Obaku said to the congregation of monks, "You are all of you, every one of you, feeding on the draft of wine. However you may go on pilgrimages, what is your real position today? Don't you know that in the whole of China , there is not a single Master of Zen?" At this time a certain monk came forward and said, "How about those who in various parts of China are training their disciples and leading their followers into truth?" Obaku answered, "I don't say there is no Zen, only that there are no teachers of it."
Zen and Zen Classics, Volume Four, Case Two
R. H. Blyth
Discussion:
There are so many pilgrimages. Some make annual journeys, some more regularly. Many go weekly. Yet it seems there is little to be gained by them. Why is this? It is the same if you are thirsty and you go to the well, you look in, perhaps you draw water, but you do not drink it. People hear teachings, but they do not follow them. It has been said that religion is "good news". Indeed it is. Just like in the newspaper, and it is thrown away at the end of the day. This is why science holds so much sway over the world of thought. Who ever said that geometry or chemistry was news of any kind!
Whenever someone proclaims a religion or says they follow a teaching, ask them how much they practice. Whatever it is, it is not enough. It is likely not that much anyway. The lack of practice, in the boardroom, the bedroom, on the highways and in the marketplace, this lack of practice does us in, drags us down. Obaku has the way of it, there are no teachers. There are no students, either.
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