Snow in August by Gao Xingjian Read Free Book Online Page B

not in the nature of the wind but that of the banner to move, thus it is the banner moving itself with the wind.
    Huineng:
    Both the wind and the banner are insentient, why then should you talk about their nature of motion or motion-lessness? The wind and the banner are themselves as thus. The banner does not move, nor does the wind. The movement we see is but an illusion in our mind. The Dharma originally makes no distinction between motion and motionlessness. This is the true meaning of “Neither creation nor extinction”!
    Yinzong:
    Who is it that speaks?
    Huineng:
    A layman passing by.
    Yinzong:
    Please come forward and present yourself! May I ask what is your name?
    Huineng:
    My surname is Lu. I’m known as Huineng.
    Yinzong:
    Where did you come from?
    Huineng:
    The mountains in the south.
    Yinzong:
    Do you have a teacher?
    Huineng:
    I was once under the tutelage of the Old Master Hongren in North Ridge, in a place called East Mountain in Qizhou.
    Yinzong:
    You are aware that the Old Master has departed this earth?
    Huineng:
    Yes, I’ve failed to live up to his faith in me.
    Yinzong:
    I will not give a lecture on the sutra today. You all go back to your work. I have to converse with this lay brother.
    ( Exit monks .)
    Yinzong:
    ( Whispering .)
    Before Master Hongren died, he said that the Dharma would travel south. You must be the good person who holds the truth of the Dharma .
    Huineng:
    Yes, I’m the one.
    Yinzong:
    You have not begun to spread the words of the Dharma . Is there any reason for such tardiness?
    Huineng:
    It was the Master’s commandment that I should conceal myself for some time before revealing my identity. Therefore I’ve been hiding among a party of hunters in the counties of Sihui and Huaiji in Canton Prefecture.
    Yinzong:
    Are you really the Fifth Patriarch’s designated successor Huineng? Where are your credentials?
    Huineng:
    I still have the Patriarch’s robe in my possession.
    Yinzong:
    Supreme karma ! ( Clasps his hands in salutation .)
    I was also once a disciple of Master Hongren and received instructions from him, but I was unable to apprehend the Dharma for my lack of intelligence. The few words you’ve just spoken overwhelmed me. Such wisdom I have never heard all my life. In comparison, my expositions on the Maha Parinirvana Sutra are like worthless dregs. Master, please allow me to lead you into the chamber!
     
    [ Exit both .

Act II　Scene 2
    In Which Huineng Receives the Commandments
     
     
    [ Bell ringing. Enter Boundless Treasure ringing a Buddhist bell. She sports a tattered robe made of rags. Her head is shaved and her feet are bare. She is holding an almsbowl in her hand .
     
    Boundless:
    ( Loudly .)
    I’m a Buddhist nun. Boundless Treasure is my name!
    Boundless treasure, boundless wonders, boundless profundity, and bound to be misunderstood!
    ( Smiles. Rings the bell .)
     
    [ Enter Yinzong on the other side, leading a group of monks .
     
    Yinzong:
    ( Loudly .)
    Monks of all houses, instructors, and discipline teachers, let us welcome to the pulpit Master Huineng, true heir to the Dharma of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren!
    Boundless:
    ( Walks across front stage, singing .)
    Boundless thoughts, boundless entanglements,
    Boundless grievances, inextricable karmas ,
    Boundless pains and the boundless sea of bitterness—
     
    [ Enter Huineng in Dharma robe, his hands clasped. The monks all clasp their hands in salutation .
     
    Yinzong:
    Now we will ask the three discipline teachers to come forward and take part in the incense burning ceremony. They are His Holiness Zhiguang, abbot of Zongchi Temple in Xijing, Master Huijing, head monk of the Lingguang Temple in Suzhou, and Master Daoying, instructor of the Tianhuang Temple in Jingzhou.
     
    [ The three discipline teachers light the incense sticks .
     
    Boundless:
    ( Sings .)
    Boundless desires, boundless illusions,
    Boundless prayers, and boundless asceticism.
     
    [ The monks surround Huineng and inspect his robe.