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Comments on the Mu-Mon-kan
1.
Joshu's* Dog
Summary: "MU" (negative) he answered to whether even a dog has a Buddha
nature.
Does a dog have a Buddha-nature?! What a silly fellow! Joshu was very grandmotherly not to give him thirty whacks. He should express his concerne for his own
nature. Doesn't he know the sutras tell us that to achieve satori is to save all sentient beings? Why not go directly to the ultimate? Save the dog by saving himself.
Otherwise, why stop with the dog;
why not ask if each and everyone of the ten-thousand things, one after the other, has a Buddha-nature? What a waste of time,
like a general who plays chess while his army is being de feated. Idle fellow! But old Joshu stopped you in your tracks! What do you do with his MU? Turn it
every-which-way, it offers no way out.
*Chinese: ZHAO Zhou, Great
Zen Master (778-897) and Abbot of my Monastery, Bai Lin, Hebei, China.
2. Hyakujo's Fox
Summary: A Zen master had been reborn as a fox because he taught that a Buddha is not subject to his karma. Hyakujo liberated him by correcting that a
Buddha was united with it. The disciple Obaku asked what if Zen masters always gave the right answer. Then avoided a slap by giving one.
Whether the enlightened man is subject to karma is an important philosophical question. If so, what's the use of enlightenment? If not, then the law of causation is
not universal. The Buddha taught that philosophy is not the way (Tao) since it inevitably leads to such contradictions. Hyakujo's solution was ingenious and correct.
It demonstrated that an enlightened man can perform philosophical manipulation, but it was not Zen. By solving his dilemma philosophically, he encouraged the
"fox"'s reliance on such means which will lead him to new contradictions. Thus Obaku's rejection was correct. Nevertheless the "fox" was enlightened. Hyakujo was
lucky. Five hundred times a "fox" had so well prepared the soil that the defects of the seed couldn't prevent the germination. What he should have said was: "The
enlightened man is one with the law of causation."
3. Gutei's Finger
Summary: A young disciple had imitated him by holding up a finger, as the master did to indicate the unity of all; so Gutei cut it off. The boy cried and ran, but
the master called, and when the boy looked back he held one finger, enlighting his disciple.
The boy lost a finger but found enlightenment. He bought pure gold at the price of brass. Still, Gutei shouldn't be selling what he got for nothing! A worthy disciple
must surpass his master, but Gutei couldn't exhaust his master's "finger-Zen". Zen is inexhaustible, but a finger is not. Gutei saved the boy, but he could have done
so by cutting off his own attachment to finger-Zen.
4. A Beardless Foreigner
Summary: Wakuan, on seeing a picture of (bearded) Bodhidharma, asked why he had no beard?
Why doesn't the bearded fellow have a beard? Wakuan's question will send him to a mirror. Perhaps he will see his beard for the first time. One glimpse of reality,
revels all reality. The Buddha touched the ground; Bodhidharma his beard? Understand their gesture and you will understand everything.
5. Kyogen Mounts the Tree
Summary: Kyogen likened Zen to handing by his teeth from a cliff. Someone asks him why Bodhidharma came to China. Not to answer is a failure, but to
answer is mortal. What to do?
What to do? Words are fatal, silence is failure. If Bodhidharma hadn't come to China, what would Zen students ask? When you can't speak, but you must respond,
you can penetrate directly to the heart of the matter. Neither speaking, nor acting, but being. Far beyond questions of coming and going, things are as they are.
6. Buddha Twirls a Flower
Summary: The Buddha twirled a flower, but only Kashapa understood. The Buddha said the true essence of Dharma is beyond words and thus He transmitted it.
Twirling a flower, poetic but no different than farting. How to transmit the teaching; everything depends on the student. If Kashapa had not smiled what then? Since
he tried not to smile (but failed) has he really understood? If it's "not expressed by words", why did the Buddha speak? In an instant, outside the sutras, outside
time, the teaching is transmitted. This time by a flower, another time by another thing, illusion is shattered and reality attained. Then nothing can surpass the
attainer.
