Blue Cliff Record 63, Gateless Gate 14, Book of Serenity 9

41
Blue Cliff Record (Hekiganroku, Biyan Lu), #63
Gateless Gate (Mumonkan, Wumenguan), #14, first part
Book of Serenity (Shoyoroku, Congrong Lu), #9, first part
Dogen's 300 #181, first part
Nanquan Cuts the Cat in Two

Personnel

• NANQUAN Puyuan (Nansen Fugan, 748-835, 9th gen), disciple of Mazu
• ZHAOZHOU Congshen (Joshu Jushinn, 778-897, 10th gen), disciple of Nanquan

Yuanwu's Preface

The way of thoughts goes no further – there starts the real practice;
Words and letters do not reach it – one should quickly fasten one’s eye upon it.
If lighting darts and stars fly by,
one should overturn the waters and knock down the mountains.
Is there anyone in the assembly who can capture it?
To test, I cite this, look!

Wansong's Preface

If you kick over the blue ocean, the great earth flies away like dust;
If you bark out at the white clouds, the empty sky is smashed like powder.
Solemnly executing the absolute command is only a half of the true presentation.
If the great activity manifests itself completely, how do you express it?

Case

Once the monks of the eastern and western Zen halls in Master Nanquan's temple were quarrelling about a cat.
Nanquan held up the cat and said, “You monks! If one of you can say a word, I will spare the cat. If you can't say anything, I will put it to the sword.”
No one could answer, so Nanquan finally slew it.

Yuanwu's, Wansong's, and Daido's Interjections

Once the monks of the eastern and western Zen halls in Master Nanquan's temple were quarrelling about a cat.
   (Yuanwu: It's not just today that they're haggling together. This is a case of degeneracy.)
   (Wansong: People on an eye level don't speak, water on an even level doesn't flow.)
   (Daido: This kind of haggling continues right up to the present day.)
Nanquan held up the cat and said, “You monks! If one of you can say a word, I will spare the cat. If you can't say anything, I will put it to the sword.”
   (Y: When the true imperative goes into effect, the ten directions are subdued. This old felow has the capability to distinguish dragons from snakes.)
   (W: Who dares stand up to his blade?)
   (D: A drawn sword immediately creates an acute imperative for action.)
No one could answer,
   (Y: What a pity to let him go. A bunch of lacquer tubs -- what are they worth? Phoney Zen followers are as plentiful as hemp and millet.)
   (W: Wait till rain douses your head.)
   (D: Poor cat. Its life is in the hands of a bunch of phony Zen practitioners.))
so Nanquan finally slew it.
   (Y: How quick! How quick! If he hadn't acted like this, they would all be fellows playing with a mud ball. He draws the bow after the thief has gone. Already this is secondary; he should have been hit before he even picked it up.)
   (W: Once drawn, the sword is not sheathed.)
   (D: The sword of wisdom directly cuts, no-cut.))

Sequel (BCR64, included in GG14 and BOS9.)

Nanquan told Zhaozhou what had happened, and asked him for his view. Zhaozhou thereupon took his sandals, put them upon his head and went away. Nanquan said, “If you had been there, I could have spared the cat.”

Xuedou's Verse

The monks of both halls are careless good-for-nothings.
Stirring up smoke and dust – to what avail?
Fortunately Nansen was able to carry out the order.
With one sword stroke, he cut it in two,
Leaving narrow-minded critics to say what they will.

Hongzhi's Verse

All monks of both halls were noisily arguing;
Ô Roshi (Nanquan) was able to examine true and false.
The sharp knife cuts both images asunder, they are utterly destroyed;
Thus he is admired as a great adept for a thousand ages.
This Way has not yet perished;
A true connoisseur will appreciate him.
For digging the mountains and letting the river flow into the sea
Great U was the only one who was to be honored;
To smelt stones and mend the heavenly pillar,
Joka was the only one who was wise enough.
Old Jôshû had a worthy life;
Putting his sandals upon his head, he matches a little bit.
“Coming amidst the difference,” he mirrors all the more clearly;
This genuine gold is never blended with sand.

