The Great Master replied, “Yes, he has.”

The monk then asked, “When does such a tree realize Buddhahood?”

The Great Master replied, “He waits for the Empty Sky to come down to earth.”

The monk then asked, “And when does the Empty Sky come down to earth?”

Now, by the Great Master’s responding to the monk, “Yes, he has,” he means that the Buddha Nature of a cypress tree does exist. By penetrating into what he is saying, you will penetrate into the meaning of the bloodline of the Buddhas and Ancestors. Saying that Buddha Nature exists in a so-called ‘cypress tree’ is saying something that cannot be expressed with conventional ways of speaking, nor had it ever yet been so expressed. A cypress tree already has Buddha Nature, so we need to clarify this state of affairs. Since he has Buddha Nature, we should inquire into how high a cypress tree is, how long his lifespan, what the measurements of his body are, and we should hear about his species and his lineage. Further, are the hundreds of thousands of cypress trees all of the same species or are they of different bloodlines? Can there be cypress trees that realize Buddhahood, and cypress trees that are doing the training and practice, and cypress trees that have awakened to the enlightened Mind? Though a cypress tree may have realized Buddhahood, will he not be equipped with such things as training and practice or will he not have an awakening to the enlightened Mind? And, pray, what are the causes and coexisting conditions that connect a cypress tree and the Empty Sky? If a cypress tree’s becoming Buddha is indeed the time when “I am awaiting Your coming down to earth,” is the merit of a cypress tree invariably synonymous with the Empty Sky? In regard to the status of a cypress tree, we need to do our utmost to explore in detail whether Empty Space is the tree’s initial position or his ultimate status. Let me put it to you, dear old Joshu, is it because you too were a withered cypress tree that you could breathe such life into these matters?

In summary, a cypress tree’s having Buddha Nature is beyond the realm of non-Buddhists or those of the two Lower Courses, and the like, and is something that academic teachers of Scripture and those who compose scholarly commentaries have not encountered or heard about. And how much less could it be presented by the flowery speech of some dead tree or some heap of cold ashes! Simply, it is only those of Joshu’s species who explore the Matter thoroughly through their training.

Now, as to a cypress tree having Buddha Nature, which Joshu expressed, is a cypress tree limited by being called ‘a cypress tree’, and is Buddha Nature limited by being called ‘Buddha Nature’? This expression of Joshu’s is not something that a single Buddha or even two Buddhas have thoroughly exhausted. Even someone with the countenance of a Buddha would not necessarily be able to thoroughly exhaust what he expressed. Even among Buddhas, there may be Buddhas who express it and there may be Buddhas who cannot express it.

The phrase ‘waiting for the Empty Sky to come down to earth’ does not describe something that cannot happen, since every time a cypress tree realizes Buddhahood, the Empty Sky comes down to earth. Its coming down to earth is not concealed, but rather it is louder than even a hundred thousand rolls of thunder. When a cypress tree realizes Buddhahood, it will not only be within the twentyfour hours of some day, but it will also be within the time that surpasses any day’s twenty-four hours. The Empty Sky that comes down to earth is not only the empty sky that is seen by ordinary people or saintly ones. There is an Empty Sky in addition to the empty sky. It is something that others do not see, but which Joshu himself encountered. The Earth which the Empty Sky comes down to is also not the earth that ordinary people or saintly ones inhabit, for there is also an Earth apart from that. It is not something that darkness or light reaches, and it was reached by Joshu all alone. At the time when the Empty Sky comes down to Earth, even the Sun and Moon, even the Mountains and Rivers will have been waiting for It. Who says that Buddha Nature must invariably realize Buddhahood? Buddha Nature is a splendorous decoration that comes after realizing Buddhahood. Thus, a cypress tree and Buddha Nature are not different notes in the same tune. In other words, They are indefinable, so we need to explore Them by asking, “What are They like?”

Delivered to the assembly during the season of the Japanese iris, on the twenty-first day of the fifth lunar month in the third year of the Ninji era (June 20, 1242), while residing at Kannondori Temple in the Uji district of Yamashiro Province.