7. Joshu Washes the Bowl
Summary: When a disciple asked to be taught, the master asked if he had finished his rice. When the response was affirmative he told him to wash his bowl.
All these Zen students looking for their eye-glasses on their nose, or their hat on their head. It's like asking a stranger the way to your house. Did the monk take
the bell (pointing to the doctrine) for a pitcher (from which to drink)? The teaching is not something to be retained, but like soap to clean your bowl (head). With an
empty head, all circumstances turn to Zen.
N.B. This was my Koan. You must
constantly clean your bowl (head) so that your rice (thoughts) leave no trace.
Thus obtaining the non-dwelling mind; your buddha-nature.
8. Keichu's Wheel
Summary: The first wheels were of fifty spokes. If you removed the hub, would it still be a wheel? Would one who did so be called a master wheel-maker?
Is a hubless wheel a wheel? The central question around which all else turns is the discovery of the true nature of things. Without the hub the wheel cannot
function. Without the discovery of your true nature enlightenment cannot be achieved. True nature is the central question; it is immediately accessible yet most
look for it at the periphery. The dead center is stationary while rotation is faster and faster nearing the rim. Yet most chase the rim rather than face the center
within. All creation is in tumult, yet the void cannot be affected. Instead of chasing the rabbit all over the field the hunter should grab the one sitting on his head.
9. A Buddha before History
Summary: Asked why a Buddha, despite long meditation, could not fathom the highest truth, "He was not a Buddha" was the reply.
Meditating Buddha who do not achieve Buddhahood, what nonsense! When a Buddha is not a Buddha, what is he? If he has realized his true nature he is a
Buddha; what neeed is there then for understanding? A little learning may bring great enlightenment but great learning brings no enlightenment. Once free, facts
serve you, otherwise you will loose your way among them. What more can praise add or blame subtract?
10. Seizei Alone and Poor
Summary: A disciple asked for support. You have drunk the best wine (Zen) yet say you haven't wet your lips, was the reply.
If Seizei has no staff, it should be taken away; if he has one, he should receive another. Seizei has a staff (the best in China), but pretends otherwise, to test Sozan,
who "gave him another" (by calling attention to the one he had.) Yet Sozan's trap ("Seizei?" repeated three times) failed; parried by "Yes, sir" repeated three times,
which demonstrated Seizei had drunk the wine of Zen. Seizei's pretended poverty does indeed "rival the wealthiest." Well asked, well answered; well come, well
gone.
11. Joshu Examines a Monk in Meditation
Summary: "What is, is what?" he demanded of a mediating monk who raised a fist. Disapproving, he left. Later the same question received the same answer,
this time he approved.
Joshu invited the monk to enter the illusory world of the ten-thousand changing things. but he twirled the flower (fist) instead. Joshu's disdain was a time-bomb to
undermine (and test) the monks determination (and understanding); but without effect, therefore meriting a compliment and a bow. Whether the monk passed a
test, or Joshu learned a lesson, or both; is best answered with a raised fist. Comet, lightning and swords all broken on the flower fist.
12. Zuigan Calls His Own Master
Summary: Everyday he calls to himself: "Master" and answers: "Yes, sir." Adding: "Be serious" and answering the same. Finally: "Don't be fooled by others";
same response.
How many masks did Zuigan wear? Only two? The he merits being his own master. By raising mask wearing to the objective level, he unmasked everyone. To look
behind the mask is to see your original face. To see your original face is to be liberated from the mask of ego-soul. Zuigan daily reminded himself that he was free to
wear or remove the mask.
13. Tokusan Holds His Bowl
Summary: Holding his bowl he went to the dining hall. The cook said the drum has not sounded, so he left. Hearing this, another master, Ganto said:
"Tokusan hasn't yet understood." When Tokusan heard this he changed his lecture style. The critic was delighted.
Tokusan had been right, but was not perceived to be right; therefore, in his grandmotherly kindness he restated his case. Did Ganto fail to understand, or was he
intervening on behalf of others? If the latter, he finished in real showmanship style. After all if he understood and appreciated the second demonstration, why not
the first? In China perhaps none surpassed Tokusan, but many surpassed Ganto.
