Shoyoroku Case 24: Xuefeng Shows a Snake — Look Closely at Your Original Face, Realize It, and Cast It Away

Who was Yunmen Wenyan?: A brainy Zen master who delivers a sharp, single word

• Birthplace and Original Family Name: He was from Jiaxing, Zhejiang province (currently Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province), and his secular family name was Zhang.
• Training History: He studied under 睦州道蹤 (陳尊宿, Muzhou Daozong, Chen Zunsu) in Muzhou and clarified the great meaning of Zen. He became a dharma heir of 雪峯義存 (Xuefeng Yicun).
• Base of Activity: He succeeded 霊樹如敏 (Lingzhu Rumin) in Shaozhou (Guangdong Province) and became the abbot. He lived at Guangtai Temple on Mount Yunmen in 韶陽 (Shaozhou), and was also called 韶陽禅師 (Zen Master Shaozhou). Later, Yunmen became the founder of 雲門宗 (Yunmen school).
• Posthumous Title: 匡真禅師 (Master of Righteous Truth)(景徳傳燈録 卷第十九（No. 2076 道原纂） in Vol. 51).

What is the Dharma Lineage of Xuefeng Yicun and His Disciples?

• 徳山宣鑑ー雪峰義存ー玄沙師備
• 徳山宣鑑ー雪峰義存ー長慶慧稜
• 徳山宣鑑ー雪峰義存ー雲門文偃

What is Xuefeng’s turtle-nosed snake?: Original Face

Now, let us enter the main case. When Changqing and Yunmen were practicing under Xuefeng, Xuefeng said to the practicing monks: “There is a turtle-nosed snake on the South Mountain. All of you must look at it carefully!”

There are various theories about this turtle-nosed snake, but it seems to be a snake whose snout resembles a soft-shelled turtle, and people called vipers, habus, or cobras “turtle-nosed snakes”. Also, there are various theories about the South Mountain, but it seems to refer to Mount Xuefeng.

So, what is this turtle-nosed snake? It is the “Original Face” that each person has. Since the Original Face is the true self before words or logic arise, it means that everyone should see through their own original duty.

Wansong Xingxiu (万松行秀) comments: [Lifting my sitting mat, This is not something borrowed from someone else]
A sitting mat is a rectangular cloth on which monks bow or sit. In other words, the sitting mat is a symbol of manners, and it expresses respect toward Xuefeng, showing that one’s Original Face is not something borrowed from another person.

What is Changqing’s turtle-nosed snake?: Crushing discrimination and delusion with the poison of truth

When Changqing heard Xuefeng’s story about the turtle-nosed snake, he said: “In the dojo today, many people have lost their bodies and lives.” Changqing was able to correctly understand the meaning of the turtle-nosed snake that Xuefeng mentioned. This is a declaration: “Because of the single snake thrown out by Master Xuefeng, there is a person here now who is completely affected by the strong poison and died suddenly. For one who has thoroughly seen through their Original Face, there is not even the appearance of an Original Face; this state is the “loss of body and life”, and Changqing declared that he has completely become that state. What does this mean? Practicing monks live with lukewarm poison called discrimination and delusion, and the poison of this turtle-nosed snake instantly kills a person when touched (the working of truth). By confronting them with this, he thoroughly crushes the “lukewarm poison” of discrimination and delusion held by practicing monks and makes them die completely.

However, Wansong jeers: [He flies away as soon as he hears the wind] This means: “He raises his sails in a favorable wind, is triumphant and careless, so he should turn his eyes even higher.”

A monk reported this story to Xuansha. Both Changqing and Xuansha were disciples of Xuefeng, and Changqing was a junior fellow disciple to Xuansha. At this time, Xuansha had already become a Zen master at Anguo Temple, which was in a different area from Mount Xuefeng. A monk came from Mount Xuefeng and told him this story. Wansong comments: [A stack does not exceed three] This monk heard the story on Mount Xuefeng and now asks about it again at Xuansha’s place, meaning “Do not ask the same thing many times.” The reason why it is up to three times comes from Volume 100 of the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom (大智度論), which states that once is not enough, but three times is too much(大智度論 大智度論 龍樹造 鳩摩羅什譯 in Vol. 25、大智度論釋曇無竭品第八十九卷第一百).

