ILLOGICAL ZEN
way;butwhentheycomeacrossthreekindsofinvalids,how
wouldtheytreatthem?Theblindcannotseeevenifastickora
malletisproduced;thedeafcannothearhoweverfinethepreach-
ingmaybe;andthedumbcannottalkhowevermuchtheyare
urged todo so. Butifthesepeopleseverallysufferingcannot
somehowbebenefited,what goodisthereafterallinBudd-
hism?"Theexplanationdoesnotseemtoexplainanythingafter
all.PerhapsButsugen's(Fo-yen)commentmaythrowmorelight
onthesubject.Hesaidtohisdisciplies:"Youeachhaveapairof
ears;whathaveyoueverheardwiththem?Youeachhaveone
tongue;whathaveyoueverpreachedwithit?Indeed,youhave
nevertalked,youhaveneverheard,youhaveneverseen.From
whencethendoalltheseforms,voices,odours,andtastescome?"
(Thatistosay,wheredoesthisworldcomefi-om?)
Ifthisremarkstillleavesuswherewewerebefore,letussee
whetherUmmon(Yun-men,died966},oneofthegreatestof
Zen masterswho ever Uved, can help us.Amonk came to
Ummonandaskedtobeenlightenedupontheaboveremarkby
Gensha.Ummonorderedhimfirsttosalutehimintheformal
way.WTienthemonkstoodupafterprostratinghimselfonthe
ground, Ummonpushed him with his stick, and the monk
steppedback.Themastersaid,"Youarenotblind,then."He
nowtoldthemonktocomeforward,whichhedid.Themaster
said,"Youarenotdeaf,then."Hefinallyaskedthemonkifhe
understoodwhatallthiswasabout,andthelatterreplied,"No,sir."Ummonthenconcluded,"Youarenotdumb,then."
Withallthesecommentsandgestures,arewestilltravelling
throughaterraincognita?Ifso,thereisnootherwaybuttogoback
tothebeginningandrepeatthestanza:Empty-handedIgo,andbeholdthespadeisinmyhands
;Iwalkonfoot,andyetonthebackofanoxIamriding;
Afewmorewords:thereasonwhyZenissovehementinits
attackonlogic, andwhythe presentworktreatsfirst ofthe
illogicalaspectofZen,isthatlogichassoperv-asivelyenteredinto