Blue Cliff Record, Case 46
“Ching Ch’ing asked a monk, “What is that sound outside the gate?” The monk said, “The sound of raindrops.”
Ch’ing said, “Sentient beings are inverted. They lose themselves and follow after things.”
The monk said, “What about you, Teacher?”
Ch’ing said, “I almost don’t lose myself.”
The monk said, “What is the meaning of ‘I almost don’t lose myself.’”
Ch’ing said, “Though it still should be easy to express oneself, to say the whole thing has to be difficult.”
To me, this is one of the most tender and heartfelt exchanges in all of the koans I’ve encountered.
Those of you who have been around Treetop for a while will be familiar with the exhortation to become your koan – every part of it. To understand what this koan has to offer, then, we must become Ching Ch’ing. We must become the anonymous monk. We must become the rain.