[Buddha-l] Tozan's blue mountain and white cloud

BCarral benitocd at yahoo.es
Thu Apr 17 00:16:59 MDT 2008


Dear Buddha-L denizens,

   I'm rereading _Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind_ and I have
found the following passage:

           Tozan  [Tung-shan],  a  famous  Zen  master,
        said,  "The  blue mountain is the father of the
        white  cloud. The white cloud is the son of the
        blue mountain. All day long they depend on each
        other,  without  being dependent on each other.
        The  white cloud is always the white cloud. The
        blue mountain is always the blue mountain."

   Then I have been looking for some reference to these
words  and I have found a passage in an English partial
translation  of the _Chih Yueh Lu_ (Charles Luk, _Ch'an
and Zen Teaching Volume 2,_ p. 147):

           A  monk  asked the master: "What is the blue
        mountain which is father of the white clouds?"
        
           The  master  replied:  "That  which  is  not
        luxuriant."

           The  monk  asked:  "What  is the white cloud
        which is son of the blue mountain?"

           The  master  replied:  "That  which does not
        distingish between east and west."

           The  monk  asked:  "What  is the white cloud
        which  is  clinging  (to  and  dependent on the
        mountain) all the time?"

           The   master  replied:  "That  which  cannot
        stray."

           The  monk  asked: "What is the blue mountain
        which does not know anything?"

           The  master  replied:  "That which doest not
        look at anything."

   Now  my  question  is:  Where  did Suzuki roshi take
Tung-shan's words? Could they be his own interpretation
of the above dialogue or there is some other source for
this teaching?

   I'm delivering a commentary on _Zen Mind, Beginner's
Mind_ and I would appreaciate any info on this topic.

   Thank you and best wishes,

   Ben
   
-- 
   BCarral
     Asturias, Spain




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