A Guide to Zen Masters
of The Gateless Gate
and The Blue Cliff Record
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A long time ago in China,
... a famous sutra master heard about monks in southern China who only meditated and didn’t read or study the sutras. So, he traveled on foot for thousands of miles to show these monks their mistake.
One day, as he was walking through a village, he saw a woman selling tea and cakes by the side of the road. He was hungry and wanted to get some lunch. The woman (herself a student of Zen) said to him, “So, you are a great Diamond Sutra master. Answer my question and you will have your lunch for free. Otherwise, no lunch at all for you.”
“Ask me anything,” the monk replied.
“Okay,” the woman said. “The Diamond Sutra says that past mind cannot be grasped, present mind cannot be grasped, and future mind cannot be grasped. With what mind will you eat your lunch?”
The sutra master was stunned! He didn't know how to respond. All of his studying and lecturing didn't help him at all. He thought and thought, but he didn't know what to say. He left the tea house, still hungry.
But, the tea house woman sent him on to her teacher, Lung T'an, to study and practice Zen. The sutra master eventually became known as Zen Master Te Shan. Or, was that Deshan? Tokusan, maybe? It could have been Dok Sahn.
You'll find the complete story in the commentary to case #4 of The Blue Cliff Record.
