Shoyoroku Case 27: Fayan Points to the Screen — Face the Genjokoan and Manifest Your Original Face

Fayan Wenyi: Look Before Discrimination Arises

From Shoyoroku, Case 27: Fayan Points to the Screen

擧。法眼以手指簾。[莫道不知 莫道不見]
時有二僧。同去捲簾。[同行不同歩]
眼云。一得一失。[劒下分身]

From Shoyoroku, Case 27: Fayan Points to the Screen Classical Chinese Original Text

擧（こ）す。法眼（ほうげん）、手（て）を以（もっ）て簾（れん）を指（さ）す。[道（い）うこと莫（なか）れ見（み）ずと] 時（とき）に二僧（にそう）有（あ）り、同（おな）じく去（さ）って簾（れん）を捲（ま）く、[行（こう）を同（おな）じゅうして歩（ほ）を同（おな）じゅうせず] 眼（げん）云（い）わく、一得一失（いっとくいっしつ）。[劒下（けんか）に身（み）を分（わか）つ]

From Shoyoroku, Case 27: Fayan Points to the Screen Kanbun reading method of Classical Chinese

Case: Fayan pointed to the screen with his finger. [Do not say that you do not know. Do not say that you do not see]
At that time, there were two monks.
They went together to roll up the screen. [They walk together, but they do not take the same steps]
Fayan : One gains, and one loses. [Dividing the body under the sword]

From Shoyoroku, Case 27: Fayan Points to the Screen Modern Meaning

Glossary: What are the Buddhist and Zen terms used in this article?

• Fayan Points to the Screen (法眼指簾): A koan in which Fayan Wenyi points to a screen, and shows “one gains, and one loses” to monks who roll up the screen in response.
• One Gains and One Loses (一得一失): A phrase that means one person gains and one person loses. Nanquan Puyuan (南泉普願) also uses the same phrase.
• Genjokoan (現成公案): The real world we live in and everyday activities right before our eyes (such as mountains, rivers, plants, and trees) are themselves the appearance of the truth of Buddhism.
• Original Face (本来の面目): A core Zen concept referring to a person’s true, original self. It represents our pure self as it is, untouched by external factors such as social roles, the opinions of others, or language.

What are the characters in Fayan Points to the Screen?: Fayan Wenyi

In this case, Fayan Wenyi(法眼文益) points to a screen without words, and two nameless monks respond to him.

Who was Fayan Wenyi?: An Intellectual Zen Master Who Harmonized Truth and Reality

• Birthplace and Original Family Name: He was a person from Yuhang. His original family name was Lu.
• Training History: At the age of seven, he shaved his head and became a monk at Zhijiao Temple in Yuezhou. When he grew up, he received full ordination at Changweng Temple in Mingzhou. He studied under Master Xijue at Yuwang Temple. He mastered the Tripitaka (the three parts of Buddhist scriptures) and the beauty of writing. Master Xijue saw that Wenyi was very excellent. He praised Wenyi, saying: “He is like excellent disciple of Confucius of my school.” After that, he traveled south to seek Zen and attended the assembly of Changqing Huileng (長慶慧稜) in Fuzhou.
• Process of Enlightenment: He left Changqing and continued his pilgrimage with his fellow monks. At that time, heavy rain caused the mountain streams to flood. Therefore, he stayed at Dizang Temple to the west of the city for a while. Zen Master Dizang Guichen (地蔵桂琛) asked him: “Where are you going?” He answered: “I am on a pilgrimage.” Dizang asked: “What is a pilgrimage?” He answered: “I do not know.” Then, Dizang said: “Not knowing is the most intimate.” At these words, he attained great enlightenment.
• Base of Activity: At first, he built a simple hut at Ganzhezhou. Later, the governor of Linchuan invited him, and he became the head priest of Chongshou Temple.
• Main Teaching: He gave teachings suitable for each person according to the doubts and attachments of practitioners. He led each person to enlightenment according to their ability. Senior Monk Zifang was caught in the verse by Changqing: “He shows himself alone among all things.” Fayan asked him: “What do you call all things?” In this way, Fayan broke his intellectual understanding. Fayan inspired and taught many practitioners. More than one thousand students always gathered under him.
• Death: He died at the age of 74. His age as a monk was 54.
• Posthumous Title: The ruler gave him the title “Zen Master Great Fayan”(大法眼禅師)”. The name of his stupa was “Formless” (無相). Later, because his disciples asked, he was given the new title “Great Guide of the Great Wisdom Treasury” (大智藏大導師)(景徳傳燈録 卷第二十四（No. 2076 道原纂） in Vol. 51).

