Chang is the bean cake and Lee is also the bean cake.

The Reading:

Hsu Yun said: “The Master who first established the Shih Tan Monastery, studied Zen under many different Masters, traveling from one place to another. He was a very industrious person, working on his Zen all the time. One night he stayed in an inn and heard a girl, who was a bean cake maker, singing the following song in an adjacent room while she was making bean cakes:

Oh, Chang is the bean cake,
And Lee is also the bean cake.
At night when you lay your head down upon your pillow,
A thousand thoughts may arise in your mind;
But when you awake in the morning,
You still continue to make the bean cakes.

The Zen Master was absorbed in meditation when the girls sang this song. Upon hearing it, he suddenly awoke to the Realization.”

Discussion:

Chang is the bean cake.  Lee is also the bean cake.

The Fang and Claw of our sect.

The Reading:

Hyakujo (Baizhang) taught Isan (Guishan).  Isan  (Guishan) taught Kyozan (Yangshan).

From Zen and Zen Classics"

Guishan said to Yangshan, "The Nirvana Sutra has about forty chapters of the Buddha's teaching; how many of these are devil teachings?"  Yangshan said, "All of them."  Guishan said, "From now on nobody will be able to do what he likes with you."  Yangshan said, "From now on what should be my mode of life?"  Guishan said, "I admire your just eye [Dharma Eye?]; I am not concerned about the practical side of the matter."

and

Yangshan once returned to Guishan to interview him, Guishan said to him, "You are now called a good and clever teacher.  How can you distinguish between those who come from all parts and know It, and those who don't know it; the Masters who have inherited It, and those who have not; the profound learning, and the (mere) meaning learning.  Explain and let me hear."  Yangshan replied, "Yangshan has had this experience.  When monks come from all directions, he raises his mosquito-flapper, and asks them if This is expounded where they come from or not.  Further, he says to them, leaving this aside, 'What are the old Masters where you come from teaching?'"  Guishan admired him and said, "This has always bee the claw and fang of our sect."

Discussion:

Claw and fang.  If someone does not present these teeth and claws  then they are no follower of the Bodhidharma lineage.

An Unchanging Place

The Reading:

When Caoshan took leave of Dongshan, Dongshan asked, "Where are you going?"
Caoshan replied, "To an unchanging place."
Dongshan retorted, "If it is unchanging, how could there be any going?"
Caoshan replied, "The going is also unchanging."



Discussion:

I knew this was Tung-shan, but I could not find it in his Record.  Someone reminded me, it's from Foyan's Record.  They are from different branches of the same family.  Thus I remind you of the family custom.

To Stop The Baby Crying

Reading: 

A monk asked Baso, "Why do you teach this "The mind is the Buddha?" 
Baso said, "To stop the baby crying." 
The monk asked, "And when the baby stops crying?" 
Baso said, "Mind is not the Buddha." 
The monk asked, "Besides this, is there something more?" 

 Baso replied, "I will tell you , it is not something."


Discussion:

Tell me, what was Baso's answer?

Hyakujo's Nose

The Reading:

The next day Baso ascended the pulpit and the monks had barely assmedbeled when Hyakujo came forward and rolled up the praying-cloth.  Baso at once came down and went back to his own room.  He said to Hyakujo, What do you mean by rolling up the praying-cloth when I had gone into the Hall and not even begun to preach?"  Hyakujo said, "Yesterday you pulled my nose and it hurt."  Baso asked, "Where had you fixed your mind yesterday?"  Hyakujo replied, "My nose doesn't hurt today."

-Blyth, Zen and Zen Classics Volume 4, Mumonkan, p.40

Discussion:

Accept no substitutes.

Listen to my verse!

The Reading:

Empty set, full set,

both some something.

Oak tree, stone bridge,

Gate of No - not "Nothing".

Discussion:

Nihilism is something, isn't it?

Baso's "Neither Mind nor Buddha"

The Reading:

When Fa-chang (752-839 CE) of Mt. Ta-mei ("Great Plum") first visited the master, he inquired about the meaning of the word "Buddha."

"The Mind is Buddha," said Ma-tsu. Upon that Fa-chang was enlightened. Later Fa-chang retired once more to Ta-mei and taught others there. When the master heard of this, he dispatched a monk to inquire what it was that Fa-chang had so learned that allowed him to presume to head a mountain lineage. Fa-chang told the monk that it was the dictum, "The Mind is Buddha." The monk noted, "Recently the master sings a different tune. Now it is 'Neither Mind nor Buddha'."

Fa-chang reacted, "That rascal deludes people to no end! Let him teach you how there is neither mind nor Buddha. For my part, I will stick to 'The Mind is Buddha.'"

When the monk reported this to the master, Ma-tsu remarked, "Indeed, the plum is ripe."

(source)

Discussion:

Ma-tsu is Baso.  He deluded many who followed him.  They are called "Masters."

