Fuke ringing his bell by 雪村周继 Sesson Shukei (1504-1589)

Puhua wandered through the villages ringing his bell. When asked of his teaching, he said:
'If you come in light, I strike you in light;
If you come in darkness, I strike you in darkness.
If you come from all sides, I strike you like a whirlwind.
If you come from emptiness, I strike you with blows one after another!'

This was the call to the Suizen (blowing Zen) of the Komuso monks. To them, the 'striking' was the act of the breath hitting the labium of the flute. They did not play a melody; they responded to the 'light' or 'darkness' of the moment with a sound that matched it perfectly.

🕯️ The Practitioner's Mirror (Click to expand)

This is the ultimate lesson in Tone Color and the speech of music.

'In Light/In Darkness': You must master all colors to have freedom of choice. If you can only play with one tone, you are a machine, not a communicator. If the music is 'light' (like the opening of Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune), you must strike the note with a light, shimmering tone. If it is 'dark' (like the low register of a Prokofiev sonata), you must strike it with depth. You are not 'playing the flute'; you are responding to the light of the music.

'From All Sides': This is Flexibility. In a whirlwind, there is no 'fixed' position. Your embouchure must be able to shift instantly to respond to changes in pitch, volume, or environment.

'From Emptiness... Blows One After Another': This is articulation, the very 'speech' of your music. We practice to free the tongue from tramline thinking—those mental ruts that make your playing predictable and rigid.

Practice Tip:
To practice 'striking from emptiness,' play a series of repeated notes (staccato) on a single pitch. Ensure your throat and jaw are 'empty' (relaxed). Let the 'blows' of the tongue be as precise as Puhua’s bell, but let the air behind them be as vast as the sky. If you 'clench' to get the attack, you have lost the emptiness, and the blows will be muffled.