171. ZEN REMARKS

171. Isan's laughing response to Sozan was surely offensive. Indeed, Sozan immediately objected, asking why the master treated him lightly, especially as he had undertaken an arduous and expensive  journey of a thousand miles on foot in search of enlightenment. But even then Isan offers neither apology nor explanation. He does, however, instruct his attendant to give money to Sozan to help with his expenses. Then, as if as an afterthought, he seems to direct Sozan to consult another master (a 'one eyed dragon') who will awaken him. And so it came to pass, at which point Sozan suddenly realized that 'there was a sword in Isan's laughter'.    

170. ZEN REMARKS

170. When the 9th century Chinese monk Sozan learnt that Master Isan had said, 'Words of being and words of non-being are just like wisteria wound around a tree', he was deeply perplexed. He felt he had no option but to visit the master and question him. But this would prove to be no easy task. It involved a thousand mile journey on foot. Moreover, to finance such a journey, Sozan found that he had to sell all his belongings. When at last he reached Master Isan, he immediately questioned him, saying: 'I have heard that you said, "Words of being and words of non-being are just like wisteria wound around a tree". Now, I want to ask, if suddenly the tree falls down and the wisteria withers, where will the words go?' Isan's only reply was to burst out laughing. 

169. ZEN REMARKS

169. A meditative inquiry into the question 'Who am I?' undercuts any ground on which we might attempt to stand. Here we must face the challenge, 'Standing nowhere, let your mind come forth!'

168. ZEN REMARKS

168. Some might think that the question 'Who am I?' is easily answered. And indeed it usually is, in conventional terms. But when asked in the context of a meditative inquiry, the answer becomes much more elusive. Here questioning carries one deeper and deeper into the mystery of the True Self. And, as the patriarch Eka discovered when he went searching for his mind, it will be found that the answer to the question 'Who am I?' escapes our grasp. 

167. ZEN REMARKS

167. Neither rain nor birdsong nor traffic noise breaks in on the silence of this predawn darkness. Just sitting with the question, 'Who am I?'

166. ZEN REMARKS

166. Sitting zazen at dawn and listening to the rain beating on the roof of this lonely hermitage. 'Above the earth and below the heavens, I alone am the Holy One.'

165. ZEN REMARKS

165. Imagine a tree growing tall and straight and standing alone in a vast and empty plain. Vines wind themselves around its trunk. Is this an image of your zazen with thoughts coming and going? A sutra says: 'Thought after thought arises in the heart-mind. Thought after thought not separate from heart-mind'.