Blue Cliff Record 64, Gateless Gate 14, Book of Serenity 9

42
Blue Cliff Record (Hekiganroku, Biyan Lu), #64
Gateless Gate (Mumonkan, Wumenguan), #14, second part
Book of Serenity (Shoyoroku, Congrong Lu), #9, second part
Dogen's 300 #181, second part
Zhaozhou Puts His Sandals on His Head

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 -- none

Wansong's Preface -- See BCR63

Case

In the evening when Zhaozhou returned, Nanquan told him what had happened.
Zhaozhou thereupon took off his sandals, put them on his head, and walked off.
Nanquan said, “If you had been there, I could have spared the cat.”

Interjections

In the evening when Zhaozhou returned, Nanquan told him what had happened.
     (Yuanwu: They must be of like hearts and like minds before this is possible. Only one on the same road would know.)
     (Wansong: A second try isn't worth half a cent.)
Zhaozhou thereupon took off his sandals, put them on his head, and walked off.
     (Y: He does not avoid trailing mud and dripping water.)
     (W: Should cut in two with one sword for him.)
     (Daido: When struck, he reverberates immediately; when pushed over, he knows how to roll and come out upright.)
Nanquan said, “If you had been there, I could have spared the cat.”
     (Y: Singing and clapping, they accompany each other; those who know the tune are few. He adds error to error.)
     (W: When the heart is crooked you don't realize the mouth is bent.)

Wumen's Comment

What is the meaning of Zhaozhou's putting his sandals on his head? If you can give a turning word concerning this matter, you will be able to see that Nanquan's command was not meaningless. But if you can't, look out! Danger!

Wumen's Verse

Had Zhaozhou been there,
He would have given the command instead;
Had he snatched away the sword,
Even Nanquan would have begged for his life.

Xuedou's Verse

The koan reaches completion upon his asking Zhaozhou.
Within the city of Chang'an (capital of ancient China), one is free to wander at leisure.
Putting the sandals on his head – no one understands.
Returning he reaches his home and rests there.

Hongzhi's Verse -- see BCR63/BOS9.

Aitken's Comment

I am told that putting a sandal on the head was a sign of mourning in old China, and this adds a certain poignancy and even logic to the kōan. But don’t suppose that Zhaozhou is just going through the motions of mourning as he walks out the door. True mourning is more intimate than just expressing regret or saying a prayer. What is true mourning? Touch this dimension, and you can walk out with Zhaozou. He was responding directly to Nanquan’s account of the incident from a mind unfazed by birth and death. Some people say that Zhaozhou meant the monastery was topsy-turvy with monks arguing about intellectual matters. If Zhaozhou had been there, they say, he would have responded to Nanquan’s challenge and the cat would have been spared. Such interpretations sidestep the case and jump ahead to the verse. Stick with the kōan: how do you see Zhaozhou — walking out the door with his sandal on his head? Not only did Zhaozhou’s tongue have no bone in it, his activity was like lightning, free of words and standards. Speculation palls, metaphysics collapse, and the great mystery is exposed. Let’s say you have a bit of insight into Nanquan’s execution and Zhaozhou’s response, but you hesitate for some reason that is outside the context of the kōan. Then you are placing yourself at risk. You haven’t really taken care of that cat yet. Free yourself. Cut one, cut all, and the mind of Nanquan and the mind of Zhaozhou will appear clearly before you.

Zhongfeng Ben's Comment (Cleary)

Nanquan's sword is drawn from its jewel scabbard on ac- count of unrest; Zhaozhou's medicine is taken from its precious jar in order to cure sickness. But even though that was fine for the time, nevertheless the way of the ancient Buddhas has disappeared.

Cleary's Comment (GG)

Zhaozhou's farcical act silently remarks that to be enslaved by something that originally was supposed to foster liberation is like being worn by a pair of shoes instead of wearing them. Nanquan says that Zhaozhou would have saved the cat, because this is the very point he was trying to make to the disputatious monks: Ride the vehicle, don't be ridden by it. To ride the vehicle of Buddhism means to transcend human greed, aggression, and stupidity. To be ridden by the vehicle of Buddhism means to become pompous about piety — when you let ordinary human desire or ambition for spirituality or enlightenment increase the burden of your self-importance. Nanquan picked up the "knife" to separate disciples from their attachments to favorite points of view, so that they could be unemotional about spiritual teaching in order to see it clearly and objectively. Zhaozhou then snatched the same knife away and separated everyone from fixation on the outward form, or a personal interpretation, of the present act of teaching performed by Nanquan.

Guo Gu's Comment

What would you do if you were there [in Zhaozhou's place]? Remember that it is Zhaozhou’s answer, not yours. Nowadays, practitioners read a lot of books about Chan masters shouting, hitting, and acting in strange ways. So in response, they sometimes do that too. Please don’t do that. Walk your own path. Don’t shout or hit anything. Be careful! Don’t put yourself and others in danger. If you ask me, knowing Zhaozhou, had he been there, he would not have been carrying “the imperative in reverse.” What’s the use? A simple “CUT!” would do. That in itself would be sufficient to make Nanquan beg for his life. Don’t let your mind churn again with questions like “What does that mean?” Just investigate this deeply. Who is the cutter? Where is the cat? At the tip of the blade, may you bring all to life.

