AN INTRODUCTION TOZEN BUDDHISM
Shuko,givinghimaslapintheface,said,"Somanyaremere
learnedones;youarenottherealthingyet;givemeanother
answer."Butthemonkmadenoanswerandstartedtogoawayfilled
withangryfeelings."There,"saidthemastersmilingly,"whydon'tyouwif)cthe
dirtoffyourownface?"
InthestudyofZen,thepowerofanall-illuminatinginsight
mustgohandinhandwithadeepsenseofhumilityandmeekness
ofheart.Thereisaperiodinthemonasticlifewhichisexclusivelysetapartforthementaldisciplineofthemonks,whentheyare
nothamperedbyanymanuallabourexceptsuchasisabsolutelynecessary.Thisperiodisknownassesshin.Ittakesplaceafew
times,each timelastingaweek, in theseason knownasthe
"summersojourn"[ge-ango),andagainintheoneknownasthe
"wintersojourn" (setsu-ango). Generallyspeaking,thesummer
sojournbeginsinAprilandendsinAugust,whilethewdnterone
beginsinOctoberandendsinFebruary.Sesshinmeans"collecting
orconcentratingthemind".Whilethesesesshinslast,themonks
areconfinedin theZendo,getupearlierthanusualandsit
furtherintothenight.Thereisa"lecture"{kozaorteisho)everydayduringthesesshin.Thetextbookusedmaybeanyoneofthe
Zenbookssuchas TheHekiganshu, TheRinzairoku, TheMumon-
kwan,TheKidoroku, TheKwaian-kokugo,etc. TheRinzairokuisa
collectionofsermonsorsayingsofthefounderoftheRinzaiZen
sect. TheHekiganshu,asmentionedbefore,isacollectionofone
hundred koans armotated, expounded, and appreciated. TheMumonkwanisalsoacollectionofkoans,forty-eightinnumber,
withcommentspeculiar toZen, and muchsimpler thanthe
Hekigan.TheKidorokucontainsthesayings,sermons,f)oems,andotherworksbyKido(Hsu-t'ang)oftheSungdynasty.Hewas
theteacherofDai-oKokushi,whoselineofZentransmissionis
theonestillflourishinginJapan.TheKwaian-kokugoisthecom-
pilationby HakuinofDaito Kokushi'ssermons and criticalcommentaryversesonsomeoftheoldmasters.Toanordinary
readerthesebooksareasortofobscurumperobscurius.Afterlisten-