DHARMA SPRING

Nanquan's Cats and Oxen Know It

September 16, 2022 Andrew Palmer
DHARMA SPRING
Nanquan's Cats and Oxen Know It
Show Notes

  A student asked Nanquan, “The buddhas of the past, present, and future don’t know it; cats and oxen do know it. Why is it that the buddhas of the past, present, and future don’t know it?”
  Nanquan said, “They still knew something before entering the Deer Park*.“
  “Why is it that cats and oxen do know it?“
  “How could you possibly doubt that they would?“ answered Nanquan.

-from Entangling Vines, Thomas Yuho Kirchner, trans


*The Deer Park is where the Buddha, after his awakening under the Bodhi Tree, gave his first sermon and gained his first disciples.

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