Blue Cliff Record, Case 2
Chao-chou, teaching the assembly, said, “The Ultimate Path is without difficulty; just avoid picking and choosing. As soon as there are words spoken, ‘this is picking and choosing,’ ‘this is clarity. This old monk does not abide within clarity; do you still preserve anything or not?”
At that time a certain monk asked, “Since you do not abide within clarity, what do you preserve?”
Chao-chou replied, “I don’t know either.”
The monk said, “Since you don’t know, Teacher, why do you nevertheless say that you do not abide within clarity?”
Chao-chou said, “It is enough to ask about the matter; bow and withdraw.”
Reflections
This is the second koan of the Blue Cliff Record. The words “picking and choosing” or variations of this koan also appear later on in the Record in koans 57, 58, and 59.
Here they are.
57
A monk asked Chao-chou, “‘The Ultimate Path has no difficulties—just avoid picking and choosing.’ What is not picking and choosing?”
Chao-chou said, “‘In the heavens and on earth I alone am the Honored One.’”
The monk said, “This is still picking and choosing.”
Chao-chou said, “Stupid oaf! Where is the picking and choosing?” The monk was speechless.
58
A monk asked Chao-chou, “‘The Ultimate Path has no difficulties—just avoid picking and choosing’—isn’t this a cliché for people of these times?”
Chao-chou said, “Once someone asked me, and I really couldn’t explain for five years.”
59
A monk asked Chao-chou, “ ‘The Ultimate Path has no difficulties—just avoid picking and choosing. As soon as there are words and speech, this is picking and choosing.’ So how do you help people, Teacher?”
Chao-chou said, “Why don’t you quote this saying in full?” The monk said, “I only remember up to here.”
Chao-chou said, “It’s like this: ‘The Ultimate Path has no difficulties—just avoid picking and choosing.’”
I did a careful search of the koans involving Chao-chou that Dogen Zengi discusses in his Mana Shobogenzo, and Eihei Koroku. There are sixteen Chao-chou koans in the Mana Shobogenzo and forty-five in the Eihei Koroku. Dogen completely ignores all of the koans in which Chao-chou teaches picking and choosing. I find this amazing, considering there are four such koans in the Blue Cliff Record. Amazing, because we know that Dogen revered the Blue Cliff koans. He only discovered the Record in the last days of his trip to China and spent the entire night, prior to his departure for Japan, copying the one hundred koans and commentary of the Blue Cliff Record. And so it is a mystery to me that Dogen did not work with these koans and write about them in his major works.
Nevertheless, we will work with them here. The key words to the teaching of the koan are found in Jianzhi Sengcan’s poem, “On Trust in the Heart.”
The Perfect Way is only difficult
For those who pick and choose.
Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear.
As I have already quoted, variations of the koan appear four times in the Blue Cliff Record: Cases 2, 57, 58, and 59. I will deal with the present Case 2.
In his teaching to the assembly Chao-chou says, “This is picking and choosing, this is clarity (or enlightenment).”
And he says that he “…doesn’t abide in clarity or enlightenment.” (Is he then saying he abides in picking and choosing?) And he asked the monks if they “preserve” anything?
One of the monks challenges Chao-chou and asks him what he himself “preserves” since he doesn’t abide in clarity?
The question can also have within it the supposition that Chao-chou “abides in picking and choosing.”
In response, Chao-chou says “I don’t know either.”
How is this to be read?
Is Chao-chou saying he knows neither picking and choosing, or clarity, or enlightenment?
Is “I don’t know” or not-knowing Chao-chou’s answer?
Is he saying he neither abides in the place of discrimination (picking and choosing) or the place of enlightenment (not choosing, therefore, clarity)—instead, he abides in the place of not-knowing?
The monk misses the third possibility of not-knowing. He again asks Chao-chou about clarity—enlightenment, or not choosing and Chao-chou’s dismisses the monk and his questions.
The Secrets of the Blue Cliff Record has some beautiful quotes by Hakuin and Tenkei.
From Tenkei, on “clarity.”
Clarity refers to the realm of enlightenment. Old Joshu does not remain within delusion or enlightenment, ordinary or holy. Do you preserve anything is a teacher’s “fishing word.” He talks about not remaining in clarity as a place where there are no traces, speaking of it as if there actually were something there, showing a seam to hook a student’s gap. This is what is called a Zen master’s manipulation of emptiness.
Hakuin on “clarity.”
