To think you can
‘have and hold’ the worldly
is to ‘have and hold’ delusion.
Once, when the Layman was on his way to sell his bamboo baskets, he stumbled and fell while crossing over a bridge. When Ling-chao saw this, she came to her father’s side and fell on the ground.
The Layman said, “What are you doing?” Ling-chao said, “I saw you had fallen, so I came to lend you a hand.” The Layman said, “But who can see what there is to take hold of?”
Interpretation: Ling-chao and Layman Pang were taking the opportunity to teach that there is nothing (and no one) in this world of constantly changing mind and matter, that can really be held on to, as a steady refuge, what more for saving us, for leading us to liberation from this world of cyclical birth and death. This is why we take spiritual refuge in the Triple Gem (of the Buddhas, Dharma and Sangha) instead, to realise the ungraspable truth for liberation.
The Sayings Of Layman Pang: A Zen Classic Of China
Translated By James Green
