Guishan’s Zen (MK67)

KOAN:

Guishan Da’an said, “I lived with Guishan for more than thirty years. I ate Guishan’s food, I shat Guishan’s shit, but I didn’t study Guishan’s Zen. All I did was look after an ox. If he got off the road, I dragged him back; if he trampled the grain in others’ fields, I trained him with a whip. For a long time he was so pitiful, at the mercy of everyone’s words! Now he’s changed into the white ox on the bare ground, always right in front of my face. All day long he clearly reveals himself; even if I chase him he doesn’t go away.”

—PZI Miscellanous Koans, Case 67