A Monk asked Nanquan, "Master, where will you be found
in a hundred years?"
"Nanquan said, "I'm going to be an ox living down
at the bottom of the mountain."

P:This can be viewed at two levels:
1) Nanquan was poking fun at the idea of transmigration.
That he, a master, would be reincarnated as an ox was
for the monk, sacrilege.

2) The ox in Zen could symbolize Buddha Nature. So in
a hundred years Nanquan's Buddha Nature wouldn't be any different
than it was now.


"The monk said, "May I follow you to that place [as an ox]?"
"Nanquan said, "If you follow me, you must do so
with a single blade of grass in your mouth."

P:Which meant, to follow me, you must be one with me (Buddha Nature)

The master then became ill. He said to the monks,
"Starlight is dim but eternal.
Don't say that I'm coming or going."
When he finished speaking, the master died.

P: "Don't say I'm coming or going"
Which means we are never born or die. So, who could
be reborn?

It's quite irrelevant whether we lived only once or a million lives.
Our true nature is clear and perfect as the void. It doesn't need to
store memories or thoughts. And even if it did, and we could remember
our previous lives, what could we have done then, different
than now. We eat, we sleep, we love, we fight, we hope, we suffer.
It's always the same. Now if you could remember when you were neither
born, nor dead, that would be something to crow about. Then you could
join Nanquan bringing him a single blade of grass.

Best wishes,
Pete

May calmness take you to the summit of peace, where
you will be able to see everything with a infinite
perspective.

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