Free Snow in August by Gao Xingjian Page A

their heads or kneel down on their knees. Only Shenhui remains wooden and motionless .
     
    Huineng:
    Look up, all of you. Take a look at Shenhui. He is young, but he is not affected. What kind of Zen are you people cultivating? For whom are you grieving? Are you worried about me and where I will go after this? If I don’t know where I’ll be going I certainly would not have said goodbye to you. You know why you are crying? Because you don’t know where I’ll be going. You only see life and death, but why can’t you see where there is no life and no death?
    Fahai:
    ( Takes one step forward .)
    Your disciple has one question, but I don’t know if I should ask the Old Master.
    Huineng:
    We can disregard even life and death. Nothing is pro-hibited in the temple of Zen. Let us have it.
    Fahai:
    After the Master is gone…( Looks around .) Who will inherit the robe and the Dharma?
    Huineng:
    What’s the use of holding on to the robe if there is no Dharma ?
    Ever since the beginning, there has never been anything. The kasaya robe, like all things, is extraneous to the self. If someone takes the robe and almsbowl and stirs up trouble, then our order will be destroyed. After I’m gone, there will be heresies that will wreak havoc everywhere. But there will also be people who will be willing to brace slanders, and willing to sacrifice their lives to promote the cause and the teachings of our order.
    Fahai:
    Please forgive my obtuseness. I still have one more question.
    Huineng:
    If the question is straight from the heart, why not?
    Fahai:
    When our master is alive, so is the Dharma. But when our master is gone, how can the people after you see the Buddha?
     
    [ Silence .
     
    Huineng:
    Let the people worry about their own affairs. You will do well to look after your own! I have already said all I wanted to say. I will say no more, except for this one last sentence. Listen well: Seek not the Buddha from outside your own nature; he who does is a big, big fool. Take care of yourselves!
     
    ( He sits up straight, his eyes lowered .)
     
    [ Exit monks in silence .
    The staff by the side of the meditation bed falls. Huineng passes away quietly. Silver bells ring delicately like silk .
    Enter Fahai, tiptoeing. Scenery in the depth of the stage turns white .
     
    Fahai:
    How very strange! Suddenly all the trees and plants on the mountain have turned white, and on such a hot day! Is this really snow in August?
     
    [ The bells ring continuously. The stage turns dark all of a sudden .

    Neige et feu 雪與光　Gao Xingjian　54 × 52 cm　2000

Act III
    In Which Pandemonium Reigns in the Hall of Worship
     
     
    [ Enter Singsong Girl and Writer from both sides downstage. Sound of string music .
     
    Singsong Girl:
    ( Sings .)
    Snow in August,
    What a strange sight—
     
    [ Writer looks up at the sky, holding up his hands as if to catch snowflakes .
     
    Singsong Girl:
    ( Sings )
    Cao Mountain, quiet and serene,
    A shadow cavorts with the clean, crisp wind.
    Writer:
    ( Recites .)
    A woodcutter—
    Singsong Girl:
    ( Sings .)
    Look at the green grassland,
    Seek out your thoughts;
    On snowy mountain tops,
    There is meaning for us to know.
    Writer:
    ( Recites .)
    Teacher of a generation!
    Singsong Girl:
    ( Sings .)
    Even insensate stones think of moving,
    And try to send us a message.
    Writer:
    ( Recites .)
    A lifetime of hardship,
    Singsong Girl:
    ( Sings .)
    The way of Heaven,
    They say it’s enlightenment,
    It’s only a mass of nothingness.
    Writer:
    ( Recites .)
    Nothing but horseplay!
    Singsong Girl:
    ( Plucks the strings, raises her head and sings loudly .)
    Dhya—na! ( Lowers her head to listen .)
     
    [ Exit Writer and Singsong Girl .
    The stage is lit up brightly; enter Zen masters one by one .
    This Master and That Master come forward .
     
    This Master:
    How to become a Buddha?
    That Master:
    This one, that one.
    This Master:
    What do you mean “this one, that one”?
    That Master:
    It’s not this one, and it’s not that