Case 68 never ends, and so we trot to Case 69, Nansen's Cats and Cows ...
I have a bad head cold today, one which makes complex thinking hard and the world much reduced. Perhaps the perfect state for this Koan. There is actually some disagreement among old commentators on the meaning, as Shishin hints. However, I will take my illness as an excuse to just quote Yamada Roshi on this. I think he is about right.
and
What a strange Practice this is in which calling "Buddha" limits Buddha, "not knowing" is truly knowing, "fools" are wise, while those with smart heads are fools ...
Now I am back to bad, cough cough sneeze sneeze.
Yuriko the Cat in my lap is not sure about this Koan.
Gassho, J
SatToday in bed.
I have a bad head cold today, one which makes complex thinking hard and the world much reduced. Perhaps the perfect state for this Koan. There is actually some disagreement among old commentators on the meaning, as Shishin hints. However, I will take my illness as an excuse to just quote Yamada Roshi on this. I think he is about right.
Becoming a buddha, becoming a patriarch:
This is nothing but wearing dirty names and is therefore to be abhorred; If you ask whom this is referring to, it means the person known in the Shôdôka as the “leisurely person of the Tao, who has exhausted study and is without doing.” This is the state of consciousness of a
person who has exhausted all practice and reached a state of perfect peace of mind. To speak in
terms of becoming a Buddha or becoming a patriarch is just to use dirty names. Why is the
name Buddha dirty? Why is the name patriarch dirty? Because words like Buddha or patriarch
are all concepts. It is not there is actually anything like Buddha. It is just when there are no
more concepts in your head that we give it the name Buddha.
... [Thus some old Masters write poems such as] “What is Buddha?
Fools have started saying it, and people are deluded by something without a name” ...
“When I hear someone asking what Buddha is, I feel like my ears have been
dirtied” ...
Therefore, the true light does not radiate, great wisdom is like stupidity. The true
light is not glittery or shiny. All that glitters is not the real thing; it is like chrome. The true
light is not at all glittery. You may not realize that each one of you is shining with a wonderful
light, but actually you are that light itself. The true light is empty. Each person transcends any
talk of enlightened or not enlightened. That is your true self.
And “great wisdom is like stupidity.” The truly wise person seems to be a fool. The one who
looks very smart is actually not very smart.This is a little frightening, since you don’t know
when you are going to meet up with a truly outstanding person. Who knows! Among persons
who look like country grandpas, there might be truly outstanding individuals. Among the ones
wearing gorgeous robes you’re unlikely to find anyone worthwhile.
...
Moreover, there is someone who thinks it is convenient to be deaf,
And pretends not to know any arts. This is saying that the most precious thing is to be
deaf. It doesn’t mean truly deaf, but making believe one is deaf. The one who “pretends not to
know any arts” is the one who plays the fool. ... This means playing the fool. You might
think he’s a fool, but actually he knows everything. There is one who, although he knows
everything, makes believe he is a fool.
This is nothing but wearing dirty names and is therefore to be abhorred; If you ask whom this is referring to, it means the person known in the Shôdôka as the “leisurely person of the Tao, who has exhausted study and is without doing.” This is the state of consciousness of a
person who has exhausted all practice and reached a state of perfect peace of mind. To speak in
terms of becoming a Buddha or becoming a patriarch is just to use dirty names. Why is the
name Buddha dirty? Why is the name patriarch dirty? Because words like Buddha or patriarch
are all concepts. It is not there is actually anything like Buddha. It is just when there are no
more concepts in your head that we give it the name Buddha.
... [Thus some old Masters write poems such as] “What is Buddha?
Fools have started saying it, and people are deluded by something without a name” ...
“When I hear someone asking what Buddha is, I feel like my ears have been
dirtied” ...
Therefore, the true light does not radiate, great wisdom is like stupidity. The true
light is not glittery or shiny. All that glitters is not the real thing; it is like chrome. The true
light is not at all glittery. You may not realize that each one of you is shining with a wonderful
light, but actually you are that light itself. The true light is empty. Each person transcends any
talk of enlightened or not enlightened. That is your true self.
And “great wisdom is like stupidity.” The truly wise person seems to be a fool. The one who
looks very smart is actually not very smart.This is a little frightening, since you don’t know
when you are going to meet up with a truly outstanding person. Who knows! Among persons
who look like country grandpas, there might be truly outstanding individuals. Among the ones
wearing gorgeous robes you’re unlikely to find anyone worthwhile.
...
Moreover, there is someone who thinks it is convenient to be deaf,
And pretends not to know any arts. This is saying that the most precious thing is to be
deaf. It doesn’t mean truly deaf, but making believe one is deaf. The one who “pretends not to
know any arts” is the one who plays the fool. ... This means playing the fool. You might
think he’s a fool, but actually he knows everything. There is one who, although he knows
everything, makes believe he is a fool.
Nansen instructed the assembly and said, “All the buddhas of the three worlds do
not know that there is. Only the cats and oxen know that there is.” The “Buddhas of
the three worlds” means the Buddhas of past, present and future....
