Chan Master Zhizang (735–814 CE), also known as Xitang Zhizang, was a renowned Tang Dynasty master. Ordained young, he became a close disciple of Mazu Daoyi at thirteen, later honored among the Three Great Disciples of Hongzhou alongside Baizhang Huaihai and Nanquan Puyuan. He studied with National Preceptor Huizhong and trained under Ox-Head School’s Master Faqin of Jingshan.
After assuming abbotship at Xitang Monastery, a layman questioned him:
“Do heaven and hell exist?”
Zhizang: “Yes.”
“Do the Three Jewels — Buddha, Dharma, Sangha — exist?”
“Yes.”
To every subsequent query, the master answered “Yes.”
Perplexed, the layman protested: “Venerable, surely this is wrong?”
Zhizang countered: “Have you met enlightened masters?”
“I studied with Master Jingshan.”
“What did he teach?”
“He said nothing exists.”
Zhizang pivoted: “Do you have a family?”
“Yes.”
“Does Master Jingshan have a family?”
“No.”
Zhizang’s sword fell:
“When Jingshan says ‘no,’ he speaks correctly for his circumstance.”
The layman bowed in awakening and departed.
Philosophical Notes:
The Hammer of Context
Zhizang’s “yes” and Jingshan’s “no” are neither contradiction nor truth — they are medicine. To the layman trapped in worldly attachments, “yes” shattered his nihilism; to the monk Jingshan, “no” cut spiritual pride.
Beyond Existence and Void
Heaven/hell and Three Jewels conventionally exist but are ultimately empty. Zhizang exposed the layman’s error: using absolute truth (“all is void”) to deny relative reality (family duties).
The Mirror of Circumstance
“Jingshan spoke correctly for his circumstance”: Enlightenment manifests in responsiveness. A cup holds water; the ocean refuses confinement — both are “correct.”
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