The Bamboo Koans For Chinese Seekers

First Bamboo Koan : A Quarter, Half and One Sufi

A Quarter Sufi speaks to Half Sufi while traveling through the Zen Forest of Schizuan Province. Look, we put to test :

“ Don’t believe in that One Sufi ahead of us from the West”. Two wandering Eastern sufi who happen to pass nearby heard this remark at the road junction of Lu Xun and scolded the quarter, half and one sufi , “ All Sufis are charlatans, beware ! From North and South, they pretend to drink the Tea of Ecstasy, while the Oolong and Pue erh Tea leaves still not dried in the Summer”.
Three sufi are too much and too heavy for my words to carry.
Exposed. Broken. Collapsed. What more to understand ?

(Rabbi habli hukman wa ahiqni bis-salihin)

A woodcutter non-sufi who still alive today recounted this events to Master Izi and he ordered tea hut attendant Zuigan of Eastern Lake Precint of Kuang to record this in the Blue Bamboo River Koans Collection.

Abuzhuli xin Commentary :

Many seekers are being called travelers of the Path,
but no one can claim to be a full sufi yet.
A traveler may arrives or get lost on the Way.

The Forest of Dunya is never kind to travelers
who enter it without a tested Guide.
Without a Weapon of Tawhid.
Without a Light of Discrimination-Furqan.

Buying sufic books and reading many old jawi
or Arabic kitab/texts of commentaries cannot help one
to see in the night of modernists anti-sufi.

On daytime the goats from the University Farms
will attack and chew up the green books
because they are very hungry and not trained well
by their Masters and Dukturs who prefer to feed
them with spiritual empty grasses
and syllabus from the Orientalist wastelands.

Neo-Hsue Tou Verses

Nizami Mountain collect clouds
Shattari Mountain pour the rains
Half falls north of River Osama Abuya
Half falls into Bayan and Reformasi Valley
Others may be stuck at Pondok Madrasah

(Wa man yataqqi’Llah yaj-allahu makhraja
Wa man yataqqi’Llahu yaj-allahu furqana
Inna Awliya Allahu la khaufun
alaihim wa la hum yahzanu)

Do not say I have not warned you
A sufi a zen a monk still a name
Forest, desert and mountains
They cheat people most time
Or make them fight in politics

Sichuan Lu Xun Pur Erh
The Tea of China never Smells
Three sufi will make loud Noise
One solitary wali sat facing a city Wall
Music and drums they sell Tariqats

Dr. Abdad ar-Rauwi is my Friend
Leave all books journal and papers
Took the Sun burning Path
Where Universities cannot teach
Tea Hut or Tea Shop, most welcome.

Dr. Fuad Yeoh got Three Degrees
With envy I wrote it with gold
Master in Engineering and BA
Quranic studies from Yarmuk
Islamic Ph.D from Aberdeen !

He leave all and he possess all
Children and wives full of energy
Chinese, Malay and Maghrib
Wisdom and light shines through
Still remember the Night of Melawati
(La Syarqiyya wa la Gharbiyya
Kaukabun dhurriyun …Nurun alan nur
Yahdi’Llahu li-nurihi man yasyaau
Wa Allahu bi-kulli syain Alim)

We ask Allah ,the Majestic, the Exalted to
Enlighten our hearts and life journey…

Second Koan : Many Doors of A Tea Hut

Sufism is a science of madness and stillness.
It depend where you are and how rich you are.
Ha ha ha , only the poor speak this Way.
Dust, dust..kuntu turaba . A sufi hut had many doors,
why none dare to seek, travel and make a visit ?
To enter and drink Tea is another matter.

To test, we put this question to you :

Master Dogen asked his students one day in the assembly hall – who got a new sms today ? Where does he built his Dailin Nur College ? Do the Japanese Government approved his spiritual teaching overseas ? How many students from Granada, Weimar, Zurich, Cape Town, Jakarta, Bandung, Johor Bharu and Penang recently get enrolled for an eight weeks course in Blue Heiddegerian Studies and to organize an seminar called ‘The Time of I Ching ‘ ?

Here is the Maxis Message from Dr. Abdad Rawi of Penang University, Grey Rock Garden (Taman Batu Uban lah) former chief editor of Nusantara Journal received on 8.00pm dated 2 of Dec. 2006 :

‘This piece of koan need fathom.
When the door opens, whirl follows you.
You cross the line, feel that touch on the shoulder
by one that beckons.
The cups are there all the time
Perfumed wine waiting for the lips

The second whirl arrives and the touched
Shoulder warming up to a larger circle.
The flirting fire ambers till dawn
The whispering hearts need no filled cup now.

Another door yonder closing in
Sufi doors opens more of whirl,
cup , touch, heart and wisper.

