Each time a monk from Mount Zhaozhou asked an old woman, "What is the path to Mount Wu-t'ai, the woman said, "Go straight ahead!"
After the monk had taken just a few steps, the woman sneered, "A fine monk -- and off he goes."
Later, one of the monks told master Zhaozhou about what was happening. Zhaozhou said, "Wait till I check out the old woman for you."
The next day Zhaozhou went and asked her the same question posed by the monk. The woman gave him the same answer offered to the other monks.
Zhaozhou returned to his assembly and said, "That old woman at the foot of Mount Wu-t'ai -- I've checked her out for you."
Commentary
Zen Master Seung Sahn comments in the Whole World Is A Single Flower, "Zhaozhou has eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body, but he has no bone. How does he come down from Tae Sahn and return to Tae Sahn [Mt. Wu-t'ai]? The old woman has no eyes, no mouth, and no hands; how did she point the way to Tae Sahn? That's very funny! Ha, ha, ha!!"
Source: Opening A Mountain: Koans of the Zen Masters by Steven Heine
Photo by Giorgio Grande
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