Sekida's Comment

Cutting the cat in two did not complete the koan; Zhaozhou's action supplied the finishing touch. Was Zhaozhou saying that he was no longer concerned with battling against self-centered thinking? Zhaozhou's action was performed as smoothly and naturally as water running in a stream. A certain thought must have been in Zhaozhou's mind, but it was a thought that came prior to reasoning, that is, an intuitive action. If we were to paraphrase it, we might say: When I was studying Zen there were many difficult and serious problems, but now that I have forgotten Zen, everything has become upside down.

Senzaki's Comment

Nanquan should have taught them beforehand not to have any idea of possession, as even their bodies were not their own. After all, either blaming the monks or blaming the cat would have been entirely wrong. Nanquan should have blamed himself. Zhaozhou saw that everything in the monastery was topsy-turvy, and rather than using words with which he might have accused his teacher, he immediately expressed his understanding through a topsy-turvy action — putting his sandals on his head and walking out.

Master Shido Bunan's Verse (Shibayama)

Die while alive, and be completely dead,
Then do whatever you will, all is good.

Master Daito's Verse (Shibayama)

Nansen seizes the cat: lo! one, two, three!
He kills it: behold, just solid iron!
Joshu goes with a sandal on his head: lo! three, two, one!
Heaven is earth; earth is heaven!

Shibayama's Comment

Zhaozhou availed himself of Nanquan’s killing the cat (i.e., the Great Death) as the opportunity for resurrection. Do not be deluded by old fixed names such as sandal or hat, a mountain or a river. Only when your attachments to such provisional given names are cast away will the Reality, the Truth, shine out. Zhaozhou directly presented the Reality that can never be cut by anything. In this new world everything is revived with new significance. Why on earth do you have to cling to old provisional names? Zhaozhou’s action is the direct presentation of his Zen.

Yamada's Comment

Yasutani Roshi says: “Zhaozhou has forgotten everything, even forgetting about forgetting, and has attained great peace.” What is expressed here is how Zhaozhou has come to enlightenment, but then forgotten about that experience and its content, so that even Buddhism and the Buddha-Dharma do not remain. He has become a completely ordinary person who is completely at peace, and this action expresses that state of consciousness. It is then up to us to appreciate just how wonderful a response this is. Just what does Zhaozhou’s action mean? If you ask me, it has no meaning at all. In fact, if there were even the slightest meaning attached to it, it would already be “the difference between heaven and earth.” If you think that Zhaozhou was attempting to show with his action how he had forgotten satori and become ordinary, you would be mistaken. If there were the slightest trace of intention or trying in his action he would already have “lost his life.” It is JUST THIS. Just that action and nothing else. When we are taking a walk down a country road, for example, we will sometimes, with no particular thought as to what we are doing, pluck up a blade of grass or pull down a leaf from an overhanging tree branch. This is exactly what we have in today’s koan. Nevertheless, it would be better if he hadn’t done that! “The spirit turtle drags its tail.” A sea turtle will come up on the beach to lay its eggs in the sand, bury them and return to the ocean. In order to prevent the eggs from being found, the mother turtle uses her tail to brush away her footprints in the sand. The turtle is very clever, but the traces of her tail remain on the sand. Zhaozhou's action was truly wonderful but he too, after all, is a “spirit turtle dragging its tail.”

Tenkei's Comment

When Zhaozhou doffed his straw sandals, what state was this? I would remark, "Where there's no style is also stylish; for the moment he lets out a pathway for you." A lot of people try to figure out the part where Zhaozhou puts his sandals on his head, but would you not doubt if Zhaozhou had put on a bandanna and left? Or would you still doubt? In any case, without the eye on the forehead you cannot know this. "If you had been here..." Oh dear! Nanquan has the head of a dragon but the tail of a snake. Is it really so? Is there any saying whether he would have saved the cat or not?

Shishin Wick's Comment

Is this mere stoicism on Zhaozhou's part? Does Zhaozhou's response mean we should close our hearts to the suffering of other beings? If you would think that Zhaozhou was divorcing himself from the screeching and scratching and splattering of the dying cat, you don't understand Zhaozhou's action, nor what it means to save the cat. Is he just playing the jester, implying Nanquan made a mess of things and got everything all upside-down. Zen practice is not about killing your compassionate heartfelt responses to life and its events. When things get uncomfortable, most people divert their attention by withdrawing, getting angry or depressed, or numbing themselves to their own feelings. That's not the Zen Way. Unless you open your heart, you cannot say a word to save the cat.

Daido Loori's Comment (Dogen's 300)

Zhaozhou is able to settle the case. He listens to the story told by Nanquan, takes off his straw sandals, puts them on his head, and walks away. Nanquan approves. The active edges of teacher and disciple conform seamlessly. But what is Zhaozhou's meaning? How do you say a turning word that would save the cat? The turning points of these two adepts are subtle and profound. Leap free of the words if you really want to see into them.

