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22. See "Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism in China," this issue, p. 21.
 

p. 43

　　 Now let me ask who are the "earlier masters"? Rinzai spoke outspokenly, and so did Tokusan (Te-shan Hsuan-chien), as is confirmed by Hu Shih himself. And it was they who used the stick and uttered "Ho!" Historically, in this they are preceded by Baso (Ma-tsu), who used the fist too. The history of the "crazy" pedagogic methodology of Zen may be said to start with Baso. Sekito (Shih-t'ou), his contemporary, also noted for his Zen insight and understanding, was not as "mad" as Baso, but the spread of Zen all over China, especially in the South, dates from Baso "in the west of the River" and Sekito "in the south of the Lake." Hu Shih's "earlier masters" must be those earlier than Baso and Sekito, which means Jinne (Shen-hui) and Yenoo (Hui-neng), Nangaku Yejoo (Nan-yueh Hui-jang), Seigen Gyooshi (Ch'ing-yuan), etc. But Hu Shih evidently classes Rinzai, Tokusan, and Baso among those Zen masters who expounded Zen in plain outspoken language.

　　 Hu Shih does not understand what pu shuo po 不說破 (habitually, "do not tell outwardly" ) really means. It is not just not to speak plainly. I wish he would remember that there is something in the nature of praj~naa-intuition which eludes every attempt at intellectualization and rejects all plain speaking so called. It is not purposely shunning this way of expression. As praj~naa-intuition goes beyond the two horns of a dilemma, it begrudges committing itself to either side. This is what I mean when I say that Zen is beyond the ken of human understanding; by understanding, I mean conceptualization. When the Zen experience -- or praj~naa-intuition, which is the same thing -- is brought to conceptualization, it is no more the experience itself; it turns into something else. Pu shuo po is not a pedagogical method; it is inherent in the constitution of the experience, and even the Zen master cannot do anything with it.

　　 To illustrate my point, I will quote two mondoo. The subject of both is the ancient mirror, but one appears to be diametrically opposed to the other in its statement.

　　 A monk asked, "When the ancient mirror is not yet polished, what statement can we make about it?"
　　 The master answered, "The ancient mirror."
　　 The monk: "What do we have after it is polished?"
　　 The master: "The ancient mirror."

　　 When the same question was brought to another master, he answered to the first: "Heaven and earth are universally illumined." To the second, "Pitch dark" was given as the answer.

　　 The ancient mirror is the ultimate reality, the Godhead, the mind, the undifferentiated totality. "When it is polished" means the differentiation, the

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world created by God, the universe of the ten thousand things. In the first mondoo the mirror remains the same whether it is polished or not. In the second mondoo, when it is not polished or differentiated, it illumines the whole universe, but when it is polished it loses its ancient brilliancy and the light is altogether hidden behind the multitudinousness of things. We may say that the second mondoo directly contradicts the first, or that the first ignores the fact of differentiation, which is not rational. We can raise some more questions concerning each singly and the two in their relationship. But pu shuo po, it takes too long to discuss the point fully in order to satisfy our understanding. But when all is done, the original intuition from which we started is lost sight of; in fact, we do not know exactly where we are, so thickly covered up are we with the dust of argumentation. The use of "plain language" we aimed at in the beginning puts us now in the maze of intellection and gives us nothing solid; we are all vaporized.

　　 Chu Hsi was a great Confucian thinker -- there is no doubt about this. But he had no praj~naa-intuition into the constitution of the ancient mirror. Therefore, what he says about pu shuo po and also about "the golden needle" working underneath the embroidery [23] is off the track. There is nothing pedagogical here. As to pu shuo po (inexplainable) I have shuo po liao (explained away) as above.

　　 Now as regards the golden needle. It is not that the needle is designedly held back from the sight of the outsider. It cannot be delivered to him even when you want that done. It is something each of us has to get by himself. It is not that "I'll not pass it on to you," but "I can't pass it on to you." For we are all in possession of a golden needle which, however, becomes our own only when we discover it in the unconscious. What can be passed on from one person to another is not native to him who gets it.

　　 Hsing-yen's (Kyoogen) story may be illuminating in this connection. [24] Though I think I have translated it elsewhere in one of my books on Zen, I will reproduce it here for the convenience of the reader.