Mei Hua

Why don't you come with us? Gábor said.

 It was quite a surprise to meet you at the MA CESS conference in this nice building of the provincial government of Limburg, where, in 1992, the Treaty of Maastricht was signed. You told me about your work as a Chinese and English teacher. We also talked about Ch'an Buddhism and a particular poem I mentioned. It's the famous poem, made by the illiterate Hui-neng, who became the sixth patriarch of Ch'an Buddhism in China.

shēn sì pú tí shù, xīn rú míng jìng tái. shí shí qín fú shì, wù shǐ rě chén ái.

Our body is the Bodhi-tree, And our mind a mirror bright. Carefully we wipe them hour by hour, And let no dust alight.

I was very pleased to meet you and see you writing your name on my address card in Chinese characters. Beautiful characters! I would like to learn more about understanding them.

I'm very glad to receive your poem. I have found the poem in Chinese. It is as follows:

pú tí běn wú shù, míng jìng yì fēi taí. běn lái wú yī wù, hé chù rě chén ái.

There is no Bodhi-tree, Nor stand of a mirror bright. Since all is void, Where can the dust alight?

Hope you love it! If you are interested in Chinese culture, you can always come to me. You surprised me because I've never thought of you to know Chinese Ch'an Buddhism!

I've received your email, but it seemed that the Chinese characters did not appear in it. Would you please get it printed for tomorrow so that I can figure out what they look like? I will also check on internet to see whether I can find something similar.

Hui-neng and Bodhidharma

 The four lines of text I talked about last Wednesday are known as the Four Pillars of Ch’an. They were attributed to Bodhidharma, the Indian who spread the teaching of sudden illumination to China. Here they are:

1. A special transmission outside of the scriptures.

2. No dependence upon words or letters.

3. Direct pointing at the soul[heart] of man.

4. Seeing into one's own nature and the attainment of Buddhahood.

jiāo wài bié chúan,
bù lì wén zì, 

zhí zhǐ rèn xīn,
jiàn xìng chéng fó

教外別傳

不⽴立⽂文字
直指⼈人⼼心
⾒見性成佛

[In Mandarin Chinese, there are four tones. Each syllable in isolation (e.g. ma) has its tone, and the same syllables with different tones can mean different things.

First tone: mā (meaning "mum") Second tone: má (meaning "linen") Third tone: mǎ (meaning "horse") Fourth tone: mà (meaning "to swear")

Dào Dé Jīng:

dào kě dào, fēi cháng dào.

míng kě míng, fēi cháng míng.
wú míng tiān dì zhī shǐ.

yǒu míng wàn wù zhī mǔ.

gù cháng wú, yù yǐ guān qí miào.
cháng yǒu, yù yǐ guān qí jiào.

cǐ liǎng zhě, tóng chū ér yì míng,
tóng wèi zhī xuán.

xuán zhī yòu xuán, 

shàng miào zhī méng.

 道可道⾮非常道
名可名⾮非常名
無名天地之始
有名萬物之⺟母
故常無欲以觀其妙
常有欲以觀其徼
此兩者同出⽽而異名
同謂之⽞玄
⽞玄之⼜又⽞玄
眾妙之⾨門

dào can be dào

not the regular way

name a name

not a regular name

no name heaven and earth of beginning

with name all beings of mother

regular no desire to see its secret nature regular have desire to see its manifest nature these both same origin while different names both named the inconceivable

this inconceivable to another inconceivable all secret nature its gate

 Tao Te Ching by LAO TSU Translation by Gia Fu Feng and Jane English One The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery.

There is a difference of opinion on the meaning of the Chinese word cháng, here translated as eternal. This English word can have several meanings: perpetual, that is: uninterrupted; interminable, that is: endless; infinite, that is: timeless. In this context, the character means everlasting. Mei Hua translated it as regular.

dào shēng yī, yī shēng èr, èr shēng sān, sān shēng wàn wù wàn wù fù yīn ér bào yáng, chōng qī yǐ wéi hè

Natural laws originate one

One originates two

Two originates three

Three originates all beings

All beings hold yīn in the back and hold yáng in the arms (to show something fiercely) air to make harmony

Tao Te Ching by LAO TSU Translation by Gia Fu Feng and Jane English Forty-Two The Tao begot one. One begot two. Two begot three. And three begot the ten thousand things. The ten thousand things may carry yin and embrace yang. They achieve harmony by combining these forces.

I realised that the short I Ching session we had a week before last Wednesday was not totally accomplished, so I looked up some things (like the method of casting coins and the whole process of interpretation of the oracle) in English websites in order to offer you a more complete session.

Method of Tossing Coins for Yin Jing Oracle

The preferred method is to use 50 yarrow sticks.

A shorter method to cast an oracle is the "Coin Method" The casting of coins gave the following results:

Eight at the top

Seven in the fifth place

Six in the fourth place

Seven in the third place

Nine in the second place

Six at the beginning

This refers to hexagram 48: The Well

THE JUDGMENT

 THE WELL. The town may be changed, But the well cannot be changed. It neither decreases nor increases. They come and go and draw from the well. If one gets down almost to the water And the rope does not go all the way, Or the jug breaks, it brings misfortune.

THE IMAGE

Water over wood: the image of THE WELL.

Thus the superior man encourages the people at their work, And exhorts them to help one another.

THE CHANGING LINES

Six at the beginning means:

One does not drink the mud of the well. No animals come to an old well.

Nine in the second place means: At the well hole one shoots fishes. The jug is broken and leaks.

Six in the fourth place means:

The well is being lined. No blame.

So, the primary hexagram 48, The Well, with its first, second and fourth lines changing, would give the relating hexagram 49, Revolution:

49. Ko / Revolution (Moulting) THE JUDGMENT

REVOLUTION. On your own day You are believed. Supreme success, Furthering through perseverance. Remorse disappears.

THE IMAGE

Fire in the lake: the image of REVOLUTION. Thus the superior man Sets the calendar in order And makes the seasons clear.

What does it mean for you?

Exactly what the relating hexagram means for you depends on the kind of question you asked.

 You decided at first to be silent about your question, but later on you revealed that it was about your future career.

The primary hexagram is the most specific to your present situation. The changing lines highlight moments of change. They may point to important choices, opportunities or dangers, and provide very useful advice on the best way to deal with them.

“One does not drink the mud of the well. No animals come to an old well.”

This may mean that there is a risk of losing yourself in the preparation for a specialist practice and paying too little attention to things that are basically the same in everyone. The last thing might reflect your true qualities.

“At the well hole one shoots fishes. The jug is broken and leaks.”

This may mean that you are inclined to neglect the aforementioned qualities.

“The well is being lined. No blame.” This may mean, that you are presently in a preparatory phase of something new that that has to be accomplished in the future.

The relating hexagram (49) refers to the (near or more distant) future or to alternative approaches to the basic situation that the primary hexagram describes. Hexagram 49 predicts a radical change. Intuitively I already told you: You might be a leader within a (small or great) community.

In this sense you will never be alone. There will always be people be around you. You might be alone in the sense that you act as an individual, independent of your husband

“On your own day you are believed.” This may mean that at the right time, the moment of transformation, when radical change comes to an end, you will take the centre and begin to obtain the confidence of the people.

Thank you very much for your explicit interpretation of the meaning of coins. It must have taken you a lot of time to do that for me. I really appreciate your kindness. Now I have a better understanding.