14. Nansen Cuts the Cat in Two
Summary: He told monks fighting over a cat: "A good word will save the cat." Since no one answered, he cut it in two. When another master heard of it he put
his sandals on his head. If he had been present he would have saved it.
Lost in the world of the ten-thousand things, Nansen tried to save them. Instead they passed from one nonsense to another, taking it all seriously and leaving no
way out for the cat. Like playing children, interrupted by the order: "Play"; suddenly they didn't know what to do. But Joshu did; he would have saved the cat and
them! Lost in their game, they were lost in the world; but Nansen was at home in the world and therefore, at home in the
game.
15. Tozan's Three Blows
Summary: When asked where he came from, in what temple he had stayed, and when he had left; he answered simply. The master forgave him three blows.
"For what am I forgiven?" "You only know how to go from temple to temple." He was enlightened.
If Ummon doesn't want factual answers he shouldn't ask factual questions. How can he object to such ordinariness? Still Tozan answers hid a lack of understanding
(did Ummon suspect it?), but the waiver of the three blows smoked him out. He proved himself worthy of the rebuke and earned another with his next question.
When a hunter walks through the grass, only the wisest rabbit knows he won't get stepped on. Tozan may be a good for nothing wanderer; yet what else is there to
do, awaiting Ummon's saving words. Did he deserve the three blows? Only because he didn't know he didn't. Because he couldn't wade the stream, he was dumped
in the ocean.
16. Bells and Robes
Summary: Ummon asked: "In this vast world why answer to bells, or wear ceremonial robes?"
And why do you ask such questions? Since the world is so wide why isn't there place for bells and robes? One need not follow sound or color; nor avoid them. No way
of attaining insight is to be neglected. True Zen, real Zen; everyday life, monastic life, the master's prattling on like a silly housewife. The adept student turns all to
Zen. Such an adept would give him thirty wracks!
17. The Three Calls of the Emperor's Teacher
Summary: When called: "Oshin" three times, he answered three time "Yes." His master added: "I should apologize, but really it's you who should."
A brilliant attendant merited better. Still, forced feeding is better than not feeding him at all. Why should Oshin play music to the music's composer? Why should
anyone apologize, since a good time was had by all? Doubly, or singly in trouble, the trouble is to be in trouble. A truly empty-headed generation, what a propitious
event. Nothing in the cart, nothing to unload. Half the work has already been done!
18. Tozan's Three Pounds
Summary: While weighing grain he was asked: "What is Buddha?" He answered: "This weighs three pounds."
Perhaps, but how much does the monk's weighty question weight? Tozan's a roshi yet he answers like a flax merchant. Knowing monks ask such questions why does
he hang around the monastery? All this weighting, questioning and answering, what does it all mean? Having nothing to give, Tozan gave it all; in a flash of
lightning, with a clap of thunder the splendidly jeweled sword transpierced heaven and earth. Did the monk participate or only observe? Better to have dumped the
flax in his lap!
19. Everyday Life Is the Path
Summary: He proposed everyday life as the "Tao". But attempts to study it distance you. Without study how is it known? Neither perceived nor not perceived.
Place yourself in the same vastness as the sky. Neither good nor bad.
The sky's freedom is to cut the cat in two. Nansen takes a great deal on himself and merits it all! Everyday life cannot be studied, only lived. It is the path because
outside everyday life there's nothing. The Buddha land is right here and the Buddha time is now. Freedom is the sky being what it is, you being what you are; no
place for good or bad. Nansen is above comparisons, but so is Joshu; does Joshu understand? If questions of understanding don't hang in his head, Joshu is as great
as Nansen!
20. The Enlightened Man
Summary: Why doesn't the enlighted man stand up and declare himself? It's not necessary to speak with the tongue.
Why not indeed! Still words need not to come from the tongue. Why does the unenlightened man not stand on his feet and understand? The one depends on the
other. It takes two to do more than tango. You can explain swimming in the smallest detail, but no real learning starts before the student enters the water. Zen is
all practice and no theory. In fire gold melts and moves, proves its value. In action the student proves his merit. For such a man any season, any place is the right
one.
