Four Shouts for Muzhou
A monk asked Muzhou, "
The myriad dharmas return to one.
Where does the one return to?" Muzhou said,
"When I was in Qingzhou I had a robe made that weighed seven jin." The monk later asked Zhaozhou the same question.
Zhaozhou said,
"Before I came to Zhao district, I lost a bridge in the river." The monk returned and told Muzhou of Zhaozhou's answer.
Muzhou said,
"I'll wait until you have become a teacher, then I'll explain it to you." The monk asked,
"The myriad dharmas return to one.
Where does the one return to?" Muzhou shouted.
The monk bowed.
Muzhou said,
"What a fine teacher you are, asking and bowing all in one breath." The monk asked again, "The myriad dharmas return to one.
Where does the one return to?" Muzhou shouted.
The monk bowed again.
When the monk asked a third time, Muzhou shouted.
The monk bowed.
The monk asked a fourth time.
Muzhou shouted, and the monk bowed once more.
Reflection
Muzhou's repeated shouts are not anger but a surgical instrument to cut through the monk's sequential questioning. Each time the monk asks 'Where does the one return to?' Muzhou shouts, demolishing the framework of logical progression. The monk keeps bowing, clinging to the form of respect while missing the point. The fourth shout leaves no room for conceptual refuge.