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Blue Cliff Records

Case 11: Huang-Po’s Gobblers of Dregs

Introduction

The great capacity of buddhas and ancestors is completely within this person’s control. The lifeline of humans and gods is subject to this person’s direction. With a casual word or phrase she astounds the crowd and stirs the masses. With one device, one object, she smashes chains and knocks off fetters. Meeting transcendental potential she brings up transcendental matters. But tell me, who has ever appeared like this? Is there anyone who knows where this person is? To test I cite this story. Look!

The Case

Huang-po instructing the community said: All of you students are gobblers of dregs. If you go about traveling in this way, if you go about like this, when will you meet today? Don’t you know that there is no zen teacher in all of the land of China.

At that moment a student came forward and said: What about all those people who teach meditation and lead communities?

Huang-po said: I did not say that there was no zen; it’s just that there are no teachers of zen.