21. Dried Dung
Summary: Asked: "What is Buddha?". Answered: "Dried Dung".
Missed seeing? Mumon has indeed! As for the taste, can Mumon himself verify that fact? Mumon had nothing to say, but he said it anyway. It would have seemed a
better comment if it had been unreadable. It is, on the contrary, extremely useful, as a perfect example of a completely useless commentary! In the final analysis
Mumon's Dung was drier than Ummon's!
22. Kashapa's Preaching Sign
Summary: Ananda asked: "You received the robe of succession. What else did you receive?" Answer: "Ananda." Who answered: "Yes, brother." Kashapa: "Now
you can teach in my place."
Like a tiger, Kashapa sprang on this everyday question, turning it to Zen. But the questioner was also tiger fast, his answer resumed all the teachings in two words.
When brother tigers prowl, what prey can escape them? Touching the earth, Ananda found a place for planting his preaching sign. All students of the Tao must pass
these brother tigers, only understanding will save their hides. The student asks his master who answers. But in responding Ananda became the master. If you
understand this you have earned your place in the brotherhood!
23. Do Not Think Good, Do Not Think Not-Good
Summary: The Sixth Patriarch received the robe and bowl of transmission. A jealous monk tried to steal them. The Patriarch offered them, saying they were
only symbols, the monk was overcome with shame and asked to be taught. "When not thinking of good or not-good where is your true nature?" The monk bowed
and, thanking him, and asked if there was a more subtle teaching. "Beyond your true nature, the whole secret is yours." The monk was enlightened.
The Sixth Patriarch merits the bowl and robe and proves it by offering to give them away. But, more important than those precious objects, were his gift of the true
teaching. Once the mind is free of good and not-good, the true self appears like the full moon raising out of the clouds. This teaching is accessible to, and may be
appreciated by everyone. Beyond description it is that which describes. Beyond understanding it is that which understands. Right there before you, it cannot be
concealed; yet it must be tracked incessantly to be discovered. Until it is found no other project merits precedence.
24. Without Words, Without Silence
Summary: Fuketsu was asked: "How can the true be expressed by neither words nor silence?" "I always remember springtime in southern China. The birds
singing among the flowers."
Without words, without silence, one cannot avoid expressing the true. As far as springtime in southern China is concerned, it would be better to remember how to
express the truth. Fuketsu's lightning Zen was short-circuited by imitation. He should have pointed directly to reality. Had he chattered on, would his listeners'
embarrassment have come from the answer or the question? I always remember springtime in southern Switzerland. The snow sparkles among innumerable
mountains.
25. Preaching from the Third Seat
Summary: Kyozan dreamed he was in the Third Seat of Maitreya's abode, from which he preached: "Mahayana truth is beyond words and thought. Do you
understand?"
He did not. If he had followed the Buddha's example, he would have discovered that there was no ground beneath the Third Seat. It is just as groundless to maintain
he preached to other than himself. Further, if his teaching was right, truth is above the words and thought of which dreams are made. Still, truth is also above the
words and thoughts, debating if he had taught or not. To debate the question is to follow Kyozan into the trap of dreams and illusions, to commit the one hundred
and eight sins. Lost in a dream, he remains lost on awakening and leads the others astray. A lost guide is no guide at all.
26. Two Monks Roll Up the Screen
Summary: Hogen, noticing the screen was still lowered after meditation, and pointed to it. Two monks rose and raised it. He commentated: "The first is right,
not the second."
If only one monk was necessary, the second was "carried away"; he was dominated by, rather than dominating the circumstances. But Hogen's comment drew a
distinction between good and not- good, raising questions of gain or loss. This was Hogen's failure, which Mumon's comment comes dangerously close to repeating.
In any case I am not discussing gain and loss. The great sky is Zen, but Hogen's comment pointed away from it. It would be better to forget and retire.
27. It Is Not Mind, It Is Not Buddha, It Is Not Things
Summary: "Does a teaching exist which has never been taught?" Nansen answering in the affirmative explained: "Not the mind, not the Buddha, not things."