Pen-chi of Ts'ao-shan [Sozan Honjaku]

The Reading:


A monk asked: ``In admitting phenomenon, what is true?''
Pen-chi said: ``Phenomenon is truth and truth is phenomenon.''
The monk asked: ``How is that revealed?''
Pen-chi lifted the tea tray.

A monk asked: ``How can silence be expressed?''
Pen-chi said: ``I will not express it here.''
The monk said: ``Where will you express it?''
Pen-chi  said: ``Last night at midnight I lost three pennies by my bed.''

A monk asked: ``Who is the one who holds the sword in the state?''
Pen-chi said: ``Ts'ao-shan.''
The monk said: ``Whom do you intend to kill?''
Pen-chi said: ``I shall kill all.''
The monk said: ``Suppose you suddenly met your parents. What will you do?''
Pen-chi  said: ``Why discriminate?''
The monk said: ``But there is yourself!''
Pen-chi said: ``Who can do anything about me?''
The monk said: ``Why not kill yourself?''
Pen-chi  said: ``No place to start.''

Question: ``Whenever there is any question, one's mind is confused. What is the matter?''
Pen-chi said: ``Kill, kill!''

Discussion:

Pen-chi was a student of Tong-Shan, more of the same.

From here: http://vserver1.cscs.lsa.umich.edu/~crshalizi/Zen/Pen-chi/

Chi Feng Wen Ta

The Reading:

Behavioral tests are conducted by means of radical and unexpected actions, the verbal tests by the so-called "crucial-verbal-contest" (Chinese: chi feng wen ta). The latter is perhaps the most popular technique, widely applied by all Zen Buddhists. The Chinese word wen means "questioning," and ta is "answering," so that wen ta is "questioning-answering" or loosely "conversation". But the phrase chi feng is very difficult to translate because it has manifold and subtle meanings. Literally, chi is "crucial," "critical," or the "Key point," etc., and feng means literally "crucial-sharp tip (or point)." This proves that the Zen "question and answer" are sharp and pointed, like the tips of two keen weapons point to point. Chi feng, therefore, implies that the Zen question is like a sharp, needle-pointed rapier constantly threatening to pierce to the heart without mercy;

-The Practice of Zen, Chang, page 35

Discussion:

"Without mercy."

For this reason it is said to be a mystery

The Reading:

A monk asked Ikan, a student of Baso, "has the dog Buddha-nature or not?"  Ikan said, "Yes."  The monk asked, "Have you it or not?"  Ikan said, "I have not."  Monk: "All existent creatures have the Buddha-Natures; how is it that you have not?"  Ikan: "I don't belong to all existent creatures."  Monk: "You say you don't belong to all existent creatures.  This 'You', is it a Buddha or not?  Ikan: "It is not a Buddha."  Monk: "What sort of thing, in the last resort, is this 'You'?"  Ikan: "It is not a thing."  Monk: "Can it be perceived or thought of?"  Ikan: "Thought cannot attain to it; it can not be fathomed.  For this reason, it is said to be a mystery."

-Blyth's Mumonkan, Case 1

Discussion:

Ikan wasn't bothered by the question, "Who am I?"  Why is anybody bothered by it?

Not the middle

The Reading:

Huang Po:  The Way is not something specially existing; it is called the Mahayana Mind - Mind which is not to be found inside, outside, or in the middle.  Truly it is not located anywhere.  The first step is to refrain from knowledge based concepts.


Discussion:

Which Mahayana is Huang Po's Mahayana?  If you can say, how will you refrain from knowledge based concepts?

3rd Patriarch

The Reading:

From "Faith in Mind":

The path of words is cut off;

There is no past, no future, no present.

Discussion:

As P'ei Hsiu said, "The wheel of causation is motionless..."

The Real Emptiness

The Reading:

Ummon said, "The real Emptiness does not destroy things; the real Emptiness is not different from materiality.

A monk then asked, "What is the sound of the a bell?"

Ummon said, "Do you hear the sound of a bell?"

"That's the sound of a bell," said the monk.

"Even when you have reached the Year of the Donkey, will you still be dreaming?" asked Ummon.

Discussion:

Ah!  The Year of the Donkey!  It's like a birthday that never comes.

Huang Po: Void and Dharmakaya

The Reading:

Only refrain from any objective conception of the Void; then it is the Dharmakaya: and, if you only refrain from any objective conception of the Dharmakaya, why, then it is the Void.  These two do not differ from each other, nor is there any difference between sentient begins and Buddhas, or between samsara and Nirvana, or between delusion and Bodhi.


Discussion:

No difference!  Saying "no difference" is to admit there is a difference.  What do you say?

Huang Po: This is a Buddha

The Reading:

Relinquishment of everything is the Dharma, and he who understand this is a Buddha, but the relinquishment of all delusions leaves no Dharma on which to lay hold.


Discussion:

Here, take this Dharma... too late!

