Rinzai came to Zoden, and asked him, “Neither worldly nor sacred — I beg of you, master, speak quickly!” Zoden said, “I am simply thus.” Rinzai gave a Katsu and said, “This crew of shaved heads here, what are you going to learn here?”
Commentary:
When Rinzai said to Zoden, “Neither worldly nor sacred — I beg of you, master, speak quickly!” he wanted to see how well Zoden could reveal the true-Self. Zoden, sensing Rinzai’s intention, manifested the true-Self by saying, “I am simply thus.” Rinzai responded with a Katsu and revealed the true-Self one more time by saying, “This crew of shaved heads here, what are you going to learn here?”, by which he meant that the monastics there should not try to attain enlightenment through academic learning, because there is nothing to learn here, in the true-Self.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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