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more loudly, "Aha! That means the proverb is wrong: dead men do bleed. This is a proof!"
Now, what to do with people? If you want to help them, it is not an easy job. It is one of the most difficult things to help somebody towards spiritual exploration, to move someone towards his inner space.
That's exactly my work here.
My only concern is to make you aware of your innermost center, and then everything will follow on its own accord.
The sutras:
OUR BELOVED MASTER,
ON ONE OCCASION, YAKUSAN WROTE DOWN THE CHINESE CHARACTER SIGNIFYING BUDDHA, AND ASKED HIS DISCIPLE, DOGO: "WHAT IS THIS LETTER?"
DOGO REPLIED, "IT IS THE LETTER FOR `BUDDHA'."
Perfectly factual and right -- but in the vision of a master it is a totally different thing.
Does Dogo think that the master does not know what the character signifies? His answer implies that the master is ignorant of the significance of the Chinese character.
If he had understood, he would have remained silent. His silence would have been the right answer. He would have remained silent, showing the master that "You know it already, why are you harassing me?" But, on the contrary, he said, "IT IS THE LETTER FOR `BUDDHA'." He showed his knowledge.
Before a master you should show your heart, you should show your innocence, not your knowledge. All knowledge is rubbish! All knowledge is borrowed. Dogo missed the point.
YAKUSAN COMMENTED, "YOU ARE A MONK SO FULL OF CHATTER!" -- and he had only said one word. But the master is right. One word has come out, but the chattering mind -- yakkety-yak, yakkety-yak -- goes on inside. From where has this "buddha" come? From that yakkety-yak, he has just pulled out one word. He is not a silent man.
The master was disappointed. He hoped that Dogo would remain silent, knowing that "The master knows, he is unnecessarily pulling my leg." Or, if he wanted to answer him, he could have touched his feet. This would have showed that "That character shows you, the buddha."
Gautam the Buddha is not the only buddha in the history of the world; there have been thousands of buddhas around the world, in different
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