I had provided a rudimentary explanation on the previous passage, but won’t here yet. Another post in the future, perhaps.
The Case:
A Zen student approached the Master.
‘I’ve come for the lesson of Mu.’
The Master answered, ‘what about Hu?’
‘Let’s avoid new texts.’
The Master took out a book from his back pocket, it was a copy of The Lotus Sutra. He tore out its pages, and dropped them to the ground, forming a circle around his feet. He coated the circle then with incense dust.
‘I wish to kill the Buddha,’ the student predictably offered.
The Master pulled out a pack of matches, lit two, and released them to the ground.
The Zen student observed in dismay, and then jumped into action, stomping out the two resulting fires.
The Master screamed, ‘Ah, Suryaprabha! Candraprabha!’
Trying to play along, but struggling, the Zen student offered, ‘what are they to you now? Nothing!’
The Master was screaming, ‘my eyes! I can’t see!’
‘You must teach in darkness!’
‘I can’t teach when blind,’ the Master shouted as he rubbed at his eyes, leaving the room.
Verse:
When seeking a teacher,
Clear eyes are a must.
Texts can leave one blinded,
Like incense dust.
Note:
Bhaiṣajyaguru, Vairocana, Shakyamuni, would the student have the discernment as to recognize any Buddha? What about his discernment of a Bodhisattva? Would they have the eyes to see Avalokiteśvara?
Should you wish to read another case and commentary, see this post from the βούλημα Ligō: ‘Initiation‘ otherwise known as ‘Ctenodiscus Crispatus‘.