Book of Serenity - Case 53

Huangbo’s Dreg Guzzlers

Case in Point:

Case in point:
Huangbo addressed the assembly, "You're all a bunch of dreg guzzlers.
(They're your students...)

In all your wandering, where are you ever going to find the present moment?
(If the past is always better than the present, I'd hate to see what the future holds)

Don't you know there are no Zen teachers in the whole country?"
(He sure does cast a wide eye)

A monk then came forward and asked, “But what about all the people out there
working with students and leading sanghas?"
(Like Huangbo, for instance?)

Huangbo said, "I didn't say there was no Zen, just no teachers."
(Nice (half) save)
________________________

Records of the Transmission of the Lamp

One day a very large crowd had gathered in the main hall. Huangbo addressed them,
“What are you beggars here looking for?” He then tried to chase them off with his stick
and said, “You’re all a bunch of dreg guzzlers. You call this a pilgrimage? I call it a
laughing stock. You find a crowd and join right in. Are you just looking for the party?
When I was on pilgrimage, I would find some unassuming teacher and bop them on
the head to see how they reacted. If they understood suffering, I’d open up my bag
and share my rice with them. But you’re acting like you’re on vacation. Where are you
ever going to find the great matter of right here and now? If you want to call what
you’re doing a ‘pilgrimage,’ show some heart! Don’t you know there are no Zen
teachers in the whole country?”

A monk then came forward and asked, “But there are lots of good people out there
spreading the teachings. Why do you say there are no Zen teachers?”
Huangbo said, “I didn’t say there’s no Zen, just no teachers. My good monk, don’t you
see? The great teacher Mazu had 84 students, but only two or three who really got it,
Lushan for one. You’re going to have to be able to tell the difference. Take the Fourth
Ancestor Daoxin’s student, great teacher Niutou. He could talk up, down, and all
around, but could never actually scale the twists and turns of the high path. Have a
mind that can discern between the bogus and authentic schools. You won’t get it just
by walking around. Studying words, carrying books, and going around saying “I
understand Zen,” is no substitute for the reality of your life and death. Ignore the words
of the ancestors and you’ll shoot straight into hell like an arrow. As soon as you walk
through the gate, I can tell, I just know you. How will you know? Try harder! This isn’t
supposed to be easy. Just wearing a robe and taking your meals is to pass your life in
vain. Anyone who sees clearly will laugh at you. Eventually the lay people won’t even
support you. Go wherever you need to and find out whose face adorns the great
matter. If you get it, you get it. If you don’t then go!”
________________________

Wanling Record of Huangbo

Huangbo addressed the assembly, “You’re all a bunch of dreg guzzlers. You call this a
pilgrimage? I call it a laughing stock. Seems more like a vacation. Where are you going
to find the present moment? Don't you know there are no Zen teachers in the whole
country?"

A monk spoke up and asked, "But as we can all see, right now appearing in front of us
is someone who works with students and leads a sangha. Why do you say there are no
Zen teachers?"

Huangbo said, "I didn't say there was no Zen, just no teachers."

Later Guishan brought this up to Yangshan and asked, "What did he mean?"

Yangshan said, "The great goose generally doesn't go for duck milk."

Guishan said, "It's an enigma."

________________________
Book of Serenity
tr Gary Shinshin Wick

Attention! Obaku addressed the assembly, saying, "All of you without exception are
eaters of wine-dregs. Going on pilgrimage here and there, when will there ever be a
day for you? Don't you know there are no Zen teachers in all of Tang China?" At that
time a monk who was there stepped forward and said, "What about those everywhere
who have disciples and lead assemblies?" And Obaku remarked, "I don't say there's no
Zen, just that there are no teachers.”

Wick’s Commentary:

