ZEN STORIES

The Fifth Patriarch Hongren, knowing the time to choose a successor had come, instructed his disciples to each compose a verse to reveal their understanding. Shenxiu, the head monk, wrote on the monastery wall: " The body is the Bodhi tree, the mind a bright mirror stand. Constantly strive to keep it polished, and let no dust alight." The assembly praised it. An illiterate novice named Huineng heard the verse recited and asked someone to write his own beside it: "Bodhi is fundamentally no tree, nor is the bright mirror a stand. Originally there is not a single thing where could dust arise?" Hongren saw this verse, recognized the profound insight, and secretly summoned Huineng to his chamber by night. He expounded the Diamond Sutra to him and bestowed the robe and bowl, affirming him as the Sixth Patriarch.