Shoyoroku Case 29: Fengxue's Iron Ox — Act Immediately Beyond Doing or Not Doing

Fengxue Yanzhao: Like an iron ox, without a single trace of calculation or hesitation.

From Shoyoroku, Case 29: Fengxue’s Iron Ox

擧。風穴在郢州衙内上堂云。祖師心印。状似鐵牛之機。[針剳不入]去即印住。[拽迴鼻孔]住即印破。[截斷脚跟]只如不去不住。印即是。不印即是。[泥裏洗土塊]
時有廬陂長老。出問云。某甲有鐵牛之機。請師不搭印。[宛有逆水之波]。穴云。慣釣鯨鯢澄巨浸。却嗟蛙歩𩥇泥沙[引魂幡子搐氣袋]陂佇思。已過鬼門關。穴喝云。長老何不進語。[已臨崖岸更與一推]陂擬議。[許多時節甚處去來]穴打一拂子云。還記得話頭麼。試擧看。[爲人爲徹殺人見血]陂擬開口。[猶自不伏燒埋]穴又打一拂子。[仍少三十棒]
牧主云。佛法與王法一般。[不會做官看傍州例]穴云。見箇什麼。[却好與一拂子]牧云。當斷不斷返招其亂。[自罵自招]穴便下座。[得意濃時正好休]

From Shoyoroku, Case 29: Fengxue’s Iron Ox Classical Chinese Original Text

擧（こ）す。風穴（ふけつ）、郢州（えいしゅう）の衙内（がない）に在（あ）りしとき上堂（じょうどう）して云（い）わく、祖師（そし）の心印（しんいん）は、狀（かたち）、鐵牛（てつぎゅう）の機（き）に似（に）たり。〔針劄不入（しんさつふにゅう）〕去（さ）れば卽（すなわ）ち印住（いんじゅう）し、〔鼻孔（びくう）を拽廻（えいかい）し〕 住（じゅう）すれば卽（すなわ）ち印破（いんぱ）す。〔脚跟（きゃくこん）を截斷（せつだん）せん〕只（た）だ去（さ）らず住（じゅう）せざるが如（ごと）きんば、印（いん）するが卽（すなわ）ち是（ぜ）か。印（いん）せざるが卽ち（すなわ）ち是（ぜ）かと。〔泥裏（でいり）に土塊（どかい）を洗（あら）う〕時（とき）に廬陂（ろひ）長老（ちょうろう）なるもの有（あ）り、出（い）でて問（と）うて云（い）わく、其甲（それがし）鐵牛（てつぎゅう）の機（き）有（あ）り、請（こ）う師（し）、印（いん）を搭（たっ）せざれ。〔宛（あたか）も逆水（ぎゃくすい）の波（なみ）有（あ）るごとし〕 穴（けつ）云（い）わく、鯨鯢（けいげい）を釣（つ）って巨浸（こしん）を澄（す）ましむるに慣（な）れて、却（かえ）って蛙歩（あほ）の泥沙（でいしゃ）に𩥇（ちまろ）びするを嗟（なげ）く。〔引魂幡子（いんこんばんす）、搐鬼袋（ちくきたい）〕陂（ひ）、佇思（ちょし）す。〔已（すで）に鬼門關（きもんかん）を過（す）ぐ〕穴（けつ）、喝（かっ）して云（い）わく、長老（ちょうろう）何（なん）ぞ進語（しんご）せざる。〔已（すで）に崖岸（がいがん）に臨（のぞ）んで更（さら）に一推（いっすい）を與（あた）う〕陂（ひ）、擬議（ぎぎ）す。〔許多（きょた）の時節（じせつ）、甚（なん）の處（ところ）にか去來（きょらい）する〕 穴（けつ）、打（う）つこと一拂子（いちぽっす）して云（い）わく、還（かえ）って話頭（わとう）を記得（きとく）する麼（や）。試（こころ）みに擧（こ）せよ看（み）ん。〔人（ひと）の爲（た）めにしては爲（た）めにし徹（っ）す。人（ひと）を殺（ころ）しては血（ち）を見（み）る〕陂（ひ）、口（くち）を開（ひら）かんと擬（ぎ）す〔猶（な）お自（みずか）ら燒埋（しょうまい）に伏（ふ）せず〕穴（けつ）、又（また）打（う）つこと一拂子（いちぽっす）す。〔仍（な）お三十棒（さんじゅうぼう）を少（か）く〕牧主（ぼくしゅ）云（い）わく、佛法（ぶっぽう）と王法（おうほう）と一般（いっぱん）なり。〔官（かん）を做（な）すことを會（え）せずんば傍州（ぼうしゅう）の例（れい）を見（み）よ〕穴（けつ）云（い）わく、箇（こ）の什麼（なに）をか見る。〔却（かえ）って好（よ）し一拂子（いちぽっす）を興（あた）うるに〕牧（ぼく）云（い）わく、當（まさ）に斷（だん）ずべきに斷（だん）ぜざれば返（かえ）って其（そ）の亂（らん）を招（まね）く。〔自（みずか）ら罵（ののし）り自（みずか）ら招（まね）く〕穴（けつ）便（すなわ）ち下座（げざ）す。〔意（い）を得（う）ること濃（こまや）かなる時（とき）、正（まさ）に好（よ）く休（きゅう）せんに〕

