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Shoyoroku - Case 83: Dogo's Nursing the Ill
Isan asked Dogo,
"Where have you come from?"
Dogo said,
"I come from nursing the ill."
Isan said,
"How many people are ill?"
Dogo said,
"There are some ill, and some not ill."
Isan said,
"The one who is not ill isn't that you, dear Chi [1]?"
Dogo said,
"Ill or not ill it has nothing to do with 'that' matter. Say it quickly!
Say it quickly!"
Isan said,
"Even if I could say it, it would have no connection with that matter."
[1]: Dogo's full name was Dogo Enchi. "Chi" is short for Enchi.
Shoyoroku - Case 84: Gutei's One Finger [1]
Whatever he was asked, Master Gutei simply stuck up one finger.
[1]: see case 3 of Mumonkan and case 19 of Hekiganroku.
Shoyoroku - Case 85: The National Teacher's Gravestone [1]
Emperor Shukuso [2] asked Chu, the national teacher,
"What would you wish me to do after a hundred years [3]?"
The national teacher said,
"Make a seamless gravestone [4] for this old monk."
The emperor said,
"I should like to ask you, master, for a design."
The national teacher remained silent for a long time. Then he said,
"Did you understand?"
The emperor said,
"I didn't understand anything."
The national teacher said,
"I have a Dharma successor, my disciple Tangen, who is well versed with
this matter."
Afterwards the emperor called Tangen and asked him about the meaning of this.
Tangen responded:
"The south of the river, north of the lake:
In between there's gold, which fills the whole land.
Under the shadowless tree all people are in one boat;
In the crystal palace there is no one who knows."
[1]]: see case 18 of Hekiganroku.
[2]: Historically speaking it was Emperor Daiso the oldest son and successor
of Shukuso.
[3]: After your death.
[4]: An egg-formed gravestone which is made out of a single piece of stone.
It was often made for deceased monks.
Shoyoroku - Case 86: Rinzai's Great Enlightenment
Rinzai asked Obaku,
"What is the great meaning of the Buddha-Dharma?"
Obaku hit him. This happened three times. Rinzai then took his leave and went
to see Daigu. Daigu asked,
"Where have you come from?"
Rinzai said,
"From Obaku."
Daigu said,
"What did Obaku have to say?"
Rinzai said,
"I asked him three times, 'What is the great meaning of the Buddha-Dharma?'
and I got his stick three times. I don't know if I was in error or not."
Daigu said,
"Obaku was overly gentle like an old grandmother; he completely exhausted
himself for your sake. Yet you come here and ask if you were in error
or not!"
With these words, Rinzai came to great enlightenment.
Shoyoroku - Case 87: Sozan: With or Without
Sozan came to Isan and asked,
"I have heard that you said, 'Words of being and words of non-being are just
like wisteria wound around a tree.' If suddenly the tree falls down and the
wisteria withers, where will the words go?"
Isan burst into great laughter. Sozan said,
"I sold my clothes and other belongings, and made an arduous journey of one
thousand miles to come to you. Why does Your Reverence make light of me?"
Isan called his attendant and said,
"Bring some money and give it to this reverend monk for his travel expenses."
Finally he said,
"Some day a one-eyed dragon will let you open your eyes."
Later Sozan went to Myosho and told him about this. Myosho said,
"I can say that Isan is completely right, but he did not meet one who could
appreciate him."
Sozan asked again,
"If the tree falls down and the wisteria withers, where will the words go?"
Myosho said,
"It would make Isan laugh again all the more."
Upon hearing this, Sozan gained realization. Then he said,
"From the beginning, there was a sword behind Isan's laughter."
Shoyoroku - Case 88: "Non-Seeing" in the Ryogon Sutra [1]
The Ryogon Sutra says,
"When I don't see, why do you not see what I do not see? If you argue that
you see what I do not see, that is of course not what I do not see. If you
do not see what I do not see, then it is quite natural that it is not a
thing. Why is it not your self?"
[1]: see case 94 of Hekiganroku.
Shoyoroku - Case 89: Tozan's "Place of No Grass"
Tozan instructed the assembly and said,
"At the beginning of autumn and the end of summer, you, brothers, are
departing east and west. But you should go directly to the place of no
grass over ten thousand miles."
And again he said,
"How will you go to the place of no grass over ten thousand miles?"
Sekiso said,
"When you go out of the gate, there is grass!"
Taiyo said,
"I would say: Even if you don't go out of the gate, grass is abundant
everywhere."
Shoyoroku - Case 90: Kyozan Speaks Out [1]
Master Kyozan went to Maitreya's abode in a dream and was led to the second
seat. A venerable monk said,
"Today the second seat is due to speak."
Kyozan stood up, struck the stand with the gavel, and said,
"The Dharma of Mahayana is beyond the four propositions and transcends the
hundred negations. I dare speak this!"
[1]: see case 25 of Mumonkan.
Shoyoroku - Case 91: Nansen and the Peonies [1]
Minister Rikuko said to Nansen,
"Dharma-teacher Jo is wonderful. He truly knows what he is talking about:
'Heaven and earth and I have one and the same root; all things and I are
one single body.'"
Nansen pointed at the peonies in the garden and said,
"Minister, people of our time [2] see these flowers as in a dream."
[1]: see case 40 of Hekiganroku, which has a slightly different wording.
[2]: I.e. "you".
