When I Close My Eyes, Everyone Listens

When I close my eyes, everyone listens. — Master Yuan Jué, circa 918 CE

After his enlightenment when Emperor Xizong of Tang Dynasty passed away , Master Jué traveled to the Shau Wu area of China to establish the Dragon Pool Temple. The local people helped build the temple.

According to legend, it is said he carried a dragon in one of his sleeves.

For over thirty years, the Master spread the Buddha-Dharma and transformed the lives of all sentient beings who heard him preach.

A verse about him describes him:

He was a scion of the royal family,
And then became minister of the Dharma King.
Having obtained Shr Sywang's seal.
He protected a banished dragon.
For thirty winters and summers,
He pointed at the false to discourse on the truth.
Today you should grasp my meaning.
As I close my eyes, everyone falls down to pay homage."

Another verse says:

Because of heavy karma he was born in the royal family.
Due to deep virtue, he was a vegetarian and abstained from killing.
Good and bad admixed, retribution is not the slightest bit off.
Defiled and pure intertwined, true again turns to false.
Master An Shan nodding his head — a teaching without words.
Within the sea of emotions, he grasped the meaning and awakened to the source.
Starting from today, I've heard the song of no self.
Tomorrow, the flower of no death will bloom luxuriantly.

---

Notes:

An Shan is a mountain which is sacred to Ch'an Buddhists

"Dharma King" refers to Shakyamuni Buddha.

"The banished dragon" refers to a water dragon near the Dragon Pool Temple. Because Yuan Jué carries the dragon in his sleeve, it could actually mean that when his father died, he was banished to the Shau Wu area. As well, the temple there was built near a water spring.

"No self" refers to the Buddhist principle of non-self, that the original self exists for this life, and all phenomena are impermanent

"No death" refers to Enlightenment, and it is believed that on the death of a Ch'an Buddhist who has achieved sudden Enlightenment, he is reborn in one of the Dhyana heavens