Caoshan disappoints

A monk asked Hsiang-yen: "What is the Path?"
Hsiang-yen answered: "There is music from [the wind blowing at] the dried wood."
The monk asked: "Who are those in the path?"
Hsiang-yen answered: "There is an eye-pupil in the skull."

The monk did not understand and went to ask Shih-shuang what is meant by music from the dried wood. Shih-shuang said: "There is still joy there."
The monk said: "What about the eye-pupil in the skull?"
Shih-shuang said: "There is still consciousness there."

The monk did not understand either. He presented the case to the Master, who said: "Shih-shuang is a Shravaka [who attains enlightenment on hearing the teachings of the Buddha] and therefore takes such a view." Thereupon he showed the monk the following verse:

When there is music from dried wood, the Path is truly seen.

The skull has no consciousness; the eye begins to clear.

When joy and consciousness [seem to be] at an end, they are not so.

Who discriminates what is clear amidst what is turbid?

Thereupon the monk again asked the Master: "What does it mean by music from the dried wood?"
The Master said: "Life is not cut off."
Question. "What does it mean by an eye-pupil in the skull?"
The Master answered: "It is not dried up."
Question. "Is there anything more?"
The Master said: "Throughout the world not a single person has not heard."
Question: "From what poem is 'There is music from dried wood'?"
The Master said: "I don't know what poem." All of those who heard him were disappointed.

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From the section on Pen-chi (aka Caoshan Benji) in "Sources of Chinese Tradition," I got there from the wiki. A different version of this same case can be found in the commentary on BCR #2. However, it is missing the truly excellent punchline, "all those who heard him were disappointed."

Having heard, are you disappointed? When every last eyeball has dried up, will there still be music?

Submitted February 07, 2020 at 03:38AM by in_dee_nile https://ift.tt/3bne8gT