№ 27 from Green's The Sayings of Layman P'ang
When the Layman arrived at Zen Master Ch'ang-tzu's place, the monks were assembling for a discourse as he entered the temple grounds.
The Layman stood outside as the monks approached the lecture hall and said, "Each of you would do well to speak from your own experience."
As Ch'ang-tzu addressed the assembly, the Layman stood to the right side of the dias.
When the discourse was finished, a monk asked, "Could the Master please speak without violating his true self?"
Ch'ang-tzu said, "Are you acquainted with Mr. P'ang?"
The monk said, "I am not acquainted with him."
Thereupon, the Layman grabbed the monk by the lapels and said, "Is it that hard [to be acquainted with me]? Is it that hard?"
The monk could not reply, and the Layman let go of him.
Later, Ch'ang-tzu asked the Layman, "Would it be worthwhile taking the stick to that monk?"
The Layman said, "What have you been waiting for?"
Ch'ang-tzu said, "The Layman only knows how to work with an awl; he doesn't know how to work with a chisel."
The Layman said, "Then you wouldn't say something meaningful to a person if someone else overhearing it couldn't understand it?"
Ch'ang-tzu said, "Why wouldn't someone else understand it?"
The Layman said, "The Master only knows how to work with a chisel; he doesn't know how to work with an awl."
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Comment:
- I have found that clapping two stones together can have interesting effect. Sometimes there is neither chisel or awl.
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Submitted September 24, 2020 at 08:25PM by Duct_Dodgers https://ift.tt/32ZnLQE
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