Case 31 Jõshû Investigates an Old Woman                   
 
A monk asked an old woman, "What is the way to Taisan?"
The old woman said, "Go straight on."
When the monk had proceeded a few steps, she said, "A good, respectable monk, but he too goes that way."
Afterward someone told Jõshû about this.
Jõshû said, "Wait a bit, I will go and investigate the old woman for you."
The next day he went and asked the same question, and the old woman gave the same answer.
On returning, Jõshû said to his disciples, "I have investigated the old woman of Taisan for you."
 
Mumon's Comment
The old woman only knew how to sit still in her tent and plan the campaign; she did not know when she was shadowed by a spy.
Though old Jõshû showed himself clever enough to take a camp and overwhelm a fortress, he displayed no trace of being a great commander.
If we look at them, they both have their faults.
But tell me, what did Jõshû see in the old woman?
 
Mumon's Verse 
    The question was like the others,
    The answer was the same.
    Sand in the rice,
    Thorns in the mud.

          Ancient Chinese, Japanese societies were sexist by today's standards, and yes our society is still sexist.  The Buddha was purported to have said upon his Enlightenment,  "How wonderful all people have this same clear bright mind that I have just awoken to."  I have been told that here in the USA the majority of teachers of Buddhism are woman.  Maybe to underscore the equality of men and woman in deep Buddhist understanding the wise old woman appears in this story.
          In his Song of Zazen Hakuin tells us "Not two, not three, straight ahead runs the Way."  It mirrors the statement by the woman in this story.  If you want to get to the place of practice which in this case is symbolized by Taisan which is the name of Joshu's Monastery but is in fact not a physical place but something inner. That inner attitude is to be straight ahead.  It is not to let yourself get diverted by competing interests and teachings, have faith in the Buddha Way.  It is to be straight ahead in your inner world, do not be self deceptive nor deceive others.  Most importantly,  not to let your mind fall into duality.  When practicing zazen practice zazen and try not to let your mind wander.  When chopping wood just chop wood.  Whatever you do fully engage mind and body in the task.  This is the practice, this is the road to Taisan.
          Some might object to judging one's zazen or having a goal in practice.  They might say that judging ones practice or having of a goal is a hinderance.  In the Soto School they say, "Practice is enlightenment."  There is a pitfall either way we look at this issue.  On the one hand if you don't acknowledge a goal then there is no reason and motivation to practice. If you think you are enlightened just because you are sitting in a zazen pose then your inner practice will be lazy.  On the other hand if you think about any goal during practice then you are falling into dualism and also not really practicing.  This is something we each have to work out but I have to say that for myself I know what real and good zazen is and when I am not really practicing.  I have no problem making this judgement and doing what I need to do to turn not so good zazen into good zazen(quiet and concentrated zazen).
         The goal of practice is to really practice.  To really practice is not so easy. To really practice can take many years of practice.  To really practice is to be straight ahead, it is not to fall into duality, it is to be fully engaged mind and body.  To really practice that is enlightenment.  As Hakuin says in the Song of Zazen,'  "Those who practice true zazen even once will see all karma erased."

Case 30 Baso's "This Very Mind Is the Buddha"                     
 
Daibai asked Baso, "What is the Buddha?"
Baso answered, "This very mind is the Buddha."
 
Mumon's Comment

If you directly grasp Baso's meaning, you wear the Buddha's clothes, eat the Buddha's food, speak the Buddha's words, do the Buddha's deeds—that is, you are a Buddha himself.

However, alas! Daibai misled not a few people into taking the mark on the balance for the weight itself.

How could he realize that even mentioning the word "Buddha" should make us rinse out our mouths for three days?

If a man of understanding hears anyone say, "This very mind is the Buddha," he will cover his ears and rush away.
 
Mumon's Verse 
     The blue sky and bright day,
     No more searching around!
     "What is the Buddha?" you ask:
     With loot in your pocket, you declare yourself innocent.
 

          Years ago (early 1980's) I did a series of sesshins with Joshu Sasaki Roshi.  He was a Rinzai master who taught with koans that he often made up.  He would often take traditional koans and put them in a language that was easier to grasp, and usually involved the word Buddha such as, "How do you experience Buddha through sound?"  He also would often ask a new student what his or her profession was and then if the student answered for example carpenter he would then give the student the koan, "How do you experience Buddha through Carpentry?" One might think these koans are easier then the traditional koans like those in this collection and yes maybe that is somewhat true because there is less obscurity in the language but I would argue that in essence they are just as difficult.  They are still asking the student to have the same experiences and understanding.  You can not pass one of Sasaki's koans without understanding the word Buddha and here we are at koan 30 in the Mumonkan and it is also asking you to understand that same word, Buddha.
           Twenty Five years after practicing with Sasaki Roshi I was doing sesshins with Shodo Harada Roshi.  Even though he is also a Rinzai teacher we did not do koans.  We were working on ways to deepen samadhi.  For quite a while I worked on a simple breathing technique called Sokusan which once mastered allows one to quickly enter deep samadhi.  Once I mastered that skill then he would just ask me at the beginning of each sesshin to do something like die with every breath or to become the Universe with every breath.  This went on for a number of sesshins. Then one Sesshin he asks me the question, "How big is your mind?"  Without hesitation I respond, "It fills the whole Universe."  The next interview I had with Harada he told me that I was done with my training.
          Some people think that you gain magical powers through years of intense meditation and that experience we call Enlightenment.  Some people are attracted to a magical view of life where some how they can control reality through their thinking.  And some people have misread the Mind Only philosophy of Buddhism or this koan as telling them that some how they can control the larger world with their mind.  This is just more confusion.
          Again if one really wants to understand this statement, "This very Mind is Buddha" then you must understand it from the perspective of deep meditative experience where the world is not seen through the lens of our normal conceptual thinking.  Words can take on whole different meanings through the perspective of this experience.  But be aware the public expression of such understanding can easily become  weeds.  Maybe I shouldn't but I will give a hint: Non-Duality.