Gateless Gate 36

202
Gateless Gate (Mumonkan, Wumenguan) #36
Meeting One Who Has Accomplished the Way

Personnel and Date

• WUZU "Qingyuan" Fayan (Goso Hôen, 1024-1104, 20th gen), disciple of Baiyun Shouduan
Date guess: ca. 1085

Case

Wuzu said, “If you meet a person on the path who has accomplished the Way, do not greet the person with words or silence. Tell me, how will you greet that person?”

Wumen's Comment

If you can answer this question fittingly, you are certainly to be congratulated. But if you cannot, you should look for it attentively, wherever you are.

Wumen's Verse

Meeting on the path a person who has accomplished the Way,
Do not greet the person with words or silence:
I will punch you in the face:
If you realize, realize on the spot.

Xiangyan's Verse (Aitken)

Clear, lucid, with no hindrance whatsoever;
standing all by yourself, you don’t rely on anything.
If you meet a man or woman of the Dao on the road,
make your greeting with neither words nor silence.

Aitken's Comment

Wuzu is here echoing the challenge made in Xiangyan's verse: the Xiangyan who put us up a tree in GG5 to pose the dilemma of speaking or not speaking. We find many other cases that deal overtly with speech and silence. In GG24, Fengxue quotes a poem when challenged to transcend speech and silence, subject and object. In GG32, the Buddha presents his gracious silence in response to a similar question. In BCR70, BCR71, and BCR72 we find three cases of Baizhang asking his attendants in turn, “How would you say something with your lips and throat closed?”
Linji explores the matter further and cautions us not to fling muddy water on such an occasion: “Meeting someone attained in the Dao on the road, above all don’t take up the Dao.”
What kind of responses do you make to family members and Dharma friends?
With his challenge, Wuzu can be said to be pointing to the seasoned way of Yünmen — whose responses, it is said, fit situations as a lid fits its box: lucid and clear, not relying on anything or anybody, turning the Dharma Wheel all by himself. When meeting a student of the Dao, he did not make his greetings in any relative manner — with speech or silence — but came forth zestfully from the ground of his joyous mind.

Yuelin's Verse (Cleary)

Those who come talking about right and wrong
Are themselves right and wrong people:
How true are these words!
Sport with things unconcerned with their names.

Cleary's Comment

Try to notice everything all around you as a total field of awareness for a period of ten days or so, then you may well see for yourself why what you experience cannot be expressed in words, yet cannot be relegated to silence.

Guo Gu's Comment

Some people think gestures are better. That is wrong! No words, silence, or gesture. The point is to place yourself in a situation in which you can neither advance nor retreat, speak or shut up, act or not act. How do you respond?
Why should you think an “awakened” person is any different from another? Who is discriminating between this and that? Is awakening special? Is delusion ordinary? In Chan, all beings are intrinsically awakened, free. In the midst of your daily life, how do you greet your family members, friends, colleagues, boss, and the coffee shop clerk? Are you stuck by your categories of awakened versus deluded, words versus silence, action versus inaction? Please don’t be.
Engaged in Chan, a way or path unfolds, along which you can live in peace and fulfillment. Where can you find this way or path? It is not limited to the cushion or in meditation halls. Take your practice outside, into the world. It is there that life unfolds and is fulfilled. Be intimate with all situations of life, and there will be fulfillment. You discover that everyone is that “person who has fulfilled the way.”
Don’t get so caught up with the past or with the categories you impose on people. Don’t take away the precious moment in the present with baggage from the past. You will then be free to respond and “greet the person who has fulfilled the way.” Any way of greeting will do.
Meeting someone who has fulfilled the way is a simple act of everyday life. If you ask me, a simple handshake would do.

