Kyozan: A True Man of Zen
Discourses
Table of Contents
The tremendous statement
Kyozan was a simple man—not philosopher, poet, or scholar. It took Isan forty years to enlighten him. Kyozan wasn't seeking truth (he refused to accept anything on belief). 'Where does the real Buddha dwell?' Isan: 'By thoughtless thought, contemplate boundless spiritual brightness, return to the ground of being.' Kyozan was enlightened. The tremendous statement: Isan sent Kyozan a mirror. 'Is this Isan's mirror or Kyozan's?' Nobody answered—he smashed it. The real Buddha is your own nature.
Zen is like wild flowers
Zen is like wild flowers. Isan asked: 'The Nirvana Sutra has forty chapters—how many are devil teachings?' Kyozan: 'All of them.' Isan: 'Nobody will be able to do what he likes with you.' Kyozan couldn't explain the Law Body but pointed to one who could—then pulled forward the pillow. Zen is both religion and revolution against religion. Organized religions prevent the search for truth. Marx: religions are opium. Zen's approach is aesthetic—truth through beauty, not hardness. God is not a person but existence itself.
A very fresh communion
A very fresh communion. Ryusen gave food to a strange monk; Kyozan said 'You made a great profit.' Zen has created a totally new language, a fresh communion—like a lotus opening in the morning. Truth, beauty, God (satyam, shivam, sundaram) are three doors. Truth is hard; God seems far; beauty is close—in flowers, birds, the solitary cuckoo. Zen's approach is musical, poetic, the approach of a lover. No God as person—only godliness as quality. Nothing dies; waves disappear and return. A very fresh communion: Zen touches existence with loving hands.
A stone striking bamboo
A stone striking bamboo. Kyozan tested Kyogen's enlightenment through verses. 'Last year my poverty was not real poverty; this year I haven't even an awl.' Kyozan: 'That's just Nyorai Zen, not Patriarchal Zen.' Kyogen's second verse: 'If he doesn't understand it, let him call the attendant!' Kyozan: 'You have attained Patriarchal Zen.' Words must be discarded by words themselves—poison destroyed by more poison. Kyozan hid in the forest but seekers found him anyway. A true man of Zen: simplicity, authenticity, no pretension. The stone striking bamboo is the sound of sudden awakening.