From Shoyoroku, Case 29: Fengxue’s Iron Ox Kanbun reading method of Classical Chinese

Case: Fengxue entered the hall in the government office of Yingzhou and said:
Fengxue: The mind-seal of the patriarchs is like the working of an iron ox. [A needle cannot enter it]
Fengxue: If it leaves, the seal is stamped. [Pulling back the nostrils]
Fengxue: If it stays, the seal is broken. [Cutting off the heels]
Fengxue: Supposing it neither leaves nor stays, is it right to stamp the seal, or is it right not to stamp the seal? [Washing a lump of earth in the mud]

At that time, Elder Lupi came forward and asked.
Elder Lupi: I have the working of an iron ox. Please do not attach the seal, Master. [It is like a wave going against the current]
Fengxue: I am used to fishing for giant whales in the clear vast ocean, but I am disappointed to see a frog hopping in the mud and sand. [A soul-guiding banner, a suffocating bag]

Elder Lupi stood still and thought deeply. [He has already passed through the Gate of Demons]
Fengxue: Elder, why do you not say something more? [He is already at the edge of the cliff, so give him another push]
Elder Lupi hesitated to speak. [Where have you been all this time?]

Fengxue hit him with a whisk and said.
Fengxue: Do you still remember the topic? Try to speak it. [If you help a person, help completely; if you kill a person, kill until you see blood.]
Elder Lupi tried to open his mouth. [He still refuses to admit defeat and be cremated]
Fengxue hit him with the whisk again. [He still lacks thirty blows of the stick]
The Prefect: The Buddha’s Law and the King’s Law are the same. [If you do not know how to be an official, look at the examples of neighboring prefectures]
Fengxue: What did you see? [It would be good to give him a strike with the whisk too]
The Prefect: When you should make a decision, if you do not decide, it will bring confusion instead. [He curses himself and brings trouble upon himself.]
Fengxue then stepped down from the seat. [When satisfaction is at its peak, it is the right time to stop]

From Shoyoroku, Case 29: Fengxue’s Iron Ox Modern Meaning

Who are the characters in “Fengxue’s Iron Ox”?: Fengxue Yanzhao

In this case, Elder Lupi challenges Fengxue Yanzhao (風穴延沼), and Lord Li, the local governor (The Prefect), mentions it.

Dharma Lineage

• 臨濟義玄ー興化存奬ー南院慧顒ー風穴延沼

Introduction: The Prefect asked Fengxue to give a sermon.