So, it would mean, “the Buddhas of the three worlds do not know that
there is that.” What is that? It means the essential world, or enlightenment or kensho or
Buddhism. It could also mean Mu or the sound of one hand. The Buddhas of the three worlds
know nothing of such things. The Buddhas of the three worlds know nothing at all about such
great matters. ...
As long as there is something like “essential
nature” in your head, it is still not the genuine article. If you have truly become one with it, you
are not aware of it in the least. As long as there is an awareness of something like “essential
nature” it is not yet the real thing. To be sure, you must realize some time the essential world.
But then you must gradually sweep away all traces of it so that any traces of enlightenment
disappear. It’s a matter of extinguishing the light. Any consciousness of enlightenment or
something special must disappear. Yôka Daishi in his Shôdôka (Song of Realizing the Way)
refers to this as the “leisurely person of the Way, who has exhausted learning and has nothing
to do” (Japanese: zetsugaku mui no kandônin). There is nothing more to learn. But when you
have “nothing to do” (mui, Chinese: wu-wei), it doesn’t mean you just sit around idly. On the
contrary, you devote yourself fully to the task of saving others.
... “Only the cats and oxen know that there is.” ... What does this mean? It means people who stuff
their heads with concepts such as Zen Buddhism and attempt to understand things
intellectually. Such persons are referred to as “cats and oxen.” He is saying that such concerns
are the domain of ordinary, unenlightened persons (bonpu), that it’s such persons who know
about such matters.
... The Buddhas of the three worlds do not know anything at all about such matters
as “All beings in essence have true dharma nature, are originally a body of Buddha nature.”
Those who know about such things are fakes. It is those who have stuffed their heads with
intellectual Buddhism who know about such things. The Buddhas of the three worlds know
nothing about such things as original dharma nature, Buddha-nature or the natural
self-nature body.
not know that there is. Only the cats and oxen know that there is.” The “Buddhas of
the three worlds” means the Buddhas of past, present and future....
So, it would mean, “the Buddhas of the three worlds do not know that
there is that.” What is that? It means the essential world, or enlightenment or kensho or
Buddhism. It could also mean Mu or the sound of one hand. The Buddhas of the three worlds
know nothing of such things. The Buddhas of the three worlds know nothing at all about such
great matters. ...
As long as there is something like “essential
nature” in your head, it is still not the genuine article. If you have truly become one with it, you
are not aware of it in the least. As long as there is an awareness of something like “essential
nature” it is not yet the real thing. To be sure, you must realize some time the essential world.
But then you must gradually sweep away all traces of it so that any traces of enlightenment
disappear. It’s a matter of extinguishing the light. Any consciousness of enlightenment or
something special must disappear. Yôka Daishi in his Shôdôka (Song of Realizing the Way)
refers to this as the “leisurely person of the Way, who has exhausted learning and has nothing
to do” (Japanese: zetsugaku mui no kandônin). There is nothing more to learn. But when you
have “nothing to do” (mui, Chinese: wu-wei), it doesn’t mean you just sit around idly. On the
contrary, you devote yourself fully to the task of saving others.
... “Only the cats and oxen know that there is.” ... What does this mean? It means people who stuff
their heads with concepts such as Zen Buddhism and attempt to understand things
intellectually. Such persons are referred to as “cats and oxen.” He is saying that such concerns
are the domain of ordinary, unenlightened persons (bonpu), that it’s such persons who know
about such matters.
... The Buddhas of the three worlds do not know anything at all about such matters
as “All beings in essence have true dharma nature, are originally a body of Buddha nature.”
Those who know about such things are fakes. It is those who have stuffed their heads with
intellectual Buddhism who know about such things. The Buddhas of the three worlds know
nothing about such things as original dharma nature, Buddha-nature or the natural
self-nature body.
On the Verse:
Limping with paralyzed hands,
Ragged with dirty hair;
Good for nothing, not capable of even one thing. These first lines would seem to
indicate a person who is a pathetic sight. It expresses an ugly and strange appearance. If we
were suddenly to see such a person, we would no doubt think it strange. And then the verse
says this person is “good for nothing, not capable of even one thing.” Such a person would never
be hired by a company. A person who can do anything is rare indeed; equally rare, however, is a
person who can’t do a single thing! But if you think him a fool, it’s not the case.
http://www.sanbo-zen.org/shoyoroku_69.pdf
Limping with paralyzed hands,
Ragged with dirty hair;
Good for nothing, not capable of even one thing. These first lines would seem to
indicate a person who is a pathetic sight. It expresses an ugly and strange appearance. If we
were suddenly to see such a person, we would no doubt think it strange. And then the verse
says this person is “good for nothing, not capable of even one thing.” Such a person would never
be hired by a company. A person who can do anything is rare indeed; equally rare, however, is a
person who can’t do a single thing! But if you think him a fool, it’s not the case.
http://www.sanbo-zen.org/shoyoroku_69.pdf
What a strange Practice this is in which calling "Buddha" limits Buddha, "not knowing" is truly knowing, "fools" are wise, while those with smart heads are fools ...
Now I am back to bad, cough cough sneeze sneeze.
Yuriko the Cat in my lap is not sure about this Koan.
Gassho, J
SatToday in bed.
for positive poetry 優婆塞 台 婆
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