Read Online Snow in August by Gao Xingjian - Free Book Online

forms, you are not attached to any form.
    What do we mean by no thought? No thought means you are not absorbed by any thoughts when you are thinking.
    And what do we mean by no attachment? No attachment is in the self-nature of all humans.
    Our thoughts should not have any attachments. If all our thoughts, past, present and future, are linked together without any interruption, then the Dharmakaya , the essence body, will be able to detach itself from the Rupakaya , the physical body.
    When we are engaged in thinking, we should not be attached to anything. Even if only one thought is attached, all the others will be attached. This is known as bondage. If we can be detached from all thoughts, then we will not be burdened by any bondage.
    Singsong Girl:
    ( Loudly .)
    This is the mystery of a Buddhist nun who is herself a woman of mystery. Only a woman can solve it. But women, every single one of them, all suffer from various attachments of their own; they can’t free themselves to solve the mystery. Then how can a monk, who is not a woman, be free to solve it?
    ( Sings .)
    Sadness in the heart of love,
    Entangling yet so refined;
    Like a mist or a cloud,
    It lingers and circles,
    To puzzle and perplex;
    And like a drizzle in the fog,
    It can’t be pushed away,
    It can’t be shoved along.
    But can it ever be cut off?
    Huineng:
    Learned audience!
    Maha Prajnaparamita are Sanskrit words. In the language of our nation they mean “great wisdom on the other shore.” When one chooses to tread the path of enlighten-ment, one’s Dharma body is the same as that of the Buddha.
    Maha is “great.” The mind’s capacity is great, as great as that of the void. It encompasses the sun, the moon, the stars, the great earth, the mountains and rivers, all the myriad trees and plants, the good and the bad people, the good and the bad laws, and Heaven and Hell. They are all included in the void of “ Maha .”
    Human nature is the same; it is a void. All truths are but self-nature, which is revealed in humans as well as non-humans. One should not be attached to any truth, be it meritorious or otherwise. Earth, water, fire and air are the four Mahabhutas , or the four elements. They are but illusions and therefore belong to the void. The deluded only recite the Dharma with their mouths, the enlightened practice it with their heart!
    Crowd:
    ( Sing .)
    For great wisdom,
    To the other shore!
    The four Mahabhutas are illusions,
    All is empty, all is void!
    Singsong Girl:
    ( Loudly .)
    Emptiness indeed! A woman, what will she be doing going to the other shore?
    ( Sings .)
    The myriad poses and alluring looks,
    The unceasing wonderment,
    The twists and turns,
    The endless changes and mutations,
    The pains inflicted on women,
    How can a man understand? (Exit.)
    Huineng:
    Learned audience, please listen carefully!
    Troubles are the same as enlightenment. A deluded first thought, which clings to attachment, makes one an ordinary man; an enlightened second thought, which frees one from attachment, makes one a Buddha.
    Learned audience!
    The wisdom of Maha Prajnaparamita is the most exalted, the highest, and the foremost. It is not attached to anything, not to the past, the present or the future, but all the Buddhas of the past, the present, and the future have attained and will attain their Buddhahood through its teachings. This great wisdom will guide us to the other shore and break up the troubles and defilements in the five Skandhas ! Those who understand this Dharma will be free from thoughts, free from memories, and free from attachments. In this way, one is able to make use of wisdom to observe and to illuminate. At the same time, one does not need to take or leave any Dharma; he only has to realize his self-nature to become a Buddha. All sentient beings are Buddha!
    Learned audience, chant after me!
    Crowd:
    ( Sing .)
    Sentient beings are infinite in number,
    We vow to deliver them all;
    Troubles are infinite in number,
    We vow to sever them