Tozan's Sixty Blows
A monk asked Tozan, "
What is the Buddha?" Tozan replied,
"Three pounds of flax." The monk went to the master Joshu and told him of this exchange.
Joshu said,
"Did you understand?" The monk said,
"No, I did not." Joshu said,
"Why not? I would have given Tozan sixty blows."
Reflection
Tozan's 'Three pounds of flax' with Joshu's comment that he would have given Tozan sixty blows adds another layer. Joshu's critique is not a rejection of Tozan's answer but a further teaching: even the best koan answer can become an object of attachment. The sixty blows represent the need to smash even the most enlightened-sounding response if it becomes a conceptual possession.