Obaku sent Rinzai to carry a letter to Issan. At that time Gyosan was in charge of handling guests. He took the letter and asked, “This is Obaku’s, but what is his?” The master slapped him. Gyosan stopped him and said, “Elder brother, since you know about this matter, let’s cease.” Together they went to Issan, who asked, “How many monks are in the community of Master Obaku, my elder brother?” Rinzai replied, “Seven hundred.” Issan said, “Who is the leader?” Rinzai said, “His letter has just reached you.” Then Rinzai asked Issan, “And how large is your community here?” Issan said, “One thousand five hundred.” Rinzai remarked, “Very large.” Issan said, “There are not a few at my elder brother’s, Master Obaku.”
Commentary:
When Gyosan said to Rinzai, “This is Obaku’s, but what is his?” ‘His’ implied the Buddha’s. He tested Rinzai to see if he knew what the true-Self is. Rinzai revealed the true-Self by slapping him, and Gyosan approved him by saying, “Elder brother, since you know about this matter, let’s cease.” Then, together they went to Issan, who asked, “How many monks are in the community of Master Obaku, my elder brother?” With this question, Issan tested Rinzai to see whether he was deluded by the illusion of numbers. Rinzai responded wisely by revealing the true-Self through saying, “Seven hundred.” We should not be deluded by the number. Issan tested Rinzai again by asking, “Who is the leader?”, which meant “Do you know what the Buddha nature of Obaku, who is your leader, is like?” Rinzai showed the Buddha nature of Obaku by saying, “His letter has just reached you.” Then, Rinzai countered Issan by asking, “And how large is your community here?” Issan responded by saying, “One thousand five hundred.” We should know that he didn’t mean the number but showed the true-Self. Issan’s words ‘There are not a few at my elder brother’s, Master Obaku’ meant that there is no difference between seven hundred and one thousand five hundred.
Student: “Why is there no difference between seven hundred monks and one thousand five hundred monks?”
Master: “Which is heavier, one rabbit horn, or one thousand rabbit horns?”
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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