Hearing that, Xuansha said as if he was deeply impressed: “Only my brother Ling could say this.” “Ling” comes from Changqing Huiling, and “brother” is an honorific title for a practicing monk. Even in modern dojo, “brother” is sometimes used on duty lists (even for women). This means: “As expected of Changqing, he was able to uncover the true identity of Xuefeng’s turtle-nosed snake; only this person could do it.” In fact, this is Xuansha showing grandmotherly kindness to the monk in front of him, saying, “You too must look carefully at this poisonous snake.” If this were a clear-headed monk, he would see through the fact that both Changqing and Xuansha are foxes or badgers from the same hole, but this monk seems unable to do so. Therefore, Wansong interjected: [A gang of foxes and dogs.]

Even among foxes from the same hole, Xuansha seems to have gained slightly more merit than Changqing. Although he praises Changqing for now, at the same time he says: “However, even though it is so, I am not like that.” Wansong urged: [If there is another longer one, please bring it out.] This means: “If you say you are different from Changqing, produce it and show it to us.” Here, just as a foolish dog chases a thrown stone, the monk said: “What about you, Master?” This monk is trapped in language such as “poisonous snake.” Wansong commented: [Scratching an itch on the head of a poisonous snake] This means it is very dangerous.

What is Xuansha’s turtle-nosed snake?: It is everywhere

Xuansha said: “Why use the South Mountain?” When Xuefeng said that there was a turtle-nosed snake on the South Mountain, Changqing immediately said that people died from its strong poison. However, this means: “The South Mountain is extra. The snake with strong poison that makes people lose their bodies and lives is not only on the South Mountain (Mount Xuefeng), but is everywhere.”

Wansong commented: [Even this turtle-nosed snake is already extra]
This means: “Xuansha says that the South Mountain does not matter and that just saying ‘turtle-nosed snake’ is enough, but isn’t this snake itself also extra?”

What is Yunmen’s turtle-nosed snake?: Expressing the use of the poison of the turtle-nosed snake through action

So, Yunmen threw down the staff he was holding in front of Xuefeng and pretended to be afraid. Wansong commented: [Why do you harm your own life?] Changqing said that people lose their bodies and lives, but was Yunmen also affected by the strong poison? Isn’t one’s own staff the essential thing? Why did he throw it away? What was he so afraid of? In short, this is a form in which Xuefeng and Yunmen are pushing a single poisonous snake against each other.

It is important to pay attention to the point that this poisonous snake is the original self (Original Face), and it lies hidden coiled at the feet of each of us day and night. If one completely sees through (realizes) the state of the “Absolute” that transcends all transcendence, even the name “Absolute” should not exist. Once one understands the truth of the original self, there is nothing that should be named “original duty.” Only a person who has touched the poisonous snake (truth / enlightenment) can perform the true feat of throwing away that poisonous snake. In other words, Yunmen pushed the turtle-nosed snake back to Xuefeng by throwing his staff as a poisonous snake, saying, “Wow, I’m scared!”

What is the core of Xuefeng Shows a Snake in Shoyoroku Case 24?: Look carefully at your original duty, master it, and throw it away

• Xuefeng presented a turtle-nosed snake and said: “Look carefully at your Original Face!”
• Changqing declared that he saw through the Original Face and reached the state where even that does not exist, and Xuansha said that the Original Face is not limited to the South Mountain.
• Yunmen threw away the Original Face and pushed it back to Xuefeng by throwing his staff as a turtle-nosed snake.

My Experience: What is the difference between the “true self” of self-help and the “Original Face” (Original Self) of Zen?

