Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (51 page)

Tortoise: Evidently not. What is the origin of the Geometric Code Achilles: It came from an ancient master known as "Great Tutor" who my master says is the only one ever to attain the Enlightenment ' Enlightenment.

Tortoise: Good gravy! As if one level of the stuff weren't enough. But then there are gluttons of every sort-why not gluttons for enlighten] Achilles: Do you suppose that

"Enlightenment 'Yond Enlighten] stands for "EYE"?

Tortoise: In my opinion, it's rather doubtful that it stands for you, Ac More likely, it stands for "Meta-Enlightenment"-"ME", that is Achilles: For you? Why would it stand for you? You haven't even re; the FIRST stage of enlightenment, let alone the

Tortoise: You never know, Achilles. Perhaps those who have learn( lowdown on enlightenment return to their state before enlighten I've always held that "twice enlightened is unenlightened." But le back to the Grand Tortue-uh, I mean the Great Tutor.

Achilles: Little is known of him, except that he also invented the Art of Zen Strings.

Tortoise: What is that?

Achilles: It is an art on which the decision procedure for Buddha-nature is based. I shall tell you about it.

Tortoise: I would be fascinated. There is so much for novices like absorb!

Achilles: There is even reputed to be a koan which tells how the Art Strings began. But unfortunately, all this has long since been lost sands of time, and is no doubt gone forever. Which may be just a for otherwise there would be imitators who would take on the m~ name, and copy him in other ways.

Tortoise: But wouldn't it be a good thing if all students of Zen copied that most enlightened master of all, the Great Tutor?

Achilles: Let me tell you a koan about an imitator.

Zen master Gutei raised his finger whenever he was asked a question about Zen. A young novice began to irritate him in this way. When Gut was told about the novice's imitation, he sent for him and asked him if were true. The novice admitted it was so. Gutei asked him if he understood. In reply the novice held up his index finger. Gutei promptly cut off. The novice ran from the room, howling in pain. As he reached it threshold, Gutei called, "Boy!" When the novice turned, Gutei raised h index finger. At that instant the novice vas enlightened.

Tortoise: Well, what do you know! Just when I thought Zen was all about Joshu and his shenanigans, now I find out that Gutei is in on the merriment too. He seems to have quite a sense of humor.

Achilles: That koan is very serious. I don't know how you got the idea that it is humorous.

Tortoise: Perhaps Zen is instructive because it is humorous. I would guess that if you took all such stories entirely seriously, you would miss the point as often as you would get it.

Achilles: Maybe there's something to your Tortoise-Zen.

Tortoise: Can you answer just one question for me? I would like to know this: Why did Bodhidharma come from India into China?

Achilles: Oho! Shall I tell you what Joshu said when he was asked that very question?

Tortoise: Please do.

Achilles: He replied, "That oak tree in the garden."

Tortoise: Of course; that's just what I would have said. Except that I would have said it in answer to a different question-namely, "Where can I find some shade from the midday sun?"

Achilles: Without knowing it, you have inadvertently hit upon one of the basic questions of all Zen. That question, innocent though it sounds, actually means, "What is the basic principle of Zen?"

Tortoise: How extraordinary. I hadn't the slightest idea that the central aim of Zen was to find some shade.

Achilles: Oh, no-you've misunderstood me entirely. I wasn't referring to THAT question.

I meant your question about why Bodhidharma came from India into China.

Tortoise: I see. Well, I had no idea that I was getting into such deep waters. But let's come back to this curious mapping. I gather that any koan can be turned into a folded string by following the method you outlined. Now what about the reverse process?

Can any folded string be read in such a way as to yield a koan?

Achilles: Well, in a way. However .. .

Tortoise: What's wrong?

Achilles: You're just not supposed to do it that way 'round. It would violate the Central Dogma of Zen strings, you see, which is contained in this picture (
picks up a napkin
and draws
):

koan =>

messenger

folded string

transcription translation

You're not supposed to go against the arrows-especially not the second one.