Obaku was an heir of Hyakujo and teacher of Master Rinzai. He lived in the ninth
century in China. When he was studying with Hyakujo, Hyakujo told him, "If your
understanding equals that of your teacher, you will cut his merit in half. Only when your
wisdom exceeds that of your teacher are you wor- thy to pass on the transmission."
Obaku is said to have been a very impos- ing man, with a hard knot on his forehead
from bowing down repeatedly to the hard floor. People called that knot a pearl, the
symbol of wisdom.
Obaku had a very direct way of teaching. Once a student asked, "What is the Way,
and how must it be followed?" Obaku said, "What sort of thing do you suppose the
Way is, that you wish to follow it?" He is snatching away all ideas. Then the student
said, "What instructions have the masters every- where given for meditation, practice,
and the study of the Dharma?" Obaku said, "Words are used to attract the dull of wit,
and are not to be relied upon." The student didn't give up and said, "If those
teachings are meant for the dull-witted, I have yet to hear what Dharma's been taught
for those of high capacity." And Obaku replied, "If you're really of high capacity, where
could you find a teacher to follow?" Do not look to what is called the "Dharma-by-
preachers," for what sort of Dharma could that be?
Obaku concluded this exchange with some clear instruction: "Look at the void in
front of your eyes; how can you produce it or eliminate it? Observe things as they are
and don't pay attention to other people. There are some people who act like mad
dogs, barking at everything that moves. Not even distinguishing between the wind that
moves among the grass and the wind in the trees."
In the present case Obaku says, "I don't say there's no Zen, just that there are no
Zen teachers." Master Hakuin, who lived almost a thousand years later and revitalized
Rinzai Zen in Japan, commented on Obaku's assertion: "This statement of Obaku's is
poison on the water. Whoever drinks it, dies. I misunderstood this for twenty years, so
don't take it lightly. This saying is hard to penetrate. It's in the same mold as he who
has a habit-ridden consciousness."
Our practice is about letting go of that habit-ridden consciousness. Hakuin says that
if you penetrate Obaku's statement, you'll know it means to let go of habits. Like
Obaku said, "Observe things as they are," not as you project them to be or you'd like
them to be, or you imagine them to be, but as they are.
Before you say there are no Zen teachers, you need to clearly understand what a
Zen teacher is. A teacher is like a mirror, encouraging you to trust yourself at the
deepest levels possible. To work at the profound level where you're not holding back
requires unconditional commitment. A good teacher can see where you are holding on.
If a teacher challenges you, see what comes up, and let that process you, rather than
the other way around.
The preface says, "Holy understanding is forgotten in the activity that catches tigers
and buffaloes." It is forgotten in the activity that changes diapers and mows the lawn. If
you are running around looking for holiness, when are you going to find peace and
tranquility? Where do you think you'll find this place? If you try to find it in someone
else's words, you are a wine- dreg-eating fool-greedily slurping up the crud that's left in
the bottom of the bottle after you've decanted the good stuff. Seeking after teachers is
like being a dreg-slurper.
And yet, a teacher is essential. In the Shobogenzo, Master Dogen encourages us to
find a qualified teacher if we really want to know the Dharma. But how can we do this if
Obaku is right that there are no Zen teachers? What does this really mean? And what is
the role of the teacher? When you trust and surrender to a spiritual teacher, it is not the
same as guru worship. In guru worship, you hope that the teacher will somehow do all
of the hard work for you. But a real teacher, a worthy teacher will push you back on
your own resources so you can eventually be free of the teacher's influence.
The verse says, "Catching at leaves and lining up flowers ruins the Ancestors."
When we idolize the Ancestors or even our own teacher-and hold onto their teachings,
that too is like slurping after dregs, ruining the bouquet of flowers. By "lining up
flowers" we are setting up schools and setting up lineages and setting up the position
of teacher and thus creating institutions that will become stale and stagnant. Holding
the staff of authority we are "subtly grasping the handle that educates Southerners."
What about when there is no authority to depend on? Look at the void in front of you.
How could you produce or eliminate it? Observe things as they are.
A Buddhist teacher once said, "Wisdom is for yourself to watch and develop. Take
from the teacher what is good. Be aware of your own practice. If I am resting while you
all must sit up, does that make you angry? If I call the color blue, red, or say male is
female, don't follow me blindly. One of my teachers ate very fast. He made noises as
he ate, yet he told us to eat slowly and mindfully. I used to watch him and get very
upset, I suffered, but he didn't." Looking outside the self, you will not find happiness,
nor will you find peace if you spend your time looking for the perfect teacher.
On the other hand, I have met some students who have sat on their own for years
and believe they have deep understanding when all they have really done is mistaken
the smoke for the fire. Do not think that Obaku is denying the value of a teacher; he
just does not want you to cling. True mind is the true teacher. Learn from the teacher
what it is to be adequate, appropriate, and don't cling to ideas of what teachers should
be or what students should be. Realize the Dharma. Realize the true mind as your true
teacher. That is the vow of the Buddha.

________________________

Dogen - Ehei Koroku

tr Shokaku Okumura & Taigen Dan Leighton

The Ultimate Function within Stages

301. Dharma Hall Discourse

The beginning and advanced ordinary practitioners are like bamboo on the mountain
and the cypress tree in the garden. The incomplete and ultimate sages are like spring
flowers and the autumn moon.1 Practice so that there is no Zen in the world of Zen, and
to be clear that you have no desires within the world of desire. Throughout the entire
world, there is nobody who understands Buddha Dharma. In all the great country of
Tang China, there are just gobblers of dregs. Expounding one thing does not hit the

1 “Beginning and advanced ordinary practitioners” refers to people in the first ten, and then the next
thirty, of the fifty-two stages of bodhisattva development. “Beginning and advanced” are literally outer
and inner, the former still subject to backsliding and leaving the path. These fifty-two stages are depicted
in the Gandavyuha Sutra, the final chapter of the Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower Ornament Sutra).“The
incomplete and ultimate sages” refers to the final twelve stages for the incomplete sages, and the stage
of buddhahood, beyond the fifty-two, for the ultimate sage. See Cleary, Entry into the Realm of Reality.
mark. Not accompanied by the ten thousand things, what stages could there be?2
What do you use this for?

