Tracking Bodhidharma by Andy Ferguson Page B

China’s reaction to Buddhism’s universe of literature and metaphysics, a reaction that said, “Great, now could you boil the whole thing down to something manageable, preferably a phrase or two?”
    The fact that Huineng began his spiritual quest as an impoverished boy with no social status also conveys the Mahayana (which, again, means “Great Vehicle”) idea of extending the Buddha’s teaching to everyone, not just the privileged, the rich, and the literate.
    The Platform Sutra also narrates a ceremony where Huineng provided Chinese Zen a key innovation called the Signless Precepts. In this ceremony, home-leaving monks and lay people take the same religious vows. The ceremony departs from tradition by asking the vow takers to seek Buddha in their own minds. They are asked to remain true not to some external system of rules or metaphysics but instead to the awakening that comes from observing the nature of consciousness itself. Because there are no symbols or metaphysical ideas that can mediate this inward turning of attention, Huineng’s precepts are called “signless.”

    In the ceremony, Huineng states, “Wisdom is only found by observing mind, why waste effort seeking metaphysical ideas?”,
    The Signless Precepts followed logically from Bodhidharma’s emphasis on meditation and “observing” and not following the teachings of the religious establishment and metaphysical doctrines taught by organized Buddhism.
    The Signless Precepts ordination ceremony Huineng conducted was likely performed outside during daytime, because the number of people taking part seems to have been very large indeed. Chinese historians have pointed out that such large public ordination ceremonies were fairly common in ancient times, with participants numbering in the thousands. The Platform Sutra’s ceremony was apparently just such a grand convocation.
    As important as the Platform Sutra is to Chinese Zen, I’ve found that properly translating that work into English is problematic. Translations of this “sutra” have long suffered from this problem. The tricky part is translating words like signless, a key word that echoes the origins of Zen in Buddha’s legendary teaching at Vulture Peak, in a way that makes sense to Westerners while remaining true to the original meaning. Many translators use the term formless instead of signless. But I think the word formless falls short, since it implies that there is something that has no form. Signlessness, on the other hand, is what is found in things just as they are.

11. Nashua Temple: The Sixth Ancestor Huineng’s Dharma Seat
    THE SHAOGUAN BUS STATION lies on the east side of the Zhe River in downtown Shaoguan City. I emerge into the clear fall day and walk down the steps to the boulevard next to the river. There I hail a taxi to travel the six miles or so to Nanhua Temple, outside the city’s southeast corner. The first indication of the temple is a broad cement plaza that sits in front of its entrance gate. I direct my taxi past the front of the plaza and then to turn left on a small road that passes some shops selling giant sticks of incense and souvenirs for the many pilgrims who come here. The taxi lets me out by an electronic gate where the attendant on the other side, seeing me with luggage, pushes the button to open the apparatus. He then invites me to come into the guardhouse for a cup of tea. While he calls the monk in charge, named Guo Zhi (pronounced Guo-jer ), I drink Iron Kwan Yin tea and watch flashy scenes of Chinese opera on the guardhouse TV set. Presently a monk appears and motions me to follow him. A short distance away through a grove of trees and across a large pond rests the newly completed Nanhua Temple Guesthouse. It is a big building indeed and built in traditional Chinese architectural style, with a paved courtyard surrounded on three sides by imposing wings of the building.
    Nanhua Temple