Tortoise: Tell me, does this Dogma have Buddha-nature, or not? Come to think of it, I think I'll unask the question. Is that all right?

Achilles: I am glad you unasked the question. But-I'll let you in on a secret. Promise you won't tell anyone?

Tortoise: Tortoise's honor.

Achilles: Well, once in a while, I actually do go against the arrows. I get sort of an illicit thrill out of it, I guess.

Tortoise: Why, Achilles! I had no idea you would do something so irreverent!

Achilles: I've never confessed it to anyone before-not even Okanisama.

Tortoise: So tell me, what happens when you go against the arrows i Central Dogma?

Does that mean you begin with a string and m koan?

Achilles: Sometimes-but some weirder things can happen.

Tortoise: Weirder than producing koans?

Achilles: Yes ... When you untranslate and untranscribe, you get THING, but not always a koan. Some strings, when read out Ion way, only give nonsense.

Tortoise: Isn't that just another name for koans?

Achilles: You clearly don't have the true spirit of Zen yet.

Tortoise: Do you always get stories, at least?

Achilles: Not always-sometimes you get nonsense syllables, other you get ungrammatical sentences. But once in a while you get seems to be a koan.

Tortoise: It only SEEMS to be one?

Achilles: Well, it might be fraudulent. you see.

Tortoise: Oh, of course.

Achilles: I call those strings which yield apparent koans "well-foi strings.

Tortoise: Why don't you tell me about the decision procedure which allows you to distinguish phony koans from the genuine article?

Achilles: That's what I was heading towards. Given the koan, or non• as the case may be, the first thing is to translate it into the dimensional string. All that's left is to find out if the strip Buddha-nature or not.

Tortoise: But how do you do THAT?

Achilles: Well, my master has said that the Great Tutor was able, I glancing at a string, to tell if it had Buddha-nature or not.

Tortoise: But what if you have not reached the stage of the Enlightenment: 'Yond Enlightenment? Is there no other way to tell if a string hasi Buddha-nature?

Achilles: Yes, there is. And this is where the Art of Zen Strings come is a technique for making innumerably many strings, all of whit Buddha-nature.

Tortoise: You don't say! And is there a corresponding way of n strings which DON'T

have Buddha-nature?

Achilles: Why would you want to do that?

Tortoise: Oh, I just thought it might be useful.

Achilles: You have the strangest taste. Imagine! Being more intere things that DON'T

have Buddha-nature than things that DO!

Tortoise: Just chalk it up to my unenlightened state. But go on. T how to make a string which DOES have Buddha-nature.

Achilles: Well, you must begin by draping a loop of string over your in one of five legal starting positions, such as this one ... (
Picks up a string and drapes it in a simple loop
between a finger on each hand.:)

Tortoise: What are the other four legal starting positions?

Achilles: Each one is a position considered to be a SELF-EVIDENT manner of picking up a string. Even novices often pick up strings in those positions. And these five strings all have Buddha-nature. Tortoise: Of course.

Achilles: Then there are some String Manipulation Rules, by which you can make more complex string figures. In particular, you are allowed to modify your string by doing certain basic motions of the hands. For instance, you can reach across like this-and pull like this-and twist like this. With each operation you are changing the overall configuration of the string draped over your hands.

Tortoise: Why, it looks just like making cat's-cradles and such string figures!

Achilles: That's right. Now as you watch, you'll see that some of these rules make the string more complex; some simplify it. But whichever way you go, as long as you follow the String Manipulation Rules, every string you produce will have Buddha-nature.

Tortoise: That is truly marvelous. Now what about the koan concealed inside this string you've just made? Would it be genuine?

Achilles: Why, according to what I've learned, it must. Since I made it according to the Rules, and began in one of the five self-evident positions, the string must have Buddha-nature, and consequently it must correspond to a genuine koan.

