Fire Boy Seeks Fire

My twelve-year old son, dog Bodhi, and I just got back from sledding at the big hill in the woods. Incredible almost-full moon lit the hill, the path back, and the tracks of a wild fox that had passed through very recently. Sledding with my son and dog is a contact sport with the three of us usually winding up in a pile somewhere in the weeds along the hillside. At one point my son flew off his sled and his head was so completely buried in the snow that he appeared to have lost it. A wonderful time was had by all.

In my last post with the Kafiz poem, I noted how his “you-are-what-you-seek theme” reminded me of the “fire boy seeks fire koan” and so I share it below. I’ve long been intrigued by this koan. It appears in Dogen’s The Wholehearted Way and several times in his Extensive Record but does not occur in the big three collections.

This is a pretty long for a koan but the key point is subtle – what did Xuanze see that was his great enlightenment? It is a delicate turning point and so I invite you to examine it (i.e., the self of the one reading this) with great care.

This version of the story occurs in Dogen’s Extensive Record, as translated by Shohaku Okumura and Taigen Leighton.

Zen Master Xuanze had affinity with Fayan. Once Xuanze was appointed as director in the assembly of Fayan. One day Fayan said, “How many years have you been here?”
Xuanze replied, “I have already been in the teacher’s assembly for three years.”

Fayan said, “You are a student, so why don’t you ever ask me about Dharma?”

Xuanze said, “I dare not deceive the teacher. When I was at Qingfeng’s place, I realized peace and joy.”

Fayan asked, “Through which words were you able to enter?”

Xuanze responded, “I once asked Qingfeng, ‘What is the self of the student [i.e., my own self]?’ Qingfeng said, ‘The fire boy comes seeking fire.’”

Fayan said, “Good words, only I am afraid that you did not understand them.”

Xuanze said, “The fire boy belongs to fire. Already fire but still seeking fire is just like being self and still seeking self.”

Fayan exclaimed, “Now I really know that you do not understand. If Buddha Dharma was like that it would not have lasted till today.”

Xuanze was overwrought and jumped up. Out on the path he thought, “He is the guiding teacher of five hundred people. His pointing out my error must have some good reason.” He returned to Fayan’s place and did prostrations in repentance.

Fayan said, “You should ask the question.”

Xuanze asked, “What is the self of the student?”

Fayan said, “The fire boy comes seeking fire.” Xuanze was greatly enlightened.

I’ll leave you with this for now and look forward to your comments. I’ll return to the fire boy in in future posts.