(Sato's Notes: U: The sacred king of the ancient China, U, spent 9 years trying to divert the flow of the flooding Yellow River. Joka: Once in ancient China, a powerful clan named Kyôkô fought with the legendary sacred king Gyô and was defeated. The clan chief smashed his own head unto Mt. Fushû and killed himself. The shock of this clash destroyed the heavenly pillars and earthly foundations. At that time, a man named Joka melted the “five-colored stones” to make pillars and supported the heavens with them. "Coming amidst the difference": The meaning of the expression is not clear. Maybe it is the same as “the Ultimate amidst the Hen (phenomenal)” of the “Five Modes of Hen and Shô” by Tôzan Gohon. “The difference” often stands for the phenomenal world.)

Wumen's Comment -- see BCR64

Wumen's Verse -- see BCR64

Aitken's Comment

Nanquan's mind was at rest in the Buddha Dharma, like a lion under a thorn tree. The argument [between the monks of East and West halls] brought all his senses to their highest focus. “Ha! ha! — here’s a chance to feed the cubs!” In daily life, such opportunities to turn the Dharma Wheel appear one after another. With the lion mind of Nanquan, you can feed everybody, even Nanquan himself. But no one could say a word, so Nanquan cut the cat into two. Why so rough? Teachers have said from the beginning that Nanquan didn’t really kill the cat. In his teishō on this case, Yasutani Rōshi would cleverly mime the act of slicing at the hapless animal while at the same time releasing it. Perhaps that’s the way it happened. If so, it takes nothing from the story. The inner vitality does not lie in wielding the knife and slaughtering the cat — as again the older teachers point out when commenting on this case. What is the central act of this kōan? What is the intimate event? Establish this fundamental motif, and you will find that the second half of the case opens up as well.

Cleary's Comment (GG)

Nanquan represents one of the most extraordinary combinations of high-mindedness and humility, of transcendent enlightenment and diligent effort, and little of his teaching can be practiced without these qualities. Therefore his effective legacy in most initiatory Zen lore is an icon of ultimate reality in the context of certain special stories representing absolute transcendence. Both Nanquan and Zhaozhou were so high-minded that their historical lineage disappeared from the face of the earth in a very short time, but their quintessential reflections of enlightenment have been preserved for all time in Zen symbolism. In the koan at hand, the cat represents the teaching, or any aspect of the teaching, including any aspect of reality uncovered by application of the teaching. The two factions of monks represent different points of view that have lost contact with a common ground.

Guo Gu's Comment

Owning animals is considered uncompassionate. So from the very start, even before the monks were arguing about the cat, they have already erred. Owning animals is not compassionate because animals should be free; they should not be restrained for one’s own pleasure. Still, these monks were arguing. Perhaps the temple had an infestation of mice or other rodents, so each quarter wanted the cat. You may think of this story as a teaching about ethics or even a teaching about letting go. If you think along these lines, puzzled about why Nanquan would do this, then you are going about it the wrong way. The cat would already be dead. All of these gong’ans are methods of practice; they present something quite relevant to your own life. This case is not about ethics, nor is it about attachments. Nanquan, in holding up the cat, was reenacting the real-life scenarios of each moment of your life, each moment of your decisions. Whenever you make a decision to do something, whenever you make a choice, what do you rely on? If there is anything you rely on, you have killed the cat. If you are relying on anything, you are killing the person you are interacting with, the task you are doing, or whatever situation you find yourself in. With no hesitation, Nanquan shows you how to live your life. Are you free? Do you feel a sense of lack? How do you respond to those around you, to family and friends, to situations? How do you respond from the depth of your being without reliance, without seeking? That’s the task of the practitioner.

