There was an old monk who came to consult Rinzai. Instead of going through the usual formalities, he at once asked, “Should I bow, or not?” Rinzai gave a Katsu. The old monk bowed. Rinzai said, “A petty thief!” The old monk left shouting, “Robber, robber.” Rinzai remarked, “Better not say there is no work.”
Commentary:
The old monk tested whether Rinzai would be deluded by words through presenting the alternative of a bowing or not bowing. The old monk meant, “Can you recognise the true-Self I am showing to you now without being fooled by my words?” Rinzai, seeing through the tricky question, responded in no time by giving a Katsu, which means, “Of course, I know the true-Self you are revealing to me. This is the very true-Self you are asking of me.” Then, the old monk admitted that he couldn’t deceive Rinzai by offering a bow. Rinzai also approved the old monk’s enlightenment by calling him a petty thief. The old monk praised Rinzai as a great master by addressing him as a robber. Rinzai’s remark ‘Better not to say that there is no work’ means that the short dialogue and acts traded between the old monk and him were not a wordplay but showed the core of Buddhism.
Student: “What is the work?”
Master: “There is no work.”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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