Daido's Verse

Entering into the monastics' entanglements
the old master tried to cut open a trail for them.
Only Zhaozhou knew the path well --
sandals on his head, a pure spring breeze followed him out.

Rothenberg's Verse

The Cat Could Have Lived

I took off my sandals, placed them on my head.
If you had been there, you could have saved the cat.
Of like hearts, like minds,
You two on the same road would know that.
You may murder the cat, it's none of my business
The sandals don't purr, and torn they won't scream.
If someone dies for them these puzzles matter.
You must try to care, if you wish to live.

Hotetsu's Verse

Those monks swimming in mud,
Zhaozhou swimming in a clear brook, with the current --
How dear to me are they all!
Not by our efforts does the mud clear to pure water,
Nor without effort.

Appendix: Alternate Translations

Case

In the evening when Zhaozhou returned, Nanquan told him what had happened. Zhaozhou thereupon took off his sandals, put them on his head, and walked off. Nanquan said, “If you had been there, I could have spared the cat.”

Aitken: That evening, Chao-chou returned from outside and Nan-ch'uan told him what happened. Chao-chou removed a sandal from his foot, put it on his head, and walked out. Nan-ch'uan said, "If you had been there, the cat would have been spared."

Cleary: That evening Zhaozhou came back from somewhere else and Nanquan told him what had happened. Zhaozhou then took off his sandals, put them on his head, and walked out. Nanquan said, "Had you been here, you could have saved the cat."

Guo Gu: That evening Zhaozhou returned from a trip outside the monastery. Nanquan recounted the story to him. Zhaozhou then took off his sandals, put them on top of his head, and walked out. Nanquan said, "If you had been there, the cat would have been saved."

Hinton: Visitation-Land, the head monk, was away; but that night he returned, and Wellspring told him what had happened. Visitation-Land took off his sandal and balanced it on his head, then walked out. "If you'd been here," Wellspring called after him, "you would have saved the kitten!"

Low: In the evening, when Joshu returned, Nansen told him what had happened. Right away Joshu took off his sandal, put it on his head, and walked away. Nansen said, "If you had been there I would have spared the cat."

Sekida: That evening Joshu returned, and Nansen told him of the incident. Joshu took off his sandal, placed it on his head, and walked out. "If you had been there, you would have saved the cat," Nansen remarked.

Senzaki: That evening, Joshu returned, and Nansen told him about the affair. Joshu removed his sandals and, placing them on his head, walked out. Nansen said, "If you had been there, you could have saved the cat."

Shibayama: In the evening, when Joshu came back, Nansen told him of the incident. Joshu took off his sandal, put it on his head, and walked off. Nansen said, "If you had been there, I could have saved the cat!"

Wumen's Verse

Had Zhaozhou been there, /He would have given the command instead; /Had he snatched away the sword, /Even Nanquan would have begged for his life.

Aitken: If Chao-chou had been there /he would have taken charge; /he would have snatched away the sword /and Nan-ch'uan would have begged for his life.

Cleary: Had Zhaozhou been present, /He'd have executed the order in reverse, /Snatching the knife away, /Nanquan begging for is life.

Guo Gu: If Zhaozhou had been there, /He would have carried out this imperative in reverse: /He would have snatched the knife away, /And Nanquan would be begging for his life.

Hinton: If he'd been there, old Visitation-Land /would have turned things upside down, /stealing that knife-blade away, leaving /Wellspring-South begging for his life.

Low and Sekida: Had Joshu been there, /He would have done the opposite; /When the sword is snatched away, /Even Nansen begs for his life.

Senzaki: Had Joshu been there /He would have enforced the edict differently. /Joshu snatches the sword, /And Nansen begs for his life.

Shibayama: Had Joshu only been there, /He would have taken action. /Had he snatched the sword away, /Nansen would have begged for his life.

Xuedou's Verse

The koan reaches completion upon his asking Zhaozhou. /Within the city of Chang'an (capital of ancient China), one is free to wander at leisure. /Putting the sandals on his head – no one understands. /Returning he reaches his home and rests there.

T. and J.C. Cleary, BCR: The public case completed, he questions Chao Chou: /In the city of Chang'an, he's free to wander at leisure. /His straw sandals he wears on his head-no one understands; /Returning to his native village, then he rests.

T. Cleary, Secrets of BCR: The case completed, he consults Joshu, /Freely roaming at leisure in the capital city. /The straw sandals on the head, no one understands; /On getting back home, then there is rest.

Hinton: To bring the sangha-case full-circle, he asked Visitation-Land. /They were in Peace-Perpetua (Chang'an), wandering the city all idleness, /and Land blanced a sandal on his head, Absence unknowable. /Later he returned home to the mountain, settled into sage ease.

Sekida: He asked Jōshū to complete the koan. /It was their leisure time in Chang'an. /The sandals on the head — who has guessed? /Returning home, they were at rest.

Shaw: Having told the subject fully he asked Jo-shu’s opinion. He might freely and quietly walk about even in the castle of Cho-an. Ordinary people will not understand why he (Jo-shu) put his sandals on his head. Let him (Jo-shu) now return to his own temple and be at rest there.