Ōbaku lived at the beginning of the ninth century, and was thus a
contemporary of the poet Po Chü-i. He enjoyed the patronage of a
distinguished statesman the Chancellor Hai Kyū, of whom the Emperor
said, “This is indeed a true Confucian.” It is to the Chancellor that
we owe the record of Ōbaku’s conversations, which he wrote down day by
day. I will make a few extracts from this diary:
Hai Kyū.--Enō could not read or write. How came it that he
succeeded to the Patriarchate of Kōnin? The warden Shinshū was
in control of 500 monks, gave lectures, and could discourse upon
thirty-two different Sūtras and Shāstras. It was certainly very
strange that he was not made Patriarch.
Ōbaku (replying).--Shinshū’s conception of Thought was too
material. His proofs and practices were too positive.
“The master told me that when he was studying with Enkwan, the Emperor
Tai Chung came dressed as a monk. The master happened to be in the
chapel prostrating himself before an image of Buddha. The Emperor, who
thought he had learnt the lesson of Zen idealism, said to him: ‘There
is nothing to be got from Buddha, nothing from the Church, nothing from
Man; for nothing exists. What do you mean by praying at your age?’
“Ōbaku answered him: ‘I seek nothing of Buddha, the Church, or of
Man. I am in the habit of praying.’ The Emperor said: ‘What do you do
it for?’ Ōbaku lost patience and struck him with his fist. ‘You rude
fellow,’ cried the Emperor. ‘Since nothing exists, what difference
does it make to you whether I am rude or polite?’ and Ōbaku struck him
again. The Emperor retreated hastily.”
In his old age Ōbaku visited his native village and stayed a year in
his mother’s house, without revealing his identity. After he had set
out again for his monastery, his mother suddenly realised that he was
her son and went in pursuit of him. She reached the shore of a certain
river, only to see him disembarking on the other side. Thereupon she
lost her reason and flung herself into the water.
Ōbaku threw a lighted torch after her and recited the following verses:
_May the wide river dry at its source, to its very bed
If here the crime of matricide has been done;
When one son becomes a priest, the whole family is born again in Heaven;
If that is a lie, all that Buddha promised is a lie._
Henceforward the throwing of a lighted torch into the bier became part
of the Zen funeral ceremony; it was accompanied by the reciting of the
above verses. Probably formula, ritual, and story alike belong to a
period much more ancient than Buddhism.
In the seventeenth century a Chinese priest named Ingen[8] carried the
teaching of Ōbaku to Japan, where it now possesses nearly 700 temples.
[8] 1592-1673 A.D.