James Baquet

    jamesbaquet@gmail.com

    THE next day, I moved from Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi, to Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei, the last stop on a long tour. The day after that, I discovered how to get to remote Zhaoxian County to visit the former home of the great Chan (Zen) Master Zhaozhou (Japanese Joshu), star of one of the most famous teaching stories of Chan.

    The story is well-known, if not well understood. A student came to Zhaozhou and asked, “Does a dog have Buddha’s nature?” to which the master replied, “No!”

    This would be puzzling, as all beings are said to have Buddha’s nature. The range of explanations, I’m afraid, is too much for this column — if indeed words can explain it at all.

    The place where this great master lived in his later years was called in his day “Guanyin Temple,” named for the Bodhisattva of Compassion. It was built in the 3rd century and later destroyed. For many years, the only structure on the site was the pagoda holding Zhaozhou’s remains. (Though he died in 897, the pagoda wasn’t built until 1330 in the Yuan Dynasty.)

    The seven-story pagoda is once again in excellent repair. It stands about 40 meters high and is made of brick with gorgeous, detailed carving. It even lends its name to the road on which it stands: Shita or Stone Tower Road.

    How I would have loved to have seen this pagoda standing lonely among the cypress trees, given the place’s more recent (but still ancient) name: Bailin (Cypress Forest) Temple. Today, a large, active temple has again risen on the site.