The Staff Turned Into a Dragon and Swallowed the Universe

Blue Cliff Record, Case 60
Yunmen's Staff Turns Into a Dragon

"Yúnmén Wényan (864–949 CE), (雲門文偃; Japanese: Ummon Bun'en; also known in English as "Unmon", "Ummon Daishi", "Ummon Zenji")

Introduction 

"Engo's Introduction:  Buddhas and sentient beings are not, by nature, different.  Mountains, rivers, and your own self are all just the same.  Why should they be separation and constitute two worlds?  Even if you are well versed in Zen koans and know how to deal with them, if you stop then everything is spoiled.  If you do not stop, the whole world will be dissolved, with not a particle of it left behind.  Now tell me, what does it mean to be well versed in Zen koans?  See the following.

MAIN SUBJECT:  Ummon held out his staff and said to the assembled monks, "The staff has transformed itself into a dragon and swallowed up the universe!  Where are the mountains, the rivers, and the great world?"
-  Two Zen Classics: Mumonkan and Hekiganroku, Translated by Katsuki Sekida, 1977, p.

Commentary on Yunmen's Staff Turns Into a Dragon by Mike Garofalo

Zen Koans:  Bibliography, Index, Links, Commentary, Information

The Blue Cliff Record.  Translated by Thomas Cleary and J. C. Cleary.  Foreword by Taizan Maezumi Roshi.  Boston, Shambhala, 2005.  Glossary, biographies, bibliography, 648 pages.  ISBN: 9781590302323.  Case 60, p. 341-346.  "Yun Men's Staff Turns Into a Dragon."

Way of the Staff


Setchō's Verse 
"The staff has swallowed up the universe?
Don't say peach blossoms float on the waters.
The fish that gets it tail singed
May fail to grasp the mist and clouds.
The ones that lie with gills exposed
Need not loose heart.
My verse is done.
But do you really hear me?
Only be carefree!  Stand unwavering!
Why so bewhildered?
Seventy-two blows are not enough
I want to give you a hundred and fifty.
Setchō descended from the rostrum waving his staff. The whole crowd ran away."
-  Two Zen Classics: Mumonkan and Hekiganroku, Translated by Katsuki Sekida, 1977, p.
 

"A monk asked Kenpo, "The one road of Nirvana leads into the ten quarters. But where does it begin?" 
Kenpo raised his staff and traced a horizontal line in the air and said, "Here."
Disappointed, the monk went to Yunmen and asked him the same question.
Ummon held up his staff and said, "This staff leaps up to the 33rd heaven and hits the presiding deity on the nose,
then it dives down into the Eastern Sea where it hits the holy carp.
The carp becomes a dragon which then brings a flood of rain." 
List of Koans by Yunmen Wenyan  

Yunmen said, "A true person of the Way can speak fire without burning his mouth.  He can speak all day with moving his lips and teeth or uttering a word.  The entire day he just wears his clothes and eats his food, but never comes in contact with a single grain of rice or thread of cloth.
When we speak in this fashion it is jut the manner of our school.  It must be set forth like this to be realized.  But if you meet a true patch-robed monk of our school and try to reveal the essence through words, it will be a waste of time and effort.  Even if you get some great understanding by means of a single word you are still just dozing."
-  Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings.  By Andy Ferguson, 2000, p. 262

 

 



Roshi Robert Baker Aitken
(1917-2010)
Roshi Aitken holds a ceremonial stick. 

Subject Indexes to The Sound of One Hand 148 Koans Collection

 The Sound Of One Hand (SOH)

The Sound of One Hand: 281 Zen Koans with Answers. Translation, research and commentary by Joel Hoffmann. Introduction by Dror Burstein. NRYB, 2016, 304 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

There are 144 koan cases, starting on page 75. The full text for each case is followed by possible acceptable answers or responses to the koan. The first 74 pages are very brief questions and answers regarding 137 other cases, without the full text for each case. Therefore, the total cases discussed are 281 koan cases. I have indexed only 148 Cases.

Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo.

Subject Index to the Sound of One Hand 148 Koans. PDF, 10/26/2023, 30 pages.

