3. Unmoving Like Mount T’ai When in Contact with Myriad Sensory Conditions

[나우]

무시선법 (3)

"사람이 만일 참다운 선을 닦고자 할진대 먼저 마땅히 진공(眞空)으로 체를 삼고 묘유(妙有)로 용을 삼아 밖으로 천만 경계를 대하되 부동함은 태산과 같이 하고, 안으로 마음을 지키되 청정함은 허공과 같이 하여"

‘밖으로 천만 경계를 대하되 부동(不動)함은 태산과 같이 한다’는 것은 무슨 뜻인가? 눈 귀 코 혀 몸[眼耳鼻舌身]으로 모양 소리 냄새 맛 촉감[色聲香味觸]을 느끼되 끌려가지 않는다는 것이다. 이 말은 바깥 경계에 조금도 주착하지 않는다, 즉 경계에 전혀 사로잡히지 않는다는 것이다. 이렇게 하는 것이 과연 가능한 일인가?

공원 벤치 위에 누군가의 가방이 놓여져 있어도, 우리는 그것을 별로 상관치 않고, 보면서도 끌려가지는 않는다.

자기가 좋아하거나 또는 아는 음악이 아니면, 우리는 어떤 음악이 귀에 들려도 그것에 사로잡히지 않는다.

핸드백을 들고 다닐 때마다 그 손잡이의 감촉을 느끼지만, 늘 아무도 그 느낌에 주착하지 않는다.

이처럼 우리가 경계에 있어서 자성의 ‘진공묘유’의 작용을 따르면,  그 경계를 잘 알고 바르게 판단하면서도 그것에 사로잡히거나 끌려가지 않을 수 있다.

수행인이 뭇 경계에 끌려가지 않는 것은

돌처럼 감각이 없거나, 경계를 모르고 있기 때문이 아니네.

한 마음이 나지 않으면 ‘나’도 비고 ‘경계’도 비어서

천만 사물을 접해도 끌려가거나 주착하지 않네.

The Dharma of Musisun (3)

"If people intend to practice genuine Zen, they first should take true emptiness as the substance and marvelous existence as the function and, externally, be unmoving like Mount T’ai when in contact with myriad sensory conditions, and, internally, keep the mind unsullied, like empty space."

What does it mean to say, ‘externally, be unmoving like Mount T’ai when in contact with myriad sensory conditions’? It means that even though one sees, hears, smells, tastes or touches objects, his attention is not drawn to their shapes, sounds, smells, tastes or feelings. It implies, in other words, that one never clings to outer sensory conditions, nor is caught by them. Is it really possible to do like that?

When a someone’s bag is lying on a bench, we generally do not care, and nor are we drawn to it even looking at it.

When a music is heard to our ears, if it is not what we know, or our favorite, we are not caught by it.

When we carry a bag, though we feel the touch of its handle, we do not cling to it.

Thus, at outer sensory conditions if we follow the functions of our self-nature’s ‘True emptiness, Marvelous existence’, we do not cling to, nor are caught by them.

A zen practitioner is not caught by any sensoty conditions.

That’s not because he is senseless like a stone or unaware of them.

If a mind does not arise, both ‘I’ and ‘the sensory conditions’ remain empty.

So, though in contact with numerous objects, he neither clings to, nor is caught by them.