Case 9 - Chao-chou's Four Gates
A
monk asked Chao-chou, “What is Chao-chou?”
Chao-chou
replied, “East Gate, west gate, south gate, north
gate.”
From
EK 9.21
A
monk asked Chao-chou, “What is Chao-chou?”
Chao-chou
said, “East gate, south gate, west gate, north
gate.”
The
monk said, “That is not what I asked.”
Chao-chou
said, “Didn’t you ask about Chao-chou?”
Dogen’s
Poem:
Chao-chou
once received a monk’s inquiry,
And
for him mentioned east, west, south, north gates.
The
four points lined up seem to make Chao-chou.
The
great doubt; where can we find the original source?
Reflections
The
following lines came to
me while I was reflecting upon this koan as a whole.
The
question is where the answer is.
The
answer is where the question is.
The
student is in the teacher
The
teacher is in the student.
Now
about the gates.
For
those unfamiliar with
Chan custom in Tang China during the seventh through tenth centuries,
Sometimes, when a zen master would settle and build a monastery on or
near a
mountain, he would then be known by the name of the mountain. A few of
the
people we meet in the koans are known by these mountain names. For
instance,
you all know the name Nanquan. He was the teacher of Chao-chou and of
course
infamous for maybe cutting a cat in two. His real name was Puyuan but
after
receiving transmission from Mazu he built himself a hermitage on Mount
Nanquan
and therefore, his name. I used to think that this was exclusively the
case.
But I found that there are no mountains for Mazu, or Dongshan, or
Linchi, and
many others. They just kept on with their ordinary names.
But
back to the Tang and our
koan; in some cases, it wasn’t a mountain but a city. For
instance our old
buddha Chao-chou’s real name was Congshen. The name of the
monastery he
inherited was named Kuanyin. And the name of the nearest city was named
Chao-chou. And Congshen became known by the name of this city.
Like
all cities in those
times, they were protected by high stone walls around them and usually
had
doors at the compass points. So, the monk’s question could be
a smartass
question and Chao-chou’s response could have out-smart-assed
the monk. But
beyond this wordplay between Chao-chou and the monk my question is, are
the
gates of Chao-chou open or are they closed?
If
closed, where and how can
the student find entrance into the city? Into the teacher? Into the
teaching? Listen
to the verse commenting on this koan:
In
their words they show their ability in direct confrontation:
The
Adamantine Eye is completely void of dust.
East,
West, South, North—the gates face eachother;
An
endless series of hammer blows can't smash them open.
As
you heard, the verse, written by Hsueh Tou, one of the compilers of the
Blue Cliff Record, says that the
gates
are sealed shut and cannot be smashed open. But what evidence does he
have to
support this interpretation? I see none.
Sekida,
in his commentary
says Chao-chou sees through the monk’s plot. What
monk’s plot? To see if
Chao-chou can make an ambiguous response to an ambiguous question? Big
deal
this plot.
Chao-chou
ignores the
ambiguity and comes up with four gates. But contrary to the commentary
of all
and sundry including the mighty Hakuin and Tenkei, Chao-chou does not
say
whether the gates are open or shut!
And
then there is the great
metaphor: The Gateless
Gate. The gate which is shut, sealed tight, within you and prevents you from entering.
What is that gate? You name it. It is different in different people.
For some
it is pride. For some arrogance. For some ignorance. For some fear. For
some
impatience. For some anger. For some laziness. It could be a straw or a
mountain. And then there are those like the smartass monk in this koan.
But in
all cases it’s a sealed gate. And your hangups, pride, anger,
fear, ignorance,
laziness, or just plain, smartass prevents you from entering. From
engaging.
So
what is Chao-chou saying?
He says four gates. Apparently they are on opposite sides of the city.
North
and South. East and West. And probably the gates are closed at some
times, like
during the nights or other special times of the day. And open at other
times.
I
would say the gates of
Chao-chou, the zen master, are open to whoever wants to study and work
with
him. But closed to those who don’t or who try to smartass
their way in, like
this monk. But Chao-chou himself doesn’t shut the gates. The
monk does that
with his question. If a teacher is true, then his gates are always
open. The
true teacher invites whoever knocks on her door. The true teacher daily
vows to
teach the dharma to whoever asks for it. But in order for teaching to
happen a
true student is necessary. And the student must come with an empty
head. In
some cases that won't be difficult. The usual problem is that students
come
with their heads crammed full with all sorts of twisted knots. This is
what I
call a fathead! This is what prompted Linchi to say that he
doesn’t teach he
just unties knots.
The
knots in the head and in the heart
prevent the gateless gates
within your heart from opening.
The
student comes with a
willingness to begin the process of untying the knots. And so I do koan
study
with him. I have
found koan study to be
an effective tool to untie knots. But it takes time. Sometimes, it
takes
hundreds of koans. And sometimes, there is still a stubborn knot which
won't be
untied. This is very difficult. Sometimes it doesn’t work.
But most times it
does. When you tighten up the knot usually tightens. When you loosen
the knot
may loosen. And maybe there’s a chance to untie it.The
question is where the
answer is.
The
answer is where the question is.
The
student is in the teacher
The
teacher is in the student.
A
monk asked Chao-chou, “What is Chao-chou?”
Chao-chou
replied, “East Gate, west gate, south gate, north
gate.”