Shoyoroku Case 33: Sansheng’s Golden Fish — Deconstructing the Self-Image of Being Special Behind High Ambitions

Commentary

What Is Sansheng’s Golden Fish?: A Symbol of Sansheng’s State of Enlightenment

Sansheng visited Xuefeng Yicun and asked him, “What does a golden fish that passed through the net eat?”

• Golden fish (金鱗): A lively, large, and magnificent fish that has broken through the net. It expresses Sansheng’s view and state of enlightenment. Originally, in ancient China, there was a legend about a huge carp whose scales turned golden after many years. This carp climbed the Dragon Gate and became a dragon. In Japan today, this legend lives on in the custom of koinobori (carp streamers). Note that this fish is different from a small ‘goldfish’ kept in a fish tank.

When Sansheng was swimming inside the net of teachings—the basic level of practice and enlightenment—he ate bait such as precepts, sutras, and zazen. However, he has now become a golden fish and has graduated from such ordinary practice, so he no longer eats things that smell like incense, such as the Buddha or the Dharma. Therefore, his question asks what kind of food such a fish eats. In short, it is a question about how one lives after reaching enlightenment. A question that uses a metaphor to express one’s own view or state of enlightenment like this is called indirect metaphor question (借事問) or a question presenting one’s understanding (呈解問).

Since Sansheng has already reached the state of this golden fish, his attitude tests what Xuefeng’s practice after enlightenment is like, so Xuefeng cannot let his guard down. This kind of question is called a question testing the master (験主問).

Wansong Xingxiu commented [Without waiting for the fishing line to be cast, it got onto the hook by itself]. Sansheng calls himself a golden fish, but from Wansong’s point of view, Sansheng willingly went and got caught on Xuefeng’s hook.

What Is Sansheng’s Ability?: A Good Match for Xuefeng

Xuefeng said, “Wait until you come out of the net, and I will tell you.” Although Sansheng said that he had already left the net, Xuefeng said he would guide him with words if he came out of the net. From Xuefeng’s view, Sansheng indeed broke out of the net, but he still has an attachment to thinking, “I broke out of the net.” This is just like a person who brags to people that he is good to his parents is not a truly good child. In this way, Sansheng, the giant golden fish, was completely caught alive in Xuefeng’s big net.

If the match ended here, it would be too anti-climactic. Therefore, Wansong commented [When meeting someone, speak only thirty percent]. This was a Chinese proverb that already existed in Wansong’s time. In any case, Sansheng came aggressively, calling himself a lively golden fish. It means that Xuefeng would face him with only thirty percent of his power.

In response to this, Sansheng said, “A teacher of fifteen hundred monks does not even understand the topic.” This means, “Oh, Xuefeng Yicun is a well-known good teacher, but after coming all this way to meet him, he is not so great.” It is as if Sansheng broke through the net cast by Xuefeng and jumped out.

• A Good Teacher (善知識) means:
  • Guiding people to good teachings.
  • Preventing and controlling various bad teachings.
  • Making people live in the true teaching.
  • Always teaching and guiding people according to their responses (佛説華手經 卷第十).

Wansong commented [Even the prophecy on Vulture Peak was not like today]. This uses the guarantee of enlightenment as an example, praising that the serious match between Xuefeng Yicun and Sansheng is a very good match.

• Prophecy on Vulture Peak (霊山での授記): Shakyamuni (釈迦牟尼) predicts, “You will become a Buddha in the future,” and guarantees one’s enlightenment. In Zen, the present reality of enlightenment has more value than a past guarantee.

What Is Xuefeng’s True Intention?: A Mature Move of Dodging by Saying “Busy”

However, Xuefeng quickly dodged by saying, “As the abbot, I am busy with many duties.” This was a mature move of lightly dodging, just like jujutsu, where one flexibly accepts and deals with a strong attack.

Wansong commented [One can see his cheeks from behind his head]. This describes a facial appearance where the cheekbones stick out sideways so much that they can be seen even from behind. This comes from an ancient Chinese legend that a person like this cannot be trusted easily. It means that although Xuefeng plays innocent by saying he is busy, he is actually a formidable person.
Did Xuefeng lose this match? Or did Sansheng lose?

Yuanwu Keqin (圜悟克勤) in the Blue Cliff Record (Hekiganroku, 碧巌録) and Wansong in a later case (Case 63: Zhaozhou Asks About Death) state, “Sansheng and Xuefeng are just like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums. It is hard to say which is the older brother and which is the younger brother, or which is lighter, heavier, stronger, or weaker.” They explain that this is not a matter of who won or lost, but that the key takeaway of this case is that both deeply dissolve into each other and become one.

In Zen, people often have a strong image of shouting and knocking down the opponent. However, this koan teaches a flexible attitude: when the opponent pushes strongly, one steps back and becomes the weak, and when the opponent’s push is weak, one moves forward and becomes the strong. This is the wonderful interplay (回互) of a master (作家).

• Master (作家, 作者): An enlightened practitioner who has sharp insight and great wisdom.

My Experience

Why Aspire to Zen?: The Contradiction of Wanting a Self-Image

This koan was about Sansheng challenging Xuefeng Yicun and receiving advice that “the feeling that one is enlightened is still something to overcome.” Since Sansheng was already enlightened, I will share my own experience to give a lower-level example.

When I was at a training dojo, I worked as a telephone operator. Most calls were to check the stock of Zen books or to check event schedules. However, about once every three months, there was a call like, “I want to become a monk.” In my feeling, they were teenagers or people after retirement. When asked why they wanted to become a monk, they said that it was because they wanted to be useful to people and save people.

To tell the truth, even if you do not become a monk or renounce the world, you can be useful to people. This means that all occupations except crime are useful to people, so if you get any job, you can be useful to people. Furthermore, even if you do not get a job, you can be useful to people by doing housework, and you can be useful to people by picking up trash on the road in front of your house. Therefore, “for the world and for people” is a weak motivation for aspiring to Buddhism. My motivation was for self-exploration. Therefore, it was selfish to the end.

Then, why do people say, “I want to save people” or “I want to become a monk”? Isn’t it because they want a self-image of being a “special self”? In Zen, this must be broken down, so when the package of “monk” is recognized by society in the first place, Zen may already be hollowed out.

Today, I do not wear monk’s clothes, and I do not say a single word about Zen or Buddhism. However, a woman at my workplace once told me, “You get along with other people, but you are different from others, or somehow mysterious.” Without saying it every time or wearing special clothes, by polishing one’s actions, even a ‘goldfish’ like me can become enough to make an ordinary woman feel something. If I say this kind of thing, Wansong will criticize me, “Cast it off! (放下著)” However, if we say such things every time, we cannot explain anything, which is the paradox of Zen.

Previously, I found an article saying, “I suffered from power harassment at my company, so I want to become a monk and save people in a world without power harassment.” I thought about advising him, “The world of monks is a world of power harassment that cannot be compared to ordinary companies. It is easier to realize a world without power harassment right now than to realize a world without power harassment in the world of monks.” However, seeing that this person was only dreaming of an ‘ideal world’ and had no interest in Buddhism, I gave up giving useless advice.

In the end, what do we eat? When meeting tea, drink tea; when meeting rice, eat rice. And after that, brush your teeth.