Joshu Washes the Bowl

Text

A monk told Joshu: "I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me." Joshu asked: "Have you eaten your rice porridge?" The monk replied: "I have eaten." Joshu said: "Then you had better wash your bowl." At that moment the monk was enlightened. Mumon’s comment: Joshu is the man who opens his mouth and shows his heart. I doubt if this monk really saw Joshu's heart. I hope he did not mistake the bell for a pitcher. It is too clear and so it is hard to see. A dunce once searched for a fire with a lighted lantern. Had he known what fire was, He could have cooked his rice much sooner.

tr. Nyogen Senzaki, Paul Reps, 1934

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Commentator
  Wumen Huikai
• Speaker
  Zhaozhou Congshen

Lineage: Nanyue line

By Zhaozhou Congshen

• Joshu's Dogkoan
• Joshu Examines a Monk in Meditationkoan
• Everyday Life Is The Pathkoan
• Joshu Investigateskoan
• A Buffalo Passes Through The Enclosurekoan

From Mumonkan

• Every Season Is a Good Season
• Preface to the Gateless Barrier
• The Wild Fox Koan
• Joshu's DogCase 1
• Hyakujo's FoxCase 2
• Gutei's FingerCase 3
• A Beardless ForeignerCase 4
• Kyogen Mounts the TreeCase 5
• Buddha Twirls a FlowerCase 6
• Keichu's WheelCase 8

Sources

• contentMumonkan (Gateless Barrier) — Senzaki & Reps translation, 1934

  Nyogen Senzaki, Paul Reps (trans.)

  Case 7, Mumonkan

  Mumonkan case 7: Joshu Washes the Bowl