Mumonkan Case 3: Gutei Raises a Finger
Whenever Gutei Oshõ was asked about Zen, he simply raised his finger.
Once a visitor asked Gutei's boy attendant, "What does your master teach?"
The boy too raised his finger.
Hearing of this, Gutei cut off the boy's finger with a knife.
The boy, screaming with pain, began to run away.
Gutei called to him, and when he turned around, Gutei raised his finger.
The boy suddenly became enlightened.
When Gutei was about to pass away, he said to his assembled monks, "I obtained one-finger Zen from Tenryû and used it all my life but still did not exhaust it."
When he had finished saying this, he entered into eternal Nirvana.
Mumon's Comment
The enlightenment of Gutei and of the boy does not depend on the finger.
If you understand this, Tenryû, Gutei, the boy, and you yourself are all run through with one skewer.
Mumon's Verse
Gutei made a fool of old Tenryû,
Emancipating the boy with a single slice,
Just as Kyorei cleaved Mount Kasan
To let the Yellow River run through.
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Wandering Ronin Commentary and questions: What was the difference between the boy raising his finger and Gutei? The beauty of this case reveals that while some only mimic the actions and words, some know the source essence. Understandings of the great matter can be a world apart; who is fraudulent, and who is authentic? Who is following Zen in order to truly understand what Zen is pointing to, and who is following Zen in order to satisfy and build foundations around an ego already mired in delusion? Can anyone here hold up the same finger as old Gutei?
Submitted June 11, 2019 at 01:04PM by WanderingRoninXIII http://bit.ly/2wLwkgP
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