A monk asked Joshu, “What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?” Joshu said, “A cypress in the garden.” The monk said, “Please, don’t teach people with something outside.” Joshu said, “I never teach people with something outside.” The monk asked again, “Then, what is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?” Joshu said, “A cypress in the garden.” Later after Joshu’s death, a monk asked Gakchulja, one of Joshu’s students, “They say that your master Joshu said, ‘A cypress in the garden’. Is it true?” The student said, “No, my late master never said such words.” The monk said, “However, all people say that your master Joshu said, ‘A cypress’ as an answer to the question ‘What is the meaning of the Patriarch’s coming from the West?’ Why do you say that he didn’t say such words?” The student answered politely, “Please don’t defame my late master. He never said such words.”
Student: “Joshu’s student said that Joshu had not said ‘a cypress’, and the monk argued that Joshu had said it. Who is right?”
Master: “It is the one who didn’t say.”
Student: “Who is it?”
Master: “It is the one who heard.”
Commentary:
One who hears what cannot be heard doesn’t say a word.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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