An old woman sent her servant to deliver alms to Master Joshu and told him to request the master to read the whole Sutra. The master descended from the high seat and walked around the high seat once in a circle. Then, he said, “I have read the whole the Sutra.” When the servant told her what had happened, she said, “I wonder why he just read just half of the Sutra although I requested him to read the whole Sutra.”
Student: “What is the other half that Joshu didn’t read?”
Master: “The woman read it, but you didn’t read it.”
Commentary:
It is impossible to separate what Joshu read from what he didn’t read even with a sharp axe.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
Zen Fools 