Towering, Towering: The Death Gatha of the Sixth Ancestor
and fixed sitting.
In this post, we'll play, reverently, with the death gatha of the great Sixth Ancestor of Zen in China, Dajian Huineng (638-713; 大鑑慧能; aka, Caoxi; Japanese, Daikan Eno; English, Great Mirror Insight Genius), and offer some images to help make the points.
The Sixth Ancestor's death gatha is unusual in that it is more of a teaching verse than a reflection on his life, or his impending death and his attitude about life-death as is more commonly the case with verses in the death-gatha genre.
For example, Katagiri Roshi's death gatha:
Living in vow, silently sitting
Sixty-three years
Plum blossoms begin to bloom
The jeweled mirror reflects truth as it is
Sixty-three years
Plum blossoms begin to bloom
The jeweled mirror reflects truth as it is
