Yuezhou’s Path to Nirvana
Yuezhou Qianfeng was once asked by a monastic, “They say that you have one path to nirvana. I wonder, what is the path?” Yuezhou drew a line with his staff and said, “It’s right here.”
Student: “Why did the master draw a line with his staff when he was asked about the path to nirvana?”
Master: “He showed both the path to nirvana and nirvana itself.”
Student: “What is the path? What is the nirvana?”
Master: “Take the path quickly and you will reach there.”
Commentary:
When what the master said is understood, that’s nirvana, but if it is not, that is the path.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/C1W1a
