Zen Women

Bright, Bright

As Layman P'ang was sitting one day, he questioned his daughter, Ling-chao, saying: "A man of old said: 'Bright, bright, the hundred grass-tips; bright, bright, the Patriarch's meaning.' How do you understand this?"

"What a thing for you to say in your ripe old age!" admonished Ling-chao.

"Well, what would you say?" asked the Layman.

"Bright, bright, the hundred grass-tips; bright, bright, the Patriarch's meaning," replied Ling-chao.

The Layman laughed.

Commentary

There was never a dull moment in the P'ang family. But what would you say if Layman P'ang asked you?

Source: The Recorded Sayings of Layman P'ang by Ruth Fuller Sasaki

Photo by Cobalt

Mo-shan Opens Her Mouth

Chih-hsien was sent by his master, Lin-chi, to study with Mo-shan. On their first meeting, she asked, "Where have you come from?" Chih-hsien answered, "The mouth of the road" [the literal meaning of the name of his village].

Mo-shan retorted, "Then why didn't you close your mouth when you came here?" Chih-hsien prostrated himself and became her disciple.

Some time later he challenged her by asking, "What is the summit of the mountain [the literal meaning of the name 'Mo-shan']?" She replied, "The summit of the mountain cannot be seen."

"Then who is the person on the mountain," he demanded. "I am neither male nor a female form," she replied.

"Then," he asked, "why not transfigure into some other form?" Mo-shan replied, "Since I am not a fox spirit, I cannot transfigure."

Once again Chih-hsien bowed and decided to serve as the supervisor of Mo-shan's temple garden for three years, proclaiming her teaching the equal of Lin-chi.

Commentary

Mo-shan's complete name is Mo-shan Liao-jan. She is the first known female Zen teacher of a male student. 

When Chih-hsien became abbot of a monastery, he instructed the assembly by saying, "I attained a half ladle of dharma-water at the venerable father Lin-chi's place and another half at the venerable mother Mo-shan's. The two together making a full ladle, I drank it up and have been thoroughly full ever since."

Source: Opening A Mountain: Koans of the Zen Masters by Steven Heine

Photo by tinyfroglet

A Nun Asks Zhaozhou About the Meaning

One day a nun asked Zhaozhou, "What is the meaning of the secret meaning?"

Zhaozhou made a gesture of pulling out something.

The nun said, "You Venerable still has this."

Zhaozhou said, "It is you who still have this."

Commentary

Some commentators say that Zhaozhou used a gesture to reveal the secret meaning that cannot be conveyed in words. In this view, the nun responds by saying, in effect, "You are attached to this 'secret meaning,' since even a gesture is unnecessary." Zhaozhou then responds, in this view, that the nun is attached to the concept of non-attachment.

As for me, I wonder about Zhaozhou's gesture. We've noted that in his other encounters with female students, he sometimes sexualized these interactions. 

Source: Women in Zen Buddhism

Photo by Smeerch

All Fall Down

Layman P'ang was once selling bamboo baskets. Coming down off a bridge he stumbled and fell. When Ling-chao saw this, she ran to her father's side and threw herself down.

"What are you doing!" cried the Layman.

"I saw Papa fall to the ground, so I'm helping," replied Ling-chao.

"Luckily no one was looking," remarked the Layman.

Commentary

What could be more joyous than keeping "how can I help you?" mind from moment to moment?

Source: The Recorded Sayings of Layman P'ang by Ruth Fuller Sasaki

Photo by Magthepig

A Nun Walks Around Chu-chih

Staying for a prolonged period in a mountain hermitage, Chu-chih was approached one rainy night by a nun wearing robes and a broad rain hat, and carrying a large carved staff indicative of a Zen wanderer.

She walked around Chu-chih's meditation seat three times and challenged him to speak before she would take off her hat. When he failed to respond, she offered to stay the night, but only if he gave an answer.

Failing again, Chu-chih felt inadequate and vowed to go on a pilgrimage to study the Dharma, but that night a spirit told him in a dream that a bodhisattva was to appear. The next day, Tien-lung arrived and taught him the One Finger method.

Commentary

The nun's name is thought to be Shih-chi, a woman who lived around 800 C.E. If you had been in Chu-chih's place, how could you have responded to the nun's challenge?

Source: Opening A Mountain: Koans of the Zen Masters, by Steven Heine

Photo by z rahen

Zhaozhou Doesn't Touch

There was a nun who asked Zen Master Zhaozhou, "What is the practice of a sangha member?"

The master said, "Don't bear any children."

The nun said, "If not for you, there would be no involvements."

The master said, "If I had some involvement with you, what could you do to withstand it?"

 

Commentary

The records contain several dialogues in which Zhaozhou introduces sexuality into his relationships with women. Although he was a very old man when he began teaching, these cases show that his mind frequently turned to flirtation and even physical touch. This is very tricky ground and, frankly, I'm not sure how to view it. But I'm unsettled.

Source: The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu, translated by James Green

Neither Difficult Nor Easy

Layman P'ang was sitting in his thatched cottage one day. "Difficult, difficult, difficult," he suddenly exclaimed, "[like trying] to scatter ten measures of sesame seed all over a tree!"

"Easy, easy, easy," returned Mrs. P'ang, "just like touching your feet to the ground when you get out of bed."

"Neither difficult nor easy," said Ling-chao. "On the hundred grass-tips, the Patriarch's meaning."

Commentary

Everyone has their feet on the ground. Is walking difficult or easy?

Source: The Recorded Sayings of Layman P'ang by Ruth Fuller Sasaki

Photo by Adam Rice

A Nun Awakens Seventeen Monks

A group of seventeen monks, all of them in search of Zen enlightenment, traveled to Mount Yang-shan. There they sought out the celebrated Master Yang-shan Hui-chi, who lived on the mountain, for guidance. 

It was arranged that they stay the night in a small temple attached to the large one. That evening they discussed one of the koans related to the Sixth Patriarch: "What moves is not the wind nor the banner, but your mind."

Now, the nun Miao-hsin, who presided over the temple, happened to hear their conversation and made a scathing criticism of it to her followers.

"Humbug!" she said. "It's a pity that the seventeen donkeys have worn out so many pairs of straw sandals on pilgrimages and still cannot even dream about the dharma."

One of the nuns attending the monks told them of her teacher's opinion. If they had not been true Zen followers they might have dismissed Miao-hsin's comments as a piece of impertinence, but they were ardent in their quest of enlightenment and they humbly begged her instruction.

On entering the nun's room together, they were asked to approach closer. While they were doing so, Miao-hsin said, "What moves is not the wind, nor the banner, nor your mind."

At once all the seventeen monks awakened.

Commentary

This version of the story blends elements from a version in Zen Poems, Prayers, Sermons, Anecdotes, and Interviews and a version attributed to Dogen. Miao-hsin was a dharma heir of Kao-an Ta-yu, the first women entered in the official Zen lineage charts.

Source: Zen Poems, Prayers, Sermons, Anecdotes, Interviews by Lucien Stryk

Photo by Tenku