Nor it is words. In fact the one true teaching has never been preached for that reason. What is it? Nansen couldn't tell us, yet he could have pointed the way. He
may have given away his treasure-words, but he couldn't loose his treasure. The treasure of the true teaching is infinitely divisible; even better, the more you give,
the more you have. How to give it? Words have no power to open another's mind. Not by words, but by directly pointing to reality, is the Tao revealed.
28. Blow Out the Candle
Summary: A student asked many questions, when leaving after dark, his master offered a lighted candle. As he took it the master blew it out, enlightening the
student, who declared: "I will no longer doubt my teacher's words." Later the master praised the student who then burned all his notes, saying: "No matter how
subtle learning may be, it is nothing before enlightenment, it is like a drop of water compared to the ocean."
Despite all his studies Tokusan couldn't answer the question. Study is not the way, nor the way to it. All the words about retiring, darkness and the night meant
nothing, the candle was either lit, or it wasn't. Tokusan attained that understanding directly and could mount the highest peak, no longer burdened by the
knowledge of the world. Now he knew what mind to use and thus demonstrated the teaching. Perhaps the master's was an
unnecessary comedy, but Tokusan's seeing surpassed a hundred candles lighting the way. He had left the world of comparisons behind.
29. Not the Wind, Not the Flag
Summary: Two monks argued about a flag. One said the flag was moving, the other the wind. The Sixth Patriarch commented: "Not the flag, not the wind; mind
is moving."
The flag and the wind are moving; what does the Sixth Patriarch mean; only mind is moving? His "moving" means to separate from true nature. Neither the flag, nor
the wind had separated from their true nature. But the mind used by the two monks was far from their true nature, therefore it was "moving." They contended for
an iron victory, but gained a golden triumph. Each had been equally right and wrong, the same misunderstanding. The Patriarch's kindness pointed to the One,
ending the dispute and opening the door to understanding.
30. This Mind Is Buddha
Summary: When asked "What is Buddha?", Baso answered: "This mind is Buddha."
This mind is Buddha, but all the untold millions of words about it are not. This koan is no exception. Having chewed the koan (understood its meaning), spit out the
pulp (the words, their forms and references). Those who understand have directly seized mind, therefore no longer accept to look at the finger (pointing to the
moon). They have the Buddha mind "in one's pocket." They have no more use for searching around. They do not follow the way of the ancient sages.
[Compare koans number 33 and 34.]
31. Joshu Investigates
Summary: An old woman directed a traveling monk to a local temple, saying: "Go straight ahead." The monk proceeded, but the old woman said of him: "He's a
common church-goer." When Joshu heard of it, he went to her and asked her the same question and received the same answer. He commented: "My
investigation is complete."
The old woman opened the direct way into the Tao, what could have been better. "Go straight ahead"; the best possible advise, but you have to understand it. Those
who walked straight ahead missed the point, they were just common temple-goers. Joshu verified the old woman's insight, but did she add: "He also is a common
temple-goer?" Probably not, since Joshu had no reason to proceed toward the temple. Travelers who understood the sense of the old woman's directions needn't
continue to the Temple of Taizan, they had already obtained wisdom. There was no need for her to fear spies, her defences were impregnable. Still she couldn't hide
her Zen from Joshu investigation. The traveling monk asked a common question and got a common answer. Joshu asked a golden question and got a golden answer.
Now I ask you, since both used the same words, what's the difference?
32. A Philosopher Asks Buddha
Summary: A philosopher asked the Buddha: "Can you tell me the truth without word and without wordlessness?" The Buddha answered with silence. The
philosopher thanked him for his loving kindness, thanks to which he had entered the Tao. After he left, Ananda asked what he had learned. "A good horse runs
even when seeing only the shadow of the whip."
