The disciple then reprimanded him: "See, that's discrimination! You have a discriminating mind!" After that incident, Master Hsuan-hua told him to leave. This particular monk thought highly of himself, and instead of listening to his master's instructions, he insisted on doing things his own way. He was not interested in learning; he only wanted to challenge the master. In the case of this story, he failed to understand that the principle, or noumenal realm, is different from the phenomenal realm. Master Hsuan-hua explained, "You don't put shit on the dinner table. Sakyamuni never ate shit. When I say shit and Sakyamuni are the same, I am talking about a realization that comes through practice. I am not talking about the concrete world. In the phenomenal world, phenomena are still phenomena. Sakyamuni is still Sakyamuni, shit is still shit." An enlightened person understands and acknowledges that the world of phenomena is not the same as the principle.


The Dharma body of all Buddhas enters my nature,
Which is the same as the Tathagata's.
One stage encompasses all stages,
Not form nor mind nor karmic act.


Eighty thousand doors are completed in the snap of the fingers,
In a flash three kalpas are extinguished.
What do numbers, expressions, and their negations
Have to do with my spiritual awakening?



Seeing dog shit as Sakyamuni, or treating Sakyamuni like dog shit, is wrong. You cannot express the Dharma body or Buddhadharma in any form, shape, or matter, nor can you express it in any kind of behavior. This does not mean that Dharma nature is separate or different from these things. You cannot view Dharma nature apart from matter and behavior, but you also cannot say that form, matter, mind, or behavior is the Dharma body. All of these things are illusory and impermanent. Every internal and external dharma perfectly accords with the Dharma body, but no single, isolated phenomenon can account for the totality of the Dharma body.