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* * *
Note: In the following koan, Shakyamuni Buddha is the buddha we usually mean by "Buddha," from the 600s-500s BCE. "Mi Rok Bosal" is Korean; the Sanskrit is "Maitreya." Maitreya, a bodhisattva now dwelling in the Tushita heaven, is prophesied to appear over five billion years from the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, after the demise of Shakyamuni's dharma (teaching, buddhist teaching): when either forgotten or ignored. He is foreseen as the fifth and last Buddha of the epoch, Shakyamuni being the fourth.
The Patriarch Dong Sahn Yon Sa said,
"Shakyamuni Buddha and Mi Rok Bosal [Maitreya]
are servants of another.
Tell me, who is this?"
* * *
Shakyamuni Buddha and Mi Rok Bosal
Buddha wearing a skin bag
full of meat and bones.
Is that all?
Compassionate One to be the next Buddha,
dwelling in Tushita heaven.
Is that all?
If you say,
they are more than one can see - yes.
If you say,
they are only what one can see - no.
If you say,
they are the same, and not - yes.
are servants of another
Bag, meat, and bones,
no longer.
How does he still serve?
In Tushita heaven, far away,
how does he serve
whom he serves?
Tell me, who is this?
Yes, 'who' is 'another'?
Some say,
Since a Creator is ruling over all and
to be obeyed always and in all things -
Serving is serving Allah. Yahweh. God.
Some say,
Since one Self manifests itself as every self,
and God, by whatever name, is that Self -
Serving is serving God-and-everyone.
Some say,
Since all things naturally arise,
the web of life, no Creator over or apart -
To serve one is to serve all.
(Christian Scriptures: In love, serve one another.)
So, I ask again,
Who does
Shakyamuni Buddha and Mi Rok Bosal serve?
And, how? -
one died,
one is in a heaven, to return in billions of years.
(Seung Sahn: If you want to meet the Buddha,
go to the kitchen.
If you want to see Mi Rok Bosal,
go to the bathroom.)
So,
Whom do you serve?
Are you
a skin bag of meat and bone -
not breathing - how sad - gone, gone?
Can we serve, not thinking of
whom we serve?
Does the apple tree bear apples, to please someone?
Does the flower blossom, to show it is worthy?
Does the river flow, thinking of a reward?
Does the sun shine, out of a sense of duty?
Does the rainfall fall, to praise and please a god?
These do not think of a god -
they just do what they do,
for they do what they are,
expressing their true nature,
without intending to do so -
no purpose between self and act,
no space between doer, doing, and done.
(Such action
no theory does it fit...
No religion or non-religion
has yet to find it)
How about you -
Whom do you serve?
If you cannot say... Okay... okay...
If you do say... Okay... okay...
* * *
(C) brian k. wilcox, 2026
*Translation of koan and comment, "If you want to meet ..." by Seung Sahn. The Whole World is a Single Flower: 365 Kong-ans for Everyday Life with Questions and Commentary by Zen Master Seung Sahn.
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