Yamaoka Tesshu, as a
young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon
of Shokoku. Desiring to show his
attainment,
he said: “The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The
true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no
sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received.”
Dokuon, who was smoking
quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka
with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth
quite angry. “If nothing exists,” inquired Dokuon, “where did this anger come
from?”
TDEditor: Minds, Buddhas and sentient beings only do not exist in terms of
being empty of fixed mental and physical characteristics. Although forms and
dualistic concepts are empty of unchanging mind and matter, just as form is emptiness, emptiness is form too.
It is one thing to show off
theoretical understanding of the Dharma, and an entire thing altogether, to
realise and apply what was
understood practically. Yamaoka, while boasting
of his clinging to emptiness, obviously still clung to form (body or matter)
and ego (unenlightened mind), as demonstrated through the sudden wake-up call,
which was a direct reality check.
Source : Thedailyenglightenment.com
Posted by tdeditor on December 13, 2016
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