Book of Serenity
tr Thomas Cleary

Case: Huangbo said to the assembly, "You people are all slurpers of dregs. If you travel
like this, where will you have today? Do you know that in all of China there are no
teathers of Chan?” At that point a monk came forward and said, "What about those
who guide followers and lead groups in various places?” Huangbo said, "I don't say
there's no Chan, just that there are no teachers."

________________________

The Zen Teaching of Huangbo

tr John Bloefeld

When the Master had taken his place in the assembly hall, he began: 'You people are
just like drunkards. I don't know how you manage to keep on your feet in such a
sodden condition. Why, everyone will die of laughing at you. It all seems SO EASY, so
why do we have to live to see a day like this? Can't you understand that in the whole
Empire of Tang? there are No "teachers skilled in Zen"?

At this point, one of the monks present asked: 'How can you say that? At this very
moment, as all can see, we are sitting face to face with one who has appeared in the
world & to be a teacher of monks and a leader of men!'

2 “Expounding one thing does not hit the mark” is the response of Nanyue Huairang, after eight years of
consideration in practice, to the question addressed to him by the sixth ancestor, Huineng. When
Nanyue first arrived Huineng had asked him, “What is this that thus comes?” See Ogata, Transmission of
the Lamp, p. 162. “Not accompanied by the ten thousand things” is from Layman Pangyun’s question to
Mazu, “Who is the person not accompanied by the ten thousand things?” Mazu responded, “When you
can swallow the whole West River in one gulp, I’ll tell you.” Layman Pang then remained with Mazu for
two years, studying with him. See Ogata, Transmission of the Lamp, pp. 293–294. “What stages could
there be?” is a saying by Huineng. When Qingyuan Xingsi asked him how to practice so as not to fall
into stages, Huineng asked what practice he had been doing. Qingyuan said he did not even practice
the sacred truth, and Huineng said, in that case, “What stages could there be?” See the commentary to
case 5 about Qingyuan in the Shoyoroku; Cleary, Book of Serenity, p. 20.
"Please note that I did not say there is no ZEN,' answered our Master. 'I merely pointed
out that there are no TEACHERS!

Later, Wei Shan reported this conversation to Yang Shan and asked what it implied.

Said Yang Shan: That swan is able to extract the pure milk from the adulterated
mixture. It is very clear that he is not just an ordinary duck!'

'Ah,' responded the other. 'Yes, the point he made was

very subtle.
________________________

Zen’s Chinese Heritage (Compendium of Five Lamps)

tr Andy Ferguson

One day, Zen master Huangbo entered the hall to speak. When a very large
assembly of monks had gathered, he said, “What is it that you people are all seeking
here?”
He then used his staff to try and drive them away, but they didn’t leave. So
Huangbo returned to his seat and said, “You people are all dreg-slurpers. If you go on
a pilgrimage seeking in this way you’ll just earn people’s laughter. When you see eight
hundred or a thousand people gathered somewhere you go there. There’s no telling
what trouble this will cause.
“When I was traveling on pilgrimage and came upon some fellow ‘beneath the
grass roots’ [a teacher], then I’d hammer him on the top of the head and see if he
understood pain, and [thus] support him from an overflowing rice bag! If all I ever
found were the likes of you here, then how would we ever realize the great matter
that’s before us today? If you people want to call what you’re doing a ‘pilgrimage,’ then
you should show a little spirit! Do you know that today in all the great Tang there are no
Zen teachers?”
A monk then asked, “In all directions there are worthies expounding to countless
students. Why do you say there are no Zen teachers?”
Huangbo said, “I didn’t say there is no Zen, just that there are no teachers. None of
you see that although Zen master Mazu had eighty-four Dharma heirs, only two or
three of them actually gained Mazu’s Dharma eye. One of them is Zen master Guizong
of Mt. Lu. Home leavers must know what has happened in former times before they
can start to understand. Otherwise you will be like the Fourth Ancestor’s student
Niutou, speaking high and low but never understanding the critical point. If you
possess the Dharma eye, then you can distinguish between true and heretical
teachings and you’ll deal with the world’s affairs with ease. But if you don’t understand,
and only study some words and phrases or recite sutras, and then put them in your bag
and set off on pilgrimage saying ‘I understand Zen,’ then will they be of any benefit
even for your own life and death? If you’re unmindful of the worthy ancients you’ll
shoot straight into hell like an arrow. I know about you as soon as I see you come
through the temple gate. How will you gain an understanding? You have to make an
effort. It isn’t an easy matter. If you just wear a sheet of clothing and eat meals, then
you’ll spend your whole life in vain. Clear-eyed people will laugh at you. Eventually the
common people will just get rid of you. If you go seeking far and wide, how will this
resolve the great matter? If you understand, then you understand. If you don’t, then
get out of here! Take care!”