Sekiso has no fear of heights

Mumonkan, Case 46 (trans. Eiichi Shimmomisé)

Case

Master Sekiso said, "You are at the top of the 100 foot high pole. How will you make a step further?" Another Zen Master of Ancient Times said, "One who sits on top of the 100 foot pole has not quite attained true enlightenment. Make another step forward from the top of the pole and throw one's own body into the 100,000 universes."

Mumon's Comments:

Should there be any who is able to step forward from the top of the 100 foot pole and hurl one's whole body into the entire universe, this person may call oneself a Buddha. Nevertheless, how can one make a step forward from the top of the 100 foot pole? Know thyself!

Mumon's Verse:

Should one be content and settle on top of the 100,000 foot pole,
One will harm the third eye,
And will even misread the marks on the scale.
Should one throw oneself and be able to renounce one's life,
Like one blind person leading all other blind persons,
One will be in absolute freedom (unattached from the eyes).

king_nine's Comments:

Mumon's words are dangerous if taken at face value - to throw oneself off the pole in order to call oneself a Buddha is merely to step off of one pole and onto another, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon style. In fact, to take credit for the leap at all is to cling to the pole by one toe. When it's time to jump, just jump, and the falling will happen all by itself.

Submitted February 05, 2020 at 12:05AM by king_nine https://ift.tt/2Sj4aUY