Hsuan Chueh

Yung-chia Hsuan-Chueh, 665-713, also known as Master Chen-chio, Master Yung Chia and Yoka Genkaku, lived in the Yung Chia region of southern Che Chian Province in China. He was a scholar and a monk and is considered one of the greatest and most gifted teachers of Zen.

the Song of Enlightment

The one with nothing,
Walks the Way, without philosophy,
Without grasping, not avoiding, not seeking.
The Great Obstacle is our understanding of Enlightment;
From birth, we carry with us all we need.

When the inner Being awakens,
Nothing changes.
Our inner nature 
Is the pure Buddha-nature.
All things come and go
Like clouds in the empty sky;
Greed, hatred, ignorance rise and fall
Like bubbles on the surface of a stream.

Good fortune, bad fortune, loss, gain
like rolling waves upon the surface of a serene sea.
For too long the dust-covered mirror has gone unwashed,
Clean it now, reflect the True Nature.

You fail to recognize the priceless jewel.
Living intimately within your heart.
It gives you everything;
The power to see, to hear, to think, to live.
It appears empty, yet it is not empty.

The jewel with no price can never be consumed
It grows with use, becomes greater when consumed.
All wisdom is contained within it, all good, all virtue.
Immediately everything melts
When one enters that place beyond thought and words.

It speaks in silence,
The heart understands the silence.
The invisible way is open, there is no gate.
If someone asks, what is your philosophy,
what is your understanding?
Reply, the pure prajna is beyond words.

The best student goes directly to the source.
The faith of the learned is uncertain.
Thought cannot remove the darkness of the mind
Washing in the invisible light is the only way.

One moon is reflected in many waters;
All the water-moons are from the one moon.
The clear light of the Dharma enters my mind,
separation, divisions, this and that, are all illusions.

The ultimate Truth is so simple
The thinking mind can not grasp it
When the mind becomes still
What is right in front of you becomes obvious
The simple Truth becomes known.

Walking his own way, working with singular purpose,
The Enlightened One walks in freedom.
He listens to the silent harmony that 
Delights the heart and rules the world.
Only the innocent and discerning recognize his superior wisdom, 
Otherwise, he passes unnoticed by this world.

After he passes, all say, that was him
Now that they are free from having to act or listen.
They can now pretend to walk the way
They can now imagine they understand.
Unchallenged, they are free to continue their endless folly.