Women Masters in Buddhism, Taoism, etc..

[Guest guest]

The link below was featured in last Sunday's NDhighlights, but those of you who don't

might like to have it as well. It's a fantastic resource, pulling together

material written by and about women, lots of poetry too.

http://music.acu.edu/www/iawm/pages/reference/masters.html

Women's Early Eastern Spirituality

Now arranged as a garland, these articles were originally part of a

page called Early Women Masters in Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto & Zen.

(For Western spirituality, see also Celebration of the Feminine

Divine.) Each article links to the next -- a link is provided also to

return here to the index.

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The Woman Crookback & the Way of the Sage

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"The Woman Crookback and the Way of the Sage" is an old story, or

parable, from an ancient Chinese text called the CHUANG TZU. The

Chuang Tzu was compiled in the Tan Dynasty (202 B.C.E. - 220 A.D),

and is considered to be the second most important Taoist classic

after the TAO TE CHING. Many of the stories in this collection focus

on the adventures of Master Chuang, or "Chuang Tzu," however a number

of other Taoists teachers are mentioned, and one of them is

mysteriously named "the Woman Crookback." The illustration here (from

ASIAN ARTS) of an old rabbit turning around to view the moon

represents the "return," or "realization," of one's original nature.

In Taoism this is called "return to the primal self."

THE WOMAN CROOKBACK & THE WAY OF THE SAGE arranged from the

translation by Burton Watson, "Chuang Tzu/Basic Writings" (NY:

Columbia University Press, 1964).

Nan-po zu K'uei said to the Woman Crookback,"You are old in years and

yet your complexion is that of a child. Why is this?"

"I have heard of the Way!"

"Can the Way be learned?" asked Nan-po Tzu K'uei.

"Goodness, how could that be?Anyway, you aren't the man to do it.Now

there's Pu-liang Yi --he has the talent of the Way but not the Way of

a sage,whereas I have the Way but not the talent of a sage.I thought

that I would try to teach him and see if I could really get anywhere

near to making him a sage.It's easier to explain the Way of a sage to

someone who has the talent of a sage, you know.

"So I began explaining and kept at him for three days, and after that

he was able to put the world outside himself.When he had put the

world outside himself,I kept at him for seven days more, and after

that he was able to put things outside himself.When he had put things

outside himself,I kept at him for nine days more, and after that he

was able to put life outside himself.

"After he had put life outside himself,he was able to achieve the

brightness of dawn,he could see his own aloneness,he could do away

with past and present,he was able to enter where there is no life and

death.

"That which kills life does not die,that which gives life to life does

not live.This is the kind of thing it is:there's nothing it doesn't

send off,nothing it doesn't complete.Its name is

Peace-in-Strife.After the strife, it attains completion."

Nan-po Tzu Kuei asked,"Where did you happen to hear this?"

"I heard it from the son of Aided-by-Ink,and Aided-by Ink heard it

from the grandson of Repeated-Recitation,and the grandson of

Repeated-Recitation heard it from Seeing-Brightly,and Seeing-Brightly

heard it from Whispered-Agreement,and Whispered-Agreement heard it

from Waiting-for-Use,and Waiting-for-Use heard it from

Exclaimed-Wonder, and Exclaimed-Wonder heard it from

Dark-Obscurity,and Dark-Obscurity heard it from

Participation-in-Mystery,and Participation-in-Mystery heard it from

Copy-the-Source!"

http://music.acu.edu/www/iawm/pages/reference/crookback.html

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