Book of Serenity 11

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Book of Serenity (Shoyoroku, Congrong Lu) #11
Yunmen's "Two Diseases"

Personnel

• YUNMEN Wenyan (Ummon Bunen, 864-949, 13th gen), disciple of Xuefeng

Wansong's Introduction (Sato)

A person without the body suffers illness;
A person without hands fixes medicine;
A person without the mouth eats food;
A person who receives nothing at all is at peace.
Just tell me, how do you treat a disease seated in the invisible depth?

Case (Sato)

Great Master Yunmen said, “When the light does not penetrate, there are two diseases. Everything is unclear and things hang before you – this is one disease.
Even after you have realized the emptiness of all things, somehow you feel as if there were still something there.
This shows that the light has not yet penetrated thoroughly.
Also there are two diseases concerning the Dharma-body.
You have reached the Dharma-body, but you remain attached to the Dharma and cannot extinguish your own view; therefore you lead an idle life around the Dharma-body – this is one disease. Suppose you have truly penetrated to the end, if you give up further efforts, it will not do; you examine
yourself minutely and say, ‘I can find no flaw with myself’ – this is nothing but a disease.”

Hongzhi's Verse (Wick)

Multitudes of shapes allowed to be as is --
boundless, thorough liberation still obstructs the eye.
To sweep out this garden, who has the strength?
Concealed in one's heart, it of itself gives rise to thoughts;
steeped in gathering autumn lies a boat upon the blue;
illumined by snowy reed-flowers stands a pole with light suffused.
An old fisherman with skewered perch thinks of going to market;
carefree, a leaf sails over the waves.

Sturmer's Verse

The blue hulled tugboat
addis its blue
to the waves.
How dificult it is
to release one's grip.
Tourniquet, bandages,
bed pans -- all receding
in the receding tide.

KOAN INDEX
Hotetsu's Verses on Koans