One day the Buddha, showing a precious stone that changed colour depending on beholders, asked his students, “What colour is this?” Each of the students responded with a different colour. Then, the Buddha hid the precious stone in his sleeve and raising his hands, said, “What colour is this?” His students answered, “You don’t have the precious stone in your hands. Where can the colours be?” The Buddha said with a sigh of grief, “How can your ignorance be this deep? When I showed you a worldly precious stone, each of you produced words such as blue, orange, red, white, black and so on. However, when I show you the true precious stone, you say that you don’t know.”
Student: “What was the true precious stone that the Buddha showed?”
Master: “It is the worldly precious stone.”
Student: “What is the difference between them?”
Master: “If you see them as different and separate, both become worldly precious stones. If you see them as one, it is the true precious stone.”
Afterwards, Issan asked Gyosan, “How do you understand what those two venerables were talking about?” Gyosan countered, “How do you understand it?” Issan said, “Only when rearing a child does one come to understand a father’s love.” Gyosan said, “Not at all.” Issan asked, “Then what?” Gyosan said, “It is like a thief ruining one’s home.”
Commentary:
Issan asked his disciple Gyosan to tell him his view regarding the dialogue between Obaku and Rinzai about the dialogue with the cook. Gyosan, conscious of his master’s intention, answered his question by posing another question in return because he also wondered what Issan’s answer was like. Issan answered, “Only when rearing a child does one come to understand a father’s love”, which means, “Only when a man gets enlightened and is in a position to teach his students, just as Obaku was, can he know the meaning of Obaku.” When Gyosan said, “Not at all” he didn’t contradict his master’s answer but meant, “I know what you mean, and I have another expression of what you mean.” So, Issan, sensing his intention, allowed him to give his own answer by saying, “Then what?” Gyosan highly acknowledged Rinzai by comparing him to a thief ruining one’s home. In the Zen community a thief symbolises an enlightened man, who is said to have stolen the whole universe. ‘Ruin one’s home’ implies to destroy one’s illusions. In short, Gyosan meant that Rinzai was a great master who tried his best to remove illusions from people.
Student: “What is Obaku’s love?”
Master: “A father’s love made Rinzai a thief.”
Student: “Did Rinzai ruin one’s home?”
Master: “You still have your home.”
The purpose of ruining one’s home is to make one a thief.
A. This means that once you have realised what the essence of Mara is, you will come to know that it is the Buddha. When ancient masters said that we should get rid of or escape from Mara, they did not mean that we should move away or do away with it but meant that we should realise that it is also the function of the true-Self.
In essence, Mara is not Mara but the Buddha. The Buddha and Mara are not separate and different from each other but absolutely one. When we don’t see things as they are, that is, when we are deluded by illusions, we mistake the Buddha for Mara. This is why ancient masters would say, “Why do you struggle to avoid the Buddha while trying to see Him?” when they were asked how people could escape from Mara.
One day the Buddha, showing a precious stone that changed colour depending on beholders, asked his students, “What colour is this?” Each of the students responded with a different colour. Then, the Buddha hid the precious stone in his sleeve and raising his hands, said, “What colour is this?” His students answered, “You don’t have the precious stone in your hands. Where can the colours be?” The Buddha said with a sigh of grief, “How can your ignorance be this deep? When I showed you a worldly precious stone, each of you produced words such as blue, orange, red, white, black and so on. However, when I show you the true precious stone, you say that you don’t know.”
Student: “What is the true precious stone that the Buddha showed?”
Master: “It is in your hands now as well.”
Commentary:
It never moves at all but there is no place it cannot reach.
When Rinzai came to see Obaku, the latter at once mentioned the above dialogue with the cook. The master said, “The cook does not understand. Please, say a word that can get him enlightened, and then he asked, “Isn’t that rather a lot of rice?” Obaku said, “Why not say, tomorrow they’ll have to eat still more.” Rinzai said, “Why talk of tomorrow, eat it now at once!” Saying this, the master slapped Obaku, who replied, “What madman has come here to stroke the tiger’s whiskers!” Rinzai gave a Katsu and left.
Commentary:
When Obaku talked to Rinzai about the dialogue with the cook, Rinzai, sensing Obaku’s intention to test him, asked Obaku to say something that could get the cook enlightened whilst copying the cook’s answer. As soon as Obaku responded to Rinzai’s request by saying, “Why not say, tomorrow they’ll have to eat still more” Rinzai, seeing through his meaning, revealed the true-Self by slapping Obaku and showed that he was not deluded by illusions such as ‘past’, ‘present’ and ‘future’ by saying, “Why talk of tomorrow, eat it now at once!” Obaku admitted that Rinzai’s answer was excellent by saying, “What madman has come here to stroke the tiger’s whiskers!”
Student: “Why did Rinzai slap his master Obaku?”
Master: “Because you didn’t see the one who showed respect but saw the madman?”
A. You should not be deceived by the word ‘transmit’ since, as mentioned previously, all words are illusionary. The true-Self cannot be moved and has never been moved at all. It can neither be gained nor be lost. The historical Buddha didn’t try to transmit the true-Self to us that he had brought from somewhere else but tried to confirm that everything, including us, is the true-Self and that there is nothing that is not the true-Self. This is why an ancient master said, “One person transmitted falsely but ten thousand people transmitted truly” when he was asked to comment about the Buddha’s remark ‘I transmit the true Dharma I have to Mahakasyapa’. The master meant that although the Buddha said such words for the purpose of revealing the true Dharma, true-Self to the people who attended his talk, all but Mahakasyapa, deceived by the Buddha’s words, believed that the Buddha transmitted something to Mahakasyapa. who received it.
