What is the Buddha? Where you want the killin' done?

Blyth, Zen and Zen Classics, Vol. 3

A monk asked Oren [from Yangshan], "What is the Buddha?"

Oren replied, "Having the [Hindu symbol of universality] on the chest, and a the halo of a saint on the back."

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ewk ^? note:

I'm a fan of Blyth, but this is a horrible translation. His time in a Japanese internment camp during WW2 didn't do him any favors as far as feedback on his writing was going. Why not swastika on the front, halo on the back? Is the word actually "chest"?

Anyway, this is what I thought of:

God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son," and Abe said, "Man, you must be putting me on."

God said "No," Abe said, "What?" God said, "You can do what you want Abe but

the next time you see me coming, you better run." Abe said, "Where you want this killin' done?"

God said, "Out on Highway 61."

What is "good"? Why do people want to be "good"? Why is there no universal "good"?

Who else had a halo on his back? Well, Bodhidharma, right? The Emperor only saw it when Bodhidharma was leaving.

Note that a student of Yangshan uses the Buddhist swastika, and not the Zen circle which is so famous now, because of Yangshan.

What's up with that?

Submitted March 24, 2018 at 01:50AM by ewk https://ift.tt/2GhQh5f