CH'AN BHIKSUNI MO SHAN

[Shi Da Dao]

‘Ch’an master Kuan Ch’i was a disciple of Lin Chi but did not realise the truth in spite of having stayed several years at his master’s monastery. One day, he (left his master) to call at other places (for instruction). When he arrived at a nunnery on Mo Shan Mountain, a little nun reported his arrival to (Ch’an Bhikshuni) Mo Shan who sent her attendant to ask him this question; ‘Venerable Master, do you come here for sightseeing or for learning the Buddha Dharma?’ Kuan Ch’I replied that he came for learning the Buddha Dharma. Mo Shan said: ‘If you come for the Buddha Dharma, there are here also rules about beating the drum and ascending to the seat.’ Thereupon, she ascended to her seat, but Kuan Ch’i bowed only and did not kneel down. Mo Shan asked him: ‘What place did the Venerable Bhiksu leave today?’ He replied: ‘I left the entrance to the road.’ She asked him: ‘Why didn’t you cover it up?’ Kuan Ch’i could not reply and knelt down (to pay his respects), asking: ‘What is Mo Shan?’ She replied: ‘The top of the head is not exposed.’ He asked: ‘Who is the owner of Mo Shan (Mountain)?’ She replied: ‘He is neither male nor female.’ He shouted: ‘Why does he not transform himself?’ She asked back: ‘He is neither a ghost nor a spirit, into what should he transform?’ He could not reply and submitted to her authority. He became a gardener at the nunnery where he stayed three years during which he was completely enlightened.’

(Master Xu Yun – Ch’an Week, Shanghai, 1953 – Ch'an and Zen Teaching - First Series - Page 87)