Mumonkan

CASE 9. DAITSU CHISHO BUDDHA A monk asked Seijo, "Daitsu Chisho Buddha did zazen (meditated) for ten kalpas in a Meditation Hall, could not realize the highest truth, and so could not become fully emancipated. Why was this?" Seijo said, "Your question is a very appropriate one!" The monk asked again, "Why did he not attain Buddhahood by doing zazen in the Meditation Hall?" Seijo replied, "Because he did not." Mumon's Comment: You may know the Old Indian, but you are not allowed to have an understanding of Him. If an ordinary man attains enlightenment, he is a sage. When the sage is concerned about an understanding, he is only an ordinary man. Rather than putting the body to rest, let the heart rest. When the mind is realized, then one need not worry about the body. If the mind and the body have completely become one, This is the perfect life of sage, and praise is utterly meaningless.