Bonus Episode: Master Nan Tells a Zen Story

Send us Fan MailThe contemporary master Nan Huaijin (Nan Huai-Chin), during one of his lectures, brought up this old story about the very early Zen master Yaoshan Weiyan (藥山惟儼) who died in the ninth century. Yaoshan left an extensive record of "sayings" which have been used throughout the centuries as sparks for enlightenment.Here is one:One day, as Weiyan was sitting, Master Shitou asked him, “What are you doing here?”Weiyan said, “I'm not doing anything.”The master said, “Then you're just sitting idly.”Weiyan said, “If I were sitting idly, I'd be doing something.”The master said, “Okay, you're not doing anything. But what is it you're not doing?”Weiyan said, “Even a thousand sages don't know.”The master approved.SHOW NOTES:Xiaoyao Xingzhe, the self-styled carefree pilgrim, has lived and worked all over the world, having crossed the Gobi in a decrepit jeep, lived with a solitary monk in the mountains of Korea, dined with the family of the last emperor of China, and helped police with their enquiries in Amarillo, Texas.FAN MAIL is. a new feature now available to leave feedback on episodes, love or hate them.  Look for the button in the top ribbon when you click on “Episodes.”Visit the Fat Monk Website: https://thefatmonk.net/for pdfs of all recorded chapters and a few more, as well as other bits of interest on Daoism, Buddhism and Neidan, with an emphasis (but not a limitation) on pre-twentieth century authors such as Huang Yuanji and Li Daochun.If you would like to support the production costs of  this podcast, you may do so at Ko-fi. Check out the wonderful Flora Carbo and her music:https://floracarbo.com/