Low's Comment

Who is the man or woman of the Way? In many traditions to meet Buddha, or to meet an angel, to meet one on the Way is a great achievement. However, as Wumen affirms, in Zen practice if one meets one on the Way, cut that one down. Parading before others one's experience of meeting an angel or exalted being is dangerous, as least as far as the spiritual life of the experiencer is concerned. Any such experience, however exalted, is only an experience and, as with all such experiences, it drifts away into the twilight of the past. Whatever insight comes from it becomes conceptualizeds and frozen along with all the other concepts and ideas that litter the mind. Exalting the experience encourages its own form of egoism. This is why Wumen recommends the punch on the jaw, and if someone meets the Buddha, kill the Buddha. To practice one must neither flee from the fearful nor cling to the exalted. If you meet one on the way, do not greet him with words, do not greet him with silence. How would you greet him?

Sekida's Comment

"Do not meet him with words or with silence." Remember Sonyuan's (1132-1202) proposition in GG20: "It is not the tongue with which he speaks." If you have no plot or scheme, you can act freely and innocently. In other words, if you do not deviate from ordinary mind, you can meet a man of the Way with either words or silence. But I must remind you that this is only a conceptual explanation.
"Tell me, how will you meet him?" Tell me, how do you meet yourself? First meet yourself and be intimate with yourself. You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth. Do not deviate from you samadhi in any way. You yourself are the man of the Way. Meet him with either words or silence. Nothing restricts you but yourself.

Senzaki's Comment

One who speaks usually bores another. One who remains silent loses the opportunity to receive instruction. Monks at that time, therefore, warned each other to avoid extremes and to walk the path of the middle way. From the ancient times of simple language to the modern age of radio broadcast, we humans endanger ourselves by the use of words. We do not know that words are mere shadows of thought, and never will they be the thought itself.
What will you do? You can speak if you are not clinging to words. You can remain silent if you are free from silence. How do you know the one you meet is a Zen master? In Japan, these days, some Zen priests carry their cards printed with the title “Zen master.” It proves that they are not Zen masters at all. If you have Zen in you, whomever you meet, and whatever you see, will be your noble and beautiful associate without exception. Why pick out a particular individual and call that one a Zen master?

"A Zen Master's" Comment (Shibayama)

If you do not speak out what is in your mind, you will feel heavy in the stomach. Yet if you speak, your tongue may cut your throat. Just speak as you should, and do not speak as you should not.

Master Soen's Verse on Vimalakirti's Silence (Shibayama)

For long, the old tune sounded throughout Viya in vain,
But three thousand years later, here is his appreciator.
Fluent is his speaking, both with pen and with tongue:
This is the Truth of Vimalakirti’s silence.

Shoushan Xingnian's (926-993) Answer (Shibayama)

A monk inquired as follows: "It is said that if one meets a man of Dao on the way, one must not greet him either with words or with silence. I wonder how one should greet him."
Shoushan said, "I have seen through the three thousand worlds [the whole universe]!"

Xuefeng Yicun's (822–908) Answer (Shibayama)

A monk put the question, "An old Zen Master said that if one should meet a man of Dao on the way, one must not greet him either with words or with silence. I wonder how one should greet him!"
Xuefeng said, "Have a cup of tea, please!"

Shibiyama's Comment

A “man of Dao” is one who has attained the essence of Zen, or the Truth, and he has naturally transcended the dualistic opposition of words and silence. “If you come across such a man, one who does not live in the dualistic domain of words and silence, how will you greet him?” By pressing his disciples with this question, Master Wuzu drives them to the extremity of absolute contradiction, from which he hopes that they will revive as men of real freedom. With silence, or no-words, only equality, which is half of Reality, can be expressed; while with speaking, or words, only differentiation, the other half of the Reality, can be expressed. A Zen man should be firmly based on Absolute Reality, which transcends equality and differentiation. Unless he is capable of making free use of speaking and silence without committing himself to equality or differentiation, he is not worthy to be called a Zen man.
As words have no fixed forms and no binding meanings, a Zen man speaks without a tongue. As silence has no fixed form or meaning, when a Zen man is silent there is live working in his silence. This is how a true man of Dao works.

