"How much does it weigh?"
(Source: Hsing Yun's Ch'an Talk,
Book 4)
http://www.buddhistdoor.com/oldweb/bdoor/archive/zen_story/zen33.htm
Su Tung-po, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, once debated with
Ch'an Master Chao-chueh about the Path to enlightenment. During the
debate, they touched upon the question of whether both sentient and
non-sentient beings could attain perfect wisdom. Inspired by the
discussion, Su wrote three poems to express what he had learned.
Their titles were "Before Practicing Ch'an," "While Practicing
Ch'an," and "After Becoming Enlightened through the Practice of
Ch'an."
The first poem read as
follows:
Viewed horizontally, it is a mountain range;
while viewed vertically, it becomes a peak.
Far and near, high and low -- each is unique.
The real face of Lu Shan is not to be seen,
Because one is standing on the mountain.
The second poem expressed
a different state of mind, while Su engaged in Ch'an
practice:
The misty rain of Lu Shan and the tides of Chekiang,
Not seeing them in person is forever regrettable.
After arriving, nothing unusual is to be seen --
The misty rain of Lu Shan and the tides of Chekiang.
The final poem described
Su's feelings after he had attained realization through Ch'an
practice:
The sounds of rippling creeks are long, wide tongues;
The mountains are the pure bodies of the Buddhas.
Late at night, when contemplating the 84,000 verses,
How is one to explain what one has realized?
After this experience, Su Tung-po thought even more highly of his
own understanding of the Dharma. When he was told that Ch'an Master
Ch'eng-hao from Yu-ch'uan Temple in Chingnan was so incisive that
his timely questions defied response, Su Tung-po refused to believe
it. He went to visit the Master in civilian clothing to test the
latter's knowledge of Ch'an. As soon as he met the Master, he
asked, "I was told that you're very good at Ch'an meditation. May I
ask, what is meditation?"
The Master did not answer Su Tung-po's question, but instead asked,
"Sir, may I have your name, please?"
Su Tung-po replied, "My name is Scale, which weighs all the abbots
who are on Earth."
Upon hearing this, the Master gave a loud shout and asked, "May I
ask how much that shout weighs?"
Su Tung-po had nothing to say in reply, but simply stood up,
prostrated, and left.
In meditations Su Tung-po experienced the three stages described by
Ch'an Master Ch'ing-yuan Hsing-ssu: "When one sees a mountain of
river before practicing Ch'an, it is simply a mountain or a river.
When one sees a mountain or a river during Ch'an practice, it
neither looks like a mountain nor a river. When one sees a mountain
or a river after practicing Ch'an, it is again a mountain or a
river."
After progressing through these three stages, one acquires a
comprehension of the Dharma, however, one still will not be
enlightened, for one has yet to attain a realization of what one
has understood through personal experience. In other words, a Ch'an
practitioner's self-cultivation starts by comprehending the Truth
and is perfected by practicing the Truth. A person who lacks either
self-cultivation or realization will surely become dumbfounded and
speechless by a shout from Ch'an masters such as
Ch'eng-hao.