Shoyoroku Case 9: Nanquan Cuts the Cat — Go Beyond Common Sense! An Extraordinary Leap Over Logic

Take a step beyond common sense, and change doubt into intuition

From Shoyoroku, Case 9: Nanquan Cuts the Cat

One day, monks from the East Hall and the West Hall were fighting over a small cat. Master Nanquan saw this. He picked up the cat and said to the monks:

Nanquan: “Give me one word of Zen. If you can say it, I will save this cat.”

However, no monk could answer him. They were too confused. Then, Nanquan cut the cat into two pieces.

Later, Nanquan told this story to his student, Zhaozhou. He asked Zhaozhou for his opinion. Zhaozhou took off his straw shoes, put them on his head, and walked away.

Nanquan: “If you were there, you could have saved the cat.”From Shoyoroku, Case 9: Nanquan Cuts the Cat

Introduction: 南泉普願 (Nanquan Puyuan) and 趙州従諗 (Zhaozhou Congshen)

Key point: The characters are 南泉普願 (Nanquan Puyuan) and Zhaozhou Congshen. 趙州従諗 (Zhaozhou) was the master, and Zhaozhou Congshen was his disciple.

南泉普願 (Nanquan Puyuan) lived on Mount Nanquan in Anhui Province during the Tang Dynasty. His original family name was Wang. Because of this, he called himself Teacher Wang (王老師). Other people also called him by that name. He practiced Zen teachings hard. Then, he visited 馬祖道一 (Baso Daoyi) with 百丈懐海 (Baizhang Huaihai) and Chizo. He worked hard on the practice of Zen with them.

趙州従諗 (Zhaozhou) met Nanquan for the first time when he was about eighteen years old. He became a disciple of Nanquan.

Nanquan Puyuan: The action of cutting the cat

Key point: The monks had an argument and could not say the most important word. So, Nanquan Puyuan cut the cat.

There are two theories about the “East and West Halls” in this story.

• They were 禅堂 (halls for zazen meditation).
• They were 経堂 (halls for keeping sutras).

Why was a cat in the temple?
The 遺教経 (The Buddha’s Last Teaching Sutra) says that monks should not keep people or animals in a temple. However, there was a cat in this story. Why?

We can guess the reason. The cat was there to hunt mice. Mice often ate the important sutras. In fact, we can often see cats in 涅槃図 (paintings of Shaka’s death,Nirvana paintings). This is because cats protected the teachings.Therefore, we can guess that the cat was in the halls for keeping sutras. Or, perhaps the cat came from the halls for keeping sutras into the halls for zazen meditation.

One day, monks were fighting about the cat. They talked about Buddha-nature and Causality. They used difficult theories of Buddhism to explain the situation.

Nanquan Puyuan: The action of cutting the cat

Key point: The monks could not say the most important word, so Nanquan Puyuan cut the cat.

Then, Master Nanquan appeared. He held the cat in one hand and a knife in the other hand. He spoke to the monks:
Nanquan: “Speak! What is this cat? If you can say a word of Zen, I will save the cat. If you cannot say it, I will cut the cat.”The monks were very afraid because Nanquan looked very serious. They were overwhelmed by his spirit. No one could say a single word. Then, Nanquan cut the cat into two pieces.

Zhaozhou Congshen: The action of putting his shoes on his head

Key point: The monks were only having an argument and could not say the most important word. Zhaozhou Congshen took off his shoes, put them on his head, and left.

Later, his best student, Zhaozhou, came back. He was not there during the trouble. Nanquan told Zhaozhou about everything that happened that day.

Upon hearing the story, Zhaozhou took off his shoes. He put the shoes on his head and walked out of the room.In Japan, people often say these shoes were 草鞋(waragi,straw sandals). However, they were actually shoes made of grass.
Master Nanquan saw this and said:
Nanquan: “If you had been there, I could have saved the cat. It is a pity.”

The true meanings of Nanquan and Zhaozhou: Turn common sense and logic upside down by going beyond thoughts and reasons

Key point: The actions of Nanquan and Zhaozhou showed that they wanted to turn common sense and logic upside down without using words.

What does this mean? Of course, “Nanquan Cuts the Cat” is a Zen teaching method. This story is a metaphor. He did not actually kill a real cat.As a metaphor, this story means: “If you cannot say an important word, your argument is useless. You must cut your bond to logic and fixed ideas.“Zhaozhou took off his shoes and put them on his head. Then he walked away.

This action symbolizes turning common sense and logic upside down. He showed that the truth of Zen is not in a world of reasons. He did this without using any words and left the place of the argument. Therefore, any action was fine if it showed a step beyond common sense. He did not have to put shoes on his head. He only needed to show that he was free from fixed ideas.

The core

• Cut your bond to common sense, logic, and words.
• Throw away fixed ideas, and take a step to change doubt into intuition.
• Show the truth through your own actions for questions without answers.

My Experience: I left the argument

Key point: Even if we are happy with just having an argument, the reality does not change. I stopped the argument and left.

I once worked with parents who were worried about their children’s future. They were trapped by logic and common sense. They only asked, “Which university should my child go to?” Their discussion went around in circles. They continued to talk for a long time, and they looked as if they were enjoying the argument itself.

Suddenly, I said, “It is also very valuable to work without going to university.” These words sounded cruel, like cutting their own bodies. The parents made a face. I thought that words were not enough. So, I showed them real examples of my work experience, income, and the reality of learning. I also showed that the children did not have enough academic ability to go to university. I talked about my real experiences and examples of failure. This action shocked the parents and shook their fixed ideas.

Suddenly, the room became very quiet. The parents held their heads in their hands. In the silence, they began to doubt their own common sense.However, the parents eventually rejected my story. They continued to talk about why going to university was the only right way. So,I gave up and left the place.

Zen Tips for Modern Life: Show things with real experiences or data

Key point: It is more important to show things through actions, experiences, or real data than through long arguments.

Nanquan used the metaphor of “cutting the cat” to show a message: if an argument has no conclusion, it is useless to continue fighting. He showed that we must cut our bonds to logic and fixed ideas.

Zhaozhou took off his shoes and put them on his head. By doing this, he showed that he could turn common sense and logic upside down.

In the same way, I challenged the common sense that “going to university is better for getting a job” by sharing my own real experiences. By using actions, personal experiences, and real data, we can end endless arguments that never reach a conclusion.