Koan – Mumonkan – Case No. 35 – Seijo’s Soul Separated

The Case

Zen Master Goso said to his monks, "Seijo's soul separated from her being. Which was the real Seijo?"

Mumon's Comment

When you realize what the real is, you will see that we pass from one husk to another like travelers stopping for a night's lodging. But if you do not realize it yet, I earnestly advise you not to rush about wildly. When earth, water, fire, and air suddenly separate, you will be like a crab struggling in boiling water with its seven or eight arms and legs. When that happens, don't say I didn't warn you!

Verse

The moon above the clouds is ever the same; Valleys and mountains are separate from each other. All are blessed, all are blessed; Are they one or are they two?

Note

The story of Seijo's two souls comes from a Chinese book of ghost stories. When a baby, Seijo was betrothed to her cousin Ochu. However, when she grew up, her father wanted to give her in marriage to another young man. Ochu left home in indignation and went up the Yangtze River by boat. At midnight someone came running along the bank eagerly calling Ochu's name. lt was Seijo. They journeyed together to a distant place, and there they lived and had two children.

Five years went by, and they became homesick; they yearned to see their parents again. So they decided to visit their birthplace. Coming down the river Ochu left Seijo in the boat and went alone to her father to make apology for their having run away. But to his astonishment, he was told that Seijo had been in bed unconscious ever since he left home. There were found to be two Seijos, one in the boat and the other sick in bed. But when the one in the boat came into the house, the other one got out of bed, whereupon the two met and melted together into one Seijo.