Hanzi

The idiom "一尘不染" (yī chén bù rǎn), meaning "spotless" or "pure and unsullied", originates from a famous Zen Buddhist story during the Tang Dynasty, involving the Fifth Patriarch Hongren and his disciples, Shenxiu and Huineng.

Hongren, seeking a successor, instructed his five hundred disciples to compose a gatha (Buddhist verse) to demonstrate their understanding of the Dharma. Shenxiu, his most senior and highly regarded disciple, wrote on a corridor wall: "The body is the Bodhi tree, the mind is like a clear mirror stand. Constantly wipe it diligently, lest it gather dust." This gatha suggested that one must continuously cultivate their mind to keep it free from defilements. Hongren praised it publicly.

However, Huineng, an illiterate kitchen worker, heard Shenxiu's gatha and felt it didn't reach the highest enlightenment. He asked another monk to write his own gatha next to Shenxiu's: "Bodhi is fundamentally not a tree, nor is the bright mirror a stand. Since originally there is nothing, where can dust alight?" Huineng's verse expressed a profound understanding of emptiness (sunyata) and non-attachment, implying that ultimate reality is inherently pure and undefiled, so there's no 'dust' to accumulate and no 'mirror' to wipe.

Upon seeing Huineng's gatha, Hongren understood its deep meaning. To protect Huineng from jealousy and ensure the peaceful transmission of the Dharma, he publicly dismissed it as nonsensical but secretly summoned Huineng at midnight. He then privately taught Huineng the Diamond Sutra and passed on the robe and bowl, designating him as the Sixth Patriarch.

Huineng later became the founder of the Southern School of Zen, which emphasized sudden enlightenment and eventually became the dominant form of Zen Buddhism in China. The concept of "一尘不染" reflects the pure, unblemished state of mind and character advocated by Huineng's enlightenment, free from any worldly dust or defilement.