Zhaozhou asked a monk, “Have you been here before?” The monk replied, “I have.” The master said, “Go have some tea!” Again, he asked a monk, “Have you been here before?” The monk replied, “I’ve never been here before.” The master said, “Go have some tea!” The cloister chief asked, “Why do you tell them to go have some tea when they’ve been here before and (also) when they’ve never been here before?” The master called for the cloister chief and the chief answered. The master said, “Go have some tea!”
.
Dajue Huailian’s verse
How could you call baitu and sesame tea precious?
When northerners exchange greetings they show deep affection,
Right now if you encounter a saindhava,
Specially cook some yan’gao and treat him like a guest of honor.
.
Touzi Yiqing’s verse
Seeing a monk, (the master) asks whether he’s been here before or not,
Some say they have and others say they have not been here before,
Sit them down, drink some tea, and bid them farewell,
The dark smoke deceptively changes the green patterns on the moss.
.
Jianfu Benyi’s verse
Master craftsmen of the Chan grove truly find it difficult to contribute,
Facing the task, how could there be degrees of disparity,
Regardless of whether you are a new arrival or an old resident,
He shows deep affection with a single cup of tea.
.
Jiangshan Faquan’s verse
The cup is raised in three different grades to maintain utmost propriety,
Who can stare at a face and determine ugly and beautiful?
Stone bridge, dilapidated cloister, and nothing of value,
Mix some sesame in and boil it in the same way.
.
Cuiyan Zongyue’s verse
Zhaozhou has a saying, “Go have some tea,”
Clear-eyed monks in patched robes are all swindled,
Un-swindled but not permitted,
Heshan’s “He knows how to beat a drum”—how laughable!
.
Huanglong Huinan’s verse
Zhaozhou tests people about the ins and outs (of the Way),
They nonchalantly open their mouths and he become their sympathetic friend,
Had he stared at them in the face without clear eyes,
How could the style of our tradition have survived to this day?
.
Again his verse
He meets, inquires, and learns where they came from,
Be it an acquaintance or not he offers them tea,
Reflecting back on those who ephemerally came and went,
Hurry! Hurry! Who could discern the flowers that fill the cup?
.
Haiyin Chaoxin’s verse
At Zhaozhou’s “Go have some tea,”
Patch-robed monks are all at a loss what to do,
Even a saindhava,
Would not be able to avoid being given instructions,
If not an instruction, then go have some tea.
.
Donglin Changcong’s verse
With three cups of tea he advances his house style,
Far, near, high, or low, they all share the same road,
Those who come and go without having enjoyed the clear fragrance,
Who knows the man who dwells west of the eastern cloister well?
.
Fazhen Shouyi’s verse
People come to pay Zhaozhou a visit,
All they were told was to go have some tea,
The clueless cloister chief did not understand,
But he was given another cup and now he understands.
.
Tiangtong Zhengjue’s verse
Whether they’ve ever been there before or not,
They drink tea all the same,
Not attached to mechanisms,
Not especially skilled,
If it isn’t a plainly presented house style,
How could you follow the waves and currents?
Just be wary of picking and choosing and do not discriminate,
And you’ll be able to understand the old reverend Zhaozhou.
.
Chengtian Huai’s verse
Making moves without end in response to skill (in chan),
Whether they’ve ever been there before or not it is tea all the same,
Before it could enter the mouth the whole thing is spilled,
Who can, under these circumstances, discern the flowers in the cup?
.
Zhihai Zhiqing’s verse
Zhaozhou Congshen is the true good teacher
Everyone who comes he offers them tea to drink,
Ever since Lu Yu compiled the Scripture of the Transcendents,
To this very moment we are remain cut off from the reveal facts.
.
Again his verse
The decrepit Chan monk is Zhaozhou,
Knowledgeable about the ins and outs of drinking tea,
With the demons gone there is no news from him,
He makes the tortoise king wait endlessly in vain.
.
Huanglong Xin’s verse
Zhaozhou’s “Go have some tea,”
An extraordinary house style,
Whether they’ve ever been there before or not,
A true pick-pocket.
.
Shangfang Riyi’s verse
Once they enter the gate he does not question their rank,
With lightning speed he offers them a cup of tea,
How laughable! A Shandong native living in Hebei,
He adds zhima (sesame) to what had already been prepared.
.
Chongsheng Yuangong’s verse
Zhaozhou’s tea gongan is truly difficult to discuss,
A clear mirror is originally spotless,
Reflecting back on those who paid tribute back then,
At (the Buddha’s) last moments Cunda showed the deepest affection,
The deepest affection!
How could this compare to swallowing a chewed-up pit?
.
Cishou Huaishen’s verse
Those who’ve already been there before, “Go have some tea,”
Those who’ve never been there before, “Go have some tea,”
The old Chan monk Zhaozhou,
His words are sweet but his mind is bitter,
His mind is bitter!
Even to this very moment there is no way to wipe it away.
.
Foyan Qingyuan’s verse
Zhaozhou’s one cup of tea,
He examines every expert,
As a temporary measure it seems okay,
But how could you avoid becoming scattered all over the place?
.
