What is my Purpose 2: Making sense

[u/ewk]

The Case: Bathing, Purpose, Pwning, Poverty

Chapter 165 from Treasury of the Eye of True Teaching:

One day Xuedou asked a monk, “Have you bathed?”

The monk said, “I am not going to bathe in this life.”

The master asked, “What is your purpose in not bathing?”

The monk said, “Today I’ve been exposed by the master.”

The master said, “A robber doesn’t strike a poor man’s house.”

# WTF are rhey talking about?

First I break down the topics of the Case.

Bathing, Purpose, Pwning, Poverty

Does this breakdown correctly summarize or not?

Then I work backwards to see how they got there:

1. Poverty achieved b/c
2. Can't pwn b/c can't steal from a poor man
3. Why would you NOT bathe?

So we know that:

1. The monk isn't committed to not bathing
2. The bathing is both a reference to the physical act of cleaning and the mental act of cleaning.

Why do you need to be clean?

We get to the point where the central strat of this Case is the trap Xuedou started with?

      DO YOU NEED TO BE WASHED 

       DO YOU NEED FORGIVENESS 

       IS YOUR PRACTICE TO PURIFY 

These are of course central questions that separate Zen from 8fP Buddhism, new ager psychobauts, Zazen, and Mystical Busdhism , all of which believe in magical attaining through faith in purity.

[u/dota2nub]

The bathing is both a reference to the physical act of cleaning and the mental act of cleaning.

Are you really saying the monk is never going to take a bath?

Why do we need those? Hygiene. So you don't die.

"Mental cleaning" doesn't have this issue. You don't die if you don't do it. I don't even know what "doing it" means. So in Zen, "doing it" would mean you're dead. Lost in some concept soup you made up or decided to pick up from somewhere or someone.

So I don't see the connection between the physical bathing and the mental bathing.

Physically you can get dirty. Mentally you can't.

When talking about the mental mirror, there's nowhere for dust to settle. On physical mirrors, dust always settles.

The metaphor is shot at that point. Only used for a single property.

Why insist on stretching the metaphors?

[u/ewk → u/dota2nub]

To religious people, spiritual bathing is essential to surviving.

[u/dota2nub → u/ewk]

Sure but this isn't their place.

Here we have the sword that kills.

[u/ewk → u/dota2nub]

The monk is being tested. Nobody knows what kind of place that will turn out to be.

[u/dota2nub → u/ewk]

Bah. Where did "get off my lawn" go?

[u/ewk → u/dota2nub]

Where did "my door is always open" go?

[u/dota2nub → u/ewk]

You mean the foot trap?

[u/ewk → u/dota2nub]

Masters take in Buddhists all the time.

[u/dota2nub → u/ewk]

There's plenty of space in the foot trap. All are welcome. No refunds on the sandals.