Since you do not remain within clarity—If you abide in clarity, you need to preserve it, but if you do not remain in clarity, there’s nothing to preserve, is there? Since you don’t know—Here we can see this monk has no eyes. Why do you say you do not remain in clarity—Greedily gazing at the moon in the sky, he loses the pearl in the palm of his hand. You’ve posed the question—Isn’t that just like Joshu! “You’re a persistent fellow! When you’ve had enough fooling around, scram!” This is scary verbal Zen: “Setting his strategy in motion from within his tent, he assures victory a thousand miles away.”
Finally, Tenkei on the “Way.”
The way implies passage; it means that asses pass, horses pass, all beings equally pass without obstruction. But what is the supreme way spoken of here? Humans and angels are vertical, animals are horizontal, mountains are high, oceans are wide; east, west, south, north, the highway to the capital, the unique straight open road to the ultimate, the single path to the gate of nirvana taken by the blessed ones of the ten directions; there is no other way at all.
I think there are three key phrases or words in this koan:
- Picking and choosing
- Clarity
- Do you still preserve?
And I think these three phrases are metaphors for:
- The discriminating mind
- The Unborn
- Attachment
When these phrases are substituted the koan looks like this:
Chao-chou, teaching the assembly, said, “The Ultimate Path is without difficulty; just avoid the discriminating mind. As soon as there are words spoken, “this is the discriminating mind,” “this is the Unborn.” This old monk does not abide in the Unborn; are you still attached to anything or not?”
At that time a certain monk asked, “Since you do not abide in the Unborn, what are you attached to?”
Chao-chou replied, “I neither attach to the Unborn or to the discriminating mind.”
The monk said, “Since you are attached to neither, Teacher, why do you nevertheless say that you do not abide in the Unborn?”
Chao-chou said, “It is enough to ask about the matter; bow and withdraw.”
The monk’s first question baits Chao-chou with the implication that if he isn’t attached to the Unborn he must therefore be attached to the discriminating mind.
Chao-chou denies this.
Then in his follow-up question, the monk claims that Chao-chou must therefore be attached to non-attachment.
Chao-chou having had enough of the monk’s word game and dismisses him.
This takes us back to the original teaching of Chao-chou, “As soon as there are words spoken…” Words are metaphors. They are not the thing. Words are neither the Unborn, the discriminating mind, clarity, or attachment. Words are our attempts to describe a situation—a conflation of events. But they are not the events. When we use words we realize that they are tools. They are indicators. They are the finger pointing to the moon. Holding on to the words can trap us. They can wrap around our thoughts and feelings. They can screw up whatever teachings we are seeking to express. Nevertheless we use words. We don’t cut off the finger. We do live in the discriminating world of mind. The Unborn is not apart from the world of discrimination. Picking and choosing is actually the world of the Unborn as well as the world of discrimination. For the Unborn is inextricably woven in the world of discrimination. Back to the “Heart Sutra.” Form is emptiness. Emptiness is precisely form.
Tenkei’s beautiful quote on the Way or Path says it all. How do you manage to live in the world of discrimination and somehow at the same time live in the world of the Unborn? How do you live in the world of form and at the same time in the world of emptiness? How do you live in an imperfect world and at the same time in the world of perfection? How do you follow the “ultimate Path?” when you are on the path of discrimination?
Tenkei tells us that the path, or way is simply a passage. And asses, horses, and all beings make the pass without a problem. It doesn’t matter if we’re humans or angels. If we’re vertical or horizontal, high or low, east, west, north, or south. We make the pass from wherever we are. Because, thank the Buddha, form is emptiness and emptiness is form. And in ways we cannot possibly understand, whatever we do in the world of form affects the world of emptiness.
When we bow to one another, we bow to the moon and the stars. When we speak kindly to one another we embrace the universe. When we say a harsh word to one another we wound the furthest star. For whatever path we’re on is the way to the ultimate. So let us tread lightly. With dignity. With loving-kindness. Then we are one. Then we are not one not two.
And so what is the teaching of this koan? Here are some suggestions.
- This is picking and choosing
- This is enlightenment
- This is clarity
- This is not-knowing
- This is form
- This is emptiness
- This is not picking and choosing
- This is not enlightenment
- This is not not-knowing
- This is not form
- This is not emptiness
- What is This?
Chao-chou, teaching the assembly, said, “The Ultimate Path is without difficulty; just avoid picking and choosing. As soon as there are words spoken, ‘this is picking and choosing,’ ‘this is clarity.’ This old monk does not abide within clarity; do you still preserve anything or not?”
At that time a certain monk asked, “Since you do not abide within clarity, what do you preserve?”
Chao-chou replied, “I don’t know either.”
The monk said, “Since you don’t know, Teacher, why do you nevertheless say that you do not abide within clarity?”
Chao-chou said, “It is enough to ask about the matter; bow and withdraw.”