Prompted by a teisho from Master Hakuin, an old woman looks deeply into her heart day and night until she sees her own mind as the Pure Land, her body as that of Amitabha Buddha. She sees the great light that shines out of everything. Hakuin tests her by scoffing and asking, “Does it shine even out of your arsehole?” She pushes him and exclaims, “I can see that you’re not enlightened yet!”. What does she mean?

Text(s) quoted: The Hidden Lamp, Stories from 25 Centuries of Awakened Women, edited by Florence Caplow and Susan Moon.