14. Three Important Elements of Zen.

To understand how Zen developed during some four hundred years after the Sixth Patriarch, we should know that there are three important elements in Zen. The first of these is technically called the Zen Number -- the method of practising Meditation by sitting cross-legged, of which we shall treat later.¹ This method is fully developed by Indian teachers before Bodhidharma's introduction of Zen into China, therefore it underwent little change during this period. The second is the Zen Doctrine, which mainly consists of Idealistic and Pantheistic ideas of Mahayana Buddhism, but which undoubtedly embraces some tenets of Taoism. Therefore. Zen is not a pure Indian faith, but rather of Chinese origin. The third is the Zen Activity, or the mode

of expression of Zen in action, which is entirely absent in any other faith. It was for the sake of this Zen Activity that Hwang Pah gave a slap three times to the Emperor Süen Tsung; that Lin Tsi so often burst out into a loud outcry of Hoh (Katsu); that Nan Tsüen killed a cat at a single stroke of his knife in the presence of his disciples; and that Teh Shan so frequently struck questioners with his staff.¹ The Zen Activity was displayed by the Chinese teachers making use of diverse things such as the staff, the brush² of long hair, the mirror, the rosary, the cup, the pitcher, the flag, the moon, the sickle, the plough, the bow and arrow, the ball, the bell, the drum, the cat, the dog, the duck, the earthworm -- in short, any and everything that was fit for the occasion and convenient for the purpose. Thus Zen Activity was of pure Chinese origin, and it was developed after the Sixth Patriarch.³ For this reason the period previous to the Sixth Patriarch may be called the Age of the Zen Doctrine, while that posterior to the same master, the Age of the Zen Activity.