The Case: A Monk asked Yunmen, “When not producing a single thought, is there any fault or not?”
Yunmen said, “Mount Sumeru.”
The Verse: Not producing a single thought—Mount Sumeru;
Yunmen’s gift of teaching is not stingy in intent.
If you come with acceptance, he imparts with both hands;
If you go on doubting, it’s so high you can’t get a hold.
The blue ocean is wide,
The white clouds are peaceful;
Don’t put so much as the tip of a hair in there.
A phony cock crow can hardly fool me—
I still won’t agree to let you pass through the gate in confusion.
Welcome back to our investigation of Koans, sometimes called Koan Study. This time we study Yunmen’s “Sumeru” from the Book of Serenity.
We Investigate
Yunmen, when he replies with “Mount Sumeru” is often considered as brushing off the Monks’ question. How can “Mount Sumeru” answer a question about non-thought. When investigating the verse, we see find the truth of this skillful answer.
“Mount Sumeru” has never moved, is capable of accommodating and receiving clouds, sun, rain and moon alike. Mountains and Rivers are Buddha and Buddhanature. The Mountain pose is considered the core Yogic pose. Yunmen’s saying don’t get caught up in such thoughts, accepting all. His answer is a gift, to cut through the chatter, snapping the mind back into reality.
The answer is also a test. If you can see “Mount Sumeru” as the answer, Yunmen sees that your mind remains open and unmoved, and that you understand, not the theory, but the lived. Beyond the idea, into the actual. It’s in this spirit that Nothing is “imparted” in the teaching, a Gassho is given, bowing to the Buddhanature of the Monk, and closing the encounter.
If “Mount Sumeru” raises thoughts, questions, or doubt, there’s mental chatter. And the mountain is so high ‘you can’t get a hold’. Reality is clouded, and you are unable to ‘get a grip’ of the true nature. Dharma can’t be understood by the mind, Reality is not something that can be thought about, it’s present, it’s now, it’s both before and beyond the thinking mind.
Here The Verse points us away from mind, and back to reality, throwing in a metaphor or two. The blue ocean is to be seen as limitless, and the peaceful white clouds question not, accepting all. Again we are hit with ‘don’t think about this, live it’.
Don’t think, live
For me this koan keeps repeating ‘don’t think, live’. Accept all things as they are, as they come and as they go. Don’t cling. Be open to the limitless. Experience. It’s been wonderful to analyze. I hope you enjoy it, and I’d love to hear your take on it.
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Hi there, I liked this. I’ve been looking at Zen koans recently and wondering about them. I didn’t use them as I practiced Vipassana but I believe they are an equally valid finger pointing to the moon. Don’t look at the finger! I wrote a blog post today about thought – so this post was right up the same alley… Thought is very strange when we really look at it. At least mine is! Great post – I’ll read more of your blog by grabbing the RSS feed here in a second. Thanks – Vern
Hi Wade, I loved following your reasoning behind the koan.
Yunmen gave the monk an answer that forced his mind into stillness, forced his mind into an experience of not producing a single thought. In that moment, the monk knew the answer to his question.
Interestingly, the monk answered his own question. The word fault and the concepts it represents are nothing but thoughts! No thought, no fault, because no concept of fault. Beautiful. I must read some more koans!
@Vern, It’s great that your discovering and exploring Koans. As you’ve said, they point to reality as directly as possible using language. Generally shattering and illuminating some mental concept along the way. I’ll be popping by to your blog after this to check out your post, thanks for the head’s up.
@Tom, Thanks for the kind words. I love your view too. Right on
If your after a book on Koan’s I’d suggest The True Dharma Eye, by Master Dogen, translated by Daido Roshi. Would love to read more Koans and commentary on the ‘net.
May all beings be blessed by the Dharma.
Gassho,
Wade
But what if the answer had been Edmund Hilary?
@Evan, what do you think?
Peace to all.
Gassho,
Wade
Sumeru?
Hey Wade, Thanks for the book. I’ve wanted to read Dogen as I’ve heard his named bantered about as one of the great Zen dudes (I’m irreverent, I know). I love Buddhism.
My serious point is the role of thought.
The koans always have commentary. Do we really value mountains more than incisive analysis?
It seems to me that our thoughts are part of our being. A part that can be misused certainly (I think it was Edward Tellar who decided to not work on the hydrogen bomb but then changed his mind because the problems involved “were so incredibly sweet”.) but then our emotions and actions are often misdirected also.
It seems to me that ‘thinking about’ has its place. Not the inflated place given it by our absurd schooling system, and certainly not in place of immediate experience, but a place none the less.
