A Taoist Perspective: Shīfu Zhàng's Mysterious Cane Points the Way

"Mayoku walked around his old Zen friend, Shifu Zhang, three times and then thumped his staff on the ground.
Shifu Zhang stood up, walked around Mayoku once, tapped his cane three times on the wall, and said "The power of the wind can topple trees and is gone by morning. My cane can cut through the wind."


Zen Master Hakuin Ekaku asked his Daoist friend, Shifu Zhang, "Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?"
Shifu Zhang picked up his beautiful cane in one hand, and then quickly tapped it eight times on the floor.
Hakuin Ekaku smiled and said, "Indeed, Shifu Zhang's cane is louder than the sound of one hand, but it must be sanded and polished more."


Zen Master Baqiao told his old friend, "If you have a staff, I will give you a staff; if you have no staff, I will take your staff away."
His friend, Shifu Zhang, replied "I have a cane and you don't. Would you like to borrow yours?"
Baqiao replied, "Shifu Zhang, you will have to walk into Hell!"
Shifu Zhang raised his eyebrows and said, "Well, Baqiao, then I will need to borrow my cane for the long hot walk. Sorry, but I can't lend yours to you."


Gathering together in an orchard of blooming sweet lime trees, the students waited for their esteemed teacher, Kasyapa. Slowly walking down the dirt path, relying on his danda walking staff for balance, Kasyapa joined his students. He sat quietly for a long time, enjoying the fragrance of the lime blossoms. Finally, he raised his danda staff. Everyone stared at Kasyapa - serious, intent, focused, and silent. Only Shifu Zhang smiled, and then lifted his cane. Kasyapa pointed his danda at Shifu Zhang. Another transmission was completed. The sacred thread remained unbroken.


Zen Master Seung Sahn held up his staff in front of old Shifu Zhang, and said "Then, what are this staff, this sound and your mind? Are they the same or different? If you say "same," I will hit you thirty times. If you say "different," I will also hit you thirty times. Why?"
Shifu Zhang lifted his cane slowly and pointed it at Seung Sahn's face, and then he said "Don't know! Same or different, nobody can hit the sound of our minds."


Zen Master Shuzan held out his short staff in front of his Taoist friend, Shifu Zhang, and said "If you call this a short staff, you oppose its reality and are clinging. If you do not call it a short staff, then you ignore the fact. Now what do you wish to call this?"
Shifu Zhang smiled, dropped and pointed to his cane, and said "Yesterday it was a wooden walking stick that helped without speaking. Tomorrow it may become firewood, crackling in the flames."


Zen Master Yunmen Wenyan and Shifu Zhang were walking together in the hills behind the monastery one cloudy autumn afternoon. It began to rain steadily on the two old friends. Yunmen said, "My staff has changed into a dragon and is swallowing up the heaven and earth. So, my friend, where do mountains, rainfall, rivers and the great earth come from?"
Shifu Zhang was quiet for awhile, stopped on the trail, and then held his cane in his hand with the tip pointing to the sky. He said, "Yunmen, as for the source of their coming, the tip of my cane points to the fecund depths of vast emptiness, the crook end to the endless inter-marriages of ten thousand realities, and my hand grasps the heartwood of the ordinary mind. So, my friend Yunmen, where are they all going?"


Master Tung Kwo asked Sifu Zhang, " Show me where the Tao is to be found."
Sifu Zhang replied, "There is no place my cane or my mind goes or rests where it cannot be found."


Zen Master Ummon held up his staff in front of his Zen friend, Shifu Zhang, and said "This staff leapt up to the Eighth Heaven into the hands of the lame Zhong Kui who used it to awaken the Green Dragon in the Eastern Sea."
Shifu Zhang said, "Ummon your poetry is lovely, but my cane cannot hear you."


Toju Zenchu brandished his staff before Daoist Shifu Zhang and challenged him "Speak and you get Nanten's staff. Do not speak and you still get Nanten's staff."
Shifu Zhang stood, lifted his cane in defense, and quietly said, "Hush, Nanten! Your staff appears broken. I am leaving now to take my evening walk. Goodbye."
- Michael P. Garofalo, Way of the Short Staff


"To regard the fundamental as the essence, to regard things as coarse, to regard accumulation as deficiency, and to dwell quietly alone with the spiritual and the intelligent -- herein lie the techniques of Tao of the ancients."
- Chuang-Tze


Look, it cannot be seen - it is beyond form.
Listen, it cannot be heard - it is beyond sound.
Grasp, it cannot be held - it is intangible.
These three are indefinable, they are one.

