In the evening, the master went up into the hall and said, "People, there is a tiger on the mountain; you people should all watch out for him coming and going. This morning I myself got bit by him."

The master asked Huang-po, "Where have you come from?" Huang-po said, "From picking mushrooms on the
mountain." The master said, "There is a tiger on the mountain; did you see him?" Huang-po immediately made
a tiger's roar. The master took the axe at his side and made a gesture of chopping; Huang-po grabbed and held it, and
immediately slapped the master.

In the evening, the master went up into the hall and said, "People, there is a tiger on the mountain; you people
should all watch out for him coming and going. This morning I myself got bit by him."

Later Kuei-shan asked Yang-shan, "What about the story of Huang-po's tiger?" Yang-shan said, "What do you
say, Teacher?" Kuei-shan said, "At that time Pai-chang should have immediately slain him with one blow of the
axe; why should it come to this?" Yang-shan said, "I disagree." Kuei-shan said, "How do you see it?" Yang-shan
said, "He not only rides the tiger's head, he also knows how to hold the tiger's tail." Kuei-shan said, "Chi, you
sure have a dangerously precipitous statement there."

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Wandering Ronin commentary: What are these seemingly strange actions and reactions between the master and the student? Was this some sort of test of the master in seeing if there were any conceptual bindings of his student? What are these metaphors pointing from, and what exactly do they lead to?

Submitted January 14, 2019 at 07:17AM by WanderingRoninXIII http://bit.ly/2QKGKow