Yunmen said, "Even if a word, the very instant it is brought up, puts the thousand differences into a single groove and includes the minutest particles, it is still but an expression of salvational teaching. What then is a patch-robed monk supposed to say?"
[. . .]
At the time a monk asked, "How about saying something that transcends the buddhas and goes beyond the patriarchs?"
The Master said, "Sesame flatcake."
The monk went on: 'What's the connection?"
The Master said, "Exactly! What's the connection?!"
"I am not questioning you about the core of the Buddhist doctrine but would like to know what stands at the center of our own tradition."
The Master replied, "Well, you've posed your question; now quickly bow three times!"
Someone asked Yunmen, "Though this is constantly my most pressing concern, I cannot find any way in. Please, Master, show me a way in!"
The Master said, "Just in your present concern there is a way."
Yunmen takes your question and gives you 'sesame flatcake' in answer. He indulges you even further when asked about the connection. How could anyone say he wasn't tenderhearted to all three wastrel monks?
Anyways, what's the way in?
Submitted January 11, 2020 at 09:03PM by ThatKir https://ift.tt/2QHGKci
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