One woman, two translators

(Hoffmann)

Sayings of Joshu 184

When Joshu was outside of the monastery, he saw an old woman planting in a field. He said, "If you met with a fierce tiger, what would you do?"
The old woman said, "There is nothing in the world that bothers me."
Joshu said, "Oh!"
The old woman said, "Oh!"
Joshu said, "There is still this, isn't there?"

 

(Green)

Recorded Sayings 206

The master once went out and saw an old woman seeding a field.
The master said, "What do you do when a ferocious tiger comes?"
The old woman said, "There is not one dharma that can be applied."
[The old woman turned back to her work and] the master shouted, "WAA!"
The old woman screamed, "WAA!"
The master said, "You still have that [dharma to use]."

 

wrrdcrone: One mightn't know until the appropriate time what will emerge. The old one met a ferocious tiger that day, and so did she. This reminds me a bit of the warnings I received when I first arrived at r/zen: "Watch out; it gets a bit rough-and-tumble in here at times" - I wonder whether my gendered username had anything to do with the concern for my wellbeing? Only when required did my tiger-yell emerge against an attacker. It gets less exercise lately.

A note on translations: In my opinion, Green's Joshu text provides more clarity to the novice reader than does Hoffmann's. When compared side by side in this way, one can better glean what might be meant by "applying dharma" when meeting a ferocious beast.

What will you use, when, and how?

Submitted August 22, 2020 at 06:35AM by wrrdgrrl https://ift.tt/3gkgWMS