Low's Comment

Essentially a quarrel is always over an idea, and basically an idea is a way of seeing something, sometimes a way of seeing the world. With this world idea or world view I separate my world from the world. What is left out after the separation I believe is of no consequence. A problem arises when I meet up with you: instead of one, unified whole world, two worlds stand opposed. Between us we divide what is fundamentally one living, shining whole into two, each claiming the world. Laws, mores, rules, rites, and rituals are all ways of rediscovering lost unity by transforming my world into our world. This defers the problem, but does not solve it. It is only by trust that a stable world can be found. If trust has gone, what can take its place? Armies, police forces, national guards, and secret police; nothing can bring back unity that no longer has trust as its main support. But what is trust? We cannot say what faith is, but we can say that when I set up my world, or our world against another’s world, I kill the world. A word of Zen will heal the rift by showing the underlying reality of the world that the monks, by quarreling, are tearing in two. This is why Nanquan called for a word of Zen, and when he could not get it from the monks he provided it for them. The reader might say, “I can understand why Jesus said we must die in order to gain life everlasting, but what about the cat? Why kill the cat? The cat is not me after all.” It is at that moment that the cat is killed. It is said that the sword of prajna, the sword with which Nansen killed the cat, is a sword that cuts not in two but in one. To allow the Buddha to live is to have two worlds: the Buddha’s world and my world. To allow the cat to live is to have half a cat in the world of the monks of the east wing and half in the world of the west wing.

Dogen's Comment (Sekida)

If I were Nanquan I should say, "If you answer, I will kill it; if you don't answer, I will kill it." If I were the monks, I should say, "We cannot answer; please cut the cat in two." Or I should say, "The master knows how to cut it into two pieces, but he does not know how to cut it into one piece." If I were Nanquan and the monks could find no answer, I should say, "You could not answer," and put down the cat.

Sekida's Comment

How will you answer? Can you say, "Don't worry, the cat is already cut in two; there is no need to use the knife; give it to me"? What is the cat? It is your own ego. If you get rid of your ego's demands, there is no dread, no anger, no fear of death. "Cut the cat in two" implies a decisive, determined action. Nanquan was indifferent to who was right, who wrong, and indifferent to all possible criticism. Nanquan is always in samadhi. When killing, he is really killing; when releasing, he is really releasing. However, at the last moment he must have put down the cat.

Senzaki's Comment

Some of the monks had thought Nansen’s threat was a joke, and some could not believe that Nansen would dare kill the cat, breaking the first precept: kill not any living thing. Nansen had the sword that could either kill or save. He sacrificed his karma to teach the monks.

An Old Buddhist's Comment (Shibayama)

Even Nansquan’s knife can never kill the Fundamental Wisdom. It is ever alive even at this very moment.

Master Toin's Comment (Shibayama)

What Nansen killed was not only the cat concerned, but cats called Buddhas, cats called Patriarchs, are all cut away. Even the arayashiki, which is their abode, is completely cut away, and a refreshing wind is blowing throughout.

Shibayama's Comment

Koan are Zen Masters’ sayings and doings in which they have freely and directly expressed their Zen experiences. If we are not aware that koan belong to quite another dimension than the ethical or the prudential and practical, we shall forever be unable even to glimpse their real significance. Nanquan's irresistible compassion as teacher burst forth to smash up the vain theoretical arguments and open spiritual eyes to the Truth of Zen. I ask you, “What is the word to save the cat in response to Nanquan’s demand?” Be no-self; be thoroughly no-self. When you are really no-self, is there a distinction between you and the world? You and the cat? You and Nanquan? Is there a distinction between the cat killed and Nanquan the killer? At any cost, first you have to be actually no-self; this is the first and the absolute requisite in Zen. The word to save the cat will then naturally come out of you like lightning.

Daito Kokushi's Verse (Yamada)

Holding up the cat, one, two, three!
If you cut it, there is the iron hammer with no hole.

Tenkei's Verse (Yamada)

A clean cut, and there’s the cat’s skin running away.

Yamada's Comment

The monks from the east and west sectors had gathered together one day and were in a heated argument. There has been much speculation from times of old as to what they were arguing about. Yasutani sees them as concerned with the most basic question of Buddhism, namely, “does a cat have a Buddha-nature?” Nanquan, evidently observing all this from afar, must have been muttering under his breath about “these good-for-nothing monks.” The case presents us with two problems. First, what is the cat after all? Second, did Nanquan actually cut the cat in two? Harada takes the cat to be all the collected junk in our own heads, all the thoughts and wonderings about whether a cat has Buddha nature and the like. Thus, Nanquan is cutting through all those concepts and presenting the truth. Yasutani agrees that the cat is conceptual thought, but sees Nanquan as cutting off the root of all those concepts. According to Yasutani, Nanquan did not actually cut the cat in two. He might have held the cat before the monks and looked like he was going to kill it. But he merely made a gesture of slashing with the knife and then let the cat go. If Nanquan actually killed the cat he would be guilty of breaking one of the Buddhist precepts. These various interpretations are attempts to take the blame away from Nanquan for his action. Iida Tôin says, “Do you think there is time here to talk nonsense about breaking precepts?” This is yet another way of viewing the koan. From the essential standpoint there is no death. If the idea that there can be killing should flash even momentarily through our heads, we have already broken the precept. Nanquan did what he did out of his feeling of compassion for the monks, wishing to somehow rid them of their delusions. His purpose was not killing the cat. But I prefer to see the action of holding up the cat as presenting essential nature. That very action of holding up the cat is essential nature itself. By cutting the cat in two, Nanquan has deprived the monks of all their cherished notions and concepts about Buddha-nature.

