“The Master passed into Nirvana on the third day of the eighth month in the second year of the Xiantian Era (713). On the eighth day of the seventh month, he called his disciples together to say goodbye. Previously, in the first year of the Xiantian Era, he had a stupa built in Xinzhou at Guo’en Temple. It was there, in the seventh month of the following year, that he bid them farewell.
“The Master said, ‘Everyone come closer. In the eighth month, I expect to leave this world. If any of you have questions, ask them now, and I will resolve them for you. Let me put an end to your delusions so that you can know peace and happiness. After I leave, I won’t be here to teach you.'
“When Fahai and the other monks heard this, they wept and cried out. Only Shenhui was unmoved and shed no tears. The Sixth Patriarch said, ‘Shenhui is a young monk, but he understands that good and bad are the same and isn’t moved by praise or blame. The rest of you don’t understand. What exactly have you been cultivating all these years on this mountain? And who exactly are you crying for? Are you worried that I don’t know where I am going? If I didn’t know where I was going, I would never leave you. You are crying because you don’t know where I am going. If you knew, you wouldn’t be crying.
“ 'Our nature isn’t subject to birth or death, coming or going. All of you sit down. I have a poem for you: “Truth and Falsehood, Movement and Stillness.” If any of you recite this poem, your thoughts will be the same as mine. Put this into practice, and don’t lose sight of its basic principle.'
“The monks all bowed and asked the Master to recite his poem, which they received with great reverence. The poem went:
“Nothing that exists is true
don’t think seeing makes it true
if you think you see what is true
such a view is utterly false
if you would possess what is true
the mind free of falsehood is true
unless your mind is free of falsehood
wherever you look nothing is true.
“Living things know how to move
lifeless things don’t move
those who practice staying still
resemble lifeless unmoving things
to see what truly doesn’t move
in movement something doesn’t move
what doesn’t move doesn’t move
dead things have no buddha seeds.
“If you can see what appears clearly
the ultimate truth doesn’t move
once you know how to see like this
this is how suchness functions
all you students of the Way
be relentless and concentrate
don’t stand at the gate of the Mahayana
clinging to views about birth and death.
“If the people you meet are ready
tell them what the Buddha meant
if they aren’t truly ready
bow and tell them to be good
there is nothing to argue about in this teaching
those who argue lose sight of the Way
clinging to delusions arguing about teachings
they doom themselves to another round.”
— from The Platform Sutra
