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Nothing Truely Exists

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2011 9:09 am
by Quiet Heart
:smile:

Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another.
Eventually he called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.

Desiring to show his attainment, he said,
"This mind,the Buddha, and all sentient beings, after all, do not exist.
The true nature of all phenomena is emptiness.
There is no realization, no delusion, no sage wisdom, and no mediocrity.
There is no thing to be given and nothing to be received."

Dokuon, who was smoking , lstened quietly but saying nothing. Then he montioned Yamaoka to approach him.
When the student approached he suddenly hit Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe.
This made the youth quite angry, and he raised his hand to strike Dokuon.
"Stop!", yelled Dokuon, ""If nothing really exists as you say, then where does your anger come from?"
:smile:

Re: Nothing Truely Exists

Posted: Sat Jun 18, 2011 9:16 am
by LastLegend
Dog's meat is not emptiness, emptiness is not dog's meat.

Re: Nothing Truely Exists

Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 4:50 pm
by Kyosan
Quiet Heart wrote: :smile:
.....Dokuon, who was smoking , lstened quietly but saying nothing. Then he montioned Yamaoka to approach him.
When the student approached he suddenly hit Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe.
This made the youth quite angry, and he raised his hand to strike Dokuon.
"Stop!", yelled Dokuon, ""If nothing really exists as you say, then where does your anger come from?"
:smile:
I'm not sure exactly what was taking place here but see a couple different interpretations for this. It could be that Dokuon is saying that Yamaoka says a lot of pretty words about emptiness, but hasn't actualized it. Or it could be that Dokuon is pointing towards Yamaoka's mind.
:namaste:

Re: Nothing Truely Exists

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:13 pm
by Quiet Heart
:shrug:

I'm not sure exactly what was taking place here but see a couple different interpretations for this. It could be that Dokuon is saying that Yamaoka says a lot of pretty words about emptiness, but hasn't actualized it. Or it could be that Dokuon is pointing towards Yamaoka's mind.

Or both.
The first interpretation is the usual one...that Yamaoka was merely mouthing what he had been told to impress his teacher. That's the usual interpretation.
But a perhaps deeper interpretation would be that Yamaoka should recognise that his anger came from his own illusions and delusions ....from his "Ego Mind"....not his original nature..... but created from outside by that "Ego Mind" ,,,,and therefore his anger was only a illusion... and therefore empty itself.
:smile:

Re: Nothing Truely Exists

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 9:20 pm
by Kyosan
I was thinking it could be both also.

I thought about it more and maybe this was a test and Yamaoka failed. The fact that Yamaoka had such a strong reaction and was ready to strike the master simply because of being hit by a pipe, I doubt that it hurt him physically. It probably hurt his pride more than anything else. Dokuon showed Yamaoka that he hasn't actually realized emptiness.

Re: Nothing Truely Exists

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:26 pm
by denice
Yamaoka was "talking the talk" but not "walking the walk"

Re: Nothing Truely Exists

Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 1:25 pm
by booker
Aparently his anger did trully exist :)

Re: Nothing Truely Exists

Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 2:22 pm
by Josef
Quiet Heart wrote:
Desiring to show his attainment,

Thats what will get you whacked with a pipe.

Re: Nothing Truely Exists

Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:00 pm
by Grigoris
Nangwa wrote:
Quiet Heart wrote:
Desiring to show his attainment,

Thats what will get you whacked with a pipe.
I've been whacked on pipes whilst trying to erradicate any sense of attainment! :tongue:
:namaste:

Re: Nothing Truely Exists

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2011 8:23 am
by Quiet Heart
:smile:
So have I, at least metaphorically. But isn't that what they call "Grandmotherly kindness"?
:smile:

Re: Nothing Truely Exists

Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 9:35 pm
by Thug4lyfe
Maybe we focus on deez metaphysical stuff too much? Metaphysic doesn't feed da kids in Africa know wat im sayin? :p