Vacant Hall Collection - Jiufeng, The Attendant

LINQUAN'S INTRODUCTION

People are tested with words, water is tested with a stick, deep and shallow, high and low-how can they be mixed up? How pitiful - one spot of feelings' dust makes you half light and half dark. If you can lose yourself and follow the others, I dare say then there'd be no regret. Is there not someone who can let go and be free?

QUOTATION

Jiufeng was with Shishuang, serving as his attendant.

After Shishuang passed on, the community wanted to ask the senior monk in the hall to succeed him as abbot, but Jiufeng did not agree; he said, "Wait 'till I question him; if he understands the late master's meaning, I will serve him as I did the late master."

So he asked the senior monk, "The late master said, 'Cease, desist, for ten thousand years in an instant, like cold ashes, a dead tree, a censer in an ancient shrine, a strip of white silk' - tell me, what does this illustrate?"

The senior monk said, "It illustrates the matter of uni- formity."

Jiufeng said, "Then you don't understand the late master's meaning yet."

The senior monk said, "You don't agree with me? Come set up some incense."

Then he lit the incense and said, "If I don't understand the late master's meaning, I couldn't die while this incense smoke is rising." So saying, he sat down and passed away.

Jiufeng then patted him on the back and said, "I don't deny you can die sitting or standing, but when it comes to the late master's meaning, you're not there yet."

CAOSHAN'S VERSE

The formless body of complete illumination of the nature of awareness;

Don't use knowledge and views, misconstruing far and near.

If thoughts vary, you're blind to the profound essence;

If the mind differs, you're not close to the path.

When feelings discriminate myriad things, they submerge the present situation;

When consciousness perceives many aspects, you lose the original reality.

If you can clearly understand from such sayings, Clearly you're the man of before, without any concern.

DANXIA'S VERSE

Wearing horns, covered with fur - a different species body.

Cold ashes, dead tree-dust in the eyes.

Even if he didn't yet understand the late master's meaning,

Nonetheless his one saying on the verge of going was new.

🍑 💨 💩 talking shit:

People are tested with words just as water is tested with a stick. If you can't stand up to the words you can't pass the test. If you refuse to take part in the test, you refuse to take part in Zen. Look at the history of Zen, it doesn't exist in a dead doctrine or a decomposing set of beliefs - it always has and always will exist as a living conversation.

Phoney bologna people like to come to this sub and start their own dead conversation, refusing to answer when asked, refusing to take part in the historical conversation. They'd rather parade around with their woowoo understandings they made up themselves claiming "this is Zen!", mock the family, and deceive newcomers.

To them I ask, when have you ever understood anything of Zen? If you don't answer when questioned, if you lie and throw a tantrum when confronted with words, what does that say about your Zen study? What does that say about your sincerity? What does that say about YOU?

Phoney bologna!

I'll let you in on a secret; My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R. 😂

Submitted June 16, 2020 at 08:59PM by HoboStevelrwin https://ift.tt/3fzft5r