Isn’t Edmund Hilary scaling a mountain also worthy of contemplation? And it involved planning as well as having great awareness in the moment to moment doing of climbing.
I’m a person who likes to cling. I hold my breath in stressful situations and worry about the past. I’m trying to use these habits as a stepping stone. When I do this I remind myself to just relax and be in the moment. Over these past few years I’ve slowly started to develop a trigger, so now when I hold my breath within a few seconds I’m relaxing in the moment. I feel like I’m finally beginning to enjoy my life.
Great post, Wade.
Mount Sumeru stands right before us, majestic and glistening with an ice cap that cuts through our delusions. But do we see it? Thoughts are like so many clouds drifting past its peak – look too closely at them and the mountain disappears behind their wispy form!
“Don’t think, live” is a wonderful way to summarize the depth of Master Yunmen’s incisive response to the inquiring monk. That we are all ‘inquiring monks’ – one way or another – leads us to ponder the same question regarding these minds of ours. Seeing that each mind appears in the One Mind (that is in fact no ‘mind’ at all!) is our own moment of setting our eyes on Mount Sumeru. What a glorious sight!
G at ‘Forest Wisdom’/’Buddha Space’.
@Evan, Returning with Sumeru? Is not the same as the thought awkening of “Mount Sumeru”.
There’s a koan that investigates the same answer being given by two different people, and how different the answer, even though with same words is mountains and rivers apart.
Of course there is a place for thinking, it’s a tool to be used, not consuming of the person. Far to often we are lost in thought, trapped from reality and the present. We only learn, and live if we are outside of thought, present.
You’ve got to see this Koan as over 1000 years old, how could Edmund Hilary be the answer back then? Mountains for a long time have represented Buddha and Buddha Nature. It’s a loaded answer and test question at the same time. Even in the Modern Day, I wouldn’t answer this koan with anything that moves, or rapidly(vs a mountain) perishes like a human.
A koan in return to answer you; Even in thought, “Mount Sumeru”
@Tom, My pleasure. Dogen isn’t just a great Zen dude, he’s the founder of the Soto Zen Linage, which is the most common form of Zen today. His work is poetic, dialetic, profound, and simple at the same time. I always feel refreshed after reading his work. Enjoy.
@Karl, great to hear your starting to let go and open up into life. It’s a constant practice, a constant learning, but as Thich Nhat Hanh says, Peace is Every step.Not some destination, but all the way, from start to finish.
@Gary, thanks for the comments on the post, and your commentary. I like your image of the glistening ice cap cutting through the clouds of delusion. May we all see Mount Sumeru.
May all beings be happy.
Gassho,
Wade
Hi Wade,
My reason for my mention of Edmund Hilary was that he was a person and I guess I thought of him because he’s associated with mountains.
My point was that the reference was too a thoughtless insensate thing. Not a person. Why is the inorganic priveleged? I find this a worry in a lot of zen stuff. Why couldn’t the answer have been a person instead of a mountain?
It’s not possible for Mt Sumeru to be at fault. Is the point that if we do away with thought we become faultless? But as you say our thoughts are useful.
I simply don’t see why thoughts can’t participate in being. I certainly experience my thoughts as part of me, don’t you? If this is illusion why should it be so? It is not demonstrated that the meditative/thoughts-quieted state is better than thinking. I think that thinking and planning, passionate thought and engagement, is entirely compatible with compassion.
Certainly Mt Sumeru in thought. This is my point. As you note the mountain is a symbol in this koan. Symbols occur in thought.
This kind of philosophy reminds me of how people can approach dream analysis. Symbols stand out for each of us. We all have our own version of Mt Sumeru. How we perceive it and react to it say a lot about our progress on other levels. We each seek guides, but not all of us listen.
Hi Wade,
What a wonderful loving eye-opener. Thank you for creating it and exposing me to the brilliant mind.
Deepest respect always
Terry
Mount Sumeru is a mountain.
When not producing thought, Mt. Sumeru is a mountain. When producing thought, it is still a mountain. In contemplating the mountain (in the context of the monk’s question), it may be that Yunmen’s response was meant to show the Monk that fault and no-fault are irrelevant when no thoughts are being produced.
That’s how I see it, anyway.
@Liara, Interesting point of view. I like it. We all have our own symbols based on our own time, place, position, and people. Evan is a testament to this. Our whole lives, Indra’s Net, shape how we view Mt Sumeru. Yunmen tries to break through the Net.
@Terry, Deepest respect, as always to you. Your warmth is always appreciated. I hope to continue sharing and growing with you, and all my other readers for a long time to come yet
@Jinn, Hi, I like your interpretation; it ‘fits’ nicely
May all beings be blessed by the Dharma.
Gassho,
Wade