Shishin Wick's Comment

Master Nanquan, with his fearless challenge of life and death, is trying to bring his disciples to the reality of the moment. Nanquan is begging his disciples to say one word to save the cat -- but they're paralyzed, dumbfounded. As long as there's a trace of self-grasping ignorance, you would not be able to do it. Hundreds and thousands of animals are killed every day, but none of these deaths is a sacrifice for our liberation. Nanquan sacrificed the life of one cat for the liberation of hundreds of millions of beings. He also was willing to sacrifice himself and accept whatever karma might have come from that act.

Daido Loori's Comment (Dogen's 300)

In the resolution of conflict, one can turn to council, the law, or the dharma. Couno cil and law are dependent upon the power of others, the dharma is based on one's own natural powers of equanimity. Nanquan does not turn to forgiveness, encouragement, reprimand, or chastisement. He simply holds up the whole community at the edge of his diamond sword.
This koan is not about killing or not killing but, rather, about transformation. An ancient sage said, "When you find yourself at an impasse, change; when you change, then you will easily pass through." No one in the assembly can see past the thickness of their own skin. Nanquan follows through the imperative and cuts the cat in two.

Daido's Verse -- see BCR64

Rothenberg's Verse

The Famous Dead Cat

Holding up the mewling beast:
Speak, or it will die!
When you can't explain, then you must cry.
Where you can't speak, there you must look.
The right word would have saved the cat.
That time no one really died.
At an impasse -- revolution;
changed, you pass through.
No one spoke up, they were either
too quick, or not quick enough.
The creature held up,
reason sliced in two.
The kitten run over on the line in the road.
A casualty, an answer, a tear.

Sturmer's Verse

The President
of the United States
sits in his tent
skinning a mouse.
He doesn't spare a thought
for the ghosts
of those big game animals
gathered outside.

Hotetsu's Verse

What cruel murders do you commit
With your concept-clinging arguments?
Cut it in two. Cut it in one.
Present your delusions. Present essential nature.

Appendix: Alternate Translations

Case

Once the monks of the eastern and western Zen halls in Master Nanquan's temple were quarrelling about a cat. Nanquan held up the cat and said, “You monks! If one of you can say a word, I will spare the cat. If you can't say anything, I will put it to the sword.” No one could answer, so Nanquan finally slew it.

Aitken: The priest Nan-ch'uan found monks of the eastern and western halls arguing about a cat. He held up the cat and said, "Everyone! If you can say something, I will spare this cat. If you can't say anything, I will cut off its head." No one could say a word, so Nan-ch'uan cut the cat into two.

Cleary: Because the monks of the eastern and western halls were fighting over a cat, Master Nanquan picked it up and said, "If you can speak, I'll spare the cat. If not, I'll kill it." No one replied, so Nanquan killed it.

Hinton: When monks from the eastern and western Sangha Halls began arguing over a kitten, Wellspring-South Mountain held it up and said: "All right, here's the deal: if someone can put Way itself wholly into words, the kitten lives; if not, it's dead." No one answered, so Master Wellspring chopped the kitten in two.

Guo Gu: Master Nanquan saw that the monks from the eastern and western quarters were arguing over a cat, so he held it up and said, "If any of you can say something about it, you save the cat. If you cannot say anything, it will be killed." No one in the assembly could reply, so Nanquan killed the cat.

