Nanquan Kills the Cat

Text

Nanquan saw the monks of the eastern and western halls fighting over a cat. He seized the cat and said, "If any of you can say a word of Zen, you will save the cat. Otherwise I will kill it." No one could answer. Nanquan cut the cat in two. That evening Zhaozhou returned from outside and Nanquan told him what had happened. Zhaozhou removed his sandals, placed them on his head, and walked out. Nanquan said, "If you had been there, you could have saved the cat."

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Speaker
  Nanquan Puyuan
• Respondent
  Zhaozhou Congshen

Lineage: Nanyue line

By Nanquan Puyuan

• Nansen Cuts the Cat in Twokoan
• It Is Not Mind, It Is Not Buddha, It Is Not Thingskoan
• Learning Is Not The Pathkoan
• Ordinary Mind Is the Waydialogue
• A Flower in a Dreamdialogue

From Traditional Zen Encounter Dialogues

• My Mind Is Not at Peace
• Thinking of Not-Thinking
• Not Knowing Is Most Intimate
• The Boat Monk's Transmission
• The Sound of Bamboo
• Vast Emptiness, Nothing Holy
• Ordinary Mind Is the Way
• Wash Your Bowl
• The Oak Tree in the Garden
• This Very Mind Is Buddha

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Mumonkan Case 14; Jingde Chuandenglu, Nanquan chapter

  Traditional Zen Encounter Dialogues: Nanquan Kills the Cat