Peach Blossoms (MK37) (EV8)

KOAN:

Lingyun was wandering in the mountains and became lost in his walking. He rounded a bend and saw peach blossoms on the other side of the valley. This sight awakened him and he wrote this poem:

For thirty years I searched for a master swordsman,
how many times did the leaves fall,
and the branches burst into bud?
But from the moment I saw the peach blossoms,
I’ve had no doubts.

Later, Keizan, the Japanese teacher, wrote:

The village peach blossoms didn’t know
their own pink
but still they freed Lingyun
from all his doubts.

—PZI Miscellaneous Koans Case 37, Transmission of Light Case 12, Entangling Vines Case 8