Case Number List to the Sound of One Hand 148 Koans. PDF, 10/26/2023, 6 pages.

Case Title List to the Sound of One Hand 148 Koans. PDF, 10/26/2023, 6 pages.

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans
Indexing and webpage by Michael P. Garofalo.
578 pages, December 28, 2024, PDF

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

 

My Original Face: Before and After

         The Fireplace Records, Chapter 36

My Original Face: Before and After

I was mulling over the famous Koan from the Sixth Patriarch, Hui-Neng, "What was your original face before you were born?" This question appears in many Zen Koans.

The Mind Door that opened and closed between the inside of After Awakening and the outside of Before Awakening, hung on the hinges of efforts and insights. The Gate swung open and closed, mostly closed but sometimes open, as daily life offered opportunities. Being unborn or reborn swung on the hinges of opportunities with Others. 

The terms "inside and outside,' or 'before and after,' were flexible, relative, ambiguous, often changing meaning, tools, open, moving, freely applied.

Before I was born, my original face was six-fold--- the faces of my parents and four grandparents.

Before I was born, my original face was a thousand-fold--- the faces of all my previous Karmic lives for kalpas of time.

Before I was born, my original face was embedded inside invisible DNA strands.

Before I was born, my original face was in water and I was only fleeting feelings.

Before I was born, some say, I had no original face--- I was nothing.

Before I was born, the Redwood tree supported the fog.

Before I was born, some say, I had the same face as my eternal soul.

Before I was reborn, my face was the same face as the dead still-born baby on the table of the morgue.

Before I was reborn, I never thought about or remembered what my original face appeared as.

Before I was reborn, I worried about the appearance of my face, and disliked my acne.

Before I was reborn, I was chained in a dark cave, hidden from the true Forms, awaiting release and the light.  Only Plato's face was my face.

Before I was reborn, water flowed uphill, and smoke stayed on the ground.

Before I was reborn, a mother said “Face” and her baby pointed to his ear.

After I was born, my face was reflected four-fold in the distorting mirrors of a San Francisco amusement park.

After I was born, my original face was big, round, homely, with all parts intact--- a loved infant's face.

After I was born, my primary face once had two black eyes and a broken nose from a fist fight in Bandini, East LA.

After I was born, my face changed every decade, and my original face disappeared. My Primary Face remained the same.

After I was born, I was blind and never saw my face, only felt it.

After I was born, my head's shadow disappeared at night.

After I was born, my bearded face appeared in a dusty mirror.

After I was reborn, I looked more at the faces of others.

After I was reborn, I recognized many subtle hidden faces, including my own.

After I was reborn, an Original Face appeared to me immediately, but I did not recognize it.

After I was reborn, I paused trying to answer Koan Riddles and laughed at all the clever answers.  

 

Comments, Sources, Observations, Koans, Poems, Quips:

Original Face Koans: GB 23, ENT 2, WWSF 177, ENT 156, ENT 229, DDJ 19, DSE 22, 

Time

Five Senses

Seeing

Riddles (200+)

Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Stories. 

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Zen Buddhist Koans: Indexes, Bibliography, Commentary, Information

The Daodejing by Laozi

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings, Quips, Maxims, Humor

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

The Fireplace Records (Blog Version) By Michael P. Garofalo

The Fireplace Records (Text Version)

Prajnatara's "It's the Attitude that Counts"

The Fireplace Records, Chapter 16

Prajnatara's "It's the Attitude that Counts"

Bill and Frank were Dharma Buddies for a number of years.  Their 'Book of the Month Club' choice in April was the "Book of Serenity" translated and introduced by Thomas Cleary, 1988. They met at the local Brewed Awakenings coffee shop to discuss the book.

Bill opened the Book of Serenity and read from Case 3: The Invitation of the Patriarch to Eastern India:

"A Rajah of an east Indian country invited the twenty-seventh Buddhist Patriarch Prajnatara to a feast. The Rajah asked him, "Why don't you read scriptures?" The Patriarch said, "This poor wayfarer doesn't dwell in the realms of the body or mind when breathing in, doesn't get involved in myriad circumstances when breathing out. I always reiterate such a scripture, hundreds, thousands, millions of scrolls."

