Master Ma is Unwell

Blue Cliff Record: Case III

Great Master Ma was unwell. The temple superintendent asked him, "Teacher, how has your venerable health been in recent days?" The Great Master said, "Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha."

Yuanwu says these words which struck me and I wish to focus on them:

...when you get here you must have the ability to drive off the plowman's ox and to snatch away the hungry man's food before you will see how Great Master Ma helps people.

Take a look at the Treasury of the Eye of True Teaching #668:

Master Dongshan Chu said to an assembly,

To bring out the vehicle of the source and express the great teaching, it is necessary to have thorough clarity of vision of truth. Only then can you discern black and white. Because truth and falsehood have the same source, and water and milk are in the same container, when you get here it's hard to distinguish them. I always use the eye within the mind to observe appearances outside the body; observing over and over, then I distinguish true and false. Otherwise, what do you call a teacher? A teacher drives off the plowman's ox, takes away the hungry man's food - only then is one called a teacher. Right now, who in the world is a real teacher? Chan worthies, how many teachers have you called on? This is not an idle matter - you need to investigate thoroughly and see all the way through. When a thousand sages cannot testify, only then is a great person revealed...

Wansong explains the terms in BoS 37:

Driving away the plowman's ox, pulling its nose around; taking away the hungry man's food, holding his throat tight. Is there anyone who can administer the poison?

Yuanwu mentions it again in case 8 (my notes):

At the end of the summer retreat Ts'ui Yen said to the community, "All summer long I've been talking to you, brothers; look and see if my eyebrows are still there."

(Ts'ui claims they haven't spoken too much.)

Pao Fu said, "The thief's heart is cowardly."

(Claims Ts'ui grabbed everything not bolted down and is avoiding criticism for it. Criticizing Ts'ui's way of grabbing up eyeballs left and right.)

Ch'ang Ch'ing said, "Grown."

(Claims Ts'ui learnt a lot. Ch'ang would do the same.)

Yun Men said, "A barrier."

(Ts'ui is caught.)

Yun Men's catch takes the hungry man's food (attention, being correct) away with one impenetrable word. As the verse goes, Ts'ui tried to bribe but loses his money (all the shiny jewels he had on offer) because he can't leap clear of Yunmen's one word Zen.

Wansong gives a fascinating pointer in BoS 9:

The hungry will eat anything, the thirsty will drink anything.

By comparison, in BoS 78:

...a satisfied man doesn't care.

This could be why there are some cases where it is suggested to satisfy oneself rather than seeking the answer to a question. For example:

Zen Master Yunmen #104

"What was [Bodhidharma's] purpose in coming from the West?"

The Master replied, "[You must be hungry after such a long trip;] there's gruel and rice on the long bench!"

(Instead of asking questions, get satisfied.)

Or something like the Treasury of the Eye of True Teaching #178:

Master Guanxi Xian said to an assembly,

There are no walls in the ten directions, and no gates in the four quarters; bare, naked, there is nothing to grasp.

Q: "Why did the founder of Chan come from the West?"

A: "A bowl full of rice, a container full of soup."

Q: "I don't understand."

A: "When hungry, eat; when full, stop."

Based on all of this, we can see that it is the opinion of Yuanwu that Ts'ui is attempting to fill others who are not satisfied (Ch'ang, for example). Yunmen's "grabbing a hungry man's food" is cutting off Ts'ui's compulsion to use his great learning to pull all the hungry people to him (see many admonitions against cults in this subreddit).

Back to Master Ma.

Yuanwu says it is not:

-the Master teaching the superintendent

-talking about his literal face

-asking for medicine

(I don't see how anyone could have made these connections, but there it is)

Yuanwu says:

The single road of transcendence has not been transmitted by a thousand sages; students trouble themselves with forms like monkeys grasping at reflections.

(Sidenote: When I read this in Linji the first time I was so embarrassed for knowing Zen that I put the whole thing down for quite a while)

Tou's Verse

Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha; /What kind of people were the Ancient Emperors?/For twenty years I have suffered bitterly;/How many times I have gone down into the Blue Dragon's cave for you!/This distress/Is worth recounting;/Clear-eyed patchrobed monks should not take it lightly.

Yuanwu stresses the Blue Dragon's cave at length; going down in search of the pearl, being absolutely thorough. So what if Tou was distressed? Where is your Sun Face Buddha, your Moon Face Buddha? Master Ma takes away your understanding before you can even dream of sinking your teeth in. Another 30 years of study and maybe I'll get it.

Submitted September 01, 2020 at 04:57AM by surupamaerl https://ift.tt/3lDUDWb