Once there was a very famous pianist who had won many musical awards. He had mastered his craft to the utmost level, thus many people wished to be his students. One day another pianist paid him a visit and said, "I wish to continue my learning with you and I have been playing piano for three years. Can you tell me how long will it take for me to complete with you?"

The famous pianist said, "It will take six years."

The other pianist then asked again, "How long will it take if I have no foundation at all in playing the piano to learn to play to the same level like you?"

The famous pianist said, "Three years."

Greatly puzzled, the other pianist said, "This does not make sense to me."

The master pianist then said, "I need to spend the first three years to help you unlearn all the things that you have learned before. Then another three years to teach you the proper way to play the instrument. In contrast, those who do not have any foundation are like a piece of white paper on which I can imprint whatever I want."

The moral of this story is very important, on the other hand it does not imply that we should not attempt to learn anything at all nor should we discredit all the knowledge that we have acquired. The message is that we should not let things that we have learned become the stumbling blocks for our progress.

When we come into contact with any matters, we should keep an open mind and not approach the subject matter with only our preconception and biases. Unfortunately people tend to criticize or reject immediately when suggestions or ideas made by others are not in line with theirs. We should put our preconceived notions aside temporary to listen to what others have to say and analyze them judiciously before deciding whether to adopt or reject them. Anything genuinely good should be considered for adoption and if in doubt, we can simply treat them as references so that we will be able to understand another person better at the same time it can be to our own benefit.

Viewing the world with preconceptions and prejudices is analogous to looking through a pair of tinted glasses. We will never be able to see the true color unless we take off the tinted glasses. This is especially true in spiritual cultivation. It is easier to guide a young and innocent devotee than an older devotee who had gone through years of spiritual practice with his own preconception of what is right and what is false. Unfortunately everyone claims his path is the highest path and he is the luckiest person in the world to be in his path. Just like the famous pianist to firstly help the other pianist to unlearn all the things that he had learned before.

This is a true story about Bodhidharma (Great Indian Master) and Shinkuan (Great Chinese Master in China). Bodhidharma while in India was directed by his master Arya Prajnatara in India to search for the right person in China to continue the lineage of Tao. In China he found Shinkuan and knew that Shinkuan was the potential successor. Shinkuan had been teaching classic scripture for forty-nine years when he met Bodhidharma.

While Shinkuan was teaching the scripture, Bodhidharma asked him, "Where is the scripture and where is the dharma?"

Shinkuan said, "Scripture and dharma are both on paper."

Bodhidharma said, "Words are in black and papers are in white. Where is the dharma? If you said you have the dharma, let me draw a cake on paper to satisfy your hunger."

Shinkuan asked, "How can a paper cake fill the hunger?"

Bodhidharma said, "Since the paper cake cant eliminate hunger, how can your dharma on paper be able to transcend life and death?"

Shinkuan replied, "I have preached the scripture and dharma to help countless people, how can you say that this is useless. You have shown contempt of Buddhist teaching and it is a crime. My teaching is the Tao of all dharma which belongs to the oneness."

Bodhidharma said, "You are the one really who is disrespectful of the Buddhist teaching. If all dharma belongs to the oneness, where does the oneness belong to?"

Shinkuan was not able to answer and with anger and embarrassment, he threw the iron prayer beads in his hand towards Bodhidharma and knocked loose two of his teeth. Bodhidharma left and wanted to avoid him but he was concerned about the lineage of Tao. Then he pulled out ten prayer beads and transformed them into Ten Judges of the Dead who appeared before Shinkuan.

Shinkuan saw them and asked, "Who are you holy ones?" They answered, "We are the Ten Judges of Hell come to arrest your soul because you have lived up to your years on earth."

Shinkuan answered frightfully, "I have been preaching for forty-nine years and have accumulated infinite merit and virtue. How is it possible that I still cannot avoid the judgement from Hell?"

The judges said, "Without receiving the true Tao, how else can you avoid the judgement."

Shinkuan asked, "Who has the true dharma?"

The judges said, "The monk who came to you the day before yesterday was a true Buddha from the West who is able to initiate the true transmission of Tao."

With deep regret for missing the opportunity to receive Tao, Shinkuan kneeled down and begged the judges to let him live so that he would go after Bodhidharma for him to receive the great dharma, and he would not forget their great mercy. Shinkuan then went to the mountain and saw Bodhidharma quietly sitting in a cave. He immediately kneeled down and asked for his forgiveness. After one day and night, the snow had risen to his waist.

Bodhidharma said with pity, "In order to receive the true Tao, one must cut off all deviant paths."

The great Indian master Bodhidharma implied that Shinkuan must put aside all he had learned so that the true Tao can be transmitted to him. The wordless heart teaching was then transmitted to Shinkuan and his name became Huiku, one of the sixty-four Patriarchs in the lineage of Tao.

Author: T.A Chew