A Moment of Sudden Enlightenment Beside a Bundle of Firewood

A poor young man from the land of Lingnan heard the Diamond Sutra while carrying firewood, and suddenly experienced his first awakening. He then journeyed far to China in search of enlightenment.

The bundle of firewood weighed heavily on his shoulders, sweat soaking through his patched shirt. The young man walked barefoot along the red dirt road leading to the wealthy quarter at the end of the village. Today he was lucky; someone had ordered a load of dry firewood, and the price was just enough to buy rice for him and his mother for a few days.

His name was Huineng, and he came from Lingnan, a land that the northerners called "barbarian territory." His father had died early, leaving no fortune behind. His mother was old and frail, and mother and son survived precariously on the firewood he chopped in the forest. But in those days, anyone could gather firewood in the woods. Only the rich would buy it, and there were few rich households, so each load of firewood sold for very little. Day after day, he shouldered the burden of feeding his mother, his heart free of any complaint or resentment.

One day, he stopped at the home of a wealthy man. As he set his load down in the courtyard, he heard a warm, deep voice reciting sutras coming from the main hall. The wealthy man was reciting a sutra written in Chinese characters. The young man did not hurry to collect his payment; he simply stood quietly under the eaves, waiting. But then, without his noticing, the words of the sutra began to seep into his ears, into his heart. When he heard the line, "One should not abide in forms and give rise to the mind, nor abide in sounds, scents, tastes, touches, or dharmas and give rise to the mind; one should give rise to the mind without abiding anywhere," he suddenly shuddered. It was as if a beam of light pierced through his entire being, and all the confusion in his heart melted away. He understood that all this time he had been living in delusion and meaninglessness, while the true truth was right here, the path to liberation.

The wealthy man finished reciting and came outside. The young man quickly pressed his palms together and asked, "Sir, what sutra were you just reciting?"

"The Diamond Sutra."

"Where can this sutra be found? Who teaches it?"

The wealthy man scratched his head. "In China, many temples teach it. Here we just recite it without knowing who explains it."

The young man took his payment, brought it home to his mother, and knelt down. "Mother, I ask your permission to go to China to study the Way."

His mother was stunned, tears welling in her eyes. She was kind-hearted and had no idea how long and difficult the journey would be; she only feared that once her son left, he would abandon his aged mother. The young man also hesitated, his heart burning like fire. He ran back to the wealthy man's house and poured out his troubles. The kind man said, "Very well, I will take your mother in and let her work in my household. You may go."

And so the young man, barely in his teens, packed his belongings and set out. His luggage consisted only of a little money given by the wealthy man, along with a burning longing to find the meaning of the Diamond Sutra. He traveled through province after province, each one as vast as the whole country of Vietnam. Sometimes he lodged at temples, sometimes he begged for his daily food. Along the way, he kept asking until he finally learned that Master Hongren, the Fifth Patriarch, resided at Huangmei Monastery in the north, where he specialized in teaching the Diamond Sutra. The young man quickened his pace northward. The further north he went, the colder it became. His clothes were tattered, his hands and feet numb with cold. When he arrived at Huangmei Monastery, he looked no different from a beggar. His hair was disheveled, his trousers one long leg and one short, his body thin and gaunt.

He entered the monastery and stood quietly among the dignified monks in their splendid robes. No one paid him any attention. Only after a long while was he led in to see the Fifth Patriarch. Master Hongren looked him over and asked, "Where do you come from?"

"Venerable sir, I come from Lingnan, seeking to become a Buddha."

Several monks standing nearby shot him contemptuous glances. The Fifth Patriarch was also surprised. "You are a barbarian from the south. What makes you seek to become a Buddha?"

The young man was not afraid. He answered at once, "Venerable sir, people may be southern or northern, but Buddha-nature is originally the same."

The Fifth Patriarch knew at once that this was a vessel of the Dharma. But before an assembly of five hundred monks, speaking too much would stir up jealousy. He said, "Enough. Go to the kitchen and pound rice."

The young man obeyed and went down to the kitchen. The rice mortar that fed five hundred people was terribly heavy, so he had to tie stones to his body for extra strength. Day after day, he quietly pounded rice, gathered his mind, and steadily deepened his practice. His health recovered as well, and he grew fuller in body.

Three years later, the Fifth Patriarch knew the time had come. One day, he came down to the kitchen and asked, "Your work is very hard, is it not?"

The young man replied, "Yes, but for the sake of the Way, I do not spare this body."

The Fifth Patriarch asked again, "Has the rice been pounded white yet?"

"Venerable sir, the rice is white, but no one has yet winnowed it."

The Fifth Patriarch said nothing more. He struck the mortar three times, knock knock knock, then turned and walked away.

That night at the third watch, the young man came and knocked on the door of the Fifth Patriarch's room. The Master shut the door tightly, drew the curtain, and began reciting the Diamond Sutra. When he reached the line, "One should give rise to the mind without abiding anywhere," the young man awakened completely. This time, he understood everything thoroughly. The Fifth Patriarch then transmitted the robe and bowl to him and secretly sent him away in the night. The Master himself had to row the boat to carry him across the river, because the young man did not know how to row. Upon reaching the far shore, the young man knelt and bowed with his head to the ground. "Master, when I had not yet awakened, you ferried me across. Now that I have awakened, I must go on by myself." Then he hurried on his way, leaving behind the silhouette of the Fifth Patriarch silently rowing back into the night.

From that moment, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng was born, the Linji school of Zen flourished brilliantly, and the story of hearing a sutra and suddenly awakening became a legend in the history of Buddhism.

The Meaning of the Story

Sudden enlightenment is a phenomenon of the mind flashing bright in a single moment, but it is not a matter of chance. It arises from one's spiritual capacity, from a deep longing for truth, and from diligent, unbroken practice. The Buddha in ancient times did not emphasize sudden enlightenment, because he knew that the path of practice is a long process of gradual ripening, not merely waiting for a miraculous moment. The story of the Sixth Patriarch reminds us: sudden enlightenment is only the first step. What matters is what comes after, continuing to practice deeply and keeping the mind steady, in order to arrive at complete liberation.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang.