JAN KOTT
343
A commenta ry is a key, bu t to a no the r door in a cas tl e with
thousands of rooms. T he way to hell- the cha pla in mi ght have
added - is paved with good comme ntaries. H ence the bewilde rment
of comme ntators.
II
Zen Buddhi sm , like the K a bbala h , is a symbolic interpre ta tion
of eterna l Truth a nd the esse nce o f Being. Truth is nondi scursive
and may be gras ped or summoned with a symbolic gesture rathe r
than a rti cul a ted in la nguage . C hLi C hi ch of the ninth century is
regarded as one o f the grea tes t mas te rs of Zen Buddhi sm. A pa rable
about thi s celebra ted mas te r has
surv ived
a nd is cited in the
~xcelle nt
study
Sense and Nonsense in Z en Buddh ism
by T oshihiko Izutsu , a
phenome nologist a nd one of the leading schola rs of oriental
philosophy.
Thi s Ma ter , wheneve r a nd wha tever he was asked about
Zen , used to stick up one fin ge r.. .. 'Wha t is the supreme a nd
absolute Tru th?'-answer : the silent ra ising of one fin ge r . 'Wha t
is the esse nce of Buddhism?' - a nswer : again the selfsame sile nt
ra ising of one fin ger .
*
The mas te r's favorite was a youn g boy who had been put unde r hi s
tutelage a nd who
se rved
him a t home. The boy ca refully obse rved
his mas te r a nd , as pupils usuall y do, began to imita te him.
Wheneve r he was as ked about Zen or Buddha, he, like hi s teache r ,
raised hi s index fin ge r . When the mas te r found out wha t the boy had
been doin g behind hi s back, he became furi ous. One morning he hid
a sha rp knife in the sleeve of hi s kimono, summoned the boy, a nd
as ked him :
'Wha t is Buddha?' The boy stuck up one fin ge r . Mas ter C hLi
C hi ch sudde nly took hold of the boy and cut oH' with the knife the
finger whi ch the boy had j ust ra ised . As the poo r boy was
running out of the room sc reaming with pain , the Mas ter called
to him . At tha t ve ry mome nt q uick as li ghtning came the
*Toshihiko !zutsu, "Sense a nd onsense in Zen Budd hism,"
Eranos 1970
( Leiden:
1973), V . 39,
pp .
184-86.
