Chan Students Walk the Long Plank of Time

Gosh, r/zen—I sure hope this post is dramatic enough for ya.

That being said, I rather think most users won’t find it very interesting—so please do not feel obligated to read it if you would rather be arguing about Zen somewhere else.

(I was just remarking to an r/zen poet that I’ve never seen arguing in the Zen texts, and they said it was a “Hot Take”—what do the rest of you think about this?)

In any case, here is the video pointer for this OP, which is about continuity (pointer video = 15 min):

[Stealing The Finger That Points](https://vimeo.com/777716668)

And now for some text:

> “When some people these days are questioned, at first they seem to have the qualities of a patchrobed monk, but when they’re pressed even slightly, their waists snap and their legs break; they come all to pieces. They totally lack the slightest continuity. That is why an Ancient said, “Continuity is indeed very difficult.” Look at how Te Shan and Kuei Shan acted; were theirs stammering, halting views?”

The Blue Cliff Record Thomas Cleary

To me this has always been an important passage when looking at the Chan^1 community so many of us have participated in here at r/zen. Even from back when I first began commenting, and reading other user’s comments closely, it was immediately applicable. What with all the nonsense, accusations, faux challenges, and, insults I quickly saw: “It’s continuity. Continuity is what one actually *can* see here.” That method of seeing other people’s conversation and actions—looking for continuity—turned out to be very reliable, in my opinion.

In fact, those users who demonstrated continuity back then are the same ones who still demonstrate continuity today—and almost all of them are still around, too. Curious.

What do the rest of you think of that? What does it mean when a student of Chan demonstrates continuity? I think that’s a good question to ask.

One that is possibly more important:

Why is continuity difficult?

Let’s look to Dahui.^2

>The mind source is a single continuity, pervading the ten directions; to people of the finest faculties it is naturally clear.

>Haven't you read Nanquan's statement, 'Innocents like this are after all rare in the world.' Clearly they exist; actually everyone is so, but they just lack a robust will - that's what makes them get so tired.

Treasury Eye of the True Teaching 93 Translated by Thomas Cleary

This is a pretty interesting passage, isn't it? What do you r/zen users think of that? To me it seems to make sense that if you meet an r/zen user who's comments and actions demonstrate continuity, that it is likely you might be dealing with someone of "the finest faculties." Does this check out with other regular users here, who have had the time to examine the contents of this forum extensively?

I think it holds water myself.

And while these "innocents" may be rare, in my experience they do seem to lack any traces of fatigue—which is something that can be observed.

And I would certainly think it's true that users who don't or can't demonstrate continuity—sometimes not even from one day to the next—often seem to be lacking will power.

Do these observations make anyone angry, I wonder? Want to call me a liar or a fraud? Go ahead.

In any case, I can't help but see the presence of so much arguing amongst r/zen users as a clear symptom of lack of continuity and will power.

Which brings me to "golden eyebrow's last act."

You see—I have always been very interested in the lineage of Bodhidharma's talent and express interest in carrying on conversations across time and space.

And I have *always* been very interested in the new horizons for such conversation available to students of Chan due to the particular technology offered to us by r/zen. When I stopped using my original username last May, and launched under Golden Eyebrow (with much fanfare around a piratical theme) it was with the express intention of doing something very drastic: now that I have completed my contemporary raid of the illusionsary safe harbor of the present—I am taking this frigate back into the past, where I can hold conversations with past users, and past content, palimpsesting it with my contemporary cannons and comments.

I'm not sure many will see it, but this is a literary endeavor of Chan study that seemed to automatically suggest itself in this medium. And is of course in line with the long tradition of Chan literary commentary itself.

But that's right: you are currently reading Golden Eyebrow's last act in chronological time. I plan to go back through the archives, beginning with poetry slams, and then sifting through OPs, in order to add my comments and questions to any and all conversations I find that demonstrate continuity (or as many as I reasonably have time for).

Ack—a real time bandit!

