UJI Part Eighteen | Uji’s Dance of Awakening
“Yakusan, who by imperial decree was named ‘The Great Teacher Whose Way Is Broad’, one time, at the direction of Great Master Sekitō Kisen, made a spiritual call on Meditation Master Baso: *
Yakusan asked him, ‘The one standing before you has a fairly good idea of what all twelve divisions of the Scriptures as found among the followers of the Three Vehicles of Buddhism are about, so just why did the Ancestral Teacher Bodhidharma come east to China???’
Being queried in this manner, Meditation Master Baso responded, ‘There are times when we make That One’s eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle, and there are times when we do not make His eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle. There are times when we who make That One’s eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle are right, and there are times when we who make His eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle are not right.’
Upon hearing this, Yakusan had a great awakening and humbly said to Baso, ‘When I was with Sekitō, I was like a mosquito climbing over an iron ox, trying to find a place to bite.’”
Many of you will recognize this as a koan, where we encounter a mondo of spiritual inquiry and realization between Yakusan and Master Baso. We are once again guided by the profound question of Bodhidharma's journey from the West.
Yakusan's struggle to understand Sekitō's teachings (Sekitō wrote Sandokai and Song of the Grass Roof Hermitage) led him to seek guidance from Baso, one of the most influential masters in developing Zen’s teaching style. Yakusan was already deeply familiar with Buddhist doctrine. His question in this passage about Bodhidharma's journey underscores his intellectual impasse. He understands the doctrines but not the essence of practice.
Baso's response, laden with subtle wisdom, encapsulates the Heart of Zen:
"There are times when we make That One's eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle, and there are times when we do not make His eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle. There are times when we who make That One's eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle are right, and there are times when we who make His eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle are not right."
Baso's response emphasizes the fluid and dynamic nature of uji. Raising the eyebrows is for a time. Not raising them is for a time. Being right is for a time, and being not right is for a time. Yakusan cannot grasp Baso's answer by deciding which of these conditions is the correct one. Each arises completely as its own being-time.
Yakusan's reaction to Baso's teaching marks a profound shift in his karmic gaze. He candidly acknowledges that his previous efforts were futile and misguided, like a mosquito attempting to bite an iron ox. This metaphor illustrates the limitations of intellectual pursuit when it comes to awakening and serves as a call to action, urging us to go beyond intellectual understanding to awaken. The iron ox, immovable and impenetrable, represents the vast dharmakaya—the ultimate body of reality that cannot be grasped through conventional conditioned understanding. The Heart Sutra puts it thusly:
"Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate!" (Beyond, beyond, gone completely beyond, gone beyond going beyond!)
Baso's teaching, recognized as "Uji makes him raise his eyebrows and blink his eyes," suggests that one's actions are guided by the totality of the present situation or being-time. This phrase points to awakening through everyday actions, responding appropriately to each moment. Yakusan is encouraged to let go of his intellectual grasping and respond to the reality of what is, to embody the teachings in his daily life.
The koan culminates with Yakusan's profound enlightenment, a transformative moment that he vividly describes as feeling like a mosquito biting an iron ox while studying with Sekitō. This powerful image encapsulates the frustration of attempting to penetrate a seemingly impenetrable situation. Yakusan's realization not only underscores the futility of relying on intellectual knowledge but also serves as a beacon of hope, demonstrating the potential awakening in this vast present-infinite moment.
This exchange between Yakusan and Baso underscores a crucial aspect of Zen practice: enlightenment cannot be attained through mere scholarly study or intellectual comprehension. It necessitates a direct, experiential encounter with the truth, a process often facilitated by a teacher's skillful means. Yakusan's 'great awakening' is a testament to the urgency and significance of this aspect, as he transcends his intellectual constraints and embraces the profound, ineffable nature of satori.
As Students of the Way, we are reminded that awakening involves letting go of our reliance on conceptual knowledge and opening ourselves to the direct experience of reality. We must move beyond our comfort zones, challenge our preconceptions, and engage deeply with the present moment. In doing so, we align ourselves with the essence of uji, where true insight arises naturally and spontaneously, like the twinkling of an eye or raising an eyebrow.
This passage serves as a powerful reminder that awakening is not an abstract concept but a lived experience. It invites us to fully engage with the present moment, to dance with life as it unfolds, much like the dancers in Oriah Mountain Dreamer's poem "The Dance," who twirl and move with grace and spontaneity:
"Show me how you follow your deepest desires, spiraling down into the ache within the ache. And I will show you how I reach inward and open outward to feel the kiss of the Mystery, sweet lips on my own, every day."
By integrating this understanding into our practice, we align ourselves with the essence of uji, where true insight arises naturally and spontaneously, like the twinkling of an eye or raising an eyebrow. This is the heart of our journey—to live fully and authentically in the present moment, embodying the profound unity of all existence.
