The Gateless Gate: Tipping Over a Water Bottle [40th Case]
When Isan Oshõ was with Hyakujõ, he was tenzo [典座 head cook] of the monastery.
Hyakujõ wanted to choose a master for Mount Tai-i, so he called together all the monks and told them that anyone who could answer his question in an outstanding manner would be chosen.
Then he took a water bottle and stood it on the floor, and said, "You may not call this a water bottle. What do you call it?"
The head monk said, "It cannot be called a stump."
Hyakujõ asked Isan his opinion.
Isan tipped over the water bottle with his feet and went out.
Hyakujõ laughed and said, "The head monk loses."
And Isan was named as the founder of the new monastery.
Mumon's Comment
Isan displayed great spirit in his action, but he could not cut himself free from Hyakujõ's apron strings. He preferred the heavier task to lighter one.
Why was he like that, eh?
He took off his headband to bear the iron yoke.
Mumon's Verse
Tossing bamboo baskets and ladles away,
He made a glorious dash and swept all before him.
Hyakujõ's barrier cannot stop his advance;
Thousands of Buddhas come forth from the tips of his feet.
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Wandering Ronin commentary: The head monk showed cleverness, and his answer was accurate but somehow still off by a thousand miles. Why exactly did he fail where Isan succeeded? There are concepts, some even useful and clever, but then there is action and spontaneity, both of which are drawn from freedom.
What did Isan do here that caused him to be named as the new head of the monastery? The challenge was made and then answered with no poetic speech or contrivances, and it was all quite an ordinary affair. Isan could be said to have seen the underlying principle of all things and had the ability to demonstrate it as plain as day, but again that would be saying too much about it.
Submitted October 19, 2019 at 08:52PM by WanderingRoninXIII https://ift.tt/2BulI8k
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