Dharma Lineage

徳山宣鑑ー雪峰義存ー玄沙師備ー地蔵桂琛ー法眼文益

Chronological Order

• Related Articles: Shoyoroku Case 20: Dizang’s Intimacy — Exhausting one’s knowledge leads to not-knowing (Dialogue between Dizang and Fayan during the rain) around 915-928
• Related Article: Shoyoroku Case 12: Dizang Plants Rice — Zen Beyond Just Sitting, and the Person Who Completed Training (Dialogue between Dizang and Master Xiushan after the journey) around 915-928
• This Article: Shoyoroku Case 27: Fayan Points to the Screen — Face the Genjokoan and Manifest Your Original Face around 940-958
• Related Articles: Shoyoroku Case 17: Fayan’s Hair’s Breadth — The Buddha Way Is Undifferentiated, Yet the Path of Practice Has Distinctions, Directly Manifesting the Undifferentiated (Dialogue between the grown-up Fayan and Master Xiushan) around 940-958
• Related Articles: What is the Shoyoroku? — Zen for Living as Your True Self, Beyond Social Values (Wansong Xingxiu completes the Shoyoroku.) around 1223

What is Fayan Points to the Screen?: Two Monks Rolled Up the Screen

Now, let us enter the main case. When Fayan pointed to the screen, two monks rolled up the screen at the same time. Then, Fayan said, “One gains, and one loses (one person gains, and one person loses).” It is just that, making it a simple but difficult koan to solve.

In the Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (『景徳伝灯録』), it is written: “One time, monks visited to greet the Zen master (Fayan) before lunch. When the Zen master pointed to the screen with his hand, two monks who were present stepped forward together and rolled up the screen. The Zen master said, ‘One gains, and one loses.’” In the The Gateless Barrier (『無門関』), it is written: “Monks came to the Great Fayan (Fayan Wenyi) of Qingliang Mountain to greet him before lunch. Master Fayan pointed to the screen with his hand. At that time, two monks went together and rolled up the screen. Fayan said, ‘One gains, and one loses.’” Fayan raised his hand silently and pointed to the screen hanging in front of him. This is believed to be not a bamboo screen used in general households today, but a cloth screen like a curtain at the entrance of a modern zazen hall.

万松行秀 (Wansong Xingxiu) commented: [Do not say that you do not know. Do not say that you do not see.] Fayan said nothing with his mouth, but he raised his hand and clearly pointed to the screen. Therefore, the monks saw it and understood it. However, this comment asks: how did they see and understand the meaning of what Fayan pointed to?

At that time, two monks from the training monks went to the screen at the same time and rolled up the screen together.

What is the Hint of Wansong Xingxiu?: Fayan’s Words Divided Them into Two

Regarding the two monks who rolled up the screen, Wansong Xingxiu commented: [They walk together, but they do not take the same steps.] This comment suggested in advance what Fayan would say: although the two went together, their pace (their spiritual state) was not the same. Therefore, one monk succeeded, but the other monk failed. Because Fayan did not point to each person individually, we cannot distinguish who passed and who failed.

However, Wansong evaluated Fayan’s single phrase, “one gains, and one loses,” as follows: [Dividing the body (truth and falsehood, gain and loss) clearly under a single flash of a sharp, famous sword.] This quotes the words of Luoshan Daokan (羅山道閑): “There are not so many questions; there is only one sword. Under one sword, there must be the meaning of dividing the body, and there is also a way out.” Although the two monks took the same action at the same time and seemed to act as one body and mind, Wansong means that Fayan’s single word clearly split them into two.(五燈會元 卷第七 福州羅山道閑禪師).

What is the True Meaning of “Fayan Points to the Screen”?: Face the Genjokoan and Show Your Original Face as the Answer

The main case ends here, but Wansong reveals the secret in his commentary.

According to Wansong, this Zen story of “one gains, and one loses” belongs not only to Fayan, but Nanquan Puyuan also has a similar story. Nanquan said to a monk, “It was a good wind last night,” and that monk also said, “It was a good wind last night.” When Nanquan said, “Although it was a good wind, it broke a pine tree in front of the gate,” the monk repeated his words back to him like an echo. Nanquan ended the talk with that monk, and said to another monk, “It was a good wind last night.” This second monk asked back, “What kind of wind is that?” When Nanquan said, “It broke a pine tree in front of the gate,” the monk asked further, “What kind of pine tree is that?” Then, Nanquan said “one gains, and one loses” about these two monks. This is also not simple, such as the first monk gaining and the second monk losing, and it is difficult to distinguish between them. Wansong warns that this is like “washing a lump of mud in mud,” and that repeating discrimination deepens delusion.

