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Shoyoroku - Case 17: Hogen's "Hairsbreadth"
Hogen asked Shuzanshu,
"'If there is only a hairsbreadth of difference, it is the distance between
heaven and earth.'[1] How do you understand that?"
Shuzanshu said,
"If there is only a hairsbreadth of difference, it is the distance between
heaven and earth."
Hogen said,
"If that's your understanding, how could you ever attain IT?"
Shuzanshu said,
"My view is just that. How about you, Master?"
Hogen said,
"If there only is a hairsbreadth of difference, it is the distance between
heaven and earth."
Shuzanshu made a deep bow.
[1]: Cited from the Shinjinmei (A Hymn of Sincere Mind), a work by the Third
Patriarch Sosan. See also Miscellaneous Koans 21-2.
Shoyoroku - Case 18: Joshu's Dog [1]
A monk asked Joshu,
"Does the dog have buddha-nature, or not?"
Joshu said,
"It has" [U].
The monk said,
"If it has it, why did it creep into that skin bag?"
Joshu said,
"Because it does so knowingly."
Another monk asked,
"Does the dog have buddha-nature, or not?"
Joshu said,
"It has not" [Mu].
The monk said,
"All living beings have buddha-nature [2]. Why doesn't the dog have any?"
Joshu said,
"Because it is in its karma-consciousness."
[1]: see case 1 of Mumonkan: the Shoyoroku case presents a fuller text of
the dialogue.
[2]: Quotation from the Nirvana Sutra 7, 25.
Shoyoroku - Case 19: Unmon's "Mt. Sumeru"
A monk asked Unmon,
"Not a single thought arises: is there any fault or not?"
Unmon said,
"Mt. Sumeru. [1]"
[1]: The highest and most massive mountain in the world according to the
Indian cosmology.
Shoyoroku - Case 20: Jizo's "Most Intimate"
Jizo asked Hogen,
"Where are you going, senior monk? [1]"
Hogen said,
"I am on pilgrimage [2], following the wind."
Jizo said,
"What are you on pilgrimage for?"
Hogen said,
"I don't know."
Jizo said,
"Non knowing is most intimate."
Hogen suddenly attained great enlightenment.
[1]: "Senior monk" (joza) is an honorific for a monk who has practiced more
than 10 years.
[2]: Originally: angya.
Shoyoroku - Case 21: Ungan Sweeps the Ground
When Ungan was sweeping the ground, Dogo said,
"You are having a hard time!"
Ungan said,
"You should know there is one who doesn't have a hard time."
Dogo said,
"If that's true, you mean there is a second moon?"
Ungan held up his broom and said,
"What number of moon is this?"
Dogo was silent.
Gensha said,
"That is precisely the second moon."
Unmon said,
"The servant greets the maid politely."
Shoyoroku - Case 22: Ganto's Bow to the Kaatz
Ganto came to Tokusan. He straddled the threshold of the gate and asked,
"Is this ordinary or is this holy?"
Tokusan shouted,
"Kaatz!"
Ganto made a deep bow.
Hearing of this, Tozan said,
"Hardly anyone but Ganto could have accepted it that way."
Ganto said,
"Old Tozan can't tell between good and bad. At that time, I raised up with
one hand and suppressed with the other."
Shoyoroku - Case 23: Roso Faces the Wall
Whenever Roso saw a monk coming, he immediately sat facing the wall. Hearing
of this, Nansen said,
"I usually tell my people to realize what has existed before the kalpa of
emptiness [1], or to understand what has been before Buddhas appeared in
the world. Still, I haven't acknowledged one disciple or even a half. If
he continues that way, he will go on even until the year of the donkey [2]."
[1]: One of the "four kalpas" or periods of cosmic changes: the kalpa of
creation, the kalpa of existence, the kalpa of destruction, and the kalpa
of emptiness.
[2]: Since there is no "year of the donkey" in the Chinese zodiac, the
expression "until the year of donkey" means endlessly.
Shoyoroku - Case 24: Seppo's "Look at the Snake" [1]
Seppo, instructing the assembly, said,
"There's a poisonous snake on the southern side of the mountain. All of you
should look at it carefully!"
Chokei said,
"Today in the Zen hall there are many people. They have lost their body
and life."
A monk told this to Gensha, who said,
"Only Elder Brother Ryo [2] could say something like that. However,
I wouldn't talk like that."
The monk asked,
"What then would you say, Master"?
Gensha replied,
"Why does it have to be 'the southern side of the mountain'?"
Unmon threw his staff in front of Seppo and acted frightened.
[1]: see case 22 of Hekiganroku.
[2]: i.e. Chokei.
Shoyoroku - Case 25: Enkan's "Rhinoceros Fan" [1]
One day, Enkan called to his attendant,
"Bring me the rhinoceros fan."
The attendant said,
"It is broken."
Enkan said,
"If the fan is already broken, bring me the rhinoceros himself."
The attendant gave no answer.
Shifuku drew a circle and wrote the ideograph "ox [2]" in it.
[1]: see case 91 of Hekiganroku.