Student: “What is it that the Buddha transmitted to Mahakasyapa?”
When the Buddha was alive, seven wise sisters happened to pass a cemetery. One of them, pointing to a dead body, asked the others, “The corpse is here. Where is the man?” One of them said, “What? Why? Why?” All of them attained enlightenment upon hearing these words. Then, surprised to see them get enlightened, a heavenly God, spraying flowers, said, “Oh, my glorious sisters, what do you need? I will be willing to provide you with whatever you need forever.” The sisters answered, “We have everything we need. But if you want to help us, we hope to have three more things; one is a tree without a root, another is a patch of land without light and shade, and the third is a valley that doesn’t make any echo even if we shout.” The heavenly God said, “I have everything needed, but I don’t have the three things you mentioned.” The sisters responded, “If you don’t have these things, how can you save people from their suffering?” The heavenly God went to the Buddha and asked him about the meaning of these things. The Buddha answered, “Even my students who have practised a lot don’t know the meaning of these things. Only Bodhisattvas can know the meaning of them.”
Student: “Why did the Buddha not mention the meaning of the three things?”
Master: “Because it cannot be explained with words.”
Commentary:
The Buddha didn’t say even a word, but he never failed to answer any questions.
Obaku came into the kitchen and asked the cook what he was doing. The cook said, “I am sorting out the rice for the community of monks.” Obaku said, “How much do they eat a day?” The cook answered, “Two and a half stone.” Obaku asked, “Isn’t that rather a lot?” The cook replied, “I rather fear it is too little.” Obaku hit him. The cook reported this to Rinzai. The master said, “I will go and test that old fellow Obaku for you.”
Commentary:
When Obaku asked the cook what he was doing, he didn’t mean to ask what he was doing, but he, revealing the true-Self, checked whether the cook could discern the true-Self or not. He asked the cook if he knew whether the essence of his being that was sorting the rice is the true-Self, Emptiness. In the realm of Emptiness there is no rice and no one to sort the rice. Failing to grasp the master’s meaning, the cook made a worldly answer. Obaku had the kindness to present him with another question ‘How much do they eat a day?’. In the realm of the true-Self there cannot be any conceptions such as ‘much’, ‘little’ and ‘eat’. The cook, deluded by words again, responded with a mundane answer. When the compassionate Obaku gave the cook one more chance by asking, ‘Isn’t that rather a lot?’, he, aware that the cook was still lost, gave the answer to the three questions he had asked by hitting him. When Rinzai, hearing about this situation from the cook, said, “I will go and test that old fellow Obaku for you”, not only did he promise to test Obaku but also gave the same answer to the three questions as Rinzai did by hitting the cook.
Student: “How would you have answered the question ‘What are you doing?’?”
Master: “I would have sprinkled water on Obaku.”
Student: “What would your reply have been to the question ‘How much do they eat a day?’?”
Master: “I would have said, ‘Why do you ask me how much you eat a day?’.”
Student: “How would you have responded to the question ‘Isn’t that rather a lot?’?”
Master: “‘A lot’ and ‘a little’ are the complaints of those who eat with a mouth.”
Student: “What did Rinzai mean by ‘I will go and test that old fellow Obaku for you’?”
Master: “He meant, ‘Why don’t you recognise what Obaku showed? What I am showing you now is not different from it. Take a close look.”
The king doesn’t know what rice is while the cook in the kitchen is always worried whether there is a lot or a little.
A. When ancient masters said that we should remove all illusions, they didn’t mean that we should move them from one place to another place out of our sight, but meant that we should not be deluded by them by realising that all words and all the images accompanying them are not real but imaginary or illusionary. This is why an ancient master remarked that the word ‘fire’ cannot burn your lips no matter how many times you may recite it, and why another ancient master said, “You don’t have to try in vain to remove the horns of rabbits” when he was asked the same question. In fact, trying to remove the horns of rabbits is no other than being deluded by illusions because it is trying to get rid of things that don’t exist.
Student: “How can I remove the illusions that block my mind?”
When the Buddha was alive, seven wise sisters happened to pass a cemetery. One of them, pointing to a dead body, asked the others, “The corpse is here. Where is the man?” One of them said, “What? Why? Why?” All of them attained enlightenment upon hearing these words. Then, surprised to see them get enlightened, a heavenly God, spraying flowers, said, “Oh, my glorious sisters, what do you need? I will be willing to provide you with whatever you need forever.” The sisters answered, “We have everything we need. But if you want to help us, we hope to have three more things; one is a tree without a root, another is a patch of land without light and shade, and the third is a valley that doesn’t make any echo even if we shout.” The heavenly God said, “I have everything needed, but I don’t have the three things you mentioned.” The sisters responded, “If you don’t have these things, how can you save people from their suffering?” The heavenly God went to the Buddha and asked him about the meaning of these things. The Buddha answered, “Even my students who have practised a lot don’t know the meaning of these things. Only Bodhisattvas can know the meaning of them.”
Student: “What is the valley that never makes any echo even if we shout?”
Master: “You should not be fooled by your hearing.”
Commentary:
Although your ears are full, there should be no words.
Zen Fools 