Frank said, "I know that some people constantly, mostly silently, repeat a sacred name or phrase or prayer as part of their spiritual training.  When I was a boy we said the Hail Mary Rosary in our Catholic Church. Yogis have their 'Om Mani Padme Hum.' Transcendental meditators had a 'mantra'.  Koan meditators had their 'Hua Tou.'  Pure Landers chant 'Namo Amida Butsu.' Nichiren encouraged worship of the Lotus Sutra and the repetition of the Sutra's Title: 'Namu Myoho Renge Kyo'. Taoists repeat verses from the Tao Te Ching. Christians sing the same favorite hymn over and over."

Bill said, "Good observations, Frank.  Just being alive today and able to think or behave in some way about our spiritual development, even by chanting, is a great opportunity.  However, I have some reservations about Prajnatara's path. When we are sleeping we come close to not dwelling in the realms of body and mind and we don't get involved with myriad circumstances when we are sleeping.  Does my snoring turn the scrolls of scriptures?" Even an evil demon sleeps, does it reiterate scriptures while unconscious?"

Frank said, "A poor traveling wayfarer like Prajnatara cannot haul around delicate paper scriptures. So he must find ways to interpret the ordinary in a sympathetic manner, find ways to use breathing to focus awareness, and find ways to become more detached from desires and less entangled in myriad circumstances. Whether he sits, stands or walks, if he/she keeps the Buddhist attitude he can be an awakened and compassionate person. By being this way, acting like a Buddha, is another way of turning the scriptures, honoring them, if not by reading them because of impoverished circumstances."

Bill said, "Yes, Yes. Sometimes, reading is just not feasible or possible. One's attitude is the primary concern."

Bill added, "Changing the subject, I read that the great California translator and commentator of over 80 classic Taoist and Buddhist sacred scriptures, Thomas Cleary, passed away.  He translated the book we are studying, 'The Book of Serenity.'  I have been reading his translations since 1977."

A Student's Considerations: 

Somewhere, Somehow, Someone is Chanting
A Funeral Chant:

Gate Gate Para Gate Para Sam Gate Bodhi Swaha
Gate Gate Para Gate Para Sam Gate Bodhi Swaha
Gate Gate Para Gate Para Sam Gate Bodhi Swaha
Gate Gate Para Gate Para Sam Gate Bodhi Swaha
Rest in Peace
Requiescat in Pace
Requiescat in Pace
Rest in Peace
Rest in Peace
Gate Gate Para Gate Para Sam Gate Bodhi Swaha
Gate Gate Para Gate Para Sam Gate Bodhi Swaha
Gate Gate Para Gate Para Sam Gate Bodhi Swaha
Gate Gate Para Gate Para Sam Gate Bodhi Swaha
Gate Gate Para Gate Para Sam Gate Bodhi Swaha

No More Breathing In or Breathing Out
The Prayer Wheels Turn Nevertheless

Related Links, Resources, References

Koans: BOS 03, 

Thomas Cleary (1949-2021)

Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Dialogues.

The Daodejing by Laozi    Best? 

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings by Mike Garofalo

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

Taoism

Buddhism

Fireplaces, Stoves, Campfires, Kitchens, Pots, Firewood

Chinese Art

Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong

Meditation Methods

Zen Koan Books I Use

Koan Database Project

Brief Spiritual Lessons Database Project: Subject Indexes

Sparks: Brief Spiritual Lessons and Stories
Matches to Start a Kindling of Insight
May the Light from Your Inner Fireplace Help All Beings
Taoist, Chan Buddhist, Zen Buddhist, Philosophers
Catching Phrases, Inspiring Verses, Koans, Meditations
Indexing, Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Research by Michael P. Garofalo

The Fireplace Records
By Michael P. Garofalo

Thomas Cleary (1949-2021)

Subject Indexes to 1,975 Zen Koans

Zen Koans

Zen Buddhist Koans: Indexes, Information, Bibliography, Commentary

https://www.egreenway.com/buddhism/zenkoans.htm

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Blue Cliff Record 100 Koans (BCR)

Book of Serenity 100 Koans (BOS)

