Sayings of Joshu #448 Passing by the main hall, Joshu saw a monk >worshipping. Joshu hit him once with his stick.
The monk said, "After all, worshipping is a good thing."
Joshu said, "A good thing isn't as good as nothing."
This is an interesting case to consider. First is the monk worshipping. I believe Joshu hit him because he knew the problem with worshipping , which creates a worshipper and something worshipped which is dualistic , an obstacle to enlightenment.
The monk says what he is doing is a good thing
Joshua reponds: "A good thing isn't as good as nothing."
I interpret this several ways. Is he saying that it is better to worship nothing rather than something? Or is he simply saying that experiencing nothing is better than experiencing some thing even if it is good? Another consideration was that Joshu had realized that all things ,no matter how good, are inseparable from nothing, and nothing ( emptiness) being an aspect of enlightened mind was preferred over something.
Submitted March 05, 2023 at 11:48AM by Ok_Understanding_188 https://ift.tt/hYxFDrC
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