In other words, the phrase “one gains, and one loses” means that traces of gain, loss, and relativity are already carved at the feet of the people who gather to listen to his sermon. The commentary says: “Only those who clarify the signs (root) of gain and loss can examine (understand) gain and loss through it.” These words apply a passage from the Zhuangzi (“Discussion on Making All Things Equal” chapter, 『荘子』斉物論篇): “A person who has reached ultimate enlightenment is a being beyond human knowledge, and even life or death cannot change him. How much less will he be affected by the signs of gain and loss? No, he will not.”(荘子 齊物論).

Therefore, “seeing the signs of gain and loss” means looking at the origin where gain and loss arise—that is, the state before any discrimination of gain, loss, right, or wrong arises. That place has no name, no shape, and cannot be caught. If we dare to name it, it is “Genjokoan (the truth appearing as it is).”

However, because they, we, and practitioners cannot break through this barrier of Genjokoan, cannot realize our true original self before our parents gave birth to us (Original Face), and are in a state where we “cannot make a judgment,” it is necessary to explain it like this.

What is the core of Fayan Points to the Screen in Shoyoroku Case 27: Face the Genjokoan and Show Your Original Face

• Fayan said, “One gains, and one loses.”
• “One gains, and one loses” is a koan presented to us who repeat discrimination based on words.
• The answer to this koan is that we face the Genjokoan (the truth appearing as it is before discrimination arises) and show our Original Face (our true original self).

My Experience: Genjokoan is Quite Difficult

Shoyoroku is popular as a classic Zen text, but it is actually very high-level. How difficult is it? First of all, it assumes that you become a monk (although there are exceptional laypersons like Yelu Chucai). Also, at that time, when people became monks, they first studied the precepts, and it was natural to study the sutras as well. Some people attained sudden enlightenment without studying, but this was an exception. Most Zen masters came to Zen after studying.

In modern training dojo, study often ends only with Shoyoroku, but originally, it is also necessary to study the precepts and the sutras. Therefore, in this blog, because I did not know these circumstances yet, I suddenly started Shoyoroku. However, originally, I should have studied the precepts and the sutras first (I plan to do so in the future).

The path to Genjokoan is as follows:

1. Becoming a monk
2. Daily work + zazen + study of precepts and sutras
3. Study of koan collections (Shoyoroku, Hekiganroku, etc.)
4. Dialogue with a Zen master
5. Genjokoan

Working on a koan collection suddenly and mentioning Genjokoan like this time is like skipping the learning of number concepts using counters and the four basic arithmetic operations, and suddenly working on calculus in mathematics. Therefore, it is natural if everyone finds it completely incomprehensible.

And in a state where you skip the four basic arithmetic operations and suddenly work on calculus, it ends with making students memorize only the formulas of calculus (and in the worst case, even the teacher is just memorizing them). In other words, in Zen, this means ending the explanation of Genjokoan by saying just one sentence: “It is okay as you are.”

How Can Zen Teachings Be Applied to Modern Life?: Brush Your Teeth Without Other Thoughts

My blog operates on the concept: “How can I practice on their own without going to a dojo?” This is because I am such a person myself. Therefore, for people who do not think that far, this might seem like an abstract story floating in the air, making it hard to understand. So, I would like to talk about something more closely related to daily life.
Fortunately (?) for me, I got a cavity more than two years ago, and a considerable part of my tooth had to be shaved off. This actually serves well for explaining koans.

• Teeth have the function of being corroded by acid from food and then being neutralized by saliva. This is a fundamental function of life (体; ta-i,  noun-like) that has nothing to do with our consciousness.For the teeth I currently have, I control the number of meals and thoroughly brush my teeth (用; yo-u, verb-like).
• In Zen, the fundamental nature of life is called “体”, and the working that appears from it is called “用”. However, the two are not separate things. Zen considers that “the Original Face (体) appears in the very middle of action (用).”
• So, if you think here: “Why didn’t I go to the dentist earlier?”, “I got a cavity,” or “If I had done this or that, this way or that way,” that becomes delusion.
• Fortunately, I went to the dentist before it hurt, so my tooth has never ached. But if a toothache occurs here, that becomes Genjokoan. Because of the pain, without time to think about this and that, the action (用) of going straight to the dentist works. Zen masters often strike students with a stick to make them realize this.

Therefore, even now, I sometimes suddenly think, “I wish my tooth had not been shaved off.” However, I return to the Genjokoan that my tooth does not hurt right now, stop extra thoughts, and silently carry out actions (用) such as controlling the number of meals and brushing my teeth.
This “action itself without other thoughts” is precisely where our “Original Face” appears.
In short, before thinking about “What is Zhaozhou’s Mu?” or “What is Fayan’s ‘one gains, and one loses’?”, first eat a meal, and then brush your teeth.