非風非幡

Gateless Gate 29

Arcturian Corridor, Inter-Dimensional Portal

Gateless Gate (Mumonkan, Wumenguan) #29

Not the Wind*, Not the Flag

neither wind nor banner

Personnel

大鑒惠能 the Sixth Patriarch, Huineng (638-713), 6th generation, was one of three dharma heirs of the 5th Patriarch, 弘忍 Hóngrěn (602-675). All extant Zen lineages descend from Huineng, the last Zen master to be called "Patriarch." ➨ Huineng appears in one other of the koans: GG #23.

禪宗無門關

作者：無門慧開　宗紹　宋朝

1228年

二十九　非風非幡

　　六祖因風颺剎幡。有二僧對論。一云幡動。一云風動。往復曾未契理。祖雲。不是風動不是幡動。仁者心動。二僧悚然。

【無門曰】

　　不是風動。不是幡動。不是心動。甚處見祖師。若向者裏見得親切。方知二僧買鐵得金。祖師忍俊不禁一場漏逗。

【頌曰】

　　風幡心動　一狀領過　只知開口　不覺話墮

Case

The wind was flapping a temple flag, and two were having an argument about it.

One said, "The banner is moving."

The other said, "The wind is moving."

They argued back and forth but could not reach the truth.

The sixth patriarch [Huineng] said, "It is not the wind that moves. It is not the flag that moves. It is your mind that moves."

The two monks were stuck in awe.

無門 Comment

It is not the wind that moves; it is not the flag that moves; it is not the mind that moves.

Where do you see the essence of the patriarch? If you have a close grasp of the matter, you will see how the two monks, intending to buy iron, got gold, and that what the patriarch impatiently said was a failure on the spot.

無門 Verse

風幡心動 The wind moves, the flag moves, the mind moves;

一狀領過 All have missed it.

只知開口 They only know how to open their mouths,

不覺話墮 And do not know that their words have failed.

Sekida's Comment

When a master delivered a sermon at a temple, a flag was hoisted at the gate to announce it to the public. At first, they may have enjoyed their argument, but presently it became heated. They became excited, each bent on defeating the other. In short, their minds lost their anchors and started drifting. But the monks were unaware of the disturbed condition of their minds. That was what Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch, pointed out.

Senzaki's Comment

The flag never moves by itself, but it looks as though it is moving, according to the movement of the wind. The children of our day will not have an argument as foolish as that of those two monks. One monk was a materialist, and he said that the flag was moving since he actually witnessed the fact. The other monk was a fatalist, believing in the invisible cause of things. The Sixth Patriarch struck the two birds of sophistry, and instead of killing them, turned them loose among the phoenixes of the holy land. Now, show me how your mind moves.

Shibayama's Comment

Since they were Buddhist monks in training, they must have known the basic Buddhist teachings, such as "Every phenomenon is only due to the mind," or "Nothing exists outside the mind." Brother Huineng's statement, "Your mind is moving," came directly out of the experiential fact which has nothing to do with intellectual interpretation. In other words, it was the natural working of Huineng's Zen. Setting aside the old story, how should we, here and now, grasp, "It is your mind that is moving" as a living fact in our lives?

From Dogen (1200-1253)

(Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma [Shobogenzo], Book 28, "Getting the Marrow by Doing Obeisance")

The nun Miaoxin was a disciple of Yangshan (807-883). When Yangshan was looking to choose a director of the monastery’s office for secular affairs, he asked around among the retired senior and junior officers, “Which person would be suitable to appoint?”

After an exchange of questions and answers, Yangshan, at last, said, “Although [Miao] Xin, the “kid” from the Huai [river region], is a woman, she has the determination of a person of great resolve. She is truly the one qualified to serve as the director of the office for secular affairs.”

All in the assembly agreed.

When, in the end, Miaoxin was appointed director of the office for secular affairs, the dragons and elephants among Yangshan’s disciples had no misgivings. Although this was not an important office, she was careful [in performing her duties] as befitting one who had been chosen [for this responsibility].

After [Miaoxin] had taken up her position and was residing in the office for secular affairs, seventeen monks from Shu banded together to go in search of a teacher to ask about the way. Thinking that they would climb Yangshan, at sunset they took lodgings in the office for secular affairs. During the evening lecture, while they were resting, someone brought up the story of Caoqi Gaozu’s words on the wind and the flag. But what each of the seventeen monks had to say was wide of the mark. At that time, Miaoxin, who was on the other side of the wall, heard the monks and said, “How lamentable, you seventeen blind donkeys! How many straw sandals have you wasted [in your futile search for the dharma]? The buddha-dharma has not yet appeared even in your dreams!”

At that time there was a postulant who, having heard the disapproving remarks about these monks by Miaoxin, reported them to the seventeen monks. The seventeen monks did not resent Miaoxin’s disapproval. To the contrary, they were ashamed that their words were inadequate and so, comporting themselves in the proper fashion, they offered incense, did obeisance, and respectfully inquired [about the dharma].

* 風 is ䷸ 巽 the fifth of the eight trigrams, the 57th of the 64 hexagrams and generally means obedient, and modest.

“巽”字是形聲兼會意字。從丌，初文上半部分寫作“卩卩”（或寫作“己己”）為聲符，像二人一前一後，朝同一方向跪坐著，會合出順從的意思。經長期演變成為“巽”字。在殷商甲骨文中，“巽”字會意初文“卩卩”的兩個人形，可以同向左，也可以同向右，後來幾乎都為向左。戰國時代“卩卩”中雙人跪跽的腿形向下伸展開，在兩人腿中部貫一橫線，或貫兩橫線，進一步演變為上下二體。漢代隸書下部變作“共”形，上部省去原來像人臂的垂畫，變“卩”為“己”形，後楷書又將“己”形封口作“巳”，接近原“卩”字結構。 “巽”在近代有個不常用的異體字“㢲”，上從二“弓”，是由戰國文字漸次訛變的楷化形式。

“巽”本義為順從，《易·蒙》：“童蒙之吉，順以巽也。”“順以巽”就是順從，《說文·丌部》：“巽，具也。“此處“具”為動詞，表示輔助主人陳設或準備食物，也體現順從之義。引申有謙遜、謙讓義，與“愻”（現代漢語用“遜”）字同用，且二字同音，又引申為卑順、怯懦義。 ““巽”也是八卦卦名之一，《易·說卦》：“巽為木，為風。 ”而“巽”作名詞時先天八卦中指西南 ，後天八卦中指東南方。

此外，古時“巽”也有“zhuàn”音，表示持、拿，現代漢語中該讀音與意義均已併入“撰”字  。

GGG ― Gateless Gate Gone―playing in the 'Twenties' courtyard without much Gravity