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died in utter agony. The agony was more intense because he had been spreading the good news of ecstasy, but inside he was empty. His whole message was only verbal, but he managed it so cleverly that many started thinking of him as enlightened.
The same thing happened with Ta Hui. When he was just sixteen years old he was so intelligent... he left the world, and after one year of preparation he was initiated as a monk, when he was just seventeen. Then he went from master to master, seeking the right enlightened man who could show him the way.
He found his master in Yuan Wu. It seems almost the same situation: Yuan Wu knows, but cannot say it. Ta Hui does not know, but can say it. Just living with the master, imbibing his energy, watching his grace -- the way he walks, the way he sits, the way he remains silent...
Rarely, once in a while, Yuan Wu speaks a word or sentence. His statements are collected in a small book, BLUE CLIFF RECORD, but they are almost impossible to understand. They don't seem to be related to each other, relevant to each other; they look fragmentary. They don't create a system.
Even though his words were recorded in BLUE CLIFF RECORD, Yuan Wu never addressed the people. On the contrary, he simply asked Ta Hui just to look into the BLUE CLIFF RECORD and express his opinion, say what he thinks of them. He was not certain that he had been able to say what he wanted to say, and whether what he had said conveyed anything or was just a futile exercise. In every case Ta Hui completely comprehended the subtle meaning.
THE OLDER MASTER EXCLAIMED, "YOU MUST BE SOMEONE WHO HAS COME AGAIN!"
By saying this he is saying, "You must have been born almost enlightened, just a little bit is missing; perhaps you may be able to manage it in this life. But you have understood my expressions perfectly well." This was his seal, when he said "You must be someone who has come again!" -- you cannot be new. You have been on the path for a long, long time; although you have not achieved the ultimate end, you are very close.
But the master could not be deceived just by Ta Hui's understanding of the words, which any intelligent
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