image, say a word of Zen, and then I will properly pay you my respects.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\nGutei had never attained Zen; therefore, he could not say a word. The
\nnun called him a stupid monk, and went away. Gutei was ashamed of himself
\nto no small degree. He made up his mind that he would undertake a
\njourney through which he might attain understanding. Before he could
\nstart out, however, he was visited by an old monk. Gutei expressed his
\nshame and resolve, frankly, in a man-to-man talk. The old monk then
\nraised his finger. Seeing this, Gutei was enlightened. The old monk was
\nTenryu, a great teacher of that time.
\n<\/span><\/p>\nAlthough the Chinese government\u2019s persecution resulted in the worst
\ncircumstances for the Buddhist establishment in its history in China, it
\ncreated the opportunity for good monks and nuns to set out on pilgrimages.
\nGutei, too, caught his chance at this time of oppression. He sensed
\nkeenly that the opportunity for realization is rare and noble. This was the
\nreason why, in our present story, he cut off the boy\u2019s finger.
\n<\/span><\/p>\nAn imitation of the teaching seems at first rather innocent, but if it is
\nnot nipped in the bud, it will grow into the ugly weed of religious complacency,
\nor into the troublesome weed of hypocrisy. To open the gate of
\nrealization, one must block off one\u2019s road of conceptualization. Gutei
\nseized the boy and cut off his finger. The boy cried and began to run away.
\n<\/span><\/p>\nIt was too sudden for the boy to think of anything; there was only the
\npain. At that moment, Gutei called for the boy to stop. The boy turned
\nhis head toward Gutei, and the master raised his finger. There! With his
\nroad of thinking blocked, the boy could be enlightened.
\n<\/span><\/p>\nThis koan not only teaches you to realize Zen for yourself, but also
\nshows you how to open the minds of others and let them see the truth as
\nclearly as daylight. The power of Zen that Gutei received from Tenryu
\nwas not merely the act of raising a finger; it was the means to enlighten
\nothers. Therefore he said on his deathbed, \u201cI attained my one-finger Zen
\nfrom my teacher, Tenryu, and throughout my whole life, I have not
\nexhausted it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nMUMON\u2019S COMMENT
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThe enlightenment that Gutei and the boy attained has nothing to do with
\nthe finger. If you cling to the finger, Tenryu will be so disappointed that he
\nwill annihilate (<\/strong>another Chinese expression; we should probably use the
\nword \u201cdisown;\u2019 or \u201cexpel\u201d)\u00a0Gutei, the boy, and you.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nMUMON\u2019S VERSE
\n<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nGutei cheapens Tenryu\u2019s teaching
\nEmancipating the boy with a knife.
\nCompared to the Chinese god who divided a mountain with one hand,
\nOld Gutei is a poor imitator.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\nA Chinese myth tells us that the Yellow River at first could not run toward
\nthe east, as there was a great mountain in the way. A god came to help, and
\ndivided the mountain into two parts, so that the water could run through.
\nIf you look carefully at those two mountains, you will find the fingerprints
\nof this god. Such a story! Zen never asks us to believe in miracles, but we
\nZen students perform miracles without knowing it ourselves. Didn\u2019t I
\ngive you a koan in this seclusion: \u201cAfter you have entered into the house,
\nthen let the house enter into you.\u201d Now, show me how you accomplish
\nthis trick! Those who are still working on this koan: have a cup of tea and
\ngo home. You will sleep soundly tonight.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0 Gutei\u2019s Finger The Gateless Gate, Case 3 Translated by\u00a0Nyogen Senzaki & Paul Reps First Published in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones Together with Nyogen Senzaki\u2019s commentaries, First published in Eloquent Silence The Case: Whenever he was asked a question about Zen, Gutei raised his finger. A young attendant began to imitate him. When anyone asked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2461,202,2458,47],"class_list":["post-22336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-case-3","tag-gateless-gate","tag-guteis-finger","tag-nyogen-senzaki"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n