Rujing's verse on Linji
Making an empty fist,
Threatening the world to death;
Such an ancestral teacher -
An animal, an ass.
Source: Timeless Spring, Cleary
Linji had a few fists up his many sleeves:
Whoever comes to me seeking something, I immediately come out to size him up, but he doesn't recognize me. Then I put on various different robes. The student forms an understanding on that basis and begins to be drawn into my words.
"Hopeless, this blind baldhead without any eyes! He concentrates on the robe I'm wearing, noting whether it is blue, yellow, red, or white. If I strip off the robe and enter a clean pure environment, the student takes one look and is filled with delight and longing. If I throw that away too, the student becomes muddled in mind, racing around wildly in a distracted manner, exclaiming that now I have no robe at all! Then I turn to him and say, 'Do you know the person who wears this robe of mine?'
Suddenly he turns his head, and then he knows me at last.
Source: Record of Linji
Who has the strength to pry open his fist? Who runs around wearing the robe on his head?
Linji has nothing to do with it.
The animal, the ass!
Submitted September 18, 2020 at 04:34PM by Coinionaire https://ift.tt/33G2MkJ
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