Snow in August Read Online Free PDF Page A

beats the wooden fish and chants slowly .)
    Huineng:
    Now you’re too slow. You see, the sentences are all cut up and the thoughts broken.
    Boundless:
    Do you want to listen or not?
    Huineng:
    ( Takes one step forward and leans to one side, paying full attention .)
    I’m all ears.
    Boundless:
    ( Thinks to herself .)
    This guy is a real pain! ( Beats the wooden fish continuously .) ( Music .)
    Huineng:
    ( Thinks to himself and turns to look at the nun .)
    What’s her problem? I thought nuns didn’t have problems.
    Boundless:
    ( Thinks to herself .)
    A woodcutter, and he knows not a single word! How can I make him understand?
    ( Rubs her hands .)
    Cut, cut, cut, let me cut out his delusions.
    ( She lowers her head to untie her blue head cloth and reveals her shaved head. Turning around, she finds herself face to face with Huineng. She starts to sing in a high-pitched voice .)
    Boundless Treasure am I—
    Boundless troubles occupy.
    Huineng:
    ( Sings .)
    Hair can be cut and thrown away,
    But it’s not as easy,
    To keep troubles at bay
    Boundless:
    ( Sings .)
    From Spring to Autumn,
    Day after day,
    A lonely lamp is my only company
    To keep loneliness away.
    Huineng:
    ( Sings .)
    From sunrise to sunset,
    I cut and carry firewood.
    I’ll cut more and more,
    And sell as much for my livelihood.
    Boundless:
    ( Sings .)
    Long and endless is the night,
    Who’ll understand my plight?
    Huineng:
    ( Sings .)
    Year after year,
    What do I want for myself?
    Boundless:
    ( Sings. )
    Boundless Treasures am I,
    Boundless troubles occupy…
    Huineng:
    ( Sings .)
    I don’t understand why…
    Boundless:
    ( Sings .)
    The night rain hits the banana leaves,
    The wind and the rain,
    When will they ever end?
    Huineng:
    ( Sings .)
    The thoughts keep coming,
    Now and then,
    Then and now.
    They can’t be cut,
    They can’t be blocked.
    Boundless:
    ( Sings .)
    Endless regrets,
    Boundless remorse;
    Endless and boundless sorrow.
    Huineng:
    ( Sings. )
    Is it true,
    Troubles lead to Bodhi?
    And Nirvana is the other shore?
     
    [ The stage turns dark. Huineng steps forward as the curtain comes down behind him. One clap of the soundboard .
     
    Huineng:
    One day, Huineng went to a store after selling firewood in the market. There he saw a man reading the Diamond Sutra at the front. He stopped and listened and his mind was illuminated. He asked the man, “Sir, where did you find this sutra?” And the man answered, “I went to pay my respect to Hongren, the old master at the East Mountain Temple in Yellow Plum County and he pre-sented the sutra to me. He has nearly a thousand disciples, including monks and laymen. And he enlightens the people with this sutra, which reveals the true nature of things, so that they may all become Buddhas on the instant.”
     
    [ Silence. Huineng focuses his thoughts and meditates. Exit .

Act I　Scene 2
    In Which the Dharma Is Passed on at East Mountain Temple
     
     
    [ Thuds of pounding rice .
    Enter Hongren. He stops and listens .
    Enter Shenxiu hurriedly. He is good-looking and personable .
     
    Hongren:
    ( Raises his hand .) Instructor Shenxiu.
    Shenxiu:
    Yes, Patriarch. ( Stands in attention at once. Clasps his hands in greeting .) What is your wish?
    Hongren:
    Who is pounding rice down the hall?
    Shenxiu:
    A young layman. His surname is Lu, and he is known as Huineng. I’m not sure if that’s his ordination name. As far as I know he has not been ordained. He’s been here for about eight months now. When he first arrived I brought him here to have an audience with Your Holiness.
    Hongren:
    Yes, I remember him now. He’s the barbarian from the south. As soon as he opened his mouth, he said he wanted nothing but to become a Buddha.
    Shenxiu:
    What arrogance! An out and out savage from the mountains. And he even dared to talk back to Your Holiness.
    Hongren:
    ( Smiles .) He talks as he thinks. Don’t mind him. It’s not his fault. Don’t hold a grudge against him.
    Shenxiu:
    At least he’s honest. Every day he