Dongshan’s record series #11
Because the Master was conducting a memorial feast for Yün-yen, a monk asked, "What teaching did you receive while you were at Yün-yen's place?"
The Master said, "Although I was there, I didn't receive any teaching."
"Since you didn't actually receive any teaching, why are you conducting this memorial?" asked the monk.
"Why should I turn my back on him?" replied the Master.
"If you began by meeting Nan-ch'üan, why do you now conduct a memorial feast for Yün-yen?" asked the monk.
"It is not my former master's virtue or Buddha Dharma that I esteem, only that he did not make exhaustive explanations for me," replied the Master.
"Since you are conducting this memorial feast for the former master, do you agree with him or not?" asked the monk.
The Master said, "I agree with half and don't agree with half."
"Why don't you agree completely?" asked the monk.
The Master said, "If I agreed completely, then I would be ungrateful to my former master."
A memorial feast! What could be better? Into this party atmosphere a monk asks Dongshan – “What teaching did you receive at Yun-yen’s place?” In effect, he is asking Dongshan, “well, what have you got?”. Dongshan says “Although I was there, I didn't receive any teaching.” What? Nothing? Then what the hell is the purpose of the temple/sub then? Maybe figuring this way, the monk says:
"Since you didn't actually receive any teaching, why are you conducting this memorial?"
He’s a pretty good monk, isn’t he? He doesn’t mind kicking at Dongshan lying down. Dongshan says “Why should I turn my back on him?" This line seems important. It looks like it could have been all over, and back to the pickled goodies at that point, but it wasn't. The monk keeps coming:
"If you began by meeting Nan-ch'üan, why do you now conduct a memorial feast for Yün-yen?" asked the monk.
"It is not my former master's virtue or Buddha Dharma that I esteem, only that he did not make exhaustive explanations for me," replied the Master.
"Since you are conducting this memorial feast for the former master, do you agree with him or not?" asked the monk.
You’ve got to hand it to the monk. He gives Dongshan no quarter.
The Master said, "I agree with half and don't agree with half."
"Why don't you agree completely?" asked the monk.
The Master said, "If I agreed completely, then I would be ungrateful to my former master."
Don’t worry about anything else. Which half does Dongshan agree with? The water is still flowing under the bridge. If you can say something, then you will also know why Dongshan is picking up incense, lighting candles, reciting sutras, getting up early, and going to bed late.
Submitted April 23, 2021 at 09:41AM by bigSky001 https://ift.tt/32Frjq5
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