Fukasetsu Jap. , lit. “the unsayable”; like the mystics of all cultures and ages, the Zen tradition also says that what is experienced in enlightenment (also kenshō, satori) eludes all conceptual expression. Whoever has realized his true nature or buddha-nature (busshō) is “like a mute who has had a dream,” as the Chinese Ch’an (Zen) master Wu-men Hui k’ai (Jap., Mumon Ekai) says in his exposition of the example 1 of the Wu-men-kuan concerning the famous kōan Mu. The experience of fukasetsu is the basis for the admonition so typical of Zen not to fixate on the words of sacred scriptures, which can only be the “finger that points to the moon (true reality), but not the moon itself.”
Thus in the characterization of Zen in four short phrases that is attributed to the first patriarch of Ch’an (Zen) Bodhidharma but according to the opinion of many Zen scholars really came from Master Nan-ch’üan P’u-yüan (Jap., Nansen Fugan), it is said: “(1) special transmission outside the orthodox teaching [Jap., kyōge betsuden], (2) independence from scriptures [Jap., furyū monji], (3) and immediate pointing to the human heart [Jap., jikishi ninshin] lead to realization of one’s nature and to becoming a buddha [Jap. kenshō jōbutsu].”
The ineffability of Zen experience is what causes the Zen masters so readily to have recourse in mondō or hossen to wordless gestures as a means of communication that transcends verbal expression. As shown by the fact that Zen has produced a rich literature, Zen does not deny the usefulness of the written word; however, it is repeatedly stressed that no words can contain true reality or communicate it. Only a person who has been through the experiences expressed in the writings can read what is written there.
In the Chuang-tzu, the work by the great Taoist sage of the same name who with his spiritual father Lao-tzu belongs as much among the Zen forefathers as do the early Indian patriarchs (soshigata)is this saying of Lao-tzu’s, which is often quoted by Zen masters in connection with fukasetsu: “If the Tao [dō] were something that could be presented, each man would present it to his lord. If the Tao were something that could be handed to somebody, each man would give it to his parents. If the Tao were something that could be told to others, everybody would tell it to his brothers.”
However, such is not the case. It is only accessible to one’s own immediate experience. That is why Lao-tzu also says at the end of the above section, “He who has not experienced [the Tao] in his heart, for him the gates of Heaven are not open.”
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Fukasetsu documents
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