Words are delusions, silence is the true path. The philosopher's constraints couldn't limit the Buddha's freedom. The truth is not subject to contradition. The
Buddha's silence was not "wordless" but the demonstration of the lack of desire. By appearing to be "wordless", and therefore defeated, he expressed his
compassion. That the philosopher could understand indicated he was already on the threshold of the path. That's why the Buddha called him "a good horse" ...
running at only, "the shadow of the whip." As long as Ananda failed to understand, he was no better than an outsider. Wandering in the forest, how lost you are
doesn't depend on where you're going. It's all in your own treasure-house, signs from outside can only be confirmations. Your hands become free when you know you
cannot fall.
33. This Mind Is Not Buddha
Summary: When asked what is Buddha, Baso answered: "This mind is not Buddha."
Good old Baso, no one could fence him in. The mind, which asked this question is certainly not Buddha (particularly, if the monk had heard of Baso's previous
answer). On the road to enlightenment, logic is a snare and reason a trap. Presumably this rabbit-monk will survive to profit from the experience, and become a
graduate of Zen. If so, whoever he meets on the road, he'll know what to do, what to say. He'll be beyond rules, above regulation. He may... "give the whole thing at
once."
[Compare koan number 30 and 34.]
34. Learning Is Not the Path
Summary:
Nansen said: Mind is not Buddha. The Tao is not learning.
Nansen was old and somewhat in a hurry. He took short-cuts, hoping the monks could follow. He had no time to be ashamed or to cover-up. The fruit that was ripe
would fall, the others must wait. Seeing that the ship was sinking, the Captain launched the life boats. He knew some would not dare to scramble aboard, how could
that be his fault?
[Compare koans number 30 and 33.]
35. Two Souls
Summary: Goso lectured that a girl
had two souls, one sick at home, the other was married with two children. Which was the true one?
The Chinese girl had two souls, how many do you have? Which of them is the "right" one? When you understand this you'll know that both of her souls fitted the circumstances, just as yours do. It's up to her, and you, which one is you. But, since circumstances are constantly changing, it's best not to choose. It's even
better not to bother to create "souls". In that way when the material basis disintegrates, there's nothing left over to cause
confusion. Many are the manifestations of your true nature. All of them are equally faithful.
36. Meeting a Zen Master on the Road
Summary: He [Goso] also asked: "What can you do when you meet a Zen master? You can't talk to him or greet him with silence."
You cannot speak and you cannot remain silent! What to do? Every situation should be treated as a confrontation with a Zen master! But what to do? If you have to
ask you are already far from the answer. An "intimate" answer is the only solution. Manifest your original nature. When the wave reaches the shore, when the
snowflake reaches the ground, they do not ask what to do!
37. A Buffalo Passes Through the Enclosure
Summary: He also asked: "The horns and shoulders of the buffalo pass through the gate, but not his tail. Why not?"
The horns, the head and the hoofs of creation all obey the laws of the universal process. Why can't the "tail" of human intellect also pass? What's the hardest should
be the easiest, what's wrong with the little tail? Right and wrong, and the endless debate to distinguish them is what is wrong. One word in accord with the laws of
causation will repay all, and save all. Those that don't know the pass-word should chase their tail 'til they catch it. Turn him every which way but loose, he can't
escape until that little tail is in harmony with the ten-thousand things.
38. An Oak Tree in the Garden
Summary: Joshu was asked why Bodhidharma came to China. "An oak tree in the garden," was his answer.
What's that got to do with Bodhidharma coming to China? To merit such an answer the question must be all wrong. "Why did," like "what if" questions suppose that
things could have been otherwise, and that's all wrong. Besides the monk is hopelessly lost and Joshu's pointing to the oak in front of them was intended as a
signpost, pointing the way back to reality. One who understands this needs no Buddha, past or present. Lost in a jungle of words, the monk was unaware of his
plight, but Joshu lit the beacon, will he know to follow it?
39. Ummon's Sidetrack
Summary: Ummon was told by a student: "The brilliancy of the Buddha enlightens the universe." "You're reciting someone's poem, aren't you?" he answered.
When the student admitted it was, he was told he was off the track! Question: When did he go off?
Another's words are empty words, they have no inherent truth to bestow upon the
repeater. The Buddha may illuminate the universe, but not, as yet, this student.
