The Ghost Cave

With one stroke I have completely mashed the cave of the ghosts;

Behold, there rushes out the iron face of the monster Nata!

Both my ears are as deaf and my tongue is tied;

If thou touchest it idly, the fiery stars shoot out!

Those thoughts are the thoughts of a Zen Master known as Bukko. He seems to be conscious of his unconsciousness. His conscious mind is expressing his subjectiveness in a very unique way. The cave of ghosts is physical reality, and the fiery stars are selves from other realities. These monsters roam the hills and valleys of his mind. Objective perceptions are distorted. They manifest as monsters that promise to consume him in their treachery. These self created illusions become real as he mashes his cave of ghosts. With one stroke of the conscious mind he finds himself in an iron mask filled with strange faces. Those faces are other aspects of the self.