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    Hongren:
    Did you write this gatha?
    Shenxiu:
    ( Steps forward and bows .)
    Please forgive the mistake your disciple has committed. I know that it is improper of me to seek the patriarchate. My only hope is for Your Holiness to bestow on me great mercy and pity, and to judge how much wisdom there is in me, and whether I have acquired a general under-standing of the Dharma .
    Hongren:
    You haven’t entered the room. You have just reached the door.
    Shenxiu:
    Your humble disciple lacks intelligence. He awaits the master’s elucidation.
    Hongren:
    At ease. If you want to obtain the ultimate enlightenment, you have to look for it in your self-nature
    Shenxiu:
    How does one look for self-nature? Your humble disciple does not understand.
    Hongren:
    Strive to purify your mind, then write another gatha and let me see it! If you show that you are capable of entering the room through the door, then I will pass the robe and the Dharma truth onto you. (Exit.)
     
    [ Shenxiu watches the back of Hongren as he exits. Exit Shenxiu .
    Sound of pounding rice. At the back of the stage, Huineng is treading on the wooden lever of the rice-pounding machine, his feet going up and down. A big stone is tied to his waist .
    Enter Novice Monk .
     
    Novice:
    ( Recites as if singing .)
    The body is a Bodhi tree,
    The mind a mirror bright…
    Huineng:
    ( Stops treading .)
    Novice, what are you singing?
    Novice:
    The Patriarch told us to sing the gatha Instructor Shenxiu had written on the wall in the great hall. He also told us to study it. ( Exit .)
     
    [ Faint chanting is heard off stage. Lento: “Always wipe it clean, And let no dust alight …”
    Huineng unties the stone on his waist and looks for where the chanting is coming from. Exit .
    Chanting stops .
    Sound of wooden fish. Allegretto. Enter Lu Zhen carrying his painting supplies. He is walking hurriedly .
    Enter Huineng from the other side .)
    Huineng:
    Mr. Painter…
    Lu:
    ( Surprised .) Oh!
    Huineng:
    What kind of sutra is written on this wall?
    Lu:
    The characters are like black earthworms. They’re just a scrawl, totally devoid of energy or discipline. Nothing worth mentioning!
    Huineng:
    May I trouble Mr. Painter to write a few words for this unworthy servant?
    Lu:
    Do you prefer vermilion or emerald?
    Huineng:
    The wall is white, so I guess black will do. As long as people can read the words clearly.
    Lu:
    There are five shades of black, which can also be dark or light, or glossy or matte.
    Huineng:
    Please do as you see fit.
    Lu:
    Do you want me to write in seal script, official script, running script, cursive script, or regular script?
    Huineng:
    Anything is fine as long as the words are neat and tidy.
    Lu:
    Then speak slowly. Master Painter Lu Zhen at your service. ( Tucks in his sleeve and takes out his ink and brush .)
    Huineng:
    The Bodhi is not a tree,
    Nor the mind a mirror bright;
    Buddha nature is always pure,
    Where can any dust alight?
    Lu:
    ( Wields his brush and writes quickly .)
    There, there, now it’s done.
    ( Exit Huineng quietly .)
    Lu:
    ( Looks left and right in admiration .)
    What insight! Excellent! What a wonderful gatha !
     
    [ Lu turns and finds Huineng gone, puts away his painting supplies into a knapsack, which he carries on his back, and exits .
    Sound of rice pounding. The stage turns dark. Huineng is seen treading on the lever of the rice-pounding machine. The wind starts to blow .
    Enter Hongren carrying a lantern, hobbling along. He raises the lantern to read the writing on the wall, and then he blows out the light .
    The wind blows hard. Huineng stops working and unties the stone at his waist .
     
    Huiming:
    ( Looks into the dark .) Who is it?
    Hongren:
    It’s me, your Patriarch.
    Huineng:
    Has the master not retired yet?
    Hongren:
    There’s something on my mind that I can’t let go.
    Huineng:
    Can it ever be let go?
    Hongren:
    ( Hits mortar thrice with the lantern rod .)
    The rice, have you finished pounding it yet?
    ( Huineng fills a