Muan Fachong’s verse
Whether they’ve ever been there before or not,
They drink a cup of tea,
The way he greets a guest was like this,
Indifference is (the way of the) sangha.
.
Songyuan Chongyue’s verse
Zhaozhou’s “Go have some tea,”
A poisonous snake is blocking the old path,
Only after you take a step on it will you know your mistake,
Even the Buddha can’t do anything about it.
.
Jiean Zhipeng’s verse
Light a fire in a cold stove,
Drop a brick (and fetch a jade) in a busy crowd,
Have the boat follow the current down stream,
Where you wash your feet you board a ship.
.
Baofu Congzhan said, “Zhaozhou indulges in his expedient means.”
Fayun Yue added a comment, “Reverend Zhaozhou knew only how to work this way but not that way. Be that as it may, ‘the performance comes to an end and no one (of the performers) is in sight; the numerous peaks floating on top of the river are green.’ ”
Nanming Faquan during an informal sermon raised this gongan and said, “How pitiful! Zhaozhou took a cup of low-grade tea and gave it to this person and that person. Although it is bitter and does not suit your taste, the tea came from the family garden. All of you have been to the Jiangnan, Liangzhe, Hebei, Xichuan (Sichuan) circuits, so speak! Whose tea is the best? Is there no one who brought some back? Show it to the assembly!” After a pause he said, “Even if you are able to bring some back, you won’t be able to avoid preparing it carelessly.”
Tiantong Zhengjue ascended the hall, raised this gongan, and also raised, “Jingqing asked a monk, ‘Zhaozhou’s “Go have some tea,” what do you make of it?’ The monk just left. Jingqing said, ‘Someone from Handan learns the Tang gait.’” Xuedou added a comment and said, “This monk is not a man from Handan. Why would he learn the Tang gait?” The master said, “Go have some tea! Go have some tea! He clearly instructed people without saying anything exceptional. His house style was plainly presented and did not use mechanisms. Who says Zhaozhou deceived the cloister chief? How painful! How painful! How painful! People from Handan often learn the Tang gait (i.e., superficially imitate style) and walk as they are supposed to on the roads of Chang’an. They clearly have eyes, but they are like the blind.
Jingqing said, ‘Someone from Handan learns the Tang gait.’ Xuedou said, ‘This monk is not a man from Handan. Why would he learn the Tang gait?’ Do you understand? Those who rely on their skills lose. Those who deceive their enemy perish.”
Yangshan Xingwei ascended the hall, raised this gongan, and said, “The cloister chief does not ask east or west, drinks a cup, and does not know where it came from. Anyone who has had a cup of Zhaozhou’s tea must demand a snack since his tea is tasteless. It is not like the scrumptious jian tea of Mt. Huangbo. Therefore our former master Huanglong said, ‘Who is willing to drink Zhaozhou’s tea?’ Today I briefly exposed my house style and showed it to the great assembly. My house style is very normal. It is simple, straightforward, and does not hide. If you understand, then you understand immediately. If you don’t understand, then don’t come up with random calculations. Speak! Is this in line with (teachings of) the ancients or not?” He struck the meditation bench once with his staff.
Hanyan Huisheng entered the cloister, ascended the hall, raised this gongan, and said, “Great assembly! Zhaozhou brandished a three-foot hair-splitting sword and brandished it all around at the crossroad. No one could match his barbs. But for this reason most people keep their eyes and mouth wide open and have not tried Zhaozhou’s tea. In the end what can be done?” After a pause he said, “Go drink some tea.”
Baiyun Zhibing added a comment, “He placed it right before your eyes. It’s been clearly exposed and nothing has been left private. It’s been presented to you right in front of your face. Not a single phrase hides anything. ‘Were a toad to go into your ear or a poisonous snake to dig into your eyes, at that time, how would you get it?' I had assumed that the barbarian’s beard was red, but here we have a red-bearded barbarian!”
Xinwen Tanfen added a comment, “Zhaozhou uses his mouth to manage human affairs and yet his lips aren’t even wet. If a special guest with an eye for the truth were to see him (Zhaozhou) say that, this guest would raise his clasped hands high and say, ‘Please don’t bother getting up.’ ” ...
Swindled and unswindled. It's the family style.
When I was running around looking for my head, trying to navigate the white noise I had acquired on r/Zen, I noticed quickly that only one person had Joshu's style: u/ThatKir. I set out to learn his secret.
Now everyone thinks I'm an @$$hole too!
XD
Have some tea!
Chentian said:
Before it could enter the mouth the whole thing is spilled,
Who can, under these circumstances, discern the flowers in the cup?
Zhihai said:
With the demons gone there is no news from him,
He makes the tortoise king wait endlessly in vain.
Chongsheng said:
The deepest affection!
How could this compare to swallowing a chewed-up pit?
Har Har Har!
But Foyan warns:
As a temporary measure it seems okay,
But how could you avoid becoming scattered all over the place?
What are we to make of these Zen waves? Only an expert boatman knows how to land their craft on shore.
👅
-Huangbo
Submitted April 21, 2021 at 01:44AM by samadhi-sheol https://ift.tt/2RHyvjc
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