Still, the student could have made these words his own, but Ummon unmasked him. The student was a self-confessed, sidetracked reciter. His state of mind had
betrayed him. Ummon was clever; he didn't ask simply if that was a poem, but what the student was doing! Before such a teacher the student should immediately
perceive the way. He lost the battle, I hope he (eventually) won the war.
40. Tipping Over a Water Vase
Summary: Searching the head for a new monastery; Hyakujo pointed to a water jar, he asked who could say what this is without using its name. The chief
monk answered that it couldn't be called a wooden shoe, but the cook-monk tipped it over with his foot. The cook won.
The cooking monk knew what a water pot was, but not how to use it. (Still he outdid the chief monk's too clever gab.) Tipping over the jar doesn't... "say what this
is..."; almost any object can be tipped over. He should have put it to use, e.g.: pouring the contents over Hyakujo's head. In any case he got what he deserved, being
made the master of the new monastery. In the future he will be more careful with his feet. Light or heavy, comfort or pillory, six of one half dozen of the other.
Utensils are for giving up, chatterboxes for defeating, barrier are for getting by and everything's for tipping over.
41. Bodhidharma Pacifies the Mind
Summary: Bodhidharma's disciple asked him to pacify his mind. "Show me your mind, then I will pacify it," he answered. The disciple said he could not
present it. "There," Bodhidharma said, "... I have pacified it."
The unseizable is not to be seized. Elementary, yet it costs an arm. Searching for mind is not the way. Knowledge that it can't be held opens the door to the way.
Coming all that way to point out what can't be done is like pointing out something that isn't there. Still, for those who think it is there, it can be a vital service.
Bodhidharma is like a general who loses all the battles, but wins the war. His "mindless" disciples are well on the way. Discussion provoking voyage, trouble
generating teacher, where will it all end?
42. The Girl Comes Out from Meditation
Summary: Manjusri asks the Buddha how a girl could remain in such deep meditation. "Ask her yourself," was the reply. However he was unable to awaken
her. Call Mo-myo, the seed of delusions, the Buddha suggested. At his name Mo-myo appeared and aroused the girl.
The reality of Manjusri's snap enhanced the girl's Samadhic state; but exactly the same gesture reenforced by delusion broke that state. If you understand this, you
can go to the Thirty-third Heaven and sit on the right of Maitreya. Understading the power of delusion is to break the power of delusion. Shakyamuni makes it all
cristal clear, free of delusion, Samadhi is the natural state of the mind. Only delusion can bring it out. To break the power of delusion, touch the ground of reality.
Once broken, the world of delusion becomes Nirvana. Thus for the skilful practitioner there's no difference.
43. Shuzan's Short Staff
Summary: Shuzan, indicating his staff, said: "If you call this short, you oppose its reality. If not, you oppose the fact. Now what do you call it?"
Calling or not calling, this is the gate which must be entered, the dilemma which must be resolved. Recognize that the gate is gateless and the dilemma without a
solution. Some, lacking a solution, will stand outside crying; but others, understanding that the gate is open, will go through and enter the way. Seize Shuzan's
short staff and wield it as a conquering hero's sword. No question of life or death, of positive or negative can resist this attack.
44. Basho's Staff
Summary: "If you have a staff, I'll give you another. If you have none, I'll take it away."
If you have seized reality, it belongs to you; if not, it has escaped you. All or nothing. In each situation it is there to help you, if you know how to use it. Calling it a
staff is how not to use it. If you call a dog's tail a leg, how many legs has the dog? Five? Wrong! Calling a dog's tail a leg doesn't make it one. The staff is the sine qua
non of creation, the problem and the solution. Applying it in every instance, no barrier can bar the way. The faithful dog always knows its master.
45. Who Is He?
Summary: "All the Buddhas, both past, present and future, are his servants! Who is that person?" asked Hoen.
Turn around as fast as you like in your frantic search for this master of Buddhas, he will still be behind you. Look where you will, you'll not find him, yet fleeing to
the ends of the earth you can't escape him. He's always at your elbow, but never under your gaze. Once you understand who he is, you've earned the baton of
command. No one will need to tell you if the water you're drinking is cold or warm. 'Til then you're doomed to live as a
stranger in a land where all things belong to
others.
