禅Jippō Ryōshū

dialogue

What Gasan Gave

Sōji-ji Historical Records

Muromachi Period Japan

Traditionally attributed

Text

A student of Jippō asked: 'Of the five great heirs of Gasan, what did each receive that the others did not?' Jippō was silent for a moment, then said: 'We all received the same bowl. What we put in it — that is different. Tsūgen filled his with thousands of temple affiliates. I filled mine with this small hut and ten sincere students. When Gasan looks down, I do not know which bowl pleases him more. Perhaps both. Perhaps neither. Perhaps the bowl itself was the teaching.'

license: public_domain

Attribution

Lineage: Sōtō

By Jippō Ryōshū

From Sōji-ji Historical Records

Sources

  • contentSōtō Zen in Medieval Japan

    William M. Bodiford

    Cf. Bodiford, Sōtō Zen in Medieval Japan, pp. 98–103, on the Gasan-go-tetsu

    Sōji-ji Historical Records: What Gasan Gave

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).

Spot something wrong? Report an issue — please include a source so we can verify the correction.