Yunyan Tansheng
Jap., Ungan Donjo
Mt. Yunyan (cloud cliff) Covered with clouds Light
| born: 784 died: 841 place: China |
| Chan masters: Yaoshan (J., Yakusan), Baizhang (J., Hyakujo) Chan disciples: Dongshan (J. Tozan), Xingshan (J. Anzan) |
Surname: Wang
originally from Jiangxi Province, Yunyan is well known in
Zen literature in stories with his biological brother and
fellow dharma student Daowu (J. Dogo) who was his
elder by about 15 years.
originally from Jiangxi Province, Yunyan is well known in
Zen literature in stories with his biological brother and
fellow dharma student Daowu (J. Dogo) who was his
elder by about 15 years.
| stories: Osho Hyakujo: The Everest of Zen, ch. 9 This, This, A Thousand Times This: The Very Essence of Zen, ch. 15 Zen: The Quantum Leap from Mind to No-mind, ch. 12 Yakusan: Straight to the Point of Enlightenment, ch. 5 Christianity the Deadliest Poison, and Zen the Antidote to all Poisons, ch. 1, ch. 3, ch. 6, ch. 7, ch. 8 Communism and Zen Fire, Zen Wind, ch. 2, ch. 4, ch. 6, ch. 7 The Zen Manifesto: Freedom from Oneself, ch. 11 |
It is said Yunyan spent over 20 years with Baizhang, but
finally attained enlightenment with Yaoshan.
finally attained enlightenment with Yaoshan.
| oshobob The Living Workshop |
| Zen Masters |
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| Isan then suggested that Tozan visit Ungan who Tozan later succeeded. Coming up to Ungan, Tozan asked, "Who can hear the sermons of insentient creatures?" "Insentient creatures can hear them," answered Ungan. "Why can I not hear them?" asked Tozan. Ungan raised his staff straight up and said, "Do you hear?" "No, I don't," answered Tozan. Ungan said, "Don't you know the sutra says, `Birds and trees, all meditate on the Buddha and the Dharma?'" At this Tozan suddenly became enlightened. He wrote the following verse:
Sermons by insentient creatures; you fail if you listen with your ears; Listening with your eyes, you hear them. By the eyes he does not mean the ordinary eyes, he means the eyes of an awakening clarity of your being. If you can hear in your silence, if you can see in your silence, then everything in the world is speaking, giving sermons, singing songs, dancing. Can't you see? But these eyes and these ears won't do. You will have to dig deep within yourself to find the right approach to see the eternal dance of existence, to hear the music and to see the beauty of it... --Osho This. This. A Thousand Times This: The Very Essence of Zen, ch. 4 |