Holy Fruits

Unmon once lived in a temple called the "Chapel of Holy Trees." One morning a government official called on him and asked, "Are your holy fruits well ripened now?" "None of them has ever been called green," answered Unmon.

The government official, whose name was Kiku, was asking about Unmon's maturity in Dharma (Zen) life. Unmon simply answers that the fruits of Dharma have always been ripe and were never green. Dharma fruits are the Buddha-nature, the essence of reality, which is something beyond time and space. They are matured from beginningless time. Their size dwarfs the universe. They are hard as iron balls, and no human teeth can bite them. Only the Dharma teeth can chew and taste the sweet nectar of those holy fruits.