A Life of Huang Po by John M Evans. In the Zen Masters Series.

Buddhism is often mistakenly believed to be the worship of Gautama Buddha. A more precise definition of the word, however, is “the doctrine of enlightenment”, and its root is the Sanskrit budh meaning awaken, or know. The suffix “-ism” means “the doctrine of”, or it creates an action, giving “the practice of awakening.” Therefore “Buddhism” has the sense of doing, as well as of a body of teaching, method as well as doctrine.

This is just as well because method is the central principle in Zen. Moreover, no Zen master placed so great an emphasis on the method of awakening — as opposed to the practice of doctrinal forms — as did Huang Po. Here he is in characteristic style:

As to performing the six paramitas and vast numbers
of similar practices, or gaining merits as countless
as the sands of the Ganges, since you are complete in
every respect, you should not try to supplement that
perfection by such meaningless practices.

An echo of Hui Neng, the sixth Patriarch, is detectable in Huang Po’s dismissive iconoclasm, though he does qualify this statement for the fainter hearts in his audience, who are probably experienced Buddhist monks.

“When there is occasion for them, perform them; and, when the occasion for them is passed, remain quiescent.” The master is an adherent of the direct path to enlightenment. Huang Po was a disciple of the great Po Chang who remains famous in Buddhist circles for his no nonsense attitudes to the religious life.

“A day without work is a day without food,” he would insist. He it was who set up the very first Zen training establishment, which was more of a school than a monastery. No doubt he had plenty of opportunity to exercise his dictum on many a lazy youth — perhaps even Huang Po himself. By this time the lessons of Hui Neng had been learnt and thoroughly assimilated into the teaching.

“Don’t cling, don’t seek,” said Po Chang, a master of the “sudden” school. When asked what was the nature of Buddahood, he replied: “When hungry, eat; when thirsty, drink; when tired, sleep.” For such a man enlightenment was never going to be an esoteric business. His own satori came when his equally famed teacher Ma Tsu shouted at him so loudly that he was left deaf for three days. Those with ears to hear …

Huang Po, known as Hsi Yun during his lifetime, takes his (posthumous) name from the mountain where he taught. His biographer, P’ei Hsiu, said that he lived below the Vulture Peak on Mount Huang Po in Hung Chou prefecture. He came originally from Fukien, but was ordained into the sangha, or Buddhist order, on Mount Huang Po while he was still very young. It was said by way of description that, “In the centre of his forehead was a small lump shaped like a pearl. His voice was soft and agreeable, his character unassuming and placid.”

Third in a direct line from Master Hui Neng, Huang Po scorned many of the dearly-held tenets of his path. He was said to believe only in the efficacy of the intuitive system of the “Highest Vehicle” (the Mahayana), which by its very nature could only be transmitted silently, mind to mind.

P’ei Hsiu writes that he “taught nothing but the doctrine of the One Mind; holding that there was nothing else to teach, in that both mind and substance are void and that the chain of causation is motionless”. He summed up Huang Po’s teaching in words so simple and direct that they deserve to be etched into the memory of every true spiritual seeker:

That which is before you is it.
Begin to reason about it and you will at once fall into error.

This same intuition is put by Soko Morinaga Roshi in his commentary on The Ceasing of Notions: “Enlightened masters do not possess anything at all — and just because of this they see that all things, just as they are, are the manifestations of the truth.”

One is also reminded of the Zen master confronting a sceptical Confucian who asks about the nature of enlightenment. As the scent of spring flowers wafts into the hall, he says: “There, I’m holding nothing back.”

Such was the simplicity of Huang Po’s views that one of his disciples, Lin Chi — better known to history as Rinzai, after which the Japanese Rinzai School of Zen was named — complained bitterly that the master ignored all his questions and just hit him with a stick every time he opened his mouth. “Be thankful for his grandmotherly concern,” said the monk to whom he reported this apparent lapse in taste. Whereupon Rinzai returned to the monastery and hit Huang Po, presumably out of grandmotherly affection.

The bond between these two men could not be broken though, for during the 17th Century, Ingen brought the Obaku school to Japan (Obaku is Huang Po’s Japanese designation) as the third Zen stream in that country after Rinzai and Soto. Obaku has now virtually been absorbed by the larger school of Rinzai, giving the latter the final hit of the stick.

Zen Master Torei (1721-1792) records the transmission between these two giants of Zen as follows (Huang Po is here given his Japanese name, Obaku):

Rinzai, first getting sixty blows from Obaku, then had
suddenly great satori. He returned to Obaku, “mingling
eyebrows” with him and threw down both body and life into
(the challenge). For twenty years he forged and tempered
a hundred and a thousand times over. After that, he went
to Obaku midway through the summer retreat, stayed a few
days only, and left again. Obaku said: “You came here
breaking the summer retreat, and now you are leaving
before it is over.” Rinzai answered: “I have only come
to pay my respects to you, Master.” Obaku hit him and
chased him out. After Rinzai had gone a few miles, he
had some doubt as to his conduct, so he went back to
Obaku and stayed until the end of the retreat. On taking
leave then, Obaku asked him: “Where are you going?” Rinzai
answered: “If not to the South of the river, then to the
North of the river.” Obaku hit him. Rinzai grabbed Obaku
and slapped him. Obaku burst out laughing and called to
his attendant: “Fetch me the meditation board and stool
of the late Master Hyakujo (in order to make the
transmission). At that, Rinzai called out: “Attendant,
fetch fire!” Obaku remarked: “Even so, but just take
these things; later they may come in useful to cut off
the tongues of all people.”

Despite these minor contretemps, conducted in the cause of the enlightenment of an advanced but irascible pupil, Huang Po comes across as a very simple man concerned only with the spiritual condition of his pupils.

Go to Part 2.