Wordle image of Shodoka 

Sad news. Feb. 2, 2009 Chan Master Sheng-Yen passed from this life. I never met him yet was deeply touched by his teaching. Last year I spent many weeks with good friends, looking at the Chan text called “Shodoka” or variously “Song of Freedom” or “Song of Enlightenment”. Master Sheng-yen’s commentary in his book “The Sword of Freedom” illuminated the text clearly. Below is his “death poem”.

without busy affairs, I grow old
empty within, i have both laughter and tears
originally, there was no I,
therefore, both life and death can be cast aside.

Working Ants

Be strong and use the sword of insight.
It’s blade is sharp and bright as the vajra,

it severs confusion
and the pride of shining beings and demons.

Here we are encouraged to develop insight and use it to clear confusion and remove delusions. Insight is the antidote for pride. Pride in ourselves and the pride of others.

Sheng-Yen says “If you have genuine wisdom, please do not expound your ideas in uncontested monologues (including uncontested internal monologues). Unsheath your vajra sword (insight) and accept the challenge. If it is hacked to pieces, it obviously is not a true varja sword (insight). You must put your practice and attainment to the test.”

My knowledge is less than perfect. I look forward to being straightened out by my friends.
Will

Here is where you can get a copy of the Song of Freedom as translated by Yasuda Joshu Roshi and Anzan Hoshin Roshi.
If you want a copy of this poem with Robert Aitken’s translation intermingled, I have a PDF that I will email to requesters. It is always interesting to see how other practitioners translate these texts. It can shine fresh light on the poem. I can also recommend two other translations, both by seasoned practitioners and both with commentary. These are both books that are readily available.
Buddhism and Zen by Nyogen Senzaki and Ruth Strout McCandless
The Sword of Wisdom by Chan Master Sheng-Yen

Mony’s Woods Moth

Ignoring the treasure of Reality and losing the merit to Awaken self and others
is due to the eighth, seventh and sixth consciousnesses.

With direct insight into these, practice Zen
and realise the Unborn with Radiant Intelligence.

Sheng-Yen’s translation in The Sword of Wisdom helps clarify this for me.

Loss of Dharma wealth and the extinction of merits,
Are all caused by the mind consciousness.

Through the Chan door, understand the cutting off of mind,
And suddenly enter the powerful view of the unborn.

When the mind moves and makes distinctions, wisdom and merit are lost. Still the mind and suddenly —

Blackbirds crowd the feeder
On this snowy morning.

“The mind in motion is the destroyer of Dharma wealth and spiritual merit. If you mind does not discriminate or judge, you will immediately enter the Dharma gate of non-arising, but the instant your mind moves or seeks, you have already suffered losses.”

Sheng-Yen
The Sword of Wisdom

Sheng-Yen points out that this was Emperor Wu’s problem. His mind wanted to claim merit for his deeds and Bodhidharma tried to point out to him, with mind “no merit”. He demonstrated the unborn with his “no knowing” when ask how was standing before the emperor. Poor Emperor Wu.

My knowledge is less than perfect. I look forward to being straightened out by my friends.
Will

If you are joining us in progress, you can catch up by reviewing the first part of this break down of the Song of Freedom by looking at the discussion over at Jordan’s blog and my earlier posts.

Here is where you can get a copy of the Song of Freedom as translated by Yasuda Joshu Roshi and Anzan Hoshin Roshi.
If you want a copy of this poem with Robert Aitken’s translation intermingled, I have a PDF that I will email to requesters. It is always interesting to see how other practitioners translate these texts. It can shine fresh light on the poem. I can also recommend two other translations, both by seasoned practitioners and both with commentary. These are both books that are readily available.
Buddhism and Zen by Nyogen Senzaki and Ruth Strout McCandless
The Sword of Wisdom by Chan Master Sheng-Yen

Storm Clouds

To reject delusion and grasp at the truth
suits perfectly the mind of like and dislike.

Students who practice this way,
it’s like mistaking a thief as your son.

The operative words here are “reject” and “grasp”. There is no benefit in measuring delusion against truth. The rejecting and grasping attempts to make delusion and truth into something that they are not, fixed in time.

My knowledge is less than perfect. I look forward to being straightened out by my friends.
Will

I welcome comments, but I may integrate them into this commentary. If you are joining us in progress, you can catch up by reviewing the first part of this break down of the Song of Freedom by looking at the discussion over at Jordan’s blog and my earlier posts.

Jordan’s Blog
Jordan’s Song of Freedom Posts
Will’s Song of Freedom Posts

Here is where you can get a copy of the Song of Freedom as translated by Yasuda Joshu roshi and Anzan Hoshin roshi. I may attempt to post something that helps everyone find each passage.

ARROWLEAF BALSAMROOT
(Balsamorhize sagittata)

Don’t grasp at “voidness” and ignore cause and effect;
such reckless confusion leads only to suffering.

Rejection the truth and grasping at entities is also a mistake,
it’s like jumping into a fire to avoid drowning.

My friend, Jordan, is taking a break and I have offered to continue this experiment. Jordan is a lucky man, he has a wonderful family and a developing talent for playing the Shakuhachi. It is my hope that he will still participate when he can and keep me on my toes.

On first reading this section it sounds like classic Buddhist “middle way” stuff. Not too much voidness (absoluteness) and not too much entities (relativeness), just some nebulous middle way thingy.

Maybe, yet there is more here, so much more.

We can not ignore cause and effect and if we let cause and effect push us around, we are lost. We have conditions in our life that are the effects of past conditions. Clearing confusion and seeing this leads to the freedom to “have” conditions and not “be” them or be controlled by them. The times I’ve been free enough not to be caught up in my conditions I have seen how to use my confused states to look closely at their causes and be a bit more present. Being a bit more present is always a bit more skillful and leads to a bit less suffering. Bit by bit here we are.

Grasping, ignoring, reckless confusion, rejection, and more grasping. Sounds like the discription of a tormented life.

In his poem Song of Freedom, Yongjia points out what is helpful and what is not. This lands firmly in what is not helpful, states to be on the lookout for.

My knowledge is less than perfect. I look forward to being straightened out by my friends.
Will

If you are joining us in progress, you can catch up by reviewing the first part of this break down of the Song of Freedom by looking at the discussion over at Jordan’s blog.

Jordan’s Blog
Song of Freedom Posts

Here is where you can get a copy of the Song of Freedom as translated by Yasuda Joshu roshi and Anzan Hoshin roshi.