One day, Dok Sahn came into the Dharma Room carrying his bowls. The Housemaster, Sol Bong, said, ”Old Master, the bell has not yet been rung and the drum has not yet been struck. Where are you going, carrying your bowls?” At this, Dok Sahn returned to his room.
Afterwards, Sol Bong told the head monk, Am Du, who then said, “Great Master Dok Sahn does not understand the last word.”
Later Dok Sahn heard of this and sent for Am Du. “Do you not approve of me?” he demanded. Then Am Du whispered in the Master’s ear. Dok Sahn was relieved.
The next day on the rostrum making his Dharma speech, Dok Sahn was really different from before. Then Am Du was very happy. He went to the front of the Dharma room, laughing loudly and clapping his hands, and said, “Great joy! The Old Master has understood the last word. From now on, no one can check him.”
Commentary
Most Zen kong-ans (Japanese: koans) arise from the natural back-and-forth of human relationship. A monk and his teacher are drinking tea when a question arises. A stranger "hits" a practitioner's mind with an unanswerable question.
A smaller set of kong-ans actually explore the intricacies and intimacies of human relationship. Today's kong-an, case 13 in the Wu Men Kuan, begins with an apparent mistake - the Zen master comes to eat a meal at the wrong time. Then another apparent error occurs - the head monk suggests that the teacher's understanding is not complete. Fortunately, things work out in the end. But what got worked out? And how?
All human beings make mistakes. We might wish it otherwise, but there ya go. It's a fact.
One of the things this kong-an reveals is that a mistake itself may not be very interesting; however our response to a mistake matters a great deal.
Today's kong-an might seem obscure, but most of us have encountered cases like this in daily life. The company president makes a mistake and the vice-president must respond. The husband errs and the wife cannot let it slide. A friend corrects a friend's behavior.
In these situations, mistakes get corrected out of love. This love is not necessarily a feeling-state and certainly has nothing to do with romance; it's simply a genuine commitment to the well-being of another.
And isn't that the essence of human love?
In the Kwan Um School of Zen tradition, teachers typically ask four questions about this case:
- What is the last word?
- What did Am Du whisper in the Master's ear?
- How was the Master's speech different from before?
- If you were Dok Sahn, and Sol Bong asked you, "Where are you going, carrying your bowls?," how would you answer?
About this case, Zen Master Seung Sahn commented:
Three dogs chase each other's tails in a circle, following the smell, looking for food.
