Xuansha Shibei
Jap., Gensha Shibi
| born: 835 died: 908 73 years place: China |
| stories: Osho Zen: The Quantum Leap from Mind to No-Mind, ch. 4 Zen: The Solitary Bird, Cuckoo of the Forest, ch. 7 Dogen: The Zen Master, ch. 8 And the Flowers Showered, ch. 9 |
aka: Hsuan Sha (old Wade-Giles romanization)
| oshobob The Living Workshop |
| Zen Masters |
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| One day while Gensha was thinking, he heard the voice of a swallow and said, "How well it has explained the Buddhist Truth, speaking profoundly of the Real Nature of Things!" And he came down from his seat. Later, a monk, wanting to get some profit from Gensha's words, said to Gensha, "I didn't understand what you meant." Gensha retorted, "Be off with you! How can anyone trust you!" I would like to say only one thing to Gensha: truth is not Buddhist. Truth makes one a buddha – it will make a Mohammedan a buddha, a Hindu a buddha, a Christian a buddha, a Parsi a buddha. It does not matter who becomes awake – the word `buddha' simply means `the awakened one'. Truth is not Buddhist; neither is it Mohammedan, nor Hindu, nor Christian. Truth is simply your awareness. But he is saying something beautiful. Drop the word 'Buddhist' – "How well the swallow has said the truth, speaking profoundly of the real nature of things...!" --Osho Zen: The Solitary Bird, Cuckoo of the Forest, ch. 7 |