Dogen's Shinji Mana Shobogenzo 301 Koans (DSMS)

Dogen's Shobogenzo 95 Essays (DSE)

Entangling Vines 272 Koans (ENT)

Fireplace Records 48 Koans (TFR)

Flock of Fools 98 Parables (OHPB)

Gateless Gate 48 Koans (GB)

Iron Flute 100 Koans (IF)

Opening a Mountain 60 Koans (OM)

Record of Empty Hall 100 Koans (REH)

Samurai Zen: The 100 Warrior Koans (SAM)

Suzuki, D. T. 10 Books (SUZ)

Transmission of Light 53 Biographies (TOL)

Vegetable Root Discource (VRD)

The Whole World is a Single Flower 365 Koans (WWSF)

Zen and the Ways 40 Koans (ZWAY)

Zen Echoes 43 Koans (ZE)

Zen Flesh Zen Bones 100 Koans (ZFZB)

Zen Koan Book (TZK)

Zen Master Raven 183 Koans (ZMR)

Dao De Jing - Tao Te Ching (DDJ)

Zhuangzi - Chuang Tzu (ZUAN)

Text Authorities

Koan Database Project Outline

Philosopher's Garden

Koans, Mondos, Dialogues, Tests, Lessons, Lectures, Brief Stories, Anecdotes, Lore, History, Public Records or Cases, Interactions, Parables, Questions and Answers, Puzzles, Challenges, Inquiries, Meditations, Tales, Teaching, Teishos, Introspections, Koans

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
Fifth Version, August 14, 2023. Updated Monthly. 358 Pages, PDF.
Green Way Research, Vancouver, Washington

Blue Cliff Record 100 Koans (BCR)
Book of Serenity 100 Koans (BOS)
Dao De Jing 81 Chapters (DDJ)
Dogen's Shinji Mana Shobogenzo 300 Koans (DSMS)
Dogen's Shobogenzo 95 Essays Buddhist (DSE)
Entangling Vines 272 Koans (ENT)
Fireplace Records 30 Chapters (TFR)
Flock of Fools: Parable Sutra 98 Koans (OHPS)
Gateless Gate 48 Koans (GB)
Iron Flute 100 Koans (IF)
Opening A Mountain 60 Koans (OM)
Philosopher's Garden (PG)
Record of Empty Hall 100 Koans (REH)
Record of Linji 50 Koans (LIN)
Rinzai Zen Buddhism (RINZ,SOG)
Samurai Zen 100 Warrior Koans (SAM)
Suzuki D.T. 10 Books (SUZ)
Transmission of Light: Keizan 53 Biographies (TOL)
Vegetable Root Discourse (VRD)
The Whole World is a Single Flower 365 Koans (WWSF)
Zen and the Ways (ZWAY)
Zen Echoes 43 Koans (ZE)
Zen Flesh Zen Bones 100 Koans (ZFZB)
Zen Koan Book (TZK)
Zen Master Raven 183 Koans (ZMR)
Zhuangzi 33 Chapters (ZUAN)

Zen Buddhist Koans: Indexes, Information, Bibliography:
https://www.egreenway.com/buddhism/koansdup1.htm

 

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Keys to Collections of BSL/Koans Databases

 

Give Up Learning

The Fireplace Records, Chapter 11

The student asked, "How can I best pursue the Buddhist Way?"

The Master said, "Don't give up learning."  

The student said, "But don't all the masters in the sets of Chan koan collections tells us not to think, not to read, not to have intellectual or literary quibbles, to let go of body and mind, to free yourself from the tainted worship of scriptures, to stop reasoning using only dualistic logical viewpoints, to introspect and intuit, to give up the pursuit of knowledge and scholarship, to stop judging between right and wrong, to focus on emptiness?"

The Master said, "It is true that for the illiterate person listening and seeing are more fundamental in their lives than other learning methods.  Cutting Nansen's cat in half, hitting a student hard with a cane, or yelling at someone are dramatic teaching encounters. However, I only know now how that person thought or acted or chose not to think or felt by reading what some scholar historian wrote down about them.  In some ways, "The Buddha" is just a bunch of footnotes on awakened and compassionate living."

