The Core
Shoyoroku Case 26: Yangshan Points to Snow is a koan in which Yangshan Huiji points to a snow lion in the garden and asks, "Is there anyone who can surpass this color?" Later, Yunmen Wenyan replies, "Push it over," and Xuedou Chongxian adds, "Help it up." Usually, people say that it is a teaching to "not remain in the state of pure purity (Kojo), but to break through it and sever attachment." However, in this dictionary, we define it as a practical lesson: "break through the illusion of perfection and attachment to enlightenment (Kojo), and flexibly apply that power in real society (Kojo is none other than Koge)."
Q&A
- Q: Why did Yangshan Huiji point to the snow lion in the garden and ask, “Is there anyone who can surpass this color?”
- A: Because by showing the snow lion, which symbolizes the realm of pure purity (Pure Dharmakaya / Kojo), he sought to urge the practicing monks “to move even beyond that ultimate realm (transcending Kojo).”