What are the Mind-seal and the Iron Ox?: Symbols of the working that manifests here and now, and the state that does not allow discursive thought

• What is the Mind-seal?: The working of mastering Zen. In a broad sense, the patriarchs of Zen refer to the successive patriarchs since Venerable Mahakasyapa. Here, however, it refers to Master Bodhidharma, who is respected as the first patriarch of Zen.
• Source of the term: According to the Vinaya-ksudrakavastu, the Buddha established seals made of stone, horn, tusk, and copper. Fengxue uses these material seals as a metaphor and places the formless, supreme Mind-seal at the center of the discussion. (根本説一切有部毘奈耶雜事 卷第一)
• Meaning of the Mind-seal: The Record of the Mirror of the Source says, “In the Dharma of all patriarchs and Buddhas, the mind is always used as the seal.” The Dharma that Bodhidharma came from the West to transmit is this Mind-seal. (宗鏡録 卷第九十八)
• What is the Iron Ox?: The state of mastering Zen. In Tang Dynasty China, an iron ox was placed to calm the floods of the river. Its invisible but great working is compared to the Zen state in which discursive thought cannot intervene. [A needle cannot enter it] means that not even the smallest amount (毫釐, gouri) of discursive thought is allowed to enter.

What is the metaphor of the seal?: The two aspects of Zen, holding fast and letting go

Fengxue continued and said, “If it leaves, the seal is stamped.” This explained the two aspects of Zen, holding fast and letting go, by using the relationship between a physical seal and its imprint. When you stamp paper with a seal, the printed mark appears on the paper only after you remove the seal. This is “Inju (印住)” (放行, letting go). If you press the seal on the paper and do not lift it, the printed mark does not appear at all. That is to say, if it stays as it is, the seal is broken.

Wansong Xingxiu made a commentary, [Pulling back the nostrils]. This means that Fengxue intentionally introduced a dualistic view (二見対待) and tried to drag the other person into a trap of words.

Fengxue added, “If it stays, the seal is broken.” If you keep pressing the seal on the paper and do not lift it, the printed mark does not appear at all. That is to say, if it stays as it is, the seal is broken (holding fast, 把住). Wansong added a short comment to this, [Cutting off the heels], and revealed Fengxue’s method of taking away the opponent’s escape route.

And then, Fengxue asked, “Supposing it neither leaves nor stays, is it right to stamp the seal, or is it right not to stamp the seal?” This is the climax of this sermon. When you close your hand, it becomes a fist, and when you open your hand, it becomes a palm. Is the closed hand a hand, or is the opened hand a hand? Just like this, if a hand remains closed, it cannot open, and if it remains opened, it cannot close, so it is not a complete hand. Wansong made another comment, [Washing a lump of earth in the mud (useless double discrimination and wasted effort)]. This means that it is shameful to drag people into the mud of discursive thought.

Who is Elder Lupi?: He failed to show sharp Zen activity and fell into a desperate situation

At that time, Elder Lupi came forward and asked. This name does not appear anywhere other than here, so we cannot know what kind of person he was. However, this is probably a place name rather than a real name. In Zen, the honorific title “Elder” is given to a person who has completed the great matter of Zen practice. So this Elder came forward directly and said, “I also have the working of an iron ox. Please deal with me without attaching the seal.” He meant that, like the iron ox in the Yellow River that Fengxue mentioned, he possessed dynamic function within immobility, so it was unnecessary to stamp a seal. His force was like [It is like a wave going against the current]. Wansong praised him on the surface but actually teased him, implying that this was a tremendous iron ox, and even the floods of the Yellow River would be blocked by it and cause waves to flow backward.

Fengxue said, “I am used to fishing for giant whales in the clear vast ocean, but I am disappointed to see a frog hopping in the mud and sand.” In other words, he meant: I am good at fishing for giant whales in the ocean and clearing the sea, so I tried to do that today as well. However, a tiny frog that does not look like a whale at all appeared and was rolling in the mud, which was disappointing.

