The Blue Cliff Record: He carried his bundle with him into the teaching hall, where he crossed from east to west and from west to east. He looked around and said, "There's nothing, no one." Then he went out.

The Blue Cliff Record: Te Shan Carrying His Bundle [4th Case]

POINTER

Under the blue sky, in the bright sunlight, you don't have to point out this and that anymore; but the causal conditions of time and season still require you to give the medicine in accordance with the disease. But tell me, is it better to let go, or is it better to hold still? To test, I cite this: look!

CASE

When Te Shan arrived at Kuei Shan, he carried his bundle with him into the teaching hall, where he crossed from east to west and from west to east. He looked around and said, "There's nothing, no one." Then he went out.

Hsueh Tou added the comment, "Completely exposed." But when Te Shan got to the monastery gate, he said, "Still, I shouldn't be so coarse." So he reentered the hall with full ceremony to meet Kuei Shan. As Kuei Shan sat there, Te Shan held up his sitting mat and said, "Teacher!" Kuei Shan reached for his whisk, whereupon Te Shan shouted, shook out his sleeves, and left.

Hsueh Tou added the comment, "Completely exposed."

Te Shan turned his back on the teaching hall, put on his straw sandals, and departed. That evening Kuei Shan asked the head monk, "Where is that newcomer who just came?" The head monk answered, "At that time he turned his back on the teaching hall, put on his straw sandals, and departed."

Kuei Shan said, "Hereafter that lad will go to the summit of a solitary peak, build himself a grass hut, and go on scolding the Buddhas and reviling the Patriarchs."

Hsueh Tou added the comment, "He adds frost to snow."

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Wandering Ronin commentary and questions: Form is simply form before any and all meanings are applied. Those who understand aren't bound to forms, and those who don't understand may see such people as Te Shan to be extraordinary or unusual. Outer forms are easy enough to perceive clear through, but what about inner thought? Let fall body, let fall mind... what then? What is able to cross through the Gateless Gate was there before you were even born to make the attempt.

Submitted November 02, 2019 at 11:06PM by WanderingRoninXIII https://ift.tt/2WA0Ia8