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and he had been succeeded by Ju-ching -- a man who had soared high and touched the peaks of consciousness, who had dived deep and touched the depths of his being, who had moved vertically upwards and downwards, who had traveled through all his conscious territory. This man Ju-ching proved to be a man who answered doubts, settled them, because Dogen was still carrying the same question: that if buddhahood is your nature, then why is any discipline needed?
It was Ju-ching who said, "No discipline is needed. No discipline, nowhere to go, no way to be traveled ... just be, silent, settled, at the very center of your being, and you are a buddha. You are missing it because you are looking and trying everywhere else except within you. You will never find your buddhahood by changing this monastery for another monastery, this master for another master. Go in!"
Ju-ching is known as one of the finest masters, a very fine sword that cuts things immediately. His presence, his fragrance, his grace ... Dogen remained with him, never asking a question, just drinking the very presence of the master, the very atmosphere, the very climate -- getting drowned.
And a moment always comes ... An ancient Tibetan proverb says, "If the disciple is ready, the master appears." The whole question is of the disciple being ready. But the disciple can be ready only if he comes across a man of consciousness -- not a man only of words, but a man of the experience -- who has been to the highest peaks, to the lowest depths. And just being close to him one can feel the vibe, the coolness.
He radiates the truth; and if you are ready, suddenly something clicks. All doubts disappear, you know you have found the master. Now there is nothing to be asked. Whatever is needed, the master will give it. In fact, it is only because of the poverty of language that we say, "The master will give it." The truth is, when you are ready it simply showers on you -- the master cannot even prevent it. The master is already radiating, just the doors of your being are closed. So those vibrations, and they are simply vibrations, return back. If the doors are open, nothing is said and everything
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