This is one of those rare ones that has the same number assigned in both the Green and Hoffmann (zenmarrow) texts.
Sources: "Radical Zen: The Sayings of Joshu", trans. Yoel Hoffmann, Autumn Press, 1978 and "The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu", trans. James Green, Shambhala, 2001.
A monk asked, "A holy temple - what is it like?"
Joshu said, "A maiden with her hair rolled up [i.e., a virgin]."
The monk said, "Those inside the holy temple - what are they like?"
Joshu said, "A maiden with her hair rolled up, pregnant."
A monk asked, "What is the pure undefiled sangha?"
The master said, "A girl in pig-tails."
The monk asked, "What are the people in the sangha?"
The master said, "The girl in pig-tails is pregnant."
grrl: Joshu's wry wit strikes again. Back in the time this dialogue first occurred, life was much simpler and the world much smaller. Even in the time that has passed since I first read this book until today, the world (my worldview, the news in particular) has changed. Because of this I was compelled to post up my process of persusal. Another defilement, perhaps.
1. Is the master claiming that a place of worship is only holy until the worshippers arrive? And/or, is the gathering congregation a natural result, like the girl/woman* preparing to give birth?
*The idea of a "girl" becoming pregnant is upsetting to me as a SA survivor and parent, and with the recent (US) reversal of abortion rights for raped kids, this case jumped off the page at me to be examined through my own biases as a means to elucidation.
2. Is this case about the sangha (idea of sangha/place) or is it about the people (without which there is no idea of "sangha")? As usual I'm likely complicating this unnecessarily; I suspect that historical context is required.
3. Would anyone like to share their thoughts on the way female persons are depicted in the texts? With the exception of Layman P'ang's daughter, Ling Zhao, most others mentioned are "girl" or "old woman". I'm not talking about the absence of female zen masters, I'm talking about the way grrls in the cases act as foils or props for the witty wise ones. Although the grrl often gets the last laugh, she is rarely important enough to be named, suggesting her burning comebacks are but another adornment with which the humbled master can adorn himself.
4. Triggered a memory of playing hand games as a child. Wondering as an adult what indoctrination occurred and how such subtleties shaped my view on religion and religious practices. These days, steepled churches abound but often are empty, far from the hubs of community life they once were.
Submitted May 08, 2023 at 05:40PM by wrrdgrrI https://ift.tt/BcfxKju
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