Lacked nothing before Caoxi

Chan Master Xingsi ordained in childhood and later sought the Sixth Patriarch Huineng at Caoxi, becoming his foremost disciple. Shitou Xiqian arrived at Caoxi in Huineng’s final years. As the Patriarch prepared to enter nirvana, Xiqian pleaded: “To whom shall I turn after your passing?” Huineng’s dying guidance cut like lightning: “Seek Si” — commanding him to find “Brother Xingsi”. After years of arduous pilgrimage and awakening, Xiqian journeyed to Jizhou in Jiangxi Province to bow at Xingsi’s feet.

Chan Master Xingsi asked Shitou Xiqian:
“Where have you come from?”
Xiqian replied: “From Caoxi.”
“What did you bring?” pressed the master.
“I lacked nothing even before reaching Caoxi,” countered Xiqian.
“Then why go there at all?”
“Without going, how would I know I lack nothing?”

Xiqian then turned the inquiry:
“Did the Sixth Patriarch recognize you, Master?”
“Do you recognize me now?” Xingsi deflected.
“I do — yet how can recognition be possible?”
Master Xingsi’s metaphor pierced through:
“Many beasts bear horns, but one Qilin suffices.” (Qilin: mythic wisdom-beast)

“When did you depart Caoxi for this mountain?” Xiqian persisted.
“I know when you left Caoxi,” the master reversed.
“I never came from Caoxi!” Xiqian snapped.
“I know your destination,” Xingsi calmly concluded.
“Venerable! Speak no nonsense!”

Days later, the master tested again:
“Where did you come from?”
“Caoxi.”
Xingsi raised his fly-whisk: “Does Caoxi have this?”
“Not Caoxi — not even the Western Heaven has it!”
“Have you been to the Western Heaven?”
“If I had, it would exist there.”
“Unacceptable. Speak anew.”
Xiqian struck back: “You should speak half! Don’t burden the student alone!”
The master’s final arrow struck deep:
“To tell is easy. But who will bear the Dharma after you?”

Philosophical Notes:

The Koan of Origin

“Where did you come from?” challenges the illusion of linear journey. Xiqian’s “lacked nothing before Caoxi” reveals Buddha-nature’s timeless presence — seeking enlightenment externally is like “riding an ox to find an ox”.

Beyond Recognition

“Do you recognize me?” dismantles subject-object duality. True knowing is non-knowing — wisdom arises when conceptual grasping ceases, embodied by the qilin (rare beyond categories).

The Unbearable Whisk

The fly-whisk symbolizes all Dharma tools. Xiqian’s “not even Western Heaven has it” exposes emptiness: sacred objects are fingers pointing to the moon, not truth itself.

Half-Words, Whole Liberation

Xingsi’s refusal to “speak half” carries Zen’s fiercest compassion: teachers withhold answers to force students to become the answer.