Tales from the Temple 16
Master Mazu and his disciple Paichang were silently walking along a river bank at sunset when they saw a formation of wild ducks flying into the west where the evening sky was dyed red. Suddenly Mazu asked his disciple, “What is that noise?”
“It’s the cry of the wild ducks,” said Paichang.
They walked in silence for a while, and the Mazu asked again, “Where has the cry of the wild ducks gone?”
“It has gone far off into the west,” Paichang replied. But as soon as the words left his mouth, Mazu grabbed Paichang’s nose and viciously twisted it.
Paichang screamed “Ouch! Ouch!” at the unexpected assault, whereupon Mazu roared like a thunderbolt, “You said it’s flown away, but isn’t it still here?”
Some time ago, after hearing this story, I asked Abbot Kyoengbong of Tongdo Temple, “The flock of wild ducks had obviously flown away. Why did the teacher yell ‘isn’t it still here’?”
Abbot Kyongbong clicked his tongue and said, “If you were a student, you’d say the cry of the wild ducks is still in the water. Since you’re not a student, go have a look at the Buddha floating under the stone bridge. The world you see and hear is inexhaustible, but you’ll want to know that the world you can’t see or hear is infinite, too . . . Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.”