Hyakujo The Everest of Zen ~ 04

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event type discourse & meditation
date & time 29 Sep 1988 pm
location Gautam the Buddha Auditorium, Pune
language English
audio Available, duration 2h 44min. Quality: good.
Osho leading meditation from 2:17:30. Unlike the other meditations in this series, after the meditation Osho tells jokes, starting at 2:30:05.
Live music after the discourse.
online audio
video Available, duration 2h 49min. Quality: good.
online video
see also
online text find the PDF of this discourse
shorttitle HYAKU04
notes
synopsis
Reader of the sutra: Ma Prem Maneesha. Questions are being read by Osho himself.
After discourse Osho leads No-Mind Meditation.
The sutra
One day when Hyakujo was to give his daily discourses to his disciples, he began by saying, "I am no Zen adept. I have not a single thing to offer anyone, so I must not keep you standing here. Go and take a rest."
On another occasion, a group of dharma masters sought an interview and said: "We have some questions to ask. Are you prepared to answer them, master?"
Hyakujo replied, "Yes. The moon is reflected in that deep pond; catch it if you like."
The group continued, "What is the Buddha really like?"
"If that which is facing the limpid pond is not the Buddha, what is it?" said Hyakujo.
The monks were puzzled by this reply, and after a short while inquired again: "Master, what dharma do you expound in order to liberate others?"
Hyakujo responded, "This poor monk has no dharma by which to liberate others."
They exclaimed, "All Zen masters are of the same stuff!"
At this, Hyakujo asked them, "What dharmas do you virtuous ones expound for liberating others?"
The monks replied, "Oh, we expound the Diamond sutra."
Hyakujo asked, "How many times have you expounded it?"
"More than twenty times," they answered.
Hyakujo continued, "By whom was it spoken?"
To this the monks answered indignantly: "Master, you must be joking! Of course you know that it was spoken by the Buddha."
Hyakujo said: "Well, that sutra states: 'If someone says the tathagata expounds the dharma, he thereby slanders the Buddha! Such a man will never understand what I mean.'"
Hyakujo continued, "Now, if you say that it was not expounded by the Buddha, you will thereby belittle that sutra. Will you virtuous ones please let me see what you have to say to that?"
As they made no reply, the master paused awhile before asking his next question, which was: "The Diamond sutra says: 'He who seeks me through outward appearance, or seeks me in sound, treads the heterodox path and cannot perceive the tathagata.'"
"Tell me, virtuous one," said Hyakujo, "Who or what is the tathagata?"
One monk replied, "Sir, at this point I find myself utterly deluded."
Hyakujo said: "Having never been illumined, how can you say that you are now deluded?"
Then the monk asked, "Will the venerable Zen master expound the dharma to us?"
Hyakujo replied, "Though you have expounded the Diamond sutra over twenty times, you still do not know the tathagata!"


Question 1
Beloved Osho, last night, after hearing you speak so lucidly, so beautifully on Hyakujo's somewhat torturous passage, I felt that you are not only working on your disciples, you are transforming the masters of the past too.
I recognize that my business here is to find out who I am, but in moments like last night, the question overwhelms me: Who is this being we know as Osho?
I have asked this question before. You have answered, but the question still remains.


(source:CD-ROM)


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