Teachings From Ancient Vietnamese Zen Masters – 58
23 Weird Thing
I have a weird thing –
not blue, not yellow, not black, not red, not white.
Both monks and laypersons who like birth and dislike death are the
outlawed.
They don’t know that birth and death
though are different trails, but just only gain and loss.
If you say birth and death are different ways,
you cheat both Sakyamuni and Maitreya.
If you know birth and death, death and birth,
then you understand where I dwell.
You all, Zen practitioners and future learners,
should not accept patterns and guidelines.
GIOI KHONG (circa 12th century)
(COMMENT: All patterns and guidelines are the finger pointing, not the
moon you want to see. If you don’t have the guidelines, you don’t know
how to practice Zen. But when you cling to it as truth, you never
understand the mind teachings. This is the gateless gate, and also the
pathless path.)