From above it is not bright;
From below it is not dark:
Unbroken thread beyond description.
It returns to nothingness.
Form of the formless,
Image of the imageless,
It is called indefinable and beyond imagination.

Stand before it - there is no beginning.
Follow it and there is no end.
Stay with the Tao, Move with the present.

Knowing the ancient beginning is the essence of Tao.
- Lao-Tse

A Zen Moment

Opening bell
echoes from the canyon walls --
raindrops on the river.

The sounds of rocks bouncing off rocks;
the shadows of trees traced on trees.

I sit, still.
The canyon river chants,
moving mountains.

The sermon spun on the still point:
dropping off eternity, picking up time;
letting go of self, awakened to Mind.

- Michael P. Garofalo



To what shall I compare this life of ours? Even before I can say it is like a lightning flash or a dewdrop it is no more.
- Sengai



Well versed in the Buddha Way, I go the non-Way Without abandoning my Ordinary person's affairs. The conditioned and Name-and-Form, All are flowers in the sky. Nameless and formless, I leave birth-and death.
- Pang Yun



As flowing waters disappear into the mist We lose all track of their passage. Every heart is its own Buddha. Ease off ... become immortal. Wake up! The world's a mote of dust. Behold heaven's round mirror. Turn loose! Slip past shape and shadow, Sit side by side with nothing, save Tao.
- Shih-shu, 1703



Two come about because of One, but don't cling to the One either! So long as the mind does not stir, the ten thousand things stay blameless; no blame, no phenomena, no stirring, no mind. The viewer disappears along with the scene, the scene follows the viewer into oblivion, for scene becomes scene only through the viewer, viewer becomes viewer because of the scene.
- Seng-ts'an, 600



The Buddha Mind contains the universe. In this universe there is only one pure substance, One absolute and indivisible Truth. The notion of duality does not exist. The small mind contains only illusions of separateness, of division. It imagines myriad objects and defines truth in terms of relative opposites. Big is defined by small, good by evil, pure by defiled, Hidden by revealed, full by empty. What is opposition? It is the arena of hostility, of conflict and turmoil. Where duality is transcended peace reigns. This is the Dharma's ultimate truth.
- Maxims of Master Han Shan Te'Ch'ing, # 76, 1600

Finding Happiness

One needs to love oneself in order to love others. That is the foundation of happiness but how does one learn to love oneself? There really is some truth to faking it until it becomes real. I always tell everyone who has a poor self-image to make the effort every day to help others in need. Some need help with a door, someone always needs to get into traffic from a parking lot or to change into their lane, some could really use a kind word or a simple compliment, while others may only need a smile to brighten their day. The subtle rewards from helping others also slowly and subtly transforms the self-image of the helper in a positive way. The day will eventually come when the cumulative love from those who were helped becomes the love within and resurrects the love of self.

The Lesson

A long time ago there were many children waiting outside the Shaolin Temple hoping to be chosen to learn the mysteries within. No one outside really knew what went on within the temple walls but many rumors persisted and stories were being spread amongst the public. On this particular morning, a child named Tai Gui had been sent by his parents in hope that he would be chosen. The gate finally opened up and the Masters came out to look over the eager children to see if any were worthy of their knowledge. One Master observed Tai Gui and decided to take him on as a student monk. Tai Gui was beside himself as he continually bowed to show his gratitude toward his new Master as he followed him into the great temple. He was immediately initiated into his new role beginning with the shaving of his head, was cleaned up, and sent to his Master to be taught the mystical fighting skills he had heard so much about. Upon arriving at his Master's quarters, he was soon to be tasked doing something far different than what he had expected. His Master took him out onto the grounds and instructed him to fill two buckets with water and then pour it into this large cauldron until it was full. He was then to slap the water out of this vessel with the palms of his hands alternating between left and right until the cauldron was empty. He was then to fill it again and do the same thing over and over. This went on for two whole years, all day, every day, nonstop. Now during this time, Tai Gui saw many other students learning strange and foreign fighting movements, exactly what he had so eagerly desired to learn, yet here he was endlessly carrying out this meaningless and frustrating task day in and day out. After two years, the students were allowed to go visit their families but Tai Gui felt humiliated at the thought of having to tell his family and friends what he had been doing. The others had so many great stories about the mysterious fighting techniques they were learning but what was he to say? Well, when he got home, the house was full of his family and friends all asking him what he had learned. They were so excited and eager to hear about his experiences. They were relentless out of their need to know but what could he say? He later found himself standing at a table, the kind of table they made back then out of very thick, hard wood, kind of like a butcher's table, when yet another question about what he had learned caused him to lose his temper. He angrily replyied," I have learned NOTHING!!!!!", as he violently came down with his right hand striking the top of the table. This thick, heavy, table instantly cracked, splintered, and fell into pieces right before their eyes! Everyone gasp in shock at what they had just seen, and were whispering, "the stories are true, they're really true!" as they looked at him in awe. Tai Gui looked down at the broken pieces of this strong, heavy table and in that moment, he understood that these last two years were far from meaningless but had made him powerful beyond his understanding. He returned to the temple a very changed young man knowing and feeling the enormous rewards from this task he had so despised. It had not been a complete waste of time!

