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The Woman at the Inn (MK32)
KOAN:
There was a woman who kept the pilgrim’s inn at Hara under Mt Fuji. Her name is unknown, and it is not known when she was born or died.
She went to hear a talk by Hakuin, who said, “The Pure Land where everything is only mind, the Buddha of Infinite Light in your own body—once Amida appears, mountains, rivers, and earth, plants, trees, and forests, all glow with a great light. If you want to see this, look into your own heart. Since the Pure Land is only mind, what kind of special features would it have? Since the Buddha of Infinite Light is your own body, how would you recognize it?”
When she heard this, the woman said to herself, “This isn’t so hard.”
Returning home, she meditated day and night, asking these questions while she was awake and during sleep. One day, as she was washing a pot, she had a sudden breakthrough. She tossed the pot aside and rushed to see Hakuin.
She said, “I’ve run across Amida in my own body, and everything on earth is shining with a great light. It’s wonderful!” She danced for joy.
“Is that so?” Hakuin asked, “But what about a pile of shit—does it shine with a great light too?”
The woman ran up and slapped him, saying, “You still don’t get it, you old fart!”
Hakuin roared with laughter.
—PZI Miscellaneous Koans, Case 32
Return to the Pure Land
Arriving at my hotel that afternoon, I saw a dirty pickup truck that was just exquisite to look at. I’d never seen anything so clean, so crisp and so “here.” The whole universe is available to us in this way. All we have to do is return.
Hakuin’s Praise Song for Meditation: 4 Teachers Part 4 of 4
4 PZI Teachers Explore Hakuin’s Praise Song for Meditation – Part 4, recorded January 30, 2022. Exquisite music for meditation from Michael Wilding & concludes with the Four Boundless Vows sung acapella by Jesse Cardin.
The Woman at the Inn
Audio: PZI Zen Online. John Tarrant on Mother’s Day sits with Hakuin’s “The Woman at the the Inn.” Everything shines with a great light. Even in the shit! The mind thinks—not here, this can’t be it. With music from Ritchie Domingue, Jordan McConnell and Amy Fletcher. As recorded May 10 2020.