Master Zhaozhou said to an assembly, “Things fundamentally have no origin and presently have no extinction; there is no more to say. As soon as you speak, this is origination; and if you don’t speak, this is extinction. People, what is the principle of no origination and no extinction?”
A monk asked, “Are plants unborn and undying?” He said, “This fellow only recognizes the dead word.”
A monk asked, “What is the sixteen foot golden body?” He said, “Putting a neckband on sleeves, boring a collar at the side.” The monk said, “I don’t understand.” He said, “If you don’t understand, borrow someone else’s tailoring.”
Someone asked, “What was the intention of the coming from the West?” He said, “Gapped teeth grow fur.”
Someone asked, “Does an oak tree have Buddha nature?” He said, “Yes.” “When will it become a Buddha?” He said, “When the sky falls to earth.” “When will the sky fall to earth?” He said, “When an oak tree becomes a Buddha.”
Note: Unless I'm not remembering correctly the Greene translations of Joshu only has the last exchange about the oak tree, a personal favorite of mine. I've never seen the preceding exchanges before.
Submitted August 13, 2017 at 07:00PM by koancomentator http://ift.tt/2wUofVf
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