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From Hoffman's Radical Zen, The Sayings of Joshu

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270.

A monk asked, "Does the oak tree also have Buddha nature?"

Joshu said, "It does."

The monk asked, "When will it attain enlightenment?"

Joshu said, "It is waiting for the sky to fall."

The monk said, "When will the sky fall?"

Joshu said, "It is waiting for the oak tree to attain enlightenment.

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12.

Joshu went to the lecture hall and preached to the people: "This matter is absolutely clear. Even the greatest ones cannot break away from it.

When I was at Master Isan's, a monk said, 'What does it mean, "Our founder came from the west"?'

Isan said, 'Bring me that chair.' If one is a master, this is how one must relate to the people, through the core of the matter."

At that, a monk asked, "What does it mean, 'Our founder came from the west'?"

Joshu said, "The oak tree in the front yard."

The monk said, "Please do not show the people the object."

Joshu said, "I will not."

The monk repeated his question: "What does it mean, 'Our founder came from the west'?"

Joshu said, "The oak tree in the front yard."

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39.

Someone asked, "What is my self?"

Joshu said, "The oak tree in the front yard. Look at it."

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PaladinBen commentary:

Oak tree by the open gate

120 years tall

drops one leaf.

"The core of the matter."

Submitted November 20, 2019 at 10:36PM by PaladinBen https://ift.tt/33b4s3K