36Addressing the Assembly示眾

Zhaozhou addressed the assembly: "Go south, find yourself a real monastery. Don't loiter around here."

A monk asked, "Master, then what kind of place is this?"

Zhaozhou said, "This is a brushwood thicket."

A monk asked, "Who is the teacher of Vairocana Buddha?"

Zhaozhou said, "His own nature is his student."

A monk asked, "What about the moment you return to the root and grasp the meaning?"

Zhaozhou said, "Far too much rushing around."

The monk said, "My apologies."

Zhaozhou said, "Where did the apology come from?"

Minister Liu came into the temple and saw Zhaozhou sweeping the ground. He asked, "A great teacher like you, why are you sweeping up dust?"

Zhaozhou said, "It blows in from outside."

A monk asked, "What about the moment the sharp sword leaves its sheath?"

Zhaozhou said, "Dark."

The monk said, "Right when I'm asking, how do you tell black from white?"

Zhaozhou said, "I haven't got that kind of spare time."

The monk said, "What do you do when someone stands before you, hands folded, waiting?"

Zhaozhou said, "When have I ever seen you fold your hands?"

The monk said, "And when the hands aren't folded?"

Zhaozhou said, "Who is it that isn't folding them?"

A monk asked, "Where does a monk find his strength?"

Zhaozhou said, "Where do you not find it?"

A monk asked, "How does the master show things to a student?"

Zhaozhou said, "There's no student in front of me."

The monk said, "Then you never came into the world to teach at all."

Zhaozhou said, "Take care of yourself."

A monk asked, "The intent of the ancestors and the intent of the teachings: same, or different?"

Zhaozhou made a fist and set it on top of his head.

The monk said, "Master, you've still got that going on."

Zhaozhou took off his hat and said, "Tell me, what have I got?"

A monk asked, "What about when the mind won't stop and won't settle?"

Zhaozhou said, "It's a live thing. And that very thing is being driven around by your thinking."

The monk said, "How do I keep from being driven around by my thinking?"

Zhaozhou lowered his head.

A monk asked, "Where does the Way come from?"

Zhaozhou said, "Now you've made it into a thing. The Way has nothing to do with being born or dying."

The monk said, "Then isn't it simply natural?"

Zhaozhou said, "This here is natural. The Way is not."

A monk asked, "The intent of the ancestors and the intent of the teachings: same, or different?"

Zhaozhou said, "Get the intent of the ancestors and you'll get the intent of the teachings."

A monk asked, "What is it to walk among the different kinds?"

Zhaozhou said, "Oṃ □ lin, oṃ □ lin." [The middle syllable is illegible in the source.]

A monk asked, "What about when it's too high and steep to climb?"

Zhaozhou said, "I live on the summit myself."

The monk said, "But what about the road up to Caoxi?"

Zhaozhou said, "Caoxi is rough going."

The monk said, "Why does no one get there these days?"

Zhaozhou said, "Because it's that high and steep."

A monk asked, "What is the jewel-moon hanging in the sky?"

Zhaozhou said, "Plug up my ears."

A monk asked, "What about when you're off by a hair?"

Zhaozhou said, "Coarse."

The monk said, "And when you meet the moment head-on?"

Zhaozhou said, "Bent out of shape."

A monk asked, "What is the practice of a monk?"

Zhaozhou spread his hands and brushed off his robe.

A monk asked, "What about the place where the line of buddhas and ancestors never breaks?"

Zhaozhou said, "Nobody knows it."

A monk asked, "What do you call expedient means?"

Zhaozhou said, "Call it expedient means."

A monk asked, "I've only just come to the monastery and I understand nothing. Please point the way."

Zhaozhou said, "You haven't even come to the monastery yet, and on top of that you don't understand."

A monk asked, "What did the old masters use to teach people?"

Zhaozhou said, "If you hadn't asked, I wouldn't even know there were any old masters."

The monk said, "Please point the way."

Zhaozhou said, "I'm no old master."

A monk asked, "Before the buddha-flower opens, how do you tell what's real?"

Zhaozhou said, "It's real, it's true."

The monk said, "Whose business is that?"

Zhaozhou said, "I've got a share, you've got a share."

A monk asked, "What is Buddha?"

Zhaozhou said, "What kind of person are you?"

A monk asked, "What about taking the straight road?"

Zhaozhou said, "The straight road."

A monk asked, "What is the mystery within the mystery that never breaks off?"

Zhaozhou said, "You're asking me, and that's the mystery that never breaks off."

A monk asked, "Before the buddha-flower opens, how do you tell what's real?"

Zhaozhou said, "It's already open."

The monk said, "But is it real, is it true?"

Zhaozhou said, "Real is true, true is real."

A monk asked, "Is there anyone who doesn't repay the four debts of gratitude and the three realms of existence?"

Zhaozhou said, "There is."

The monk said, "Who?"

Zhaozhou said, "This ungrateful wretch."

A monk asked, "When a poor man shows up, what do you give him?"

Zhaozhou said, "He's not short of anything."

A monk asked, "Who is the real master of Zhaozhou?"

Zhaozhou said, "I am. Congshen."

An old woman asked, "A woman's body carries the five hindrances. How do I get free of them?"

Zhaozhou said, "May everyone be reborn in heaven, and may you, old woman, sink forever in the sea of suffering."

A monk asked, "What about when the bright moon hangs in the sky?"

Zhaozhou said, "You're still down at the foot of the steps."

The monk said, "Then pull me up to the top step, master."

Zhaozhou said, "Come see me after the moon's gone down."