Suigan's Eyebrows

Engo's commentary on the case

The ancients had morning inquiry and evening request. At summer's end Suigan nevertheless instructed the assembly in this way. His words were forbiddingly steep and shook heaven and earth. Tell me: the complete canon, all 5,048 fascicles, cannot avoid speaking of mind and nature, sudden and gradual. Does it contain this news? At such a moment Suigan is extraordinary. Where does his intent land? The ancients never lowered a hook in vain; there had to be a principle by which they served people. Many misunderstand: “In broad daylight Suigan spoke irrelevant words and made trouble where there was none. At summer's end he confessed first and inspected himself so that no one else could inspect him.” Happily, that has nothing to do with it. Such a view extinguishes the foreigner's lineage. If successive ancestral teachers appeared without showing anything to people, what benefit would there be? What would they intend? See through here, and you know that the ancients could drive off the farmer's ox and snatch food from the hungry. People today bite at words and make a livelihood on the eyebrows. Those inside the house naturally know Suigan's path. Through a thousand transformations and gnarled joints, every step has a road of emergence. Thus they could answer him as they did. If Suigan's words held nothing extraordinary, why would Unmon, Hofuku, and Changqing all chatter responses? Hofuku said, “A thief's heart is uneasy.” That line alone provokes all the conceptual explanations just mentioned. What was Hofuku's intent? Never search for an ancient beneath his words. Generate a thought and he exchanges your eyes. Hofuku's turning phrase cut off Suigan's heels. Changqing said, “They have grown.” Many say he followed behind Suigan and therefore affirmed that the eyebrows grew. That has nothing to do with it. Changqing brought out his own seeing. Each had a place of emergence. Where did the growing occur? Before an expert, it is like using the diamond king's sword directly. Break ordinary views and cut off gain and loss, right and wrong; only then do you see where Changqing answered him. Unmon said, “Barrier.” Extraordinary, but difficult to investigate. Unmon often instructed people through one-character Zen; within the single character, all three phrases had to be present. The ancients' responses to the occasion differed completely from those of people today. This is a model of placing a phrase. Though Unmon said “Barrier,” his intent certainly was not lodged in that word. Since it was not there, where was it? You must investigate carefully for yourself. A clear-eyed person whose hands illuminate heaven and earth is transparent in every direction. For the single word “Barrier,” Setchō threaded Unmon and the other three onto one string in verse. If Setchō had not compassionately versified it this way to let people see, how could he be called a good teacher? Each action of the ancients came from necessity. Students cling to their words and generate more interpretation, so they fail to see the intent. If someone now overturned the Zen seat and shouted the assembly apart, you could not blame him. Even so, he would need truly to have reached this ground. Setchō says, “Through a thousand ages, no match.” Suigan only asked, “Are Suigan's eyebrows still there?” What is extraordinary enough to be unmatched for a thousand ages? Know that when an ancient emitted half a phrase, it was never casual. He needed an eye that could settle heaven and earth. Setchō's half phrases are like the diamond sword, a ground-crouching lion, stone-struck sparks, a lightning flash. Without an eye in the crown, how could you see where the ancient landed? Suigan's instruction truly is unmatched for a thousand ages, surpassing Tokusan's staff and Rinzai's shout. Where is Setchō's intent in serving people? How do you understand “unmatched”? The word “Barrier” answers him: losing money and incurring punishment. What does this mean? Even with an eye that penetrates barriers, you must be careful. Was it Suigan who lost money and incurred punishment? Setchō? Unmon? Penetrate this and I permit that you possess an eye. Down-and-out Hofuku— his lowering and raising are hard to catch. He lowers himself and raises the ancient. Where does Hofuku lower, and where raise? Chattering Suigan clearly is a thief. What did he steal? Setchō calls him a thief; never merely follow Setchō's line. Here you must have your own command. A white jade tablet without a blemish— who can distinguish true and false? This versifies Suigan as flawless white jade. Very few can distinguish him. Setchō had great talent and threaded the case from beginning to end. Only at the last does he say: Changqing knows him well: the eyebrows have grown. Tell me: where did they grow? Look quickly.