Someone once asked Master Yunmen, "Since ancient times, the old worthies have transmitted mind by mind. Today I ask you, master: What method do you use?"
The master said, "When there's a question, there’s an answer."
The questioner continued, "In this case, it isn’t a wasted method."
The master said, "No question, no answer."
Yunmen Wenyan [864-949]
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Commentary: Forgive the dualism, but the more I read about his cases and teachings, the more Yunmen proves quite extraordinary even among the historic Zen masters. His recorded words and actions at once capture something vast and profoundly empty; even here, he leaves nothing behind and no stone unturned.
This case with Yunmen again reveals the way of putting a stop to conceptual thinking: no question, no answer. What could the question be, and where do you expect to find the answer?
Yunmen is pointing yet again towards the source-essence of mind: if someone has a question, the question at once separates them from the answer, putting it just outside of their grasp. How could there be any questions, and how could the answers be apart from mind? That old dragon is certainly one to watch, haha
Submitted October 12, 2020 at 07:50PM by __WanderingRonin__ https://ift.tt/2SN09IV
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