The attitude of Zen towards the formal worship of God may be gleaned more clearly from Joshu’s (Chao-chou, 778-897) remarks given to a monk who was bowing reverently before Buddha. When Joshu slapped the monk, the latter said, “Is it not a laudable thing to pay respect to Buddha?” “Yes,” answered the master, “but it is better to go without even a laudable thing.” Does this attitude savour of anything nihilistic and iconoclastic? Superficially, yes; but let us dive deep into the spirit of Joshu out of the depths of which this utterance comes, and we will find ourselves confronting an absolute
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