46. Proceed from the Top of the Pole
Summary: "When on top of a hundred foot pole, how do you proceed?" asked Sekiso. "Sitting on top of such a pole without proceeding is not Zen," added another
master. "One must proceed to the ten cardinal points of the universe."
Up a pole, out on a limb, most people spend their lives in such uncomfortable positions. In an instant each could realize the true nature of the situation. Then
there's no thought of escape, turning back or regrets. Excelsior! The universe is your oyster, the time is now and the place is here. How to proceed from the top of
the pole? Those who ask bar the way. Those who know need not go. Those who need a safety-net have already fallen. The illusionary distinction betweeen security
and a fall is more dangerous than blindness.
47. Three Gates of Tosotsu
Summary: Tosotu's three barriers were: Studying to see one's true nature. Where is it? Realizing that nature you're free from rebirth. When a corpse, how can
you free yourself? Lastly, if free from rebirth you should know where you are. Where are you?
Tosotsu is rather absent-minded, asking the same question three times. Still, those who haven't learned the lesson are fated to repeat it. For those who have, even
the first question was superfluous. Those who think they know where their true nature is, don't know their true nature. Closing your eyes, becoming a corpse; the
way to freedom remains the same. Go back to square one. Once your body separates into four elements, you won't need to know where you are, you'll experience it
directly. Direct experience is the way to see your true nature, we've come full circle. He who can pass the barriers has already surpassed them. The Captain of the
ship doesn't ask permission to come aboard. To perceive the eternal present is to perceive the perceiver.
48. One Road of Kembo
Summary: A student asked: "All Buddhas enter one road to Nirvana, where does that road begin?" With his stick, Kembo drew a gate in the air. "It's here," he
replied. The student asked Ummon, who answered: "This fan can hit the nose of the deity in the thirty-third heaven. Like the Dragon-carp tipping the
rain-cloud with its tail."
The Tao is a road with no beginning and no end, but it may be entered in only one place. That place is here and the only time is now. Each of the Buddhas have
entered Nirvana in that one and the same place. Each teacher points to the same (but always different) here and now. It's like a three ring circus; past, present and
future, the best seat is facing the center ring. Dust in the sea, waves in the mountains, a skilful teacher always has the pertinent example right at hand, how can
it be surpassed? Once you set out to find where the road begins, you are already on the wrong road.
49. Amban's Addition
Summary: A lay student noted that this Gateless Gate of 48 koans had just been published. He liken the author (Mu-mon) to a doughnut seller forcing
passer-bys to eat. He decided to add one himself, to give Mumon his own medicine. It was: "Buddha said: 'Stop, do not speak. The ultimate is not even to
think'."
I think he is a very mischievous Zen student. Zen is a building which was complete and perfect from the beginning, yet each passing generation of teachers and
students can't resist adding a few bricks just to prove that they "understand". Amban joined the doughnut sellers. Objecting to Mumon's hawking, he tried to outdo
him. He didn't like doughnuts, so he put one more on his plate! The Buddha said: "Stop, stop. Do not speak. The ultimate truth is not even to think." Yet his
followers, century after century can't resist adding one more doughnut! Amban's is full of questions; and he calls the Buddha a "chatterbox"! Nevertheless he adds
one of the longest koans to the "Gate." He was an expert in useless doughnuts and proved it by adding he most useless one. Still, I am not annoyed. Amban's asking
"What shall we do...?" Confucius would be pleased; would the Buddha? It doesn't take a thief to recognize he's stolen the Buddha's words. Perhaps he thought the
Buddha had too many words; and he too few. As for his little circle, has he staked out a claim to the sutras, the Gateless Gate, and all? Does he take himself for a
cowboy, corraling "little doggies"? If anyone tells you another koan should be added, pay no attention. After all, where will it all end? Here.
P.S. I have written these commentaries in the hope that they may be of some help to those students who follow. My intention was to use words to point away from
words; to point to the treasure which is in each seeker after the Tao, to that treasure which is the Tao.
March, 1987 Lily-Marie
Johnson
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