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Rains Retreat - The Record of Linji
A true great person truly realizes originally nothing to do—there is nothing to be done—and does not chase after any career, position, or external desire. Whether man or woman, such a person is free, self-mastered, knows how to stop, lives dwelling peacefully in the present moment, and is happy right in the present circumstances, like a refugee without a country. It is precisely in the insight that there is nothing to be done that the mind becomes serene and free.
Right view is to see clearly the illusory nature of all phenomena through the four marks:
- formation—manifestation
- abiding—remaining for a period of time
- destruction—beginning to dissolve
- emptiness—disappearing and no longer being seen
When looking at the Buddha through the four marks—birth into the world, enlightenment, turning the Dharma wheel, entering nirvana—over forty-nine years of teaching, and feeling neither joy nor sorrow, that is right view. All pure lands, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas are present right in this very moment; there is no need to wait for the future.
In the Dharma realm of the Flower Adornment, the one contains the all and the all contains the one, like the thousand-petaled lotus or the lamp infinitely reflected in the tower of mirrors. One who has non-abiding or non-reliance (not depending on anything) is absolutely free, not clinging to Buddha, Dharma, or anything at all; the mind arises without abiding, and that is the spirit of l’homme vrai—the true person, the great person of nothing to do.