12. Zen Master Unbong

If you say Zen is Zen,

It's like looking for life

After beheading a man;

If you say Zen is not Zen,

It's like resting spire on top of spire.

Where then do we look for the truth of Zen meditation? It lies deep in the bosom of each one of us. If we clarify it, the truth of our everyday life and movements is made clear. One who has discovered the essence of Zen meditation will become a dharmaraja (dharma King) and will be unrestricted in everything he thinks and does.

At the time of the Japanese annexation of Korea, Zen priest Unbong, who had been approved by Zen Master Hyewŏl, was a retreat with him. Dermined priests had gathered at Mangwŏl Monastery, Yangju, Kyonggi-do, to practice meditation under the guidance of Master Yongsŏng (龍城), making a 30-year alliance. Master Unbong performed the duties of a disciplinarian. One day master Yongsŏng mounted  the platform and delivered a sermon to the priests:

"All the Buddhas of the past, present, and future cannot see me, nor can the preceding Zen masters see me. Where will you find me?"

At that moment, Unbong rise and answered,

"You have hidden in the grass urn."

Hearing this, Master Yongsŏng dismounted the platform silently.

This was a very good answer. It represents an unblemished evaluation confrontation, one which would be approved by one thousand Buddhas and ten thousand preceding Zen Masters.

Today let me participate in this evaluation confrontation; I want you to learn from it, too. If I had been there, this I would have been my response:

眞獅子善能獅子吼

A real lion is roaring the roar of a lion.

With this utterance, the lecture hall would have brightened.

The following anecdote is for your instruction: Unbong had been practicing meditation under the guidance of Man'gong (滿空) at Sudŏksa on Mount Dŏksung. Zen Master Man'gong had preached a discourse, quoting yangsaeng kwajahwa (孃生袴子話), a precept that emphasizes the importance of  guidance in Zen meditation.

In former times, when the enlightened priest Un'gŏ (雲居) gave a public sermon, the wunso napja (雲水衲子), meaning priests participating in a traveling retreat, and danapati, men and women who make dana, offerings, gathered to hear his sermon and be guided. At that time, a certain monk had been engaged in meditation for tens of years at a mountain cell near the temple. This monk did not leave his cell to offer greetings or hear Un'gŏ's sermon. Wunkuh decided to check up on him. He sent his attendant to the monk's cell and told him to walk up and down in front of the monk. The attendant did so, but the monk showed no response. Finally the attendant, asked him why he never came to the temple, even though Un'gŏ had held public sermons for years.

Hearing this, the monk said,

"Even if Sakyamuni Buddha were born again and held a public sermon, I wouldn't listen to him."

Hearing this report from his attendant, and it being the summertime, Master Un'gŏ had some well-sewed hemp clothes wrapped up and given to him. The attendant, going back to the cell and delivering the package, said,

"The chief of The Meditation Hall has asked me to offer these summer clothes to you."

However, the monk refused to accept the gift, saying,

"I have inherited enough clothes from my parents to last me the rest of my life. Why do I need more apparel?"

The attendant reported this back to the chief. Master Un'gŏ, listening to his report, told him to approach the monk one more time and ask him what kind of clothes he had worn before he was born. The attendant then entered the cell again and asked the monk,

"What kind of clothes did you wear before you were born?"

As soon as this question had been uttered, the monk got stuck and became numb.

Listening to this report from the attendant, Sŏnim Un'gŏ said,

"I have doubted him since he took residence here."

After a while, the monk at the mountain cell unclothed his body in a sitting position. The monks in the temple then had to undertake the cremation of his body, from which colorful sariras emerged. The people on the mountain were impressed by the sarira restoration from the cremation of the dead monk, but Zen Master Un'gŏ commented,

"Even though the dead monk left colorful sariras behind, this is no better than giving a correct response to the question."

After Sŏnim Mankong had related the details of this episode, he asked the congregation,

"Say, what kind of clothes did you wear before you were born?"

Hearing this, Unbong rose from his seat and answered,

"In summer I wore Andongp'o (安東布 the light hemp clothes made in Andong) and in winter I wore warm Chinju cotton clothes."

What is your answer to this question? My answer is this:

I'll come three steps forward, then go backward three steps, and stand there.

Do you understand Unbong?

He was gifted with the eye of wisdom so as to be the guide of the world!

[On the 15th of November, 1990]

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