THE COMMENTARY
Old Tozan 's Zen is rather like a clam; when it just opens the two halves of the shell, you can see the liver and the intestines. But though this may be so, just say, can we see Tozan?
-Mumon
Mumonkan, Zen and Zen Classics, Volume For
R.H. Blyth
Discussion:
This is what Zen Masters are like. If you find something that is not like this, it is not a Zen Master. It is like an orange to a foreigner who has never seen such a thing. I tell you, go to the store, it looks like this (I hold it up). If it doesn't look like this and smell like this (here, smell it) it is not an orange. You don't need to taste it. Go to the store and get your own orange.
Should we be grateful to Tozan for this koan? It is a key that opens many doors. Should we be grateful to Mumon for selecting it for the Mumonkan, without which we might not have been given this key? Should we be grateful that it was brought West by a handful, Blyth among them?
No. Zen has no words and sentences. Faugh.
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