dialogue
The Crow and the Confirmation
Tōkai Yawa (Evening Conversations East of the Lake)
Text
Ikkyū had been meditating alone in a small boat on Lake Biwa when a crow suddenly cried in the dark. In that instant the whole question broke open. He hurried back to Kasō's hermitage before dawn and reported the experience. Kasō listened, then said: 'This is the awakening of a beginner, not a master.' Ikkyū, without flinching, said: 'I did not say I was a master. I said: the crow cried and the thing broke open.' Kasō paused, then struck his knee. 'A true man of the Way stands unshaken even when the master dismisses him.' He looked at Ikkyū steadily. 'What you have found is genuine. But a genuine fool is still a fool. Return and sit some more.' Ikkyū withdrew. Later, Kasō formally acknowledged his attainment, saying: 'Among all who have come to me, only this one has gone all the way down to the bottom.'
Attribution
By Kaso Sodon
From Tōkai Yawa (Evening Conversations East of the Lake)
Sources
Tōkai Yawa (Evening Conversations East of the Lake): The Crow and the Confirmation