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SHOW ME YOUR EGO-MIND

One of the most famous stories about Bodhidharma is that

the seeker Huike (486-593) patiently stood deep in the snow

outside the old masters cave for several days, yearning for

teachings. He nally hacked off his own left forearm and

presented it as a demonstration of his sincere aspiration for

enlightenment. In response, Bodhidharma told Huike: This

enlightenment is not to be sought through another. Huike

begged to have his agitated self or mind pacied. The sage

retorted, Show me your self and I will pacify it. Huike

said Ive sought it many years but cant get hold of it.

Bodhidharma then declared: There! It is pacied once and

for all! Upon hearing this, Huike was awakened beyond the

ego-self. Huike was later designated the second Patriarch

of a Chan School.

Now we know where Master Hakuin (1768) got his famous

Zen koan: What is the sound of one hand?

DRUNK

Japanese Zen master Oda Sesso (1901-66), abbot of Daitokuji

monastery, warned, There is little to choose between a man

lying in the ditch heavily drunk on liquor, and a man heavily

drunk on his own enlightenment!

GENEROSITY

The Japanese poet, calligrapher and benefactor to the poor,

Master Ryokan (1758-1831), lived austerely and simply in a

little hut below a mountain. One evening a thief visited the

hut only to nd nothing there to steal. So he went off, but

Ryokan caught up with him: You may have come a long

way to visit me, and you should not return empty handed.

Please take my clothes as a gift. The bewildered thief took

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the clothes in disbelieve. Ryokan sat naked, watching the

moon. Poor fellow, he mused, I wish I could give him this

beautiful moon!

PURE NOTHING

Bodhidharma was regarded as the rst Chan Patriarch. He

came from south India to south China around 527 CE and

visited Emperor Liang Wu-di, founder of the Liang dynasty

at Nanjing and became one of Buddhisms greatest all-time

patrons in China.

It is said that Emperor Wu asked Bodhidharma about the

highest meaning of noble Truth, and Bodhidharma replied,

Vast emptiness, there is no noble Truth. Who, then, is

standing before me? I dont know, said Bodhidharma.

The proud Emperor Wu then asked the mysterious Indian sage

how much karmic merit he, the emperor, had accumulated

by building monasteries, ordaining monks, sponsoring

translations and copies of scriptures and making Buddhist art-

images. Bodhidharma was quite blunt: No merit whatever!

And he left the region.

THE WISE MAN

Daoxin (580-651), the 4th Chinese Chan Patriarch said, The

wise man does nothing, while the fool is always tying himself

up.

THE MOON OF ENLIGHTENMENT

Zen masters have often spoken of Enlightenment as like the

moon shining brightly in the dark sky, while the Zen Buddhist

teachings are like a nger pointing up toward the moon. Too

many people, however, instead of gazing at the great moon,

prefer to relentlessly suck on the nger!

BANISHING A GHOST

The wife of a man became very sick. On her deathbed, she

said to him, I love you so much! I dont want to leave you,

and I dont want you to betray me. Promise that you will not

see any other women once I die, or I will come back to haunt

you.

For several months after her death, the husband did avoid

other women, but then he met someone and fell in love. On

the night that they were engaged to be married, the ghost of

his former wife appeared to him. She blamed him for not

keeping the promise, and every night thereafter she returned

to taunt him. The ghost would remind him of everything that

transpired between him and his ancee that day, even to the

point of repeating, word for word, their conversations. It

upset him so badly that he couldnt sleep at all.

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Desperate, he sought the advice of a Zen master who lived

near the village. This is a very clever ghost, the master

said upon hearing the mans story. It is! replied the man.

She remembers every detail of what I say and do. It knows

everything! The master smiled, You should admire such a

ghost, but I will tell you what to do the next time you see it.

That night the ghost returned. The man responded just as the

master had advised. You are such a wise ghost, the man

said, You know that I can hide nothing from you. If you can

answer me one question, I will break off the engagement and

remain single for the rest of my life. Ask your question,

the ghost replied. The man scooped up a handful of beans

from a large bag on the oor, Tell me exactly how many

beans there are in my hand.

At that moment the ghost disappeared and never returned.

