A monk asked Yunju, “What should a monastic ultimately be like?” Yunju replied, “It’s good to dwell in the mountains.” The monk immediately bowed, and Yunju said, “How do you understand this?” The monk answered, “A monastic should be unshaken like a mountain, even amidst the boundaries of good and bad, compliance and opposition, life and death.” The master immediately struck him and said, “You betray the ancient sages and ruin our descendants.”
Student: “What is wrong with the monk’s answer?”
Master: “The monk is littering up the mountains with rubbish.”
Commentary:
Life in the mountains is so simple that it is free from mundane things such as good and bad, life and death.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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