Zen Koan – Hekiganroku – No. 45 – Zen Master Joshu’s “Seven-Pound Hempen Shirt”

The Case

A monk asked zen master Joshu, "All is reduced to oneness, but what is oneness reduced to?" Joshu said, "When I was in Seishu I made a hempen shirt. It weighed seven pounds."

Engo's Introduction

If he wants to speak, he speaks, and none can rival him throughout the whole universe. When he wants to act, he acts, and his activity is peerless. The one is like shooting stars and flashing lightning, the other like crackling flames and flashing blades. When he sets up his forge to discipline his disciples, they lay down their arms and lose their tongues. I will give an example.

Verse

You brought a piece of logic to trap the old gimlet. But do you know the meaning of the seven-pound hempen shirt? Now I have thrown it away into Lake Seiko and sail before the wind. Who will share the coolness with me?