachings is just this refreshing, just this swift—it does not allow you to think. By the time you start thinking, the wild goose has long since flown away, and the cucumbers have long since gone cold. Anyone who at such a moment still dares to strike poses, scratch their head and tug their ears—straightaway a blow of the staff! What kind of place is this, that allows you to ponder left and right, mulling over past and future? If you are not a suitable vessel for the Path, beating you to death would be no injustice.

What does "treasury of the true dharma eye" mean? Only this eye is the most correct; all other eyes are not correct—they arise and cease, are mired in ignorance and affliction, cannot stand on their own, and must lean on something else—such eyes are certainly not correct. "Treasury" means containing and storing: the wondrous mind of nirvāṇa contains the seeds of all dharmas, can generate all dharmas, and the myriad dharmas are contained within it. This is most wondrous—bringing forth existence from nonexistence, conjuring up the world, for the multitude to rely upon and grasp.