In the past, MBTI was popular. This is a tool that diagnoses what job type you are suited for when you answer a list of questions. When I tried it just now, I was an Architect INTJ-A. When I briefly read the results, I thought it was quite accurate. “Oh, is this my true self?” Then, how is the “true self” in this sense different from the “original self” in Zen?

That difference is that while the “true self” in MBTI is different for each person, the “original self” in Zen is common to all people. The “true self” is defined by words and concepts based on a social system, such as “one’s hidden talent,” “true personality,” and “ideal future image.” It is an object of perception that you can compare and analyze with others. On the other hand, the “original self” in Zen is a state before perception appears, where there are no social systems, words, or concepts.

If you depend on social labels, the moment those labels are peeled off by a recession, illness, or retirement, your very identity—”Who am I?”—will collapse. Clarifying the “Original Face” means noticing the self that never shakes even in the rough waves of society.
Instead of trying to find a new valuable label created in society called “true self,” the free and unrestricted state before any label is attached, where you are not fixed to anything, is the Original Face.

Therefore, trying to intellectually define “I am this kind of person” is nothing more than “deluded perception” (deluded recognition). However, we still live in a social system, so I think it is a good thing to learn through MBTI how we can adapt ourselves to that social system.

How Can Zen Teachings Be Applied to Modern Life?: Can you live without a mask?

When I was a child, my full-time homemaker mother often told me, “Because of you, I cannot live freely.” However, if I (the child) disappeared, could my mother live freely? That was not the case. My mother, who was poor at cooking and could neither clean nor tidy up, could not have lived alone. Yes, while complaining, my mother lived by depending on the mask (label) of “mother.” If I had died, she would have become just an unemployed person without the label of “mother,” so she would have been in a big panic. When I think about it, the label of “mother” brings various social benefits without doing anything (though there are also disadvantages). She probably could not notice that.

In the past, women could not live without such labels. However, recently, the social status of women has risen, and they can live relatively without labels. Therefore, even if a woman becomes a mother, she can quit being a mother and live at any time.

Recently, I feel that people often say, “Even if I am a mother, I pursue my true self.” This refers to matching apps that recommend unfaithfulness, or self-help such as employment services that say, “Do not give up your career, dreams, and self-expression!” Then, how does Zen think about this? Zen recommends fulfilling one’s original role. What this means is that one should fulfill the role of “mother.” For example, since there are specialized professionals for cleaning, cooking, gardening, and child-rearing, doing them carefully will become self-realization. Therefore, saying “I cannot achieve self-realization because I am a mother” is completely off the mark. Also, if you seek freedom, you have the freedom to quit being a “mother.” If someone complains and says things like “The child is pitiful,” that is not for the child, but it is that person’s own choice.

Now, if I say this, people might object, “Does Zen bind women to the role of mother?” However, the problem of the inconvenience of “mothers” and “women” in society is a serious structural issue that the social system should solve, which is on a completely different dimension from an individual’s mindset. Zen and religion talk about the outside of the social structure, and they do not touch the social structure. Therefore, since it is not in the scope of religion or Zen, it is essential to think about them separately without confusing them.

Even if you fulfill the role of “mother,” a child’s serious illness, a sudden absurd accident, or your own mental illness may happen. At that time, we cannot even fulfill the story created by society called “a perfect mother.” What appears before us is bare “death and fear”—that is, nature itself—which takes away all rational and moral thinking. This is the very turtle-nosed snake that Xuefeng presented. Before it, social labels such as mother are of no use. We are simply forced to confront one-on-one the raw reality (poisonous snake) that comes to take our lives. When this happens, we have no choice but to manage frantically, saying, “Wow, I am scared!”

I often think that if a Zen master becomes a full-time homemaker, the food will be delicious and the house will be spotless and amazing. However, they are like floating clouds and flowing water (Koun Ryusui), so they will probably go somewhere soon.