Feedback: The ghost comes from the mans own mind. He

created it. It is his own guilt that came back to haunt him.

AN OVERFLOWING CUP OF TEA

In the early 20th century, Zen master Nan-in received a

university professor who came to ask about Zen. But instead

he only talked on and on about his own ideas. Nan-in served

tea. He poured his visitors cup full, and then, while the man

continued to speak, Nan-in kept on pouring the tea. The

professor watched the overow until he could no longer

restrain himself. You fool! It is overfull. No more will go

in! Nan-in replied, Like this cup, you are also too full of

your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you

Zen unless you rst empty your mind?

AUTHENTICITY

An old Zen saying: In matters of religion, most people prefer

chewing the menu to actually eating the food!

EXPERIENCES

A student went to see his meditation teacher and said, My

situation is horrible! I feel so distracted most of the time, or

my legs ache, or Im repeatedly falling asleep. Its terrible.

Said the teacher matter-of-factly, It will pass.

A week later, the student returned to his teacher. My

meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, soalive! The teacher told him, It will pass.

MIND

Chan master Fayan (Fa-yen, 885-958) interrupted an

argument among some monks concerning the relationship

of mind to reality by posing them a question: Over there

is a large boulder. Do you say that it is inside or outside

your mind? One of the monks replied, From the Buddhist

viewpoint everything is an objectication of mind, so that I

would have to say that the stone is inside my mind. Quipped

Fayan, Your head must be very heavy!

HELP

The famous rogue Rinzai Zen Master Ikkyu (d.1481), later

the abbot of Japans Daitokuji monastery, told a visitor: Id

like to offer something to help you. But in the Zen School we

dont have a single thing!

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WHAT IS THE BUDDHA?

Touzi Daitung (914), a mentor to famous Chan master

Zhaozhou, was once asked, What is the Buddha? His

considered response: The Buddha!

When Nanyuan Huiyong (860-930) was likewise asked (its

a very popular question in Chan tradition!), What is the

Buddha? He replied, What is not the Buddha? Another

time his answer was, I never knew him. On a third occasion,

when asked What is the Buddha?Nanyuan replied, Wait

until there is one then Ill tell you.

SELF

Master Xuansha (Hsan-sha, 9th century) was asked by a

monk, What is my self? Hsan-sha retorted, What would

you do with a self? This same Master Xuansha once described

the existential situation: We are here as if immersed in water

head and shoulders underneath the great ocean, and yet how

piteously we are extending our hands for water!

PRACTICE

One of Huinengs supposed successors, Master Nanyue,

came upon young Mazu who had been ardently spending all

his days sitting in meditation at a temple. The master asked

Mazu, What are you doing? Im practicing meditation.

Why? asked the master. Said Mazu, I want to attain

enlightenment; I aim to become a Buddha. Master Nanyue

thereupon picked up a rough tile lying nearby and began to

vigorously rub it against a rock. What are you doing? asked

Mazu. Said the master, I want to make this tile into a mirror.

How is it possible to make a tile into a mirror? asked Mazu.

Retorted Nanyue: How is it possible to become a Buddha by

doing meditation? If you keep the Buddha seated, this is

murdering the Buddha.

Modern-era Soto Zen master Shunryu Suzuki (1904-71)

clarifes: We practice zazen meditation to naturally express

True Nature, not to attain enlightenment. And one of Zen

master Sengais (1751-1837) famous cartoonish Zen paintings

shows a smiling frog sitting on a lily pad, with the caption: If

by seated meditation one becomes a Buddha [Implication:

then all frogs are Buddhas!])

IMPRESSED BY THE MONKS

When Catholic missionary St. Francis Xavier was touring

Japan, he was graciously hosted in 1549 by the extraordinarily

friendly master Ninshitsu of Fukusho-ji Soto Zen monastery,

near Kagoshima. Strolling through the temple grounds

one day, Xavier saw monks meditating in great repose and

dignifed appearance. What are they doing? he askedNinshitsu. The master laughed, Some are calculating

contributions received the past month, others are wondering

how to get better clothing, and still others are thinking of

vacation and pasttimes. In short, no one here is doing anything

of importance!

~~~~ End ~~~~

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