I- Thus have I heard
On one occasion, the World Honoured One was staying in Rajagriha on the Vulture Peak, with a large following of monks and a great crowd of bodhisattvas. It was getting late, and at that moment, although it was dusk, the Blessed One was being concentrated on that part of the dharmas which is called Profound Enlightenment, which made him glimmer softly in the semi-darkness.
II- At that moment too, the noble Lord Manjushrì, the Bodhisattva and Mahasattva, from his practice of the Profound Perfection of Wisdom gave a glance ; he saw that the five 100w light bulbs in their proper self were emptiness. Then, through the Buddha’s inspiration, the Venerable Bodhideva asked to the Noble Lord Manjushrì, the Bodhisattva and Mahasattva, «How many good sons and daughters would it take to change a light bulb?» And the Noble Lord Manjushrì, the Bodhisattva and Mahasattva, answered the Venerable Bodhideva thus:
«Bodhideva, any good son or daughter who would wish to engage in the practice of the changing of a light bulb ought to conceive things as follows: he (or she) ought to see that the light bulb in their proper self are emptiness.
III- In truth, the lightbulb is devoid of inherent existence, there is no changing of the lightbulb, and no-one who changes it, yet through inaction, nothing remains undone. The lightbulb does not intend to shine, nor does the Changer of the Bulb intend to change it.
Bodhideva, to have the goal of changing the bulb ensures that one will never achieve it. Only by non-intention can the goal, which is a non-goal, be achieved. Yet nothing whatsoever is achieved; this is why it is called Supreme Achievement. It is only this: to unscrew one bulb and screw in another. How ordinary! How miraculous! The lightbulb was never extinguished. You are already in a state of light, and have only to realise it —
IV- «It is thus, Bodhideva, that a Bodhisattva and Mahasattva trains for the Profound Perfection of Wisdom.»
Then, the World Honoured One, rose from his concentration and beamed on everyone the beam of his asankhya of watts, and, praising the Noble Lord Manjhusrì, the Bodhisattva and Mahasattva, he said: «Excellent! Excellent! Well said, well said, O good son! It is truly thus that light bulbs ought to be changed! So it is, O good son, so it is.It is precisely as you have taught that the light bulb should be changed, and all the Thus Come Ones shall rejoice in it».
Then, the Venerable Bodhideva, the Noble Lord Manjhusrì, the Bodhisattva and Mahasattva, and all the beings that were present, including the gods, the human beings, the titans and the gandharvas were delighted and applauded the World Honoured One’s words.
Source : http://zenmontpellier.site.voila.fr/
