Seikan Hasegawa said, "Kōans are matters to be made clear." They are not matters to be explained. They have no purpose except to clarify. The master of hearing that birdsong is not the thrush holding forth on the railing outside. Who hears? Who hears?
A wonderful koan, thankyou, Roshi.
ReplyDeleteHello Aikten Roshi, we first met 22 years ago in Australia, I was a young girl at the time. I remember my first encounter of dokusan. You saw that I saw. You commented to not let it turn into a memory. I haven’t forgotten. We last met in Perth 12 years ago for the joint transmission. I am very happy to see you are still in such fine form.
ReplyDeleteThe master of birdsong echoes the thrush holding forth. Who hears the clarification?
Dear Aitken Roshi,
ReplyDeleteThank you for pointing so directly.
"Who hears" was the first koan treasure offered to me. Interestingly it was given to me by a Soto teacher (though it was not resolved until much later with one of your heirs). If I remember correctly, this was also Yamada Koun Zenshin's first koan. I believe that during and after his subsequent koan work, "who hears" continued to be his touchstone practice (so to speak).
It is one of those koans with a truly extraordinary capacity. Like Gutei discovered about his one-finger Chan, we can use it for our whole lives and never use it up!
The master of hearing that birdsong is not the thrush holding forth on the railing outside. Who hears? Who hears?
Thank you Roshi.
Peace,
Ted
Who is the Master? To find the Master who hears the birdsong...the hearing itself shows the Way. Whose hearing is it? There's not a single soul in this entire universe!
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