Dahui Shobogenzo: A familiar Joshu case with parts I haven't seen before.

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