[2]: The Chinese character for "ox" (gyu) is one of the two characters for
"rhinoceros" (saigyu = sai + gyu).
Shoyoroku - Case 26: Kyozan Points to Snow
Kyozan pointed to the snow lion [1] and said,
"Is there any [2] that goes beyond this color?"
Unmon said [3],
"I would have pushed it over for him at once."
Setcho said [4],
"He only knows how to push it over, but he doesn't know how to help it up."
[1]: Probably a lion made of snow or a stone lion covered with snow.
[2]: I.e., "anyone" or "anything."
[3]: I.e., later.
[4]: I.e., hearing of this.
Shoyoroku - Case 27: Hogen Points to the Bamboo Blinds [1]
Hogen pointed to the bamboo blinds with his hand. At that moment, two monks
who were there went over to the blinds together and rolled them up.
Hogen said,
"One has gained, one has lost."
[1]: see case 26 of Mumonkan.
Shoyoroku - Case 28: Gokoku's "Three Disgraces"
A monk asked Gokoku,
"How about when a crane perches on a withered pine tree?"
Gokoku said,
"It is a disgrace when seen from the ground."
The monk asked,
"What about when every drop of water is frozen at once?"
Gokoku said,
"It's a disgrace after the sun has risen."
The monk asked,
"At the time of the Esho Persecution [1], where did the good Guardian
Deities [2] of the Dharma go?"
Gokoku said,
"It is a disgrace for the two of them on both sides of the temple gate."
[1]: Buddhism was suppressed by order of Emperor Bu (about 840).
[2]: Nio-figures representing the two Deva kings on each side of the main gate
of a Buddhist temple. They are considered to be protectors of the Dharma.
Shoyoroku - Case 29: Fuketsu's "Iron Ox" [1]
When he was staying at the government office of the Province Ei, Fuketsu
entered the hall [to preach] and said,
"The heart seal [stamp] of the patriarch resembles the activity of the iron
ox. When it goes away, the [impression of the] seal remains; when it stays
there, the [impression of the] seal is brought to naught. If it neither
goes away nor stays, would it be right to give a seal [of approval] or not?"
Then Elder Rohi came up and said,
"I have the activities of the iron ox. [However,] I ask you, Master, not to
give me the seal."
Fuketsu said,
"I am accustomed to leveling the great ocean through fishing whales. But,
alas, now I find instead a frog wriggling about in the mud."
Rohi stood there considering.
Fuketsu shouted
"Kaatz!"
and said,
"Why don't you say anything else, Elder?"
Rohi was perplexed.
Fuketsu hit him with his whisk and said,
"Do you remember what you said? Say something, I'll check it for you."
Rohi tried to say something. Fuketsu hit him again with his whisk.
The Magistrate said,
"Buddha's law and the King's law are of the same nature."
Fuketsu said,
"What principle do you see in them?"
The Magistrate said,
"If you do not make a decision where a decision should be made, you are
inviting disorder."
Fuketsu descended from the rostrum.
[1]: see case 38 of Hekiganroku.
Shoyoroku - Case 30: Daizui's "Kalpa Fire" [1]
A monk asked Daizui,
"When the great kalpa fire bursts out, the whole universe [2] will be
destroyed. I wonder if IT will also be destroyed or not."
Daizui said,
"Destroyed."
The monk said,
"If so, will IT be gone with the other [3]?"
Daizui said,
"Gone with the other."
A monk asked Ryusai,
"When the great kalpa fire bursts out, the whole universe will be
destroyed. I wonder if IT will also be destroyed or not."
Ryusai said,
"Not destroyed."
The monk said,
"Why is it not destroyed?"
Ryusai said,
"Because it is the same as the whole universe."
[1]: see case 29 of Hekiganroku: The Shoyoroku case has an additional part
with Ryusai.
[2]: Literally: "a billion worlds."
[3]: The word "the other" means "the universe."
Shoyoroku - Case 31: Unmon's "Pillar" [1]
Unmon, instructing the assembly, said,
"The old buddha and a pillar intersect each other. What number of
activity is that?"
The assembly was silent. He said on their behalf,
"Clouds gather over the South Mountain; rain falls on the North Mountain."
[1]: see case 83 Hekiganroku.
Shoyoroku - Case 32: Kyozan's Mind and Objective World
Kyozan asked a monk,
"Where do you come from?"
The monk said,
"I am from Yu Province"
Kyozan said,
"Do you think of that place?"
The monk said,
"I always do."
Kyozan said,
"That which thinks is the mind [1]. That which is thought about is the
objective world. Within that are mountains, rivers and the great earth,
towers, palaces, people, animals, and other things. Reflect upon the mind
that thinks. Are there a lot of things there?"
The monk said,
"I don't see anything at all there."
Kyozan said,
"That's right for the stage of understanding, but not yet for the stage of
personalization."
The monk said,
"Do you have any special advice, Master?"
Kyozan said,
"It is not right to say that there is or there is not. Your insight shows
that you have obtained only one side of the mystery. Sitting down, putting
on clothes, from now on you see by yourself."
[1]: Originally: kokoro.