“This is not a cup. Because I can say this is not a cup, I can call it a cup.”
A monk asked Fuketsu, "Both speech and silence are faulty in being ri [離 inward action of mind] or bi [微 outward action of mind]. How can we escape these faults?"
Fuketsu said,
"I always remember the spring in Kõnan,
Where the partridges sing;
How fragrant the countless flowers!"
Mumon's Comment
Fuketsu's Zen spirit was like lightning and opened a clear passage.
However, he was entangled in the monk's words and could not cut them off.
If you can really grasp the problem, you can readily find the way out.
Now, putting language samadhi aside, say it in your own words.
“It is like a finger pointing a way to the moon. Do not concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.”
The first piece here is from Daiho-roshi and is an expression similar to those put forth by the Buddha in the Diamond Sutra. The second is Gateless Gate case 24 “Fuketsu’s Speech and Silence”. The last piece is a line from Enter the Dragon in which Bruce Lee chides his student to express himself through his technique.There is a very important point to be found here. Can you find it?
Daiho-roshi expresses the point clearly that a thing is not what we call it. When I say cup, I know what I mean by cup, but you can only guess. Language fails to really convey the cupness of my cup. So how do I pass along this truth of cup? Our words are hindrances to true understanding. We hear the words of others and then make up a story in our minds from what we understand those words to mean. But is it the same as the original story?
In the case from the Mumonkan, Wumen in his commentary wonders why Fuketsu who possesses lightning Zen chooses to quote an ancient Chinese poem rather than expressing his own understanding. What could Fuketsu have done instead? When we quote others, we must understand that this is no longer our understanding, but is instead our interpretation of the expression of the understanding of the person who originally understood. Do you understand? How do you understand?
Bruce Lee was a practitioner of Zen if only in spirit and not formality. In the above line, he expresses what so many have said before. The Finger is not the Moon. The Way is not the Truth. There are some who only understand the finger and never see the Moon. They worship the finger as if it was the Moon, but it is only a finger. To experience the Moon, one must look not to the finger, but to where it is pointing. Follow the path, but do not mistake the path for the Truth.
This is the hardest piece I have ever written because the more I say, the farther I stray from what really is. I use words because they are the tool that I have, but my words will fail, as the words of all those who have come before me did. So instead, I bow in reverence. May we all understand the Truth for ourselves.
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