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Welcome to our blog! The articles here are contributed by both teachers and students in the StoneWater sangha and from invited guests from other groups. If you have any queries, or would like to contribute an article yourself, please contact the editor, Alasdair, at editor@stonewaterzen.org.
We encourage readers to leave comments on the articles in StoneWater Notes, but please remember to abide by the principle of Right Speech and the spirit of the precepts in the comments.

StoneWater Notes

The Bell and the Seven-Fold Robe (audio)
By Keizan Scott Sensei on Monday 16 August 2010
Filed under: Audio, Dharma Talk

This week's post comes from a talk given at the Liverpool Dojo on 28th July by Keizan Sensei, on case 16 from the Mumonkan (Gateless Barrier), one of the major koan collections.

In a bit of an experiment, instead of a regular blog post, this post is an audio recording of that talk. Hopefully we'll be able to do more of these in the future.

Click through to the rest of this post to listen to Sensei's talk, and remember you can as ever leave comments for Sensei and the rest of us. Would also really like to get feedback on what you think about having more talks like this available.


Or right-click here and save to download to your computer

Today, Sensei talked us through Case 16 from the Mumonkan, "Ummon's Seven-Fold Robe". Here's one version of the text from a random website...

Case 16: When the Bell Sounds
Unmon said, "The world is vast and wide.  Why do you put on your seven-piece robe at the sound of the bell?"
Mumon's Comment:
In studying Zen, you should not be swayed by sounds and forms.  Even though you attain insight when hearing a voice or seeing a form, this is simply the ordinary way of things.  Don't you know that the real Zen student commands sounds, controls forms, is clear-sighted at every event and free on every occasion? Granted you are free, just tell me: Does the sound come to the ear or does the ear go to the sound? If both sound and silence die away, at such a juncture how could you talk of Zen? While listening with you ear, you cannot tell. When hearing with your eye, you are truly intimate.
With realization, things make one family;
Without realization, things are separated in a thousand ways.
Without realization, things make one family;
With realization, things are separated in a thousand ways.

From: www.sacred-texts.com/bud/zen/mumonkan.htm

Peace Bell, Isumi City

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