Zhaozhou: “Go drink tea”
- Told in
- Record of Zhaozhou (fascicle 14 (X68n1315_p0088a20))
- People
- Zhaozhou Congshen (the teacher)
- Place
- Guanyin monastery, Zhaozhou
- Used as
- KoanTeaching story
- Standing
- Traditional: told by the tradition, not independently attested
Two monks arrived at Zhaozhou’s. He asked the first whether he had been there before. No, the monk said. Go drink tea, said Zhaozhou. He asked the second the same. Yes, I have, the monk said. Go drink tea, said Zhaozhou.
The director of the monastery asked him: leaving aside the one who had not been here, why tell the one who had been here to go drink tea? Zhaozhou called out: Director! Yes? said the director. Go drink tea, said Zhaozhou.
Retold for this site from Record of Zhaozhou, fascicle 14 (X68n1315_p0088a20).
In the text
師問二新到。上座曾到此間否。云不曾到。師云喫茶去。又問那一人。曾到此間否。云曾到。師云喫茶去。院主問。和尚不曾到教伊喫茶去即且置。曾到為什麼教伊喫茶去。師云院主。院主應諾。師云喫茶去。
The master asked two newly arrived monks. Have you been here before? One said: no. The master said: go drink tea. He asked the other: have you been here before? He said: yes. The master said: go drink tea. The director asked: Master, leaving aside the one who had not been here, why do you tell the one who had been here to go drink tea? The master said: Director! The director answered: yes. The master said: go drink tea.
What the tradition does with it
- the ordinary as teaching
- no difference between the two answers
Sources
- Zhaozhou Zhenji chanshi yulu 趙州真際禪師語錄 (Record of Zhaozhou), Guzunsu yulu 古尊宿語錄, Zokuzōkyō X.1315, fascicles 13–14 (X68n1315_p0076a07–)
Checked against sources 2026-11-04 by pipeline/claude-opus-5-5@03c4b3e. Report an error.