Chao Chou's Four Gates

Blue Cliff Record: Case IX

A monk asked Chao Chou, "What is Chao Chou?"¹

Chao Chou replied, "East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate."²

 

NOTES

^1. North of the river, south of the river, no one can say. There are thorns in the soft mud. If it's not south of the river, then it's north of the river.

^2. They're open. "When we're reviling each other, I let you lock lips with me; when we're spitting at each other, I let you spew me with slobber." The public case is obviously complete; but do you see? I strike!

 

CAUTION!

Zen is about liberation. Joshu doesn't give much to sink one's teeth into. I think the best course of action to render one's confusion moot is to look at Joshu in their natural habitat. Then, if necessary, we can discuss Xuedou and Yuanwu, and what "East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate" means.

 

Joshu's Wild Adventures

290.Someone asked, "When living in seclusion in caves and gorges for a long time-how is it then?"

Joshu said, "Why don't you go away and hide?"

The gates are open. Look!

230.Someone asked, "When in the state of nirvana, free from causality-what is that like?"

Joshu said, "I am far behind you."

The gates are open. Look!

259.Someone asked, "The wisdom attained without the help of a master-what is it like?"

Joshu said, "I haven't taught you that, have I?"

The gates are open. LOOK!

 

I told a friend at work who knows nothing about Zen this case and they said "Joshu can go anywhere he wants!" That made me laugh a lot.

 

Foyan tells a story:

At the time [of the Second Patriarch of Zen], a certain meditation teacher heard about the Zen patriarch and sent a senior disciple to spy on his lectures. When the disciple didn’t come back, the meditation teacher was enraged. When they met at a major convocation, the teacher personally said to his former disciple, “I expended so much effort to plant you; how could you turn your back on me this way?” The former disciple replied, “My vision was originally right, but was distorted by teachers.” This is what Zen Study is like.

Later, someone asked Xuefeng, “How is it when one’s vision is originally correct but distorted by teachers?” Xuefeng said, “Confused encounter with the founder of Zen.” The seeker asked, “Where is one’s own vision?” Xuefeng said, “It is not gotten from a teacher.” This is the way you have to be before you attain realization.

 

Yuanwu explains:

When you immerse yourself in meditation and inquire about the Path, it is in order to clearly understand yourself; just avoid picking and choosing among verbal formulations. Why? Haven't you read what Chao Chou said-"The ultimate path has no difficulties; just avoid picking and choosing." And haven't you read what Yun Men said-"These days whenever followers of Ch'an gather in threes and fives their mouths chatter on and on; they say 'these are words of high ability, those are words uttered in reference to the self."' They don't realize that within the gate of expedient means the Ancients couldn't help but establish expedient verbal formulae for latecoming students of elementary capacities who had not yet clarified their mind ground nor seen their fundamental nature. In the Patriarch's coming from the West for the sole transmission of the mind seal, directly pointing to the human mind for the perception of nature and fulfillment of Buddhahood, where were there any such complications? It is necessary to cut off words, to see the truth outside of any pattern. When you penetrate through to liberation, this can be compared to a dragon reaching the water or a tiger at home in the mountains.

 

CAUTION!

Yuanwu gives the full story:

The monk asked, "What is Chao Chou?" Chao Chou is an adept in his own right, so he immediately replied, "East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate." The monk said, "I wasn't asking about that Chao Chou." Chao Chou said, "What Chao Chou were you asking about?"

 

To those who might be confused, it was common back in the old days for ZM's to take up the name of the place they resided; Huangbo ate at Mt. Huangbo, Joshua lived at Chao Chou. Maybe the monk got confused. Yuanwu holds their hand:

Later people said this was "no-nothing Ch'an" cheating quite a few people. What was their reason? When the monk asked about Chao Chou, Chao Chou answered, "East gate, west gate, south gate, north gate"; therefore (these people say) he was just answering about the other Chao Chou (i.e. the city). If you understand in this fashion, then any rustic from a village of three families understands more about the Buddha Dharma than you do. Such an interpretation destroys the Buddha Dharma.

 

Not that. Okay. Here is an unrelated sermon from Yuanwu I liked:

Some people say, "Fundamentally there isn't the slightest bit of anything, but when we have tea we drink tea, and when we have rice we eat rice." This is big vain talk; I call this claiming attainment without having attained, claiming realization without having realized. Basically since they haven't bored in and penetrated through, when they hear people speaking of mind or nature, of the mysterious or the abstruse, they say, "This is just mad talk; fundamentally there isn't anything to be concerned with." This could be called one blind man leading many blind men. They are far from knowing that before the Patriarch came, people scarcely called the sky earth, or called mountains rivers...Even the ultimate principle of theory is not yet the place of peace and security. People often misunderstand this point; they stay within the realm of unconcern and neither pay homage to the Buddhas nor burn incense. They do indeed seem to be right, but in spite of that they're totally wrong. When questioned, their replies do resemble the ultimate principle, but as soon as they are pressed, they're shattered, confused; they sit there with an empty belly and a proud heart, but when they get to their last day they'll wring their hands and beat their breasts, but it'll already be too late.

 

Back to Joshu. Yuanwu gives us a riddle, a story, and a verse:

Chao Chou answered this way; tell me, how will you look for them? This way won't do, not this way won't do either; ultimately, how is it?

...

One day while Chao Chou was sitting, his attendant reported to him, "The great king has come." Chao Chou looked surprised and said, "Myriad felicitations, O great king!" The attendant said, "He has not yet come to you, Master." Chao Chou said, "And you said he's come."

...

The attendant only knew how to announce a guest,/He did not know that be himself was in the imperial city./Chao Chou went into the weeds to look for the man,/Heedless of getting his whole body soaked in muddy water.

 

"Do all of you people know the truth of this? Look into Hsueh Tou's verse:"

 

VERSE

In their words they show their ability in direct confrontation:/The Adamantine Eye is completely void of dust. /East, West, South, North-the gates face each other;/An endless series of hammer blows can't smash them open.

 

Yuanwu comments:

Chao Chou faces situations just like the Diamond King's jewel sword: hesitate, and immediately he cuts your head off; time and time again he will go on and snatch your eyeballs right away...It's like giving rise to something where there's nothing;...It wasn't that [Joshu] acted like this out of whimsy; because he was a man who had penetrated through, naturally he fit in the same groove with the monk, as if it were all arranged.

 

Smash the case with a hammer to reveal the treasure inside. It's like the end of every new age mystical story: the jewel was you the whole time! Joshu is not within the four gates of Chao Chou; where are they right now! Yuanwu explains again:

Haven't you heard? There was an outsider who came to question the World Honored One holding a sparrow in his hand. He said, "Tell me, is this sparrow in my hand dead or alive?" The World Honored One then went and straddled the threshold and said, "You tell me, am I going out or coming in?" The outsider was speechless; then he bowed in homage. This story is just like the main case; ever since then the bloodline of the Ancients has been unbroken. Thus it is said, "The question is where the answer is, the answer is where the question is."

 

And again, and again, and again:

Hsueh Tou says, "East, west, south, north-the gates face each other; an endless series of hammer blows can't smash them open." Since the hammer blows continue without limit, why can't they smash the gates open? It's that Hsueh Tou's vision is like this. How will all of you people get these gates open? Please examine this thoroughly.

 

I'm telling you this; it was all there before I even opened my mouth! Trollolololol!

Submitted September 15, 2020 at 06:10PM by surupamaerl https://ift.tt/3mnjnm3