Nothing Hurts Yamaoka Tesshu

Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen visited one master after another. He called upon Dukuon of Shokuku.

Desiring to show his level of attainment, he said “The Mind, Buddha and sentient beings do not exist, the true nature of phenomena is emptiness, there is no realisation, no delusion, no sage and no mediocrity, there is no giving and nothing to be received”.

Dukuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.

“If nothing exists”, enquired Dukuon, “where did this anger come from?”

Wisdom and experience cannot be found in books………….. only in life!
Yamaoka Tesshu was young when he learned this lesson and I doubt it if he needed to be taught twice.

Some Yamaoka Tesshu quotes

If you want to obtain the secrets of such wonderful techniques, drill yourself, harden yourself, undergo severe training, abandoned body and mind; follow this course for years and you will naturally reach the profoundest levels. To know if water is hot or cold you must taste it yourself.
If you want to obtain the secrets of such wonderful techniques, drill yourself, harden yourself, undergo severe training, abandoned body and mind; follow this course for years and you will naturally reach the profoundest levels. To know if water is hot or cold you must taste it yourself.
Do not think that this is all there is. More and more wonderful teachings exist.
The world is wide, full of happenings. Keep this in mind and never believe ‘I’m the onlyone who knows.
Zen is like soap. First you wash with it, and then you wash off the soap.
The moon does not think to be reflected, nor does the water think to reflect, in the Hirosawa Pond.
As a samurai, I must strengthen my character; as a human being I must perfect my spirit.
Thirst for victory leads to defeat; not tiring of defeat leads to victory.