The Gateless Gate: Since then I have been doomed to undergo five hundred rebirths as a fox.

Case 2 of The Mumonkan: Hyakujõ's Fox

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When Hyakujõ Oshõ delivered a certain series of sermons, an old man always followed the monks to the main hall and listened to him. When the monks left the hall, the old man would also leave.

One day, however, he remained behind, and Hyakujõ asked him, "Who are you, standing here before me?"

The old man replied. "I am not a human being. In the old days of Kashyapa Buddha, I was a head monk, living here on this mountain. One day a student asked me, 'Does a man of enlightenment fall under the yoke of causation or not?'

I answered, 'No, he does not.'

Since then I have been doomed to undergo five hundred rebirths as a fox. I beg you now to give the turning word to release me from my life as a fox. Tell me, does a man of enlightenment fall under the yoke of causation or not?"

Hyakujõ answered, "He does not ignore causation."

No sooner had the old man heard these words than he was enlightened. Making his bows, he said, "I am emancipated from my life as a fox. I shall remain on this mountain. I have a favor to ask of you: would you please bury my body as that of a dead monk."

Hyakujõ had the director of the monks strike with the gavel and inform everyone that after the midday meal there would be a funeral service for a dead monk. The monks wondered at this, saying, "Everyone is in good health; nobody is in the sick ward. What does this mean?"

After the meal Hyakujõ led the monks to the foot of a rock on the far side of the mountain and with his staff poked out the dead body of a fox and performed the ceremony of cremation.

That evening he ascended the rostrum and told the monks the whole story. Õbaku thereupon asked him, "The old man gave the wrong answer and was doomed to be a fox for five hundred rebirths. Now, suppose he had given the right answer, what would have happened then?"

Hyakujõ said, "You come here to me, and I will tell you."

Õbaku went up to Hyakujõ and boxed his ears.

Hyakujõ clapped his hands with a laugh and exclaimed, "I was thinking that the barbarian had a red beard, but now I see before me the red-bearded barbarian himself."

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Mumon's Comment

Not falling under causation: how could this make the monk a fox?

Not ignoring causation: how could this make the old man emancipated?

If you come to understand this, you will realize how old Hyakujõ would have enjoyed five hundred rebirths as a fox.

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Mumon's Verse

Not falling, not ignoring:

Two faces of one die.

Not ignoring, not falling:

A thousand errors, a million mistakes.

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Wandering Ronin commentary and questions: Hyakujõ's Fox is one of the most famous and widely discussed cases in all of Zen study, and for good reason. In a continued study and practice of Zen, the student must of course be wary regarding attachments and aversions, but they must be particularly diligent regarding the traps of delusion. No one is above delusion entirely, but certain delusional ways of thinking can be far more binding than others, restricting freedom and advancement towards a greater understanding of the Dharma.

That being said, what is the critical point to be understood of the case of Hyakujõ's Fox? Let's investigate:

"I beg you now to give the turning word to release me from my life as a fox. Tell me, does a man of enlightenment fall under the yoke of causation or not?"

Hyakujõ answered, "He does not ignore causation."

Notice that Hyakujõ doesn't definitively give an answer on one side or the other, which reveals the middle way that lies between the ordinary world and the absolute. He does not ignore causation. What this reveals is that a man of enlightenment doesn't ignore his own actions and what they may lead to. Knowledge of the absolute is no excuse for bad or egocentric behavior, and actions do in fact have consequences, just like the old man found out.

How this all can then be applied to the topic of delusion is quite direct: Zen shouldn't be used as a way to reinforce the ego into believing that one can just do as one wishes without regard for the effects of their actions, unless of course they are willing to face any and all potential consequences.

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Nine Inch Nails: The Wretched https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNI12hvKsxI

Submitted June 11, 2019 at 08:45PM by WanderingRoninXIII http://bit.ly/2MCc4ZL