Shoyoroku - Case 92: Unmon's "One Treasure" [1]
Unmon said,
"'Within heaven and earth, in the midst of the universe, there is one
treasure hidden in a body.' [2] You take up the lantern and go to the
Buddha Hall; you take the temple gate and put it on the lantern."
[1]: see case 62 of Hekiganroku.
[2]: A sentence from the Hozoron by Monk Jo (?-414).
Shoyoroku - Case 93: Roso Does Not Understand
Roso [1] asked Nansen,
"'People do not recognize the Mani[2]-jewel. I picked it up myself in the
Tathagata treasury.' [3] What is this treasury?"
Nansen said,
"Old Master O [4] exchanges questions and answers with you. That's it."
Shiso said,
"How about when there is no exchange of questions and answers?"
Nansen said,
"That's also the treasury."
Shiso said,
"What is the jewel?'
Nansen said,
"Reverend Shiso!"
Shiso said,
"Yes!"
Nansen said,
"Get out. You don't understand my words."
[1]: Mistakenly the original text renders "Roso" (Nansen's elder brother in
Dharma); in reality it should be "Shiso" (Nansen's student), as Nansen's
question indicates.
[2]: "Mani" in Sanskrit means "perfect freedom" ­ another name for Buddha
nature.
[3]: A quote from the famous Shodoka by Yoka Daishi.
[4]: Nansen himself.
Shoyoroku - Case 94: Tozan Unwell
Tozan was unwell. A monk asked,
"Your Reverence is unwell. Is there anyone who does not become ill?"
Tozan said,
"There is."
The monk said,
"Does the one who does not get ill take care of Your Reverence?"
Tozan said,
"The old monk is properly taking care of that one."
The monk said,
"How about when your Reverence takes care of that one?"
Tozan said,
"Then the old monk does not see that there is illness."
Shoyoroku - Case 95: Rinzai Draws a Line
Rinzai asked the temple steward,
"Where have you come from?"
The temple steward said,
"From selling brown rice in the province."
Rinzai said,
"Did you sell all of it?"
The manager said,
"Yes, I sold all of it."
Rinzai drew a line with his staff and said,
"Have you sold all of this too?"
The manager shouted,
"Kaatz!"
Rinzai immediately struck him. Later, the cook monk [1] came to Rinzai, who
told him about this incident. The monk said,
"The steward didn't understand Your Reverence's intention."
Rinzai said,
"How about you?"
The monk made a deep bow. Rinzai struck him likewise.
[1]: I.e. "tenzo", a monk who prepares meals.
Shoyoroku - Case 96: Kyuho Does Not Acknowledge
Kyuho served Sekiso as his attendant. After Sekiso's passing, the assembly
wanted to make their head monk the abbot of the temple. Kyuho would not
acknowledge him. He said,
"Wait till I examine him. If he understands our late master's spirit and
intention, I will serve him as I served our late master."
So he asked the head monk,
"Our late master said,
'Have been totally ceased;
Have been totally extinguished;
[Have become a cool land of desolation;] [1]
Have had only one awareness for ten thousand years;
Have become cold ashes and a withered tree;
[Have become a fragrant censer in an ancient shrine;]
Have become a vertical stripe [2] of white silk.'
Tell me, what sort of matter did he clarify with this?"
The head monk said,
"He clarified the matter of absolute Oneness."
Ho said,
"If so, you have not yet understood our late master's spirit."
The head monk said,
"Don't you acknowledge me? Pass me incense."
He lit the incense and said,
"If I had not understood our late master's spirit, I would not be able to
pass away while the smoke of this incense rises."
No sooner had he said this than he expired while sitting in zazen. Kyuho
caressed his back and said,
"Dying while sitting or standing is not impossible. But you could not even
dream of our late master's spirit."
[1]: The original text contains five out of the famous "seven Perfecta"
(shichikyo) of Sekiso. For your reference, the lacking two lines are
shown in [ ].
[2]: The image of a waterfall.
Shoyoroku - Case 97: Emperor Doko's Helmet Hood
Emperor Doko spoke to Koke saying,
"I have attained the treasure of the Central Plain [1]. However, no one can
set a price on it."
Koke said,
"Your Majesty, please lend it to me so that I may see."
The emperor pulled the straps of his helmet hood with both hands. Koke said,
"Who can dare to set a price on the emperor's treasure!"
[1]: The entire land of China.
Shoyoroku - Case 98: Tozan's "Intimate with It"
A monk asked Tozan,
"Among the three bodies [of Buddha] [1], what body does not degenerate
into numbers?"
Tozan said,
"I am always most intimate with it."
[1]: They are: (1) hosshin, Dharmakaya or Dharma-bodya,
(2) hojin, Sambhogakaya or the body of reward,
(3) ojin or keshin, Nirmanakaya or the accommodated body.
Shoyoroku - Case 99: Unmon's "Bowl and Pail" [1]
A monk asked Unmon,
"What is the dust-dust samadhi [2] ?"
Unmon said,
"Rice in the bowl, water in the pail."
[1]: see case 50 of Hekiganroku.
[2]: The word "dust" comes from the expression "six dust particles," which
means the same thing as the "six objects" (cf. note to Case 75).
Shoyoroku - Case 100: Roya's "Mountains and Rivers"
A monk asked Master Kaku of Roya,
"The essential state is pure and clear. How are mountains, rivers and the
great earth produced at once?"
Kaku said,
"The essential state is pure and clear. How are mountains, rivers and the
great earth produced at once?"