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of heaven populated by beings without a body, which is the highest place in the realm of
desire. He is said to cause a lot of trouble to the Buddha and practitioners. When
Shakyamuni sat under the Bodhi tree practicing Zazen, this devil king is said to have
appeared and tried to prevent him from reaching enlightenment, but the Buddha
subdued him and became enlightened.
A master of surpassing caliber, transcending even the
principle of his own school, condescends to help a student of
excellent aspiration and of the sharpest wisdom. When a true master in
Zen meets a student of excellent aspiration, he dares to transcend common sense and the
basic principles of Buddhism, and teaches him in accordance with his aspiration. This
refers to Kassan in the present case.
What if you meet a fellow who never turns his head even if he
gets hit with a stick? What do you do when you meet such a person of the highest
caliber who does not even budge or turn his head when he is hit with a stick? With this
question he is introducing the main case. The person of the highest caliber is Rakuho
who appears in this case.
On the Case:
This case is transmitted in the Soto and Rinzai Schools with a slightly different
nuance, and in this sense can be said to be a delicate kind of koan. Of course it is
possible to handle it in Zen training without paying any attention to the respective points
of view of Rinzai or Soto. Perhaps it is better that way. Nevertheless I’d like to touch
on this delicate point of difference here. As is well known, the Shoyoroku, which was
compiled by Wanshi, following the tradition of the Soto school. So please remember that
it was this Wanshi who chose this koan for this collection.
Rakuho, who appears in this case, is Master Rakuho Gen’an [Luofu Yuanan,
833-897] and was, together with Sansho, a cherished Dharma heir of Master Rinzai. He
served Master Rinzai for 20 years and was called Rinzai’s sharpest arrow (a wondrous
single-pointed arrow). It is said that he was never defeated in any Dharma combat. He
was regarded by Rinzai as “without equal under heaven,” and received Rinzai’s stamp of
approval [inka], and following this Dharma transmission, went on his own independently.
This is where he is, at the point of the Dharma combat in this case. After this Dharma
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