Yamada's Comment

You should greet a man who has accomplished the Way neither with consciousness nor with nonconsciousness. In order to greet him correctly, you must transcend consciousness and nonconsciousness, words and silence.
As long as words are merely words and silence merely silence, we cannot enter the gate of not-two. From morning till night, each of us is in the Dharma gate of not-two, or more accurately, each of us is always using the Dharma gate of not-two. To put it still another way,each of us is nothing but the Dharma gate of not-two itself. But, because we are attached to dualistic ideas and thoughts, we cannot acknowledge the fact.
As I tell you repeatedly, every koan should be contemplated from the essential point of view. What is the content of words from the essential point of view? What is the content of silence from the essential point of view? If you realize this, the koan will not be difficult for you.

Hotetsu's Verse Hotetsu's Verses on Koans

Accomplished the Way, or has not accomplished the Way:
Perfidious nonsense.
Wuzu tests to see who he can lure likewise into nonsense.
So suppose instead you met me on the path --
And I'll suppose I met you.
We will exchange greetings,
And there will be no word.
There will be no silence.

Appendix: Alternate Translations

Case

Wuzu said, “If you meet a person on the path who has accomplished the Way, do not greet the person with words or silence. Tell me, how will you greet that person?”

Aitken: Wu-tsu said, “When you meet someone attained in the Tao on the road, do not make your greeting with words or with silence. How will you make your greeting?”

Cleary: Wuzu said, "On the road, when you encounter people who have attained the Way, you do not face them with speech or silence. So tell me, how do you face them?"

Guo Gu: Master Wuzu said, “If on the road you meet a person who has fulfilled the way, greet this person with neither words nor silence. Tell me, how will you respond?”

Hinton: Fifth-Patriarch Mountain said: “You meet a sage-master of Buddha-Way on the road, meet him not with words and not with silence. Right now: speak up! Tell me! How do you meet him?”

Low: Goso said, “When you meet a man of the Way on the way, do not greet him with words do not greet him with silence. Tell me how will you greet him?”

Sekida: Goso said, “When you meet a man of the Way on the path, do not meet him with words or with silence. Tell me, how will you meet him?”

Senzaki: Goso said, “When you meet a Zen master on the road, you cannot speak, you cannot remain silent. What will you do?”

Shibayama: Goso said, “If you meet a man of Tao on the way, greet him neither with words nor with silence. Now tell me, how will you greet him?”

Verse

Meeting on the path a person who has accomplished the Way, /Do not greet the person with words or silence: /I will punch you in the face: /If you realize, realize on the spot.

Aitken: Meeting someone attained in the Tao on the road, /don’t make your greeting with words or with silence; /a punch in the jaw! /If you want to realize — just realize.

Cleary: On the road, meeting people who've attained the Way, /You do not face them with speech or silence: /Punch them right in the jaw; /If they understand directly, then they understand.

Guo Gu: If on the road you meet a person who has fulfilled the way, /Don’t greet this person with words or silence. /Hold his jaw and give a nice blow on the side of his face. /If you understand this directly, then you know its (meaning).

Hinton: You meet a sage-master of Way on the road, /meet him not with words and not with silence: /bloody his face, break his jaw, and suddenly /you’ll understand it all with such deep ease.

Low: Meeting a man of the Way on the road, /Meet him with neither words nor silence. /A punch on the jaw: /Understand if you can directly.

Sekida: Meeting a man of the Way on the road, /Meet him with neither words nor silence. /A punch on the jaw: /Understand, if you can directly understand.

Senzaki: Meeting a Zen master on the road, /Respond neither with words nor with silence. /Give him an uppercut /And you will be one who understands Zen.

Shibayama: If you meet a man of Tao on the way, /Greet him neither with words nor with silence. /I’ll give him with my fist the hardest blow I can — /Get it at once, get it immediately!