Tortoise: Do you know what the koan is?

Achilles: Are you asking me to violate the Central Dogma? Oh, you naughty fellow!

(And with furrowed brow and code book in hand, Achilles points along the string
inch by inch, recording each fold by a triplet of geometric symbols of the strange
phonetic alphabet for koan, until he has nearly a napkinful.)
Done!

Tortoise: Terrific. Now let's hear it.

Achilles: All right.

A traveling monk asked an old woman the road to Taizan, a popular temple supposed to give wisdom to the one who worships there. The old woman said:

"Go straight ahead." After the monk had proceeded a few steps, she said to herself,

"He also is a common church-goer." Someone told this incident to Joshu, who said: "Wait until I investigate." The next day he went and asked the same question, and the old woman gave the same answer. Joshu remarked: "I have investigated that old woman."

Tortoise: Why, with his flair for investigations, it's a shame that Joshu never was hired by the FBI. Now tell me-what you did, I could also do, if I followed the Rules from the Art of Zen Strings, right?

Achilles: Right.

Tortoise: Now would I have to perform the operations in just the same ORDER as you did?

.Achilles: No, any old order will do.

Tortoise: Of course, then I would get a different string, and consequently a different koan. Now would I have to perform the same NUMBER of steps as you did?

Achilles: By no means. Any number of steps is fine.

Tortoise: Well, then there are an infinite number of strings with Buddha nature-and consequently an infinite number of genuine koans Howdo you know there is any string which CAN "I- be made by your Achilles: Oh, yes-back to things which lack Buddha-nature. It just so happens that once you know how to make strings WITH

Buddha nature, you can also make strings WITHOUT Buddha-nature. That is something which my master drilled into me right at the beg Tortoise: Wonderful!

How does it work?

Achilles: Easy. Here, for example-I'll make a string which lacks Buddha-nature .. .

(He picks up the string out of which the preceding koan was "pulled", ties a little teeny knot at one end of it, pulling it tight with his thumb forefinger.) This is it -- no Buddha-nature here.

Tortoise: Very illuminating. All it takes is adding a knot? How know that the new string lacks Buddha-nature?

Achilles: Because of this fundamental property of Buddha-nature; when two well-formed strings are identical but for a knot at one end, then only ONE of them can have Buddha-nature. It's a rule of thumb which my master taught me.

Tortoise: I'm just wondering about something. Are there some strings with Buddha-nature which you CAN'T reach by following the Rules of Zen Strings, no matter in what order?

Achilles: I hate to admit it, but I am a little confused on this point myself. At first my master gave the strongest impression that Buddha in a string was DEFINED by starting in one of the five legal positions, and then developing the string according to the Rules. But then later, he said something about somebody-o "Theorem". I never got it straight. Maybe I even misheard said. But whatever he said, it put some doubt in my mind as to this method hits ALL strings with Buddha-nature. To the be knowledge, at least, it does. But Buddha-nature is a pretty elusive thing, you know.

Tortoise: I gathered as much, from Joshu's 'MU'. I wonder ...

Achilles: What is it?

Tortoise: I was just wondering about those two koans-I mean t and its un-koan-the ones which say "This mind is Buddha" at mind is not Buddha"-what do they look like, when turned int via the Geometric Code?

Achilles: I'd be glad to show you.

(He writes down the phonetic transcriptions, and then pulls from his pocket a
couple of pieces of string, which he carefully folds inch by inch, following the
triplets of symbols written in the strange alphabet. Then he places the finished
strings side by side.)

You see, here is the difference.

Tortoise: They are very similar, indeed. Why, I do believe there is only one difference between them: it's that one of them has a little knot on its end!

Achilles: By Joshu, you're right.

Tortoise: Aha! Now I understand why your master is suspicious.

Achilles: You do?

Tortoise: According to your rule of thumb, AT MOST ONE of such a pair can have Buddha-nature, so you know right away that one of the koans must be phony.