The Gateless Gate: Kempõ's One Road [48th Case]
A monk asked Kempõ Oshõ, "It is written, 'Bhagavats in the ten directions. One straight road to Nirvana.'
I still wonder where the road can be."
Kempõ lifted his staff, drew a line, and said, "Here it is."
Later the monks asked the same question to Unmon, who held up his fan and said, "This fan jumps up to the thirty-third heaven and hits the nose of the deity Sakra Devanam Indra.
When you strike the carp of the eastern sea, the rain comes down in torrents."
Mumon's Comment
One, going to the bottom of the sea, lifts up clouds of dust; the other, on the top of the highest mountain, rises towering waves to wash the sky.
One holding fast, the other letting go, each stretches out his hand to support the profound teaching.
They are just like two riders starting from opposite ends of the course and meeting in the middle.
But none on earth can be absolutely direct.
When examined with a true eye, neither of these two great masters knows the road.
Mumon's Verse
Before a step is taken, the goal is reached;
Before the tongue is moved, the speech is finished.
Though each move is ahead of the next,
There is still a transcendent secret.
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Commentary and questions: In my two years in the Zen forum, one thing that puzzles me is how often I've been called a liar by other members, and how often I've seen others throw the term out at someone else that they disagree with. Before you jump to the conclusion that this is some sort of self-serving post that I came up with in order to be seen in a more favorable light, nothing could be further from the truth. What do your opinions and preferences have to do with my reality? I know how divisive I can be at times, and not everyone is going to understand me or what I do.
So what is the nature of this term 'liar'? It could be seen as one who actively and knowingly deceives, or one who engages in falsehoods. But why lie in the Zen forum, and what purpose would that serve? If someone told a continued series of lies in here, would they have anything whatsoever to gain from that? Of course not. The problem in the forum may also stem from miscommunication, and have nothing to do with someone lying. Your 'truth' may be something completely different from my 'truth', and understandings of course don't always line up for flawless communication.
Looking at the case above, there are at least four or five outright quantifiable lies in it if we're being technical about the subject. Is it completely unacceptable when a student of Zen lies, but somehow acceptable when a Zen master lies? Why would lying be justified to you from someone who is enlightened? One could say that Unmon lied as soon as he opened his mouth in this case: "Unmon, who held up his fan and said, "This fan jumps up to the thirty-third heaven and hits the nose of the deity Sakra Devanam Indra."
There could be a point that a Zen master could be using lies or fanciful fabrications and metaphors in order to reveal the truth of the underlying principle, but at what point does a lie become a metaphor or lesson? And if the heart of Zen practice is putting a stop to conceptual thinking, couldn't it be said that the underlying principle is beyond all conceivable truths and falsehoods?
Submitted January 15, 2020 at 11:33PM by _WanderingRonin_ https://ift.tt/2Ts2fiQ
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