The Gateless Gate of The Mumonkan: The Sixth Patriarch's "Your Mind Moves"

二十九 非風非幡

Case 29: The Sixth Patriarch's "Your Mind Moves"

六祖、因風颺刹幡。有二僧、對論。

The wind was flapping a temple flag, and two monks started an argument.

一云、幡動。一云、風動。

One said the flag moved, the other said the wind moved; ¹

往復曾未契理。

they argued back and forth but could not reach a conclusion.

祖云、不是風動、不是幡動、仁者心動。

The Sixth Patriarch said, "It is not the wind that moves, it is not the flag that moves; it is your mind that moves." ²

二僧悚然。

The two monks were awe-struck.

 

Mumon's Comment

無門曰、不是風動、不是幡動、不是心動、甚處見祖師。

It is not the wind that moves; it is not the flag that moves; it is not the mind that moves. How do you see the patriarch? ³

若向者裏見得親切、方知二僧買鐵得金。

If you come to understand this matter deeply, you will see that the two monks got gold when buying iron. ⁴

祖師忍俊不禁、一場漏逗。

The patriarch could not withhold his compassion and courted disgrace. ⁵

 

Mumon's Verse 頌曰

風幡心動 Wind, flag, mind, moving,

一状領過 All equally to blame. ⁶

只知開口 Only knowing how to open his mouth,

不覺話墮 Unaware of his fault in talking. ⁷

[Source: sacred-texts.com]

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Wandering Ronin commentary and questions:

1. Why in the world would they question the ways of the myriad things? To reason about it is to at once fall into error.

2. Great compassion was shown, but he was still somehow in error. How did the Sixth Patriarch fail?

3. No wind, no flag, no mind; the Patriarch should have beaten their questions out of them with his staff.

4. A windfall, a windfall! Too bad they couldn't spend their fortune.

5. A kindly old man, that one. He lets the children play.

6. Yet who among us is without blame? Only those who have leapt clear are blameless.

7. Was it lack of patience? Was it a desire to teach? The mouth is the frontgate of all misfortune.

Submitted November 07, 2018 at 08:29AM by WanderingRonin77 https://ift.tt/2yYoHoP