A long time ago, in the distant North Sea, there lived an emperor named Shu (pronounced shū shū), and in the distant South Sea, there also lived an emperor named Hu. Both Shu and Hu had supreme authority and enjoyed wealth and honor, yet their hearts were lonely and solitary. So, every year, they would visit each other, talk about topics they were interested in, and relieve the frustrations in their hearts.
But the North Sea and the South Sea were too far apart, so as they traveled, they always met on the vast land in between.
On that land also lived an emperor named Hundun, who was very simple and genuine. He provided them with comfortable accommodations and exquisite food, but he himself was content and joyful, living freely according to his heart, without any greed for material pleasures.
One day, Shu and Hu started talking about Hundun and were very grateful to him. Shu said, 'We should give him some gifts to express our gratitude.'
'But Hundun's land is rich; he lacks nothing!' Hu said.
'Yes, and his spirit is so happy, his life so calm and free, he really lacks nothing,' Shu murmured enviously.
The two of them thought for most of the day, and finally Hu exclaimed: 'I've got it! What Hundun lacks are the seven orifices. Without them, he cannot taste delicious food, cannot hear pleasant music, cannot smell the fresh fragrance of flowers, cannot see the colorful world. Why don't we carve the seven orifices for him so he can also enjoy the pleasures of the senses?'
Shu agreed wholeheartedly. So the two of them took their tools and carved the seven orifices for Hundun: two ears, two eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
But who could have known, on the seventh day, when the last orifice was carved, Hundun actually died.
When people encounter difficult problems, they always seek advice from others and say, 'Open my orifices!' In the eyes of Zen masters, opening orifices is not necessarily a good thing. When people learn to analyze problems and reason logically, they develop discrimination, learn to distinguish between good and bad, and begin to desire perfection; they develop material desires and greed, and the mind experiences suffering, never finding rest. At this point, the naturally innocent and pure self dies, and people move farther away from the path of Buddha.
A verse by the Song Dynasty monk Wumen goes: 'Only because of seeking clarity with discrimination, is the attainment by delay made longer. If one had known that the lamp is fire, the rice would have been cooked long ago.' This means that merely using a discriminating mind to investigate the nature of things delays one's realization of the truth.If we had known earlier that a lamp and fire are actually no different, then the meal would have long been cooked by now. Therefore, we should say, let go of your attachments, abandon your discriminating mind, and use your heart to observe and experience the inner essence. Then you can realize in an instant, see the nature as it comes from itself, and your life can become natural and unrestrained, simple and harmonious.
