Mumonkan

CASE 37. JOSHU'S OAK TREE IN THE GARDEN A monk asked Joshu, "With what intention did Bodhidharma come to China?" Joshu answered, "The oak tree in the front garden." Mumon's Comments: If you grasp Joshu's answer precisely, there is no Shakyamuni Buddha before you and no Maitreya Buddha after you. Words do not express fact, Phrases do not reveal the delicate motion of mind. He who accepts words is lost, He who adheres to phrases is deluded.