Meeting Nāgārjuna

Text

When Kapimala first came to the land of western India, the nāga (dragon) king of a great lake emerged from the water to greet him. Kapimala said: 'This body of yours that fills the lake—is this your true body or your transformed body?' The nāga king said: 'There is no difference.' Kapimala said: 'Who told you so?' The nāga king was silent. Kapimala said: 'The one who is silent—that is the answer.' Keizan's verse: The dragon enters the water / and the water becomes the dragon. / Why look for a border / between what moves and what is still?

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Speaker
  Kapimala

Lineage: Indian Patriarchs

By Kapimala

• Fire Hidden in the Seedsaying

From Denkoroku

• The Robe That Never Wears Out
• The Fragrance Without a Flower
• The Mind That Is Like Space
• The Auspicious Cloud
• The Wine Jar and the Dharma
• The Star That Does Not Move
• Entering the Gate as a Householder
• The Vow of Pārśva
• The Debate That Ended Without Debate
• In Praise of the Perfection of Wisdom

Sources

• contentZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation

  Zen project editorial

  Denkoroku, Case 14

  Denkoroku: Meeting Nāgārjuna