Koan: Case 13; Mumonkan; "Tokusan Carried His Bowls"

KOAN:

Tokusan one day came down to the dining room carrying his bowls. Seppo said, "Old Master, the bell has not rung and the drum has not yet been struck. Where are you going with your bowls?" Tokusan at once turned back to his room. Seppo told this incident to Ganto, who remarked, "Great Master though he is, Tokusan has not yet grasped the last word of Zen." Hearing of it, Tokusan sent his attendant to call Ganto in, and asked, "Do you not approve of me?" Ganto whispered his reply to him. Tokusan was satisfied and silent. The next day Tokusan appeared on the rostrum. Sure enough, his talk was different from the usual ones. Ganto came in front of the monastery, laughed heartily, clapping his hands, and said, "What great joy it is! The old Master has now grasped the last word of Zen. From now on, nobody in the world can ever make light of him!"

 
MUMON'S COMMENTARY:

As for the last word of Zen, neither Ganto nor Tokusan has ever heard of it, even in a dream. If I examine it carefully, they are like puppets set on a shelf.

 
MUMON'S POEM:

If you understand the first word of Zen
You will know the last word.
The last word or the first word--
"It" is not a word.

 

GREENSAGE'S INSANE RAMBLINGS:

Do you know the last word of Zen? Do you know the first word? Is Mumon saying that the last word is the same as the first word, or is he saying that knowing the first word will reveal the last word to you? We know "It" is not a word but we still talk about "It"; though such talk is foolish, might there be a foolish answer to the secret of the Last Word of Zen?
 

After much contemplation of this Koan, I was able to penetrate space and time and hear the light murmurings on Ganto's lips. Though I could not hear each word, I was able to decipher his message, and so I was able to reveal the Last Word of Zen as he whispered it to Ganto so long ago.
 

Seppo was a cook who eventually became a Master in his own right. At the time in which this koan takes place, however, he was still young and learning. Where did the fault lie in his exchange with Tokusan (if we can use such a word)? Did Tokusan err? Seppo spoke, but maybe it was Tokusan who ultimately had the last word? Is this, then, the "Last Word" of Zen?
 

If you look closely you will that there is a "trick" to this koan. But the trick is merely the entrance to the inner sanctum. Within lies a puzzlebox (and as many additional puzzleboxes within that; as you may see fit to name) but ultimately it is within this inner sanctum that we see the Last Word of Zen, or rather, the "Secret" of Zen.
 

Is the Last Word of Zen merely the Word of No-Word? Is the Secret of Zen merely the Secret of No-Secret? If a Master were to answer these questions affirmatively, what would be the significance of that truth? If he or she were to answer negatively, would you believe them?
 

Ganto whispered to Tokusan due to--one must imagine--the presence of whatever witnesses were in attendance that day. But he also seems to whisper because of us; witnesses across the void of time. What a clever rogue! What a wise Master!
 

What is it that makes a Zen Master particularly great? What is it that twinkles behind their eyes when they whack you with their cane or cripple your mind with so much as a gentle phrase or a silent whisper? I tell you friends it is there that we find the Secret of Zen, it is that twinkle which tells you the Last Word!
 

If you can hear the voice in the twinkle of an eye you will know the Last Word of Zen and the incredible kindness and brilliant genuinity of these ancient Masters which turns twinkles into blazing suns and whispers into thundering roars.
 

In response to this Koan, Zenkei Shibayama Roshi quoted a poem written by Master Kodo Genju of Jojiji:
 

If you help others, do it up to the hilt.
If you kill others, be sure you see the blood.
Tokusan and Ganto,
Solid iron all through!

 
Master Mumon calls these old greats "puppets" and indeed, they are like puppets in a puppet show. Undoubtedly many in r/zen know who pulls the strings, but I think the harder question to answer (at least it has been for me) is why does the puppet master make them dance? What is the show about? If you answer merely "It is the show of no-show," you do not fully understand, and maybe you should offer to Tokusan that you will wash his bowls for him in exchange for the secret Last Word.

 

GREENSAGE'S POEM:

Rain falls on a grassy cliff overlooking a hill.
Slowly it begins to cascade in a stream
And splashes on the hilltop below
 
The water descends in rivets,
Each taking an invisible path of destiny,
Traced by the water as it flows
 
Droplet by droplet,
Brothers and sisters unite.
They run in streams,
Collect in ponds and lakes,
And eventually melt together into the ocean.

 
When Tokusan turned upstairs with his bowls,
When Ganto whispered in his ear,
When the speech was given and the compliment made,
The Last Word of Zen was manifest like the sound of the rain;
Produced by each falling droplet.
 
Seppo was wise and capable, but not yet mature.
He was soaked by the rain,
And the assembly was inundated by a tsunami.
The Last Word of Zen roared above them like the loudest thunder
And lit up the sky like the brightest flash of lightning.
Yet how many that day would see?
How many would hear?
How many will ever see and hear this most beautiful, most terrible, "Secret of Zen"?
 

For how many of you will this glorious day manifest, when the Last Word is known to you? What will you do with the Secret of Zen once you find out? Will you reveal it to all? Is such a thing possible? I would like to see you try!

Submitted July 31, 2019 at 11:02PM by GreenSage45 https://ift.tt/2K9H66M