The master grabbed the disciple's lapel and asked: "Does the Dharma destroy worldly dharmas?"
The disciple pounded his fist on the table and pushed the master away.
The master glared at the disciple, turned around with his hands behind his back, and walked away.
Question: Did the disciple answer the master's question? If so, how did he answer? When the master turned and left, was he satisfied or dissatisfied?
Regarding this kōan, various debates arose among different parties. The master remarked: "Exhausting all profound arguments is like placing a single hair in the vast sky; expounding the entire Buddhist canon is inferior to delivering a single slap."
Dedication Verse:
By the merits of all Dharma propagation and group practice on our online platform, we dedicate the virtues to all sentient beings in the Dharma realm and to the people of the world. We pray for world peace and the cessation of wars; may conflicts never arise and weapons be forever laid down; may all disasters completely subside! We pray for unity, mutual assistance, and compassion among all peoples; may favorable weather bless the land and nations enjoy prosperity and stability! May all beings deeply believe in cause and effect, embrace compassionate non-harming, widely cultivate wholesome connections, and extensively perform virtuous deeds; may faith in the Buddha and learning of the Dharma grow, and wholesome roots increase; may they recognize suffering, abandon its origins, aspire to cessation, and cultivate the path; may the door to evil destinies be closed and the path to Nirvana opened! We vow that Buddhism may eternally flourish and the true Dharma abide forever; may the burning house of the Triple Realm be transformed into the Lotus Land of Ultimate Bliss!
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