The emperor Goyozei was studying Zen under Gudo. He inquired: "In Zen
this very mind is Buddha. Is this correct?"
Gudo answered: "If I say yes, you will think that you understand
without understanding. If I say no, I would be contradicting a fact which
many understand quite well."
On another day the emperor asked Gudo: "Where does the enlightened man
go when he dies?"
Gudo answered: "I know not."
"Why don't you know?" asked the emperor.
"Because I have not died yet," replied Gudo.
The emperor hesitated to inquire further about these things his mind
ould not grasp. So Gudo beat the floor with his hand as if to awaken him,
and the emperor was enlightened!
The emperor respected Zen and old Gudo more than ever after his
enlightenment, and he even permitted Gudo to wear his hat in the palace in
winter. When Gudo was over eighty he used to fall asleep in the midst of
his lecture, and the emperor would quietly retire to another room so his
beloved teacher might enjoy the rest his aging body required.
