Unity Through Harmony

A monastic once asked Zen Master Tozan, "Among the three bodies, which one does not fall into any category?"  I have also heard this question phrased, "Among the three buddha bodies, which one expounds the dharma?"

Same question, really.  The dharma, the Buddha's teaching, states that all things are in essence one, so any categorization, any division or separation, is just a construct of the human mind.  To not fall into any category is to expound the dharma, and as nothing actually falls into any category, all things expound the dharma.  So the three bodies, which themselves are merely three different views of the same reality, all transcend categorization and each expounds the dharma.  The monastic's question is clouded in confusion.

The noted biologist Richard Dawkins once pointed out that if there were no extinction and if every species and subspecies of living being that has ever existed were still alive on the face of the planet, these would be a complete continuum between every living thing.  We would be unable to say where Homo sapiens ended and where Homo erectus (or whichever) began, and there would be no discernible point between even mammals and reptiles, or between birds and reptiles, or even vertebrates and invertebrates.  The only reason we can divide living things into "species" is because there are so many gaps owing to extinction,.but without those gaps, the concept of species would be meaningless.  There is, in reality, only life, and division of life into species, speciation, is just another construct of the human mind.  

Tozan does not tell the monk that he is clouded in confusion.  He does not argue, and he does not oppose the monk's premise.  When Joshu is asked by a monk "How can I throw away nothing?", Joshu does not argue but tells the monk to carry it with him then.  When the Sixth Ancestor Hui-Neng is confronted by the monk Ming demanding the robe and the bowl, Hui-Neng does not protest but merely sets it down and offers it to him.  Opposition does not resolve differences; unity is achieved through harmony.

It is better for the monastic to realize his confusion for himself.  When Tozan replies, "I am always sharp at this concrete place," he is merely holding his view up for the monastic to contrast with his own, and to realize for himself the confusion in his question.

This is why when another monastic asked Zen Master Sozan what "I am always sharp at this concrete place"  meant, Sozan replied, "If you need a head, chop my head off and take it with you."  A severed head can't think for you, and you can't access the knowledge in a severed head.  In other words, don't rely on my explanation, as my understanding won't do you any good.  Look into it for yourself.  He kindly allows his monastic the same opportunity to see for himself that Tozan had provided to his monastic. 

Zen Master Seppo simply hit his monastic with a staff.  This was not in punishment, but a "wake up" reminder that we are in the here and now and to stop such idle speculation.  "I too have been to Tozan," can mean that Seppo once had the same confusion and the same question - or same sort of question - as the monk who first asked Tozan, or it could mean that Seppo has the same understanding as Tozan.  Or both.