Zen Master Hye-Am "Losing Body and Extinguishing Life"

The Case

Once the Venerable zen Master Hye-Am was staying at Kwangdok Temple in Choognam, when, late in the night, a tattered-clothed student came to his room. He prostrated three times and asked, "May I profess?" The master asked, "About what?" The student said, "About the Law." "Come back and ask tomorrow morning," said the master. The next morning the visiting student again came to the master's room, prostrated, and sat in front of the master. The master said, "Go ahead with yesterday's story."

He approached closely in front of the zen master, sat in half-lotus posture, and stared at the master's face. The moment was filled with suspenseful anticipation. Finally the student asked loudly, "Do you see me?" As soon as he finished asking, the zen master said,

Baking charcoal in the Southern Mountain.

Quickly the student asked again, "Master, did you hear my calling?" The master also quickly answered, "It has been gone since long ago." The student responded, saying, "I would not answer like you." The master said, "How then would you answer?" The student said, "I would call, 'Hey, Joe!'" Venerable zen master Hye-Am said, "Then, between 'It has been gone' and 'Hey, Joe' are they the same or different?" The student's answer should not be written in order to protect the Law. That student really used the living word. Then, in order to examine his understanding, Venerable Master Hye-Am asked a famous ancient Koan.

Sword Moutain

Zen Master So-San (Su-Shan Kuang-Jen 837 - 909) came one day to the Venerable zen master Too-Ja, who asked, "From where are you coming?" So-San answered, "I come from Sword Moutain." Too-Ja then asked, "Then did you bring your sword?" So-San replied, "Yes, I did." Too-Ja immediately requested, "Show it to me, this old monk!"

Instead of answering with words, So-San, with his finger, pointed at the ground in front of the master. Too-Ja then abruptly left for his room. That afternoon he called the attendant to bring So-San to have a cup of tea with him. The attendant said, "Master, after this morning's event, he left immediately." The Too-Ja sang a Gatha:

For the last thirty years enjoying the horseback riding, today, I fell from the horseback by the little donkey.

Then the Venerable Master Hye-Am asked the student, "In this Koan, when the Patriarch requested, 'Show it to me, this old monk,' why did So-San point at the ground in front of the master, instead? Tell me." The visiting student said, "It pointed out the 'up and down.'"
Venerable Master Hye-Am, "No, that is not it." The student said, "Why isn't it?"

The Master then told him, "Now you go back and examine this Koan until you finally catch the essence. You already have great ability which is the power of the final understanding."
The conversation between Master and student was finished. Sometime later, however, the student sent a letter which very clearly answered Sword Mountain Koan.

Zen Master Hye-Am

For the sake of the Law, I can not tell you directly what this student said, but I will intimate the answer with the following:

Losing Body and extinguishing Life.