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The Zen Teaching of Hui Hai on Sudden Illumination

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John Blofeld's important translation of the Teachings of Zen master Hui Hai, also known as "The Great Pearl."

The translator of the classic Huang Po Zen Transmission of Mind, offers another masterpiece of Zen literature in this book which includes complete translations of both "The Tsung Ching Record" as well as "The Tun Wu Ju Tao Yao Men Lun" (The Treatise on the Essential Gateway to Truth by Means of Instantaneous Awakening). This classic eighth-century Zen record is an insightful, and inspiring text essential to all Zen students, and a fascinating read for anyone interested in Zen.

Two selections of this pure blood and guts Zen to enjoy now:

39.Q: For followers of the Way, what constitutes realization of the goal?

A: Realization must be ultimate realization.

Q: And what is that?

A: Ultimate realization means being free from both realization and absence of realizations

Q: What does that mean?

A: Realization means remaining unstained by sights, sounds and other sense perceptions from without, and inwardly possessing minds in which no erroneous thinking takes place. To achieve this without giving it a thought is called `absence of realization'; and to achieve the latter without giving that a thought either is called `freedom from absence of realization'.

40.Q: What is meant by `a mind delivered'?

A: Having a mind free from the concepts of delivered and undelivered is called `real deliverance'. This is what the Diamond Sutra means by the words: `Even the Dharma must be cast aside, how much more so the not-Dharma!' Here, Dharma implies existence and not-Dharma implies nonexistence - disengagement from both of which results in true deliverance.

John Blofeld's important translation of the Teachings of Zen master Hui Hai, also known as "The Great Pearl."

The translator of the classic Huang Po Zen Transmission of Mind, offers another masterpiece of Zen literature in this book which includes complete translations of both "The Tsung Ching Record" as well as "The Tun Wu Ju Tao Yao Men Lun" (The Treatise on the Essential Gateway to Truth by Means of Instantaneous Awakening). This classic eighth-century Zen record is an insightful, and inspiring text essential to all Zen students, and a fascinating read for anyone interested in Zen.

Two selections of this pure blood and guts Zen to enjoy now:

39.Q: For followers of the Way, what constitutes realization of the goal?

A: Realization must be ultimate realization.

Q: And what is that?

A: Ultimate realization means being free from both realization and absence of realizations

Q: What does that mean?

A: Realization means remaining unstained by sights, sounds and other sense perceptions from without, and inwardly possessing minds in which no erroneous thinking takes place. To achieve this without giving it a thought is called `absence of realization'; and to achieve the latter without giving that a thought either is called `freedom from absence of realization'.

40.Q: What is meant by `a mind delivered'?

A: Having a mind free from the concepts of delivered and undelivered is called `real deliverance'. This is what the Diamond Sutra means by the words: `Even the Dharma must be cast aside, how much more so the not-Dharma!' Here, Dharma implies existence and not-Dharma implies nonexistence - disengagement from both of which results in true deliverance.