The Core
Shoyoroku Case 24, "Xuefeng Shows a Snake," is a koan in which Changqing Huiling (長慶慧稜) , Xuansha Shibei, (玄沙師備), and Yunmen Wenyan (雲門文偃) clarify Original Face of "a turtle-nosed snake on the South Mountain" presented by Xuefeng Yicun (雪峰義存), each using words or actions. Generally, it is regarded as showing "the progress of practice to realize the Buddha-nature inherent in oneself and clarify its working." However, in this dictionary, we define it as "a practical teaching that preaches subjective freedom: after thoroughly seeing through the original self, one calmly throws away even that truth and uses it freely."
Q&A
- Q: Why did Changqing Huiling say, “In the hall today, many people have lost their bodies and lives” when he heard Xuefeng’s story about the turtle-nosed snake?
- A: Because he correctly saw through the true identity of the poisonous snake (truth) presented by Xuefeng, and declared that all lukewarm illusions such as discrimination and delusion were completely crushed, and that he himself had completely reached the state of "Great Death" (loss of body and life) where even attachment to "enlightenment" had completely disappeared.