Low: The monks of the Eastern and Western Zen halls were once quarreling about a cat. Nansen held up the cat and said, "You monks if you can say a word of Zen I will spare the cat. If you can't I will cut it in two" No one could answer so Nansen cut the cat in two.

Sekida: Nansen Osho saw monks of the Eastern and Western halls quarreling over a cat. He held up the cat and said, "If you can give an answer, you will save the cat. If not, I will kill it." No one could answer, and Nansen cut the cut in two.

Senzaki: Nansen saw the monks of the eastern and western halls fighting over a cat. He seized the cat and told the monks, "If any of you can say a word, you will save the cat." No one answered, so Nansen boldly cut the cat in two.

Shibayama: Once the monks of the Eastern Hall and the Western Hall were disputing about a cat. Nansen, holding up the cat, said, "Monks, if you can say a word of Zen, I will spare the cat. If you cannot, I will kill it!" No monk could answer. Nansen finally killed that cat.

Xuedou's Verse

The monks of both halls are careless good-for-nothings. /Stirring up smoke and dust – to what avail? /Fortunately Nansen was able to carry out the order. /With one sword stroke, he cut it in two, /Leaving narrow-minded critics to say what they will.

T. and J.C. Cleary, BCR: In both halls they are phoney Ch'an followers: /Stirring up smoke and dust, they are helpless. /Fortunately, there is Nan Ch'uan, who is able to uphold the command: /With one stroke of the knife he cuts into two pieces, letting them be lopsided as they may.

T. Cleary, Secrets of BCR: The residents of both halls were incompetent Zennists; /Stirring up smoke and dust, they were helpless to cope. /Luckily they had Nansen there who could uphold order, /One knife cutting in two pieces, no matter if lopsided.

Hinton: Eastern and western Sangha Halls, all those Ch'an pretenders: blissful, no idea what to do, they just kick up smoke and dust, /waiting for old Wellspring-South to grant the complete insight. One blade delivering two halves: it was a try, however flawed.

Low: Lost in thought, the monks of both halls /Waged war of attrition. /Fortunately Nansen was there; /His words and deeds were one. /He cut the cat in two /Beyond right and wrong.

Sekida: Thoughtless the monks of both halls; /Raising dust and smoke, /Out of control. /Fortunately, Nansen was there; /His deeds squared with his words. /He cut the cat in two /Regardless of who was right, /Who wrong.

Shaw: Both wings of the monastery were filled with clumsy and foolish men, meditators! What a lot of smoke and dust they raised and how useless! Fortunately Nan-sen was able to make a decision. He cut in two, but was impartial.

Hongzhi's Verse

All monks of both halls were noisily arguing; /Ô Roshi (Nanquan) was able to examine true and false. /The sharp knife cuts both images asunder, they are utterly destroyed; /Thus he is admired as a great adept for a thousand ages. /This Way has not yet perished; /A true connoisseur will appreciate him. /For digging the mountains and letting the river flow into the sea /Great U was the only one who was to be honored; /To smelt stones and mend the heavenly pillar, /Joka was the only one who was wise enough. /Old Jôshû had a worthy life; /Putting his sandals upon his head, he matches a little bit. /“Coming amidst the difference,” he mirrors all the more clearly; /This genuine gold is never blended with sand.

Cleary: The monks of both halls were all arguing; /Old Teacher Nanquan was able to show up true and false. /Cutting through with a sharp knife, all oblivious of formalities, /For a thousand ages he makes people admire an adept. /This path has not perished /-- A connoisseur is to be lauded. /In tunneling through mountains to let the sea pass through, only Great Yu is honored: /In smelting rock and mending the sky, only Guonu is considered best. /Old Zhaozhou had a life: /Wearing sandals on his head, he attains a bit. /Coming in differences, still clearly mirroring; /Only this real gold is not mixed with sand.

Wick: All monks of both halls were arguing. /Old Teacher King could put right and wrong to the test. /By his sharp knife cutting, the shapes were both forgotten. /A thousand ages love an adept man. /The Way is still not overthrown. /The good listener's indeed appreciative. /For cleaving the mountain to free the river only Laiu is honored. /For smelting stone and mending heaven only Joka is capable. /Old Joshu has his own style — /putting sandals on the head is worth a little. Coming upon differences, he's still a luminous mirror; /true gold does not mix with sand.