Instruction:

Presenting it directly and playing alone. Carrying water and moving mud. Drumming and singing occur together. Silver mountains and iron walls. Hesitate a moment and you see a ghost before your skull. Reflect an instant and you sit under a black mountain. It is shining under bright sunny skies. A pure wind travels over the earth. Just say: Did the ancients get involved in entanglements? To test, I cite this case. Look!

Case:

Layman Hô was leaving Yakusan's temple. Yakusan ordered ten of his monks to see him off at the gate. Layman Hô pointed to the falling snow in the air, and said, "Beautiful snow flakes! They don't fall on any other place." Among the monks was one named Zen, who asked, "Where do they fall?" Layman Hô gave him a slap. Zen said, "Don't be so rough, Layman Hô." Layman Hô said, "If you speak of yourself as a Zen monk while in such a poor condition, Emma will never release you." "What about you Layman Hô?", asked Zen. Layman Hô slapped him again, "You see with your eyes, but you are just like a blind man. You speak with your mouth, but you are just like a dumb man."

Setchô commented saying: "At the first words, I would only have hit him with a snow ball!"

Verse:

The snowball hits! The snowball hits!

Old Hô's activity cannot be grasped.

Neither angels nor humans know it for themselves.

In my eyes and in my ears, an indescribable freshness.

Indescribable freshness.

Even the blue-eyed barbarian monk has trouble discerning it.

Links:

List of posted koans, and introduction to Hekiganroku

Extended commentary on verse, case and introduction.