Wansong commented, [A soul-guiding banner, a ghost-capturing bag].

• What is a soul-guiding banner?: A white banner placed for the dead
  The period of forty-nine days after a person dies is the intermediate state. Memorial services are held every seven days, and people offer banners made of white cloth or paper. This comes from a tradition of northern ethnic groups. According to this tradition, when a dead person is reborn in the heavenly realm, a white banner comes down in the sky during the intermediate state. If the soul of the dead person holds it in hand, the person can surely go to heaven.
• What is a ghost-capturing bag?: A strange bag
  This story appears in the book, Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang (酉陽雑俎).  In the Tang Dynasty, a farmer was gravely ill, and his wife and children were grieving. A suspicious shadow sneaked in, so people made a big commotion. They finally caught the shadow, threw it into a jar, and poured boiling water on it from above. When they looked into the jar after a short time, the shadow was gone, and only one bag remained. Then a voice said, “Please give that bag back to me. If you return it, I will take another person instead of the sick person here.” Therefore, they immediately threw the bag back toward the sky. The sick person recovered and became healthy.

Therefore, the meaning of the comment is as follows: The Elder called himself an iron ox, which was fine. However, he was abused by Fengxue’s sharp tongue and became a frog. His state was like a dying person or a dead soul in the intermediate state, causing a big fuss about banners and bags. The Elder needed to regain his life at this point…

Elder Lupi stood still and thought deeply. Even though he tried to say something, he could not think of anything quickly. He hesitated and could not return a single word to Fengxue’s sharp tongue. Ah, he can no longer be saved. [He has already passed through the Gate of Demons (the checkpoint of death, the trap of thought)]! This Gate of Demons is a gate that separates this world from the underworld. There is no hope in the virtue of the soul-guiding banner or the miracle of the ghost-capturing bag now. It is just like falling into despair when even a magic cure turns out not to be all-powerful.

What is Zen kindness?: True kindness is not simple sympathy

“Elder, why do you not say something more?” Fengxue gave a loud shout to push him, as if saying, “Why are you silent? Say something.” Wansong gave a short comment, [He is already at the edge of the cliff, so give him another push], meaning that he gave a push to the person who was already standing on the edge of the cliff.

Elder Lupi seemed to be in trouble because of Fengxue’s shout, and he hesitated to speak. This is the most forbidden thing in Zen dialogue. The original Zen activity is as fast as lightning and does not allow any delay, so a practitioner must not hesitate or mumble.

Therefore, Fengxue hit Lupi sharply with the whisk in his hand. Then he pressed him, saying, “Do you still remember the topic? Try to speak it.” He pressed him: Where did you put the working of the iron ox? Now, tell me whether the Mind-seal of the patriarchs, which is like the working of the iron ox, is stamped or broken.

Wansong commented to Lupi, who was mumbling and could not say anything, [Where have you been all this time?]. He criticized him, implying: You had time to show your own Zen activity from the beginning. Now is the best opportunity. Why are you hesitating? And toward Fengxue, who hit Lupi directly, Wansong commented, [If you help a person, help completely; if you kill a person (cut off delusional thoughts), kill until you see blood]. Doing something for a person must be done thoroughly. Cheap sympathy is not good; it must be kindness that is truly helpful. This is just like stabbing a person with a sharp knife to kill them and seeing fresh blood spout out. In Zen, this is called “活手段” (the dynamic method). With this comment, Wansong praised Fengxue’s actions.

What is the Prefect’s remark?: The Prefect himself fell into that logic

Elder Lupi tried to open his mouth because he wanted to think of a phrase somehow. Wansong commented on this, [He still refuses to admit defeat and be cremated]. Although he had already passed through the Gate of Demons and seemed to have no hope of being saved, he was still not dead yet. Fengxue hit him with the whisk once again, giving him no time to open his mouth and striking him sharply. With this, he was completely finished. Wansong commented, [He still lacks thirty blows of the stick]. He encouraged Fengxue further, implying that hitting him twice was still too soft, and that he should beat him thoroughly with thirty strikes. With this, the dialogue between Fengxue and the Elder ended, and the Elder suffered a miserable defeat.

