Dongshan’s “Deep or Shallow”
Crossing a river with Yunju, Dongshan asked, “Is the water deep or shallow?”
Yunju said, “It’s not wet.”
Dongshan said, “That’s coarse.”
Yunju said, “Tell me, Master, how would you say it?”
Dongshan said, “It’s not dry.”
Student: “Why did they answer, ‘It’s not wet’ and ‘It’s not dry’ to the question ‘Is the water deep or shallow?’
Master: “Because they knew the water.”
Student: “What would you say?”
Master: “Dry, wet and hard.”
Commentary:
When you are not entangled with words, every word is exactly right.
When you are entangled with words, no word is right.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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