I Have Been to the South and the North

Text

Zhaozhou went to a hermit's place and asked, "Are you in? Are you in?" The hermit raised his fist. Zhaozhou said, "The water is too shallow for a ship to anchor." He left. He went to another hermit's place and asked, "Are you in? Are you in?" The hermit also raised his fist. Zhaozhou said, "Freely you give, freely you take away. Freely you bestow life, freely you destroy." He bowed deeply. When asked why he approved of one and not the other when both raised their fists, Zhaozhou said, "I have been to the South and the North. I know the lay of the land."

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Speaker
  Zhaozhou Congshen

Lineage: Nanyue line

By Zhaozhou Congshen

• Joshu's Dogkoan
• Joshu Washes the Bowlkoan
• Joshu Examines a Monk in Meditationkoan
• Everyday Life Is The Pathkoan
• Joshu Investigateskoan

From Recorded Sayings of Zhaozhou

• Does a Dog Have Buddha Nature?

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Zhaozhou Lu, the two hermits

  Recorded Sayings of Zhaozhou: I Have Been to the South and the North