There is a funny story about the Zen master Seung Sahn and the Tibetan Lama, Kalu Rinpoche, who met for the first time. As the story goes, the Zen master held up an orange in front of the Lama then asked him, "What is this?" The Lama spoke to his translator who then repeated it in English saying, "What's the matter with him? Don't they have oranges where he comes from?"
For those who are somewhat immersed in Zen, the Zen master's question was really a trick question. He was alluding to something beyond the sensual orange which defies normal human comprehension in which the orange is its formation. This, is pure Mind.
This is somewhat akin to a Zen encounter found in the Mumonkan (number 40) in which Pai-chang took a water jug, then placing it on the ground asked, "This must not be called a pitcher. What do you call it?" The head monk answered and said, "You can't say it's a fence post." Then Pai-chang turned to the monk Kuei-shan who then kicked water jug over and left.
I think Zen master Seung Sahn might have done better to have saved his Zenic performance for someone who was familiar with Zen’s teaching method.
Shifting gears, I learned a long time ago that good Tibetan Lamas understand the this in the question, "What is this?" They know that Mind, when it comprehends itself, is dynamic and very real, with which Kuei-shan was intimate, winning the approval of Pai-chang.
To shed more light on the this, the Lama's words provide more detail who wrote: "The open and luminous nature of mind...is an open clarity [prabhâsvara] that, at the level of pure mind, is aware in and of itself...”(Luminous Mind by Kalu Rinpoche, Denis Töndrup). This reflexive or introspective awareness of pure Mind by pure Mind, as in the Mind to Mind transmission, is what any Buddhist worth his or her salt realizes. But how they might present this recondite substance to their students or to others is up for grabs. Zen master Seung Sahn tries to teach it one way—the Lama uses another method.
This aside, it might have been entertaining to see the old Lama stand up and walk over to the Zen master holding his orange and give him a uppercut to the chin or tell his translator to demand of the Zen master, “Tell about this one who stands before me—does he have a name?”
Hehhee, great story, thank you! I love the Lama's answer! That is a true Zen (tm) answer. It's just an orange (with all with buddha nature), that's all, not a trick question. I bet Master Seung Sahn was quite happy with Lama's answer when Lama didn't try to act like "Master".
Like in some video one of Sahn's students were in dokusan and Sahn asked a koan something like "where do you go after death?" A student tried to answer something ignorant like "blue sky" or something. Sahn laughed compassionately and told her that "you'll go to the coffin!" Or something like that. :)
Just as it is. Taming the ox.
Thank you for your post!
With palms together,
Uku
Posted by: Uku | December 02, 2008 at 03:33 PM