But as far as I can see, this is one of the best directions for me to take my own Chan study. (Particularly in a time when it’s so clear that the symptoms and overflow of the military dictatorship educational system of the American empire are likely to continue plaguing r/zen for several more years to come.)

So that's that.

A final thought on leg breaking:

> “When Yun Men went to see Mu Chou, on the third time, as soon as he knocked on the door, Mu Chou said, “Who’s there?” Yun Men answered, “(Me,) Wen Yen.”a As soon as (Mu Chou) opened the door a little, (Yun Men) immediately bounded in; Mu Chou held him fast and said, “Speak! Speak!” Yun Men hesitated, and was pushed out; he still had one foot inside when Mu Chou slammed the door, breaking Yun Men’s leg. As Yun Men cried out in pain, he was suddenly greatly enlightened. Subsequently, the trend of his words in dealing with people, his whole style, emerged from Mu Chou. After this, Yun Men stayed for three years in the home of the ministry president Ch’en Ts’ao.b”

Excerpt From The Blue Cliff Record

My question for you, r/zen, is what does a student of Chan do, when they cannot find anyone capable of breaking their leg?

Now this next video—most of you should definitely not watch. It is long and boring. I talk about a lot of books. I show you a lot of things in my kitchen. I refer to conversations from a poetry slam two months ago. u/jungle_toad is maybe the only person who might find it interesting—but I won't lie: it is likely that even he will find it boring. (I lack more and more coherency year over year, especially when not smoking tobacco).

On the other hand, I make the best literary allusion to the Buddha and Guanyin that I will likely ever make—with a real story about my parrot that actually happened, no less. My gardening teacher saw the whole thing, too, so if you want verification you can come here and ask him. So there is that.

But seriously don't watch it if you don't have time. I do not enjoy wasting other people's valuable time, and will not mind at all.

[Golden Eyebrow's Last Act](https://vimeo.com/753711494)

As a conclusion, here is the BCR passage that preceeded the first one I quoted about continuity.

Deshan "sees, speaks, acts, and functions" all the way. I think this is the best way to study Zen. But I like Deshan—so your own nautical mileage may vary.

>“Look at how that Ancient (Te Shan) sees all the way, speaks all the way, acts all the way, and functions all the way; he’s undeniably a brave spirit. Only if you possess the ability to kill a man without blinking an eye can you then become Buddha right where you stand. Someone who can fulfill Buddhahood right where he stands naturally kills people without blinking an eye; thus he has his share of freedom and independence.”

The Blue Cliff Record Thomas Cleary

And now I have to go kill a man—possibly several.

Peace. 🕊

—golden eyebrow Year of the Tiger

P.S. I will be back tomorrow under my normal user name, as this one doesn't fade—but intentionally voyages—into the past. Don't worry—I ain't leaving r/zen as long as my phone still works. I’m sorry if the writing was disjointed in this OP. My parrot is fully flighted this time of year—and she has been dive bombing and strafing me for entertainment this entire time. I wonder where she could have picked that behavior up? 🤔

___

^1 In a recent post, I commented on the “difference” between “Zen” and “Chan”, after which someone came in and challenged me: “Do you think there is a difference between Zen and Chan?” to which I responded: “If you can’t see the difference between Zen and Chan your eyes are closed,” and they promptly blocked me. Blocked for pointing at a difference in spelling! What will the arguers think of next? I find them to be utterly convincing—how about you folks?

^2 I recently received his *Treasury Eye of the True Teaching* in hard copy—a volume I have been anticapting for several years. It [does not disappoint](https://i.imgur.com/JKy8xQr.jpg). Now that I have it in my hands, I need to thank both ewk and Green Sage for getting it in my eyes much sooner than the publisning industry itself managed to. As a student of Cleary's *Blue Cliff Record*, his Dahui was the next text to pursue in my own Chan study. Ewk's early and frequent series of posts based on the digital version was my first (much appreciated) aquantaince with it. And then Green Sage bought me my own copies—the very day the pandemic made me homeless, no less, and I found myself living in a tent in the woods with no books to read. I offer my deep gratitude to both of them for that help in my study.