Who is the master that sees and hears?

"Who is hearing this sound?" is a koan-like form of self-inquiry practiced in the Zen-tradition. It is best-known from the 14th-century Japanese Zen-master Bassui Tokushō, who pursuid this question for many years, but is also known in variations like "Who is it that thus comes?"

Practice and meaning

In Bassui's Wadeigassi ("Mud and Water"), great stress is placed on the question "Who is hearing the sound?", equivalent to seeing into [one's] nature. Bassui's last words reputedly were

Look! Look! Who's hearing and seeing right now?

It is a practice, or quest, which is also pointed to in older Buddhist sources, 'turning the light within', or 'turning back the radiance', seeing one's nature, e.g. sunyata or Buddha-nature. It is linked with lin-ji's (Rinzai) "true man of no rank," the 'empty essence' residing within the six senses.

The question is associated with the mythology of Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of great compassion who hears the sounds of all the suffering beings in the universe, and gets awakened by giving in to these cries. Bassui equates Buddha-nature or the One Mind with Kanzeon, compassion. "...someone who, for every sound he heard, contemplated the mind of the hearer, thereby realizing his true nature." Bassui further explains that "The one gate - the so-called one who hears the Dharma [...] - was the perfection achieved by the bodhisattva Kannon." Manzan Dōhaku (1635-1715) states:

If you desire the attainment of satori, ask yourself this question: Who hears sound? As described in the Surangamasamadhi, that is Avalokitesvara's faith in the hearer.

Yamada Koun, dharma heir of Hakuun Yasutani, used it for his practice after he had completed formal koan-study.

Variations

While as such not part of any of the great koan-collections, it has repeatedly been treated as such, and variations can be found in the koan-collections

The Blue Cliff Record case 1, and the Book of Serenity case 2, narrate Bodhidharma's meeting with Bodhidharma, asking him "Who is it that is standing before me?", to which Bodhidharma answers "Don't know."

In Chinese Chan and Korean Seon, the question "Who am I?," in several variations, is used as a Hua Tou, in which one phrase or word, "Who?", is continuously repeated. After attaining a first insight, the question remains the focus of attention, to deepen the insight.

In the Japanese Ōbaku-school, which has incorporated Pure Land-practice, it is known as the nembutsu-koan, which entails the practice of reciting the name of Amitabha while holding in one's mind the kōan, "Who is reciting?" a question mostly assigned to lay-practitioners.

While the sound of one hand is the classical instruction used by Hakuin, in Hakuin on kensho and other writings he emphasises the question "Who is the host of seeing and hearing?" to arouse the great doubt,

The same question, "Who is it?", is also explicated by Torei in The Undying Lamp of Zen, and recommanded by Ramana Maharshi with his emphasis on self-enquiry, and by Nisargadatta Maharaj.

See also

• Self-inquiry
• The sound of one hand

Sources

Printed sources

• Bassui (2002), Mud & Water. The Collected Teachings of Zen Master Bassui, Wisdom Publications
• Braverman, Arthur (2002), Introduction to "Mud & Water. The Collected Teachings of Zen Master Bassui", Wisdom Publications

Web-sources

External links

• Teachings by Master Xu Yun on “Huatou”-style Practice in Chan