Just This

Foyan gives us a case:

Consider the case of Grand Maestro Ma: seeing a monk going downstairs, the Maestro called to him, “O Worthy!” When the monk turned his head, the Maestro said, “From birth to death, it’s just this person; why turn your head and revolve your brains?” That monk understood the essential message at these words.

Who is this “O Worthy!”? Why does Ma think that answering to this designation causes one to "revolve their brains"?

Take for example Joshu:

79.Someone asked, "When one is not concerned about before and after, past and future-what is it like?"

Joshu said, "Forget this 'not being concerned about before and after' thing for a while. To whom are you talking?"

Or as Yuanwu says, in BCR 6; "Though the frog jumps, he can't get out of the basket."

What is all this talk of “O Worthy!”? Foyan says, "If you do not see “this person,” you have no idea how your mortal being will end up." What is this "Just This"? Foyan gives an elucidating story:

Before I had understood, I was totally helpless, so I asked of my teacher. As soon as I’d ask a question, my teacher would just say, “I don’t understand. I don’t know. I’m not as good as you.” I also asked if Zen is ultimately easy to learn or hard to learn. He just told me, “You’re alright; why are you asking about difficulty and ease?

Is it easy or difficult to see what is directly before one's eyes? Think of Teshan, asking Longtan for a light; how can illumination be given or taken away by another? Foyan says,"From birth to old age, it’s just this person; why turn your head and revolve your brains? Each of you look into this on your own."

How many thousand ways can the ancient Masters say the exact same thing? Be extremely wary of anyone who is trying to "help you"; this is not what the Masters were saying. They were saying "Just This". Me? I can't help you; I don’t understand. I don’t know. I’m not as good as you.

Submitted September 08, 2020 at 04:37AM by surupamaerl https://ift.tt/3hfsNwk