禅Bassui Tokusho

saying

Who Is the Master?

Dharma Talk of Bassui

Kamakura

Traditionally attributed

Text

Who is hearing that sound? Who is it that right now sees colors, hears voices, raises the hands, moves the feet? We know these are functions of the mind, but no one knows precisely where this mind is. All that can be said is that the mind is here. But when you try to see into it, there is nothing that can be called the mind. Yet when you are called, something answers. Who is the master? Pursue this question with single-minded devotion. Ask yourself ceaselessly: who is hearing?

license: public_domain

Attribution

Lineage: Rinzai

By Bassui Tokusho

Sources

No per-field confidence has been recorded for this teaching yet. Treat individual claims with the caution appropriate to the source list below.

Attribution status: traditional — see editorial policy for what this means.

1 supporting citation on record (see Sources above).

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