This is the 53rd case from Wansong's Book of Serenity,
Huangbo said to the assembly, "You people are all slurpers of dregs. If you travel like this, where will you have today? Do you know that in all of China there are no teachers of Chan?" At that point a monk came forward and said, "What about those who guide followers and lead groups in various places?" Huangbo said, "I don't say there's no Chan, just that there are no teachers."
I think the Book of Serenity is an incredible book. It’s full of history and poetry and a bunch of information you need to understand the context of both of those.
It’s also interesting to read how Wansong writes his comments. He doesn’t see the cases as something that needs to be solved or something that’s a threat to his some deeply held beliefs. He’s at ease with the historical record.
How many religious claims about the Zen tradition does this book completely demolish? There are a hundred cases in it, so I’d say if you care about meditation, or claiming Zen is a form of buddhism, or anything else that the historical record doesn’t prove, you better watch out for this book. As for Wansong, he has nothing to worry about, "When the things you're concerned with are few, your troubles are few."
Submitted May 08, 2023 at 06:39AM by astroemi https://ift.tt/3MldRv0
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