Master Joshu asked a monastic, “Have you ever read the Lotus Sutra?” The monastic said, “Yes, I have.” The master said, “How do you comprehend the words ‘A Buddhist garment is a borrowed name, and a meditation room deceives people’?” When the monastic was on the point of offering a bow, the master asked the monastic, “Are you wearing a Buddhist garment?” The monastic answered, “Yes, I am.” The master said, “Don’t deceive me.” The monastic said, “How can I avoid deceiving you?” The master said, “Don’t accept my words.”
Student: “Why couldn’t the monastic answer Joshu’s questions although he had read the Lotus Sutra?”
Master: “Because he didn’t read the Sutra but merely the letters on the paper.”
Student: “What is the Sutra?”
Master: “It is open before you all the time.”
Commentary:
The Sutra is not words, or a text but a gate.
Image: 024_0092a_thumb.jpg
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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