Suddenly Master Izi attendant Masako San brought an old message jumbled up in Chinese mandarin from our old Melawati garden Companion Dr. Muhammad Fuad Yeoh, Deputy President of Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association (Macma) after a quick translation by Sidi Zuigan…it is decided to be included in this Blue Bamboo Collections as follow :

‘Traveller has not been endowed with the honour
to enter any of Master’s doors for the chosen only
is able to taste and be intoxicated by Master’s spirits, wisdom, aura and fun.
It is not a question of fear but simply to whom the bounty the Almighty grants .
For which Traveller unfortunately is not one ‘.

Attendant Sidi Zuigan Commentary :

We are extremely thankful to Allah Tabaraka wa Taala this blessed morning where two of our long time Companions and ardent readers of Zen and Sufism send us their warm greeting of peace beside penning out new koans for all of you ! You shall not forget to record this in your diary.

When you finished this short course, go seek and pay visit and respect to them on my behalf.
My old bones and feets not strong enough to make travels to Malaysia, Indonesia, Europe or Africa this winter.

Bow three times to this two wise scholars, we feels that their Islam and Sufism are our true ally and will transform our future Way and revive the lost Wisdom !

Attendant Yung Ming Versify thus :

To sit in sunlight or to sit in shade
It doesnt matter the sun is East or West
This light from the blessed oil and Olive
From the star, the lamp and niche
Allah guides to His light whom He will
One man enrich a whole community

Let wage war against Number and Papers
O Sages of China and Nippon let appear!
The Time of Spring is here. A Tea Hut.
One traveller falters, ten will comes !
Once the door shut, the hut is gone !

By order of Master Dogen and Master Izi

Oh my new readers and are you my friend now
Do you understand that this Path under your very foot
Path that leads to Makkah and Madinah
A blessed sanctuary and an illuminated city.

Make your journey oh seeker, you will see wonders !
May i lend you the Haji Abu Zhulixin Journal of 2004
Thirty three days full of dusts, sweats and lights
Names, embraces, kisses and doa/prayers you never forget
in your life..where we received oud green Dalailul Khayrat

Where we pray and do zikir at top of Jabal Syubaykah in Makkah
Where we met Sidi Muhammad al-Kuryn of Damascus,
Sidi Abu Bakar ad=Darqawi from his father izin of Fez
Sidi Abdullah al-Mouneni of Meknes and his doa and
recitation from heart the Salawat Shaykh Ibn Mashish :

Oh Allah, we cannot thank You
by our every breath
and every glance and
every letters and words
we put forth and what is lost
and unwritten.

Alhamdulillah wa syukriliLlah.



Zuigan Added Another Jambu Koan No.Four:

Kill one, two will appear
Endgame you win and nobody lose
Bow four time times before retreat
Bow three times to cut off your enemy
Still we owe him two bow… ha ha what ?

Our venerable and wise Master Izi commented :

Confucius says the more one attack the false systems, the stronger it will becomes.
Democracy is a multi-headed monster. You cannot weakened it by blowing up buildings, Shooting the presidents and leaders. It merely make the government more repressive and curtailing its citizen freedom.

What is our endgame – to put our trust in the Economy, the Government, the Law and the Free Market and the United Nation ? What a pity people cannot see beyond the paper money and number currencies as real wealth, a source of power ? The usurious system that make money grow itself by a mathematical sacred formula –interest rate, compound interest and credit based derivates…will destroy this planet and enslaved its population…we are just another numbers and economic unit of consumer, producer or customer to the market and production system.

Bowing four times is the Islamic fardh night prayer of Isyak consist of 4 (ruku/rakaat) bowing and 8 sajda (prostration face touching the ground). After this late night prayer, normally the muslims can retire peacefully to bed, to sleep or to continue doing extra nawafil prayer, to do extra Quranic recitation or various zikirs…to polish the heart, deepen the slave yearning and supplication to the Generous and All Hearing Lord . Some fuqara will do extra salawat –prayers on the Prophet in various forms. The most famous and lengthy salawat compiled is the Dalailul Khayrat by Shaykh al-Jazuli, a sufi master from the Shadhilyya Path in north Africa. Millions of muslims and Sufis/fuqara still reciting some part of this old texts everyday, every week or every month or every joyful occasion like marriages, births of children, aqiqah, celebrating the Maulid and Awliya annual gatherings etc.

Bowing three times refer to rakaat of Mahgrib prayer, very important to seek protection of Allah for the beginning of the night from evils of shaytans, whisperings and whatever harms from creation that Allah Taala created and in His Knowledge and Power.

There are endless enemies among mankind also. Those who are jealous and envy and hypocrisy and direct enemies among the kafirun. The muslims still owed another prayer consist of two rakaat/bowing….that is Salatul Fajr or Subuh in the morning before sunrise as commanded in the Quran. As-salatul fajri kana masyhudan. The Angels of Daytime begin to record the affairs of the day after exchanging duties with the Angel of the Night from maghrib time.

(reproduced from Blue Diary of Zuigan dated Nov.2006)