The Rhinoceros Fan

Text

One day Yanguan called to his attendant, "Bring me the rhinoceros-horn fan." The attendant said, "The fan is broken." Yanguan said, "If the fan is broken, then bring me the rhinoceros!" The attendant had no reply. Xuansha later commented: "I can bring the rhinoceros. But the trouble is, there is only the horn, and there is no rhinoceros." Yunmen held up his staff and said, "Here is the rhinoceros."

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Speaker
  Yanguan Qian

Lineage: Nanyue line

By Yanguan Qian

• The One Who Has No Ranksaying

From Blue Cliff Record

• Tianhuang's Bowl Washing
• Don't Think
• The Condolence Visit
• The Seamless Tower
• Alive or Dead in Sitting
• All Sounds Are Buddha-Sound
• All Three Bodies of Buddha
• End-of-Summer Address
• Daguang's Laughing
• The Sound of Raindrops

Sources

• contentZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation

  Zen project editorial

  Blue Cliff Record, Case 91; Jingde Chuandenglu, Yanguan chapter

  Blue Cliff Record: The Rhinoceros Fan