Mind that Looks Like a Wall

The Reading:

Suzuki, quoting from the Pieh Chi: 

“The master [Bodhidharma] first stayed in the Shorinji monastery for nine years, and when he taught the second patriarch, it was only in the following way: ‘Externally keep yourself away from all relationships, and, internally, have no hankerings in your heart; when your mind is like unto a straight standing wall you may enter into the Path." 

Hui-k’e tried variously to explain the reason of mind, but failed to realize the truth itself. The master simply said, ‘No! No!’ and never proposed to explain to his disciple what was the mind-essence in its thought-less state. 

[Later] said Hui-k’e, ‘I know now how to keep myself away from all relationships.’ ‘You make it a total annihilation, do you not?’ queried the master. ‘No master,’ replied Hui-k’e, ‘I do not make it a total annihilation.’ ‘How do you testify to your statement?’ ‘For I know it always in a most intelligible manner, but to express it in words- that is impossible.” ‘That is the mind-essence itself transmitted by all the Buddhas. Harbor no doubts about it.'"

Discussion:

Suzuki argues that "Wall Gazer" comes from this teaching "mind like a straight standing wall". He argues that this passage explains both the nickname, and the reason that Buddhists of the time considered Bodhidharma so revolutionary (not in the good way).

Me, personally?

What drew you to Zen?

Me, personally?

I take things apart.  When I was very young my mother bought me a build-your-own-crystal-radio set.  I never opened the box.  But one day she brought an old radio home that didn't work and I spent hours taking it apart, piece by piece.  

Why Zen?  It is just that when you take it apart, there is nothing there, and you realize ah! What I took apart, and the taking it apart, that is not Zen.

Huang Po: Warrior's Pearl

The Reading:

Suppose a warrior, forgetting that he was already wearing his pearl on his forehead, were to seek for it elsewhere, he could travel the whole world without finding it.  But if someone who knew what was wrong were to point it out to him, the warrior would immediately realize that the pearl had been there all the time.


Discussion:

With one anecdote we see; nothing to seek, nothing to find; nothing to gain, nothing to realize.

Ummon's Rice Cake

The Reading:

Shoyoroku., CASE 78:  Ummon's "Rice Cake" – Hekiganroku Case 77
A monk asked Ummon, "What is meant by the pronouncement 'to go beyond the Buddha and
the patriarchs'?"  Ummon said, "Unrefined rice in a cheap cake."


Discussion:

There is always room for rice cakes.

A little project

I am working on a little project... a very short book on "not Zen."

I'm going to call it, Zen Revolution: Not Zen.

You know, for kids.

Ummon - Two Diseases

The Reading:

Shoyoroku, CASE 11:  Unmon's "Two Diseases"

Great Master Unmon said, "When the light does not penetrate, there are two diseases.
Everything is unclear and things hang before you – this is one disease.  Even after you have
realized the emptiness of all things, somehow you feel as if there were still something there.
This shows that the light has not yet penetrated thoroughly.

"Also there are two diseases concerning the Dharma-body.  You have reached the
Dharma-body, but you remain attached to the Dharma and cannot extinguish your own view;
therefore you lead a corrupt life around the Dharma-body – this is one disease.  Suppose you
have truly penetrated to the end, if you give up further efforts, it will not do.  You examine
yourself minutely and say you have no flaw -- this is nothing but a disease."



Discussion:

Ha!  No flaw!  So close, so far.

Haung Po: No realization

The Reading:

"...there is no pious practicing and no action of realizing ...for this state of being admits no degrees."

Huang Po

Discussion:

People talk about practice and progress, about seniority, about learning and understanding and "getting it."

None of this has anything to do with Zen.

I don't know what to tell them.

Oh.

Not Zen.

Huang Po: Conceptual Thought

The Reading:

If you students of the Way do not awake to this Mind substance, you will overlay Mind with conceptual thought, you will see the Buddha outside yourselves, and you will remain attached to forms, pious practices and so on, all of which are harmful and not at all the way to supreme knowledge.


Discussion:

See?  Whatever you say is not supreme knowledge.

Introduction to Huang Po by Pei Hsiu

The Reading:

Holding in esteem only the intuitive method of the Highest Vehicle, which cannot be communicated in words, he taught nothing but the doctrine of the One Mind; holding that there is nothing else to teach, in that both mind and substance are void and that the chain of causation is motionless.  Mind is like the sun hourneying through the sky and emitting glorious light uncontaminated by the finest particle of dust.  To those who have realized the nature of Reality, there is nothing old or new, and conceptions of shallowness and depth are meaningless.  Those who speak of it do not attempt to explain it, establish no sects and open no doors or windows.  That which is before you is it.  Begin to reason about it and you will at once fall into error.  

Discussion:

The chain of causation is motionless.  What do you think freedom is?

Huang Po: No Study

The Reading:

If you students of the Way wish to become Buddhas, you need study no doctrines whatever, but learn only how to avoid seeking for and attaching yourselves to anything.


Discussion:

No seeking.  No attachment.  No questions.