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buddhas around the world, in different parts of the world. They may not be known as buddhas, because `buddha' simply means the awakened one. It is not the name of Gautam Buddha; his name was Gautam Siddharth. Buddha is his awakening, his enlightenment, his knowing himself and existence.
Anybody who becomes awakened can be called a buddha, it is nobody's monopoly. The word does not belong to Gautam Buddha, it is not his name; it is the quality that has happened to him, his awakening. Anybody awake, anywhere in the world, has the right to be called a buddha.
Yakusan was an enlightened master, with thousands of disciples. Hundreds became enlightened under his guidance. Just touching his feet would have been the right gesture of a man of understanding, that "It signifies you." But there is no need to use words. Just touch the feet of the master. Or, if you have courage enough, then slap the master: "What do you mean? You know it and still you want to harass me?"
In Zen, slapping the master is a very common routine. It is the only religion in which the master and the disciple are not inferior or superior. Sometimes the master hits the disciple, sometimes the disciple hits the master.
A great master, Rinzai, called his most intimate disciple suddenly in the middle of the night. The disciple was meditating outside the master's house. He came in.
The master said, "I had to call you. I love to hit you. As I see it, you are coming too close; by the morning you will be a buddha, and I will not be able to hit you. So this is the last time" -- and he hit him! And the disciple touched his feet in gratitude.
Zen is a very special world. It has its own ways which are absolutely unknown outside this small stream of buddhas. It is not an organized religion, it is pure religion, simple religion. The individual is far more important than the church.
It was so loving of Rinzai to call his disciple. Slapping him was sheer love and joy: "I have been enjoying slapping you for years. From tomorrow morning, I will not be able to slap you; on the contrary, if you want you can slap me."
And exactly the next morning, the disciple came
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