Chan Master Dazhu Huihai, a prominent Tang Dynasty monk, was ordained under Master Daozhi at Dayun Temple in Yuezhou. After reading Huihai’s writing (The Essential Gateway to Truth by Sudden Awakening), Master Mazu Daoyi praised him as “Great Pearl” — a Buddhist symbol of awakening and wisdom — hence later generations also referred to him as “Great Pearl Monk” or “Dazhu Huihai.”
Once, during his travels for spiritual consultation, Huihai visited Mazu.
Mazu: “Where do you come from?”
Huihai: “Yuezhou.”
Mazu: “Why have you come?”
Huihai: “To seek the Dharma.”
Mazu: “I have nothing here. What Dharma is there to seek? You ignore your own treasure yet wander abroad searching wildly!”
Huihai: “What is my own treasure?”
Mazu: “What is questioning me now — that is your treasure. It is complete in itself, lacking nothing. Why seek externally?”
At these words, Dazhu Huihai experienced instant enlightenment.
Cultural & Philosophical Notes
“Your Own Treasure”:
Mazu points to Huihai’s questioning mind as the ultimate “treasure”—Buddha-nature inherent in all beings. Zen teaches that enlightenment (bodhi) is not acquired but recognized within.
The Poverty of Seeking:
Seeking externally is delusion. Mazu’s declaration “I have nothing here” dismantles Huihai’s dualistic quest. External pursuit implies lack, yet Chan asserts nothing is lacking. True Dharma is not an object but the seeker’s awakened awareness.
The Question as Answer(Non-duality of Seeker and Sought):
When Mazu says “What is questioning me now is your treasure,” he reveals that doubt itself is the gateway to wisdom. Huihai’s earnest inquiry embodies the “great doubt” that catalyzes awakening. In the end, what is sought is none other than the very consciousness that seeks.
Immediacy of Awakening:
Huihai’s instant enlightenment illustrates Chan’s rejection of gradual cultivation. Like a pearl unearthed from mud, intrinsic wisdom shines when conceptual seeking ceases.
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