One day, Jizo received one of Hofuku's disciples and asked him, “How does your teacher instruct vou? “My teacher instructs me to shut my eyes and see no evil thing; to cover my ears and hear no evil sound: to stop my mind activities and form no wrong ideas.” the monk replied. “I do not ask you to shut your eyes. Jizo said. “but you do not see a thing. Edo not ask you to cover your ears, but you do not hear a sound. I do not ask you to cease your mind-activities, but you do not form any idea at all”
COMMENT: The purpose of teaching in Buddhism is to enable and assist the student to find the real meaning of life—so life will be peaceful, serene, joyful, and abundantly creative. A true teacher always individualizes his lessons according to the student who receives them. The pupil in the koan was a novice, still firmly attached to what he saw, heard, and thought. So his first teacher gave him basic lesson: avoid attaching importance to sight, sound, and thought. Jizo's teaching went even deeper: one must open the Third Eye. Reality has no color, no form. See things as they are and you will not attach. Life lives and moves on.
