Kakua was the first Japanese to study Zen in

China, and while he was there he accepted the

true teaching.

When he was in China he did not travel. He lived

in a remote part of a mountain and meditated

constantly.

Whenever people found him and asked him to

preach, he would say a few words and then move

to another part of the mountain where he could be

found less easily.

When Kakua returned to Japan, the emperor

heard about him and asked him to come to court

to preach Zen for the edification of himself and his

subjects.

Kakua stood before the emperor in silence.

He then produced a flute from the folds of his

robes, blew one short note, bowed politely, and

disappeared.

No one ever knew what became of him.

The real teaching cannot be taught but still it is

called a teaching. It cannot be taught but it can be

shown, indicated. There is no way to say it

directly, but there are millions of ways to indicate it

indirectly.

Lao Tzu says that the truth cannot be said, and

the moment you say it you have already falsified it.

The words, the language, the mind, are utterly

incapable. It defies reason, it defies the

head-oriented personality, it defies the ego. It

cannot be manipulated. It is utterly impossible for

reason to encounter it...

OSHO