Hyakujo

This gesture by Hyakujo is the greatest sermon delivered in the whole history of mysticism. Just to prepare his people he used to say, "Go and work in the field. You cannot work with the trees and with the grass and with the roses for long without yourself becoming as silent as they are."

The people who live with nature naturally find a synchronicity between themselves and the rivers and the mountains, they are closer to the earth and its heartbeat.

Hyakujo first tried to bring the disciple close to nature, close to silence. Unless he is prepared, the great sermon cannot be delivered. A great sermon needs great disciples, and a great disciple is exactly one who is silent.

To understand Hyakujo, the first thing is to understand that enlightenment can only be sudden. The preparation can be gradual, but the illumination is going to be sudden. You can prepare the ground for the seeds, but the sprouts will come suddenly one day in the morning; they don't come gradually. Existence believes in suddenness. Nothing is gradual here, although everything appears to be gradual; that is our illusion.”

Source: http://www.oshorajneesh.com/download/osho-books/zen/Hyakujo_The_Everest_of_Zen.pdf

When Ba Daishi was out walking with Hyokujo, he saw a wild duck fly past. Daishi said, “What is it?” Hyakujo said, “It is a wild duck.” Daishi said, “Where is it?” Hyakujo said, “It has flown away.” Daishi at last gave Hyakujo’s nose a sharp pinch. Hyakujo cried out with pain. Daishi said, “There, how can it fly away?”

When Ba Daishi was out in the fields with Hyakujo, they saw a wild duck. Ba Daishi said, “What is it?” This might sound like an ordinary question but it’s actually a Zen question intended to determine the condition of the student’s mind. In response to this question, Hyakujo replies, “It’s a wild duck.” Actually, that’s not a bad answer. Hyakujo would later go on to become a great Zen master. At this time, though, he is a student, but he is obviously practicing well and his mind is present in the moment. When Ba Daishi asks “What is it?” Hyakujo doesn’t say, “Huh, what? I’m sorry--I was lost in thought. I was thinking about lunch.” He was present in the moment.

So far so good! It takes a lot of sitting to be like that. Then Baso pushes things a little further and says, “Where is it?” and Hyakujo says, “It has flown away! It’s gone!” “Flown away” is the center of this koan, the turning phrase.

Ba Daishi can’t accept this answer. He essentially says, “You don’t understand. THIS is always here! Bigger life is always here!” Baso grabs Hyakujo’s nose and he squeezes it: “There! How can it fly away?”

Source: http://coldmountainzen.org/talks/Hykujos-Wild-Duck.htm