There is such a thing as the action of spark and stone. This is the same as the foregoing. No sooner have you struck the stone than the light appears. Since the light appears just as you strike the stone, there is neither interval nor interstice. This also signifies the absence of the interval that would stop the mind.
It would be a mistake to understand this simply as celerity. Rather, it underscores the point that the mind should not be detained by things; it says that even with speed it is essential that the mind does not stop. When the mind stops, it will be grasped by the opponent. On the other hand, if the mind contemplates being fast and goes into quick action, it will be captured by its own contemplation.
Among the poems of Saigyō is the following:
One hears of you solely
as a man who abhors the world.
I can only hope
your mind be not detained
by this transient lodging.
He attributes this poem to the courtesan of Eguchi.
If you took the latter part of this verse, “I can only hope / your mind be not detained . . . ” it could be cited as hitting the very essence of the martial arts. It is essential that the mind not be detained.
In Zen, if asked, “What is the Buddha?” one should raise a clenched fist. If asked, “What is the ultimate meaning of the Buddhist Law?” before the words have died away, one should respond, “A single branch of the flowering plum” or “The cypress in the garden.”
It is not a matter of selecting an answer either good or bad. We respect the mind that does not stop. The non-stopping mind is moved by neither color nor smell.
Although the form of this unmoving mind is revered as a god, respected as a Buddha, and called the Mind of Zen or the Ultimate Meaning, if one thinks things through and afterwards speaks, even though he utter golden words and mysterious verses, it will be merely the affliction of the abiding place.
Can it not be said that the action of stone and spark has the speed of a lightning flash?
It is immovable wisdom when one is called and answers “Yes?” immediately. When one is called, to hesitate over the why and wherefore of the request is the affliction of the abiding place.
The mind that stops or is moved by something and sent into confusion—this is the affliction of the abiding place, and this is the common man. To be called, to respond without interval, is the wisdom of all Buddhas.
The Buddha and all sentient beings are not two. Such a mind is called a god or a Buddha.
Although there are many Ways—the Way of the Gods, the Way of Poetry, the Way of Confucius—they all share the clarity of this one mind.
When explaining the mind with words, we say such things as “All people possess this mind” or “Good and bad events morning and evening are according to Karma” or “Whether one leaves his house or brings his country to ruin is a reflection of one’s character, for both good and evil depend on one’s mind.” If people are to know what this mind is like, they will only be confused by it if there is no truly enlightened person to show them.
In this world, there are surely people who do not know the mind. It is also clear that people exist who do understand, rare as this may be. Although there occasionally are people who do understand, it does not often happen that they act accordingly; then, although they explain the mind well, it is doubtful that they understand it in depth.
One may explain water, but the mouth will not become wet. One may expound fully on the nature of fire, but the mouth will not become hot.
Without touching real water and real fire, one will not know these things. Even explaining a book will not make it understood. Food may be concisely defined, but that alone will not relieve one’s hunger.
One is not likely to achieve understanding from the explanation of another.
In this world, there are Buddhists and there are Confucianists who explain the mind, but their actions are not like their explanations. The minds of such people are not truly enlightened. If people are not thoroughly enlightened about their own particular minds, they will have no understanding.
Many who study do not understand the mind, but it is not a matter of numbers. There is not one of them with a good frame of mind. It must be said that the enlightening of one’s mind depends on the depths of one’s efforts.