Huangbo Xiyun: There is only Kuei Tsung who is worth something.

Once a certain monk, on taking leave of Master Kuei Tsung, was asked where he intended to go.

'I intend to visit all the places where the five kinds of Zen are taught,' he replied.¹

'Oh,' exclaimed Kuei Tsung. 'Other places may have five kinds; here we have only the one kind.'²

But when the monk enquired what it was, he received a sudden blow. 'I see, I see!' he shouted excitedly.³

'Speak, speak!' roared Kuei Tsung. So the monk got ready to say something further, but just at that moment he received another blow.⁴

Afterwards, this same monk arrived at our Master's monastery and, being asked by Huang Po where he had come from, explained that he had recently left Kuei Tsung.

'And what instructions did you receive from him?' enquired our Master, whereupon the monk related the above story.

During the next assembly, our Master took this anecdote for his text and said: 'Master Ma really excels the Eighty-Four Deeply Enlightened Ones! The questions people ask are all of them no better than stinking muck saturating the ground. There is only Kuei Tsung who is worth something.'⁵

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Huangbo Xiyun, On the Transmission of Mind, translated by John Blofeld, 1958

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Wandering Ronin commentary and questions:

1. Saying a thing like that is something like leaping directly into a sleeping tiger's mouth, haha
2. What a skillful fisherman! The bait of course would be nearly irresistible...
3. Seems familiar; could it be said that this was a powerful insight? What are the perceivable signs of such a thing?
4. The master didn't even give him a chance to speak; why is that?
5. It seems quite rare for a Zen master to pick and choose so openly in this way.

Submitted May 29, 2019 at 02:30AM by WanderingRoninXIII http://bit.ly/2KfIqHf