Lessons come in many forms, in many different settings, and often seem silly and a waste of valuable time. Never make the mistake of passing on a powerful and immensely rewarding lesson because you think it has no merit or benefit. It just may be the most important lesson you will ever learn!

Namaste'


Note: This is a true story that was recounted on The History Channel several years ago. This was just one of several incredible stories recorded a long time ago at the Shaolin Temple in Henan Provence, China. Shaolin Buddhist Priests were men of peace who were highly educated in medicine, science, history, and the literary arts. They were also highly trained in many styles of martial arts such as Northern Shaolin Long Fist Kung Fu, Southern White Crane, and possibly, Tai Chi Chuan. Man to man, there is absolutely no doubt to me that these humble priests were the most powerful warriors to ever walk this earth!

Shaolin

Shaolin is a quiet, solitary art. Beyond acquiring inner peace and harmony, it requires absolute inner stillness and the ability to contemplate void without flinching in a total absorbtion of what-is in the moment. Without that, you cannot find center. Without center, you cannot find self. And without self, you cannot become selfless, entering the necessary state where egoism cannot meddle with intent.

Shaolin is not the art of an aggressor. Yet neither is it meek. Soft and hard, hard and soft - one motion, one movement, one moment.

Simultaneously gentle and merciless, Shaolin does not battle with an enemy.
It simply, cleanly and absolutely ends confrontation by any means necessary utilizing the most conservative, most effective action. Seem from afar, its movement can seem to an observer to be explosive, its result magical...and it is, yet the foundations remain rooted in only principle. Effective application can only come from principle.

Shaolin is not flamboyant. It is practical. The art of the peaceful warrior and scholar, it is the art of the farmer, the peasant - that is its roots, and those roots are ancient beyond measure.

To maintain integrity of self, yet never violate another - that is its perfect form and expression.

The Power of Now

Life is so wonderful! In fact, I could not be happier if I was twins! Clearing my jungle one piece at a time, always aware of every beautiful creature or flower, feeling the cooling breeze on my face as I glimpse an audience of clouds gathering, I feel an immense joy emanating from my center and at the same time, humor erupts into laughter at the realization of how much happiness and contentment I am feeling clearing land with my weedeater. This is painfully hard work for me yet by being in the moment, that timeless zone that transcends the physical, that plane of existence so powerful yet serene, where doing becomes non-doing yet all is done, I realize the folly of complaining about the task at hand, the lamenting over the massive amount of work to do, the whining and cursing at the sweating heat, and the shear waste of energy spent outside the present where dogs and people chase their tails. Life is now and if you stop to think about it, life is gone!

The Stonecutter

There was once a stonecutter, who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life.

One day, he passed a wealthy merchant's house, and through the open gateway, saw many fine possessions and important visitors. "How powerful that merchant must be!" thought the stonecutter. He became very envious, and wished that he could be like the merchant. Then he would no longer have to live the life of a mere stonecutter.

To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever dreamed of, envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself. But soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan chair, accompanied by attendants, and escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the procession. "How powerful that official is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a high official!"

Then he became the high official, carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by the people all around, who had to bow down before him as he passed. It was a hot summer day, and the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence. "How powerful the sun is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the sun!"

Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, so that his light could no longer shine on everything below. "How powerful that storm cloud is!" he though. "I wish that I could be a cloud!"

Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields and villages, shouted at by everyone. But soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force, and realized that is was the wind. "How powerful it is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the wind!"

Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees, hated and feared by all below him. But after a while, he ran up against something that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it—a huge, towering stone. "How powerful that stone is!" he thought. I wish that I could be a stone!"

Then he became the stone, more powerful than anything else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the solid rock, and felt himself being changed. "What could be more powerful than I, the stone?" he thought. He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a stonecutter.

- from "The Tao of Pooh"