"It needs a craftsman, a great artist, a sculptor, who with loving hands removes all that is unessential and leaves only that which is absolutely essential.

"That absolutely essential is our buddha.

"You will see the working of Joshu and you will fall in love with the man, in this anecdote Maneesha has brought.

Joshu, also known as Chao-Chou, was born in 778. When he first met Nansen, Joshu entered the master's room in the monastery. Nansen was lying down, and his first question to Joshu was: 'Where have you come from?'

"It has to be understood that the same questions have been asked by different masters to different disciples again and again. They don't mean exactly what you understand. When Nansen, lying down, says, 'Where have you come from?' it does not mean that he is asking Joshu's address. He is asking his original source. He is asking, 'From where have you suddenly appeared into existence? Where have you been before your birth? Where have you been before your parents were born?' Certainly somewhere….

'From the Jui-hsiang temple,' replied Joshu. ('Jui-hsiang' means holy image).

"Now there is something to be told to you which is not directly said in this anecdote. There used to be a very ancient temple, Jui-hsiang, meaning holy image – a temple of Buddha. But it has disappeared through natural disaster, in an earthquake. That must have been before Joshu was born. His statement that he is coming from Jui-hsiang temple…and Jui-hsiang temple exists no more!

"In Japan the earthquake is a daily experience. That's why wood and bamboo have become so important in Japan. You cannot make houses of marble; any moment the earthquake can come and then it will be very dangerous, it will kill. You can make only very thin walls; most of the walls are made of paper. You have to use very lightweight material, so even if the earthquake comes it cannot kill you. Just because of those earthquakes, bamboo has taken on a special significance in Japanese life.

"Joshu's saying that he is coming from Jui-hsiang temple means that he remembers his past life, that he was a priest in the Jui-hsiang temple which exists no more."