Perhaps unable to bear watching this, the Prefect said, “The Buddha’s Law and the King’s Law are exactly the same.” He meant that Zen dialogues and worldly trials were in the exact same state. [If you do not know how to be an official, look at the examples of neighboring prefectures (the foolishness of being unable to judge by oneself and relying on precedent)]. This is a phrase that also appears in Volume 5 of the “The Collected Works of Wansong (万松全書).” It means that if you do not understand something yourself, you should look at precedents set by others, which has the same meaning as “learn from others.”

Fengxue blamed the Prefect after hearing his words and said, “What did you see?” He asked what Zen activity the Prefect saw that made him say such words. Therefore, Wansong also commented, [It would be good to give him a strike with the whisk too]. Wansong felt it was regrettable, thinking that blaming him in such a way was too soft, and that Fengxue should hit the Prefect sharply with the whisk too.

The Prefect explained his previous words, saying, “When you should make a decision, if you do not decide, it will bring confusion instead.” He meant that a person must strike when they should strike and suppress when they should suppress. If a person does not decide key points properly, everything falls into confusion, unexpected troubles occur, and peace cannot be maintained. He explained that this key point is the same in both the Buddha’s Law and the King’s Law. Wansong blamed him again and commented, [He curses himself and brings trouble upon himself]. Wansong rejected the Prefect’s words, implying that the essence of Zen cannot be understood by such logic, and that the Prefect himself fell into that logic and did not even realize that he had already brought about confusion.

Fengxue said nothing, ignored the Prefect’s words, and directly stepped down from the high seat. Wansong teased Fengxue with the comment, [When satisfaction is at its peak, it is the right time to stop]. He implied that it is better to stop at the right moment when you are in good shape, and that if you get too carried away, you will fall.

What is the core of Fengxue’s Iron Ox in Shoyoroku Case 29: The mind that has cut off the defilement of discrimination (the Mind-seal) acts immediately, powerfully, and without hesitation (the iron ox)

• The Dharma that Bodhidharma brought from the West and transmitted is called the Mind-seal.
• Fengxue presented that the nature of this Mind-seal is similar to the working of an iron ox used to calm floodwaters in the Tang Dynasty.
• Fengxue used the seal as a further metaphor, explained the two aspects of Zen, holding fast and letting go, and set a trap of dualistic views.

My Experience: I thought this koan was difficult to understand, but interesting

Fengxue showed that if you press a seal on paper and then lift it away from the paper, an imprint remains (the action of letting go, which releases truth without clinging to enlightenment). On the other hand, he showed that if you press a seal on paper and keep staying there, the red ink bleeds and the imprint is ruined (the foolishness of holding fast, which clings forever to attained states or knowledge).

He is saying that we should act freely without attachment in each situation, just like stamping a seal smoothly one after another, without staying in a single concept or state. However, I think that this koan is a very difficult koan to understand.

Fengxue came from the Linji school. Linji himself used the method of shouting “Katsu!” to break the opponent’s concepts. This is easy to understand. However, by the time of Fengxue, the method became clever, and word traps like this case were used.

It is interesting because the character of Zen masters differs greatly depending on the koan. In the end, Zen koans say almost the same thing. However, because there are various thinking patterns in human beings, koans become 100 kinds of specific medicine to break them. Since there are 100 kinds, readers can meet a koan (medicine) that fits them. Therefore, readers should not only find a koan that fits them, but if possible, develop their own koans as medicine to present to others. That means passing the seal to the next person. Working on this koan, I will also take action smoothly one after another.

How to Use Zen Teachings in Modern Life?: Responding immediately to events here and now