The Master continued, "Increasing your learning is like adding gathered firewood to cut up and dry for later use.  Then, when you need wood for cooking or heating you will have some resources at hand.  To learn more by studying scriptures or introspecting koans is like adding a new log to a new fire in the Fireplace of Your Spirit.  I still believe that guided book learning is very beneficial when pursuing the Buddhist Way.  Indeed, other methods for "learning" are possible, but book learning appeals strongly to some people and is an effective method for helping them become more like the Buddha."

The Student's Considerations

Logic requires both true and false. 
Seek the true, valid, accurate, sensible, reasonable, practical,
   most probable, beautiful, fair, and useful.
Face the false and deal with it. Know what is false. 
There are limits to reasoning and limits to introspection. 
Figure it out in terms of your life choices today. 
Stupidity and ignorance won't necessarily lighten
   your worries or troubles. 
Learning takes a lifetime of effort.
There are a number of ways to learn.
Book learning, scholarship, spiritual literature,
   writing, reading, research, comparisons, and
   intellectual endeavors are good ways to learn
   for some people on a spiritual quest.  

    

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter 20

"Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles.
Is there a difference between yes and no?
Is there a difference between good and evil?
Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense!
Other people are contented, enjoying the sacrificial feast of the ox.
In spring some go to the park, and climb the terrace,
But I alone am drifting, not knowing where I am.
Like a newborn babe before it learns to smile,
I am alone, without a place to go.
Others have more than they need, but I alone have nothing.
I am a fool. Oh, yes! I am confused.
Others are clear and bright,
But I alone am dim and weak.
Others are sharp and clever,
But I alone am dull and stupid.
Oh, I drift like the waves of the sea,
Without direction, like the restless wind.
Everyone else is busy,
But I alone am aimless and depressed.
I am different.
I am nourished by the great mother."
-  Translated by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English, 1989, Chapter 20  

"Get rid of "learning" and there will be no anxiety.
How much difference is there between "yes" and "no"?
How far removed from each other are "good" and "evil"?
Yet what the people are in awe of cannot be disregarded.
I am scattered, never having been in a comfortable center.
All the people enjoy themselves, as if they are at the festival of the great sacrifice,
Or climbing the Spring Platform.
I alone remain, not yet having shown myself.
Like an infant who has not yet laughed.
Weary, like one despairing of no home to return to.
All the people enjoy extra
While I have left everything behind.
I am ignorant of the minds of others.
So dull!
While average people are clear and bright, I alone am obscure.
Average people know everything.
To me alone all seems covered.
So flat!
Like the ocean.
Blowing around!
It seems there is no place to rest.
Everybody has a goal in mind.
I alone am as ignorant as a bumpkin.
I alone differ from people.
I enjoy being nourished by the mother."
-  Translated by Charles Muller, 1891, Chapter 20  

"Cease learning, no more worries
Respectful response and scornful response
How much is the difference?
Goodness and evil
How much do they differ?
What the people fear, I cannot be unafraid

So desolate! How limitless it is!
The people are excited
As if enjoying a great feast
As if climbing up to the terrace in spring
I alone am quiet and uninvolved
Like an infant not yet smiling
So weary, like having no place to return
The people all have surplus
While I alone seem lacking
I have the heart of a fool indeed so ignorant!
Ordinary people are bright
I alone am muddled
Ordinary people are scrutinizing
I alone am obtuse
Such tranquility, like the ocean
Such high wind, as if without limits

The people all have goals
And I alone am stubborn and lowly
I alone am different from them
And value the nourishing mother"
-  Translated by Derek Linn, 2006, Chapter 20 

唯之與阿, 相去幾何.
善之與惡, 相去若何.
人之所畏, 不可不畏.
荒兮其未央哉.
衆人熙熙.
如享太牢.
如春登臺.
我獨怕兮其未兆, 如嬰兒之未孩.
儽儽兮若無所歸.
衆人皆有餘, 而我獨若遺.
我愚人之心也哉, 沌沌兮.
俗人昭昭.
我獨昏.
昏俗人察察.
我獨悶悶.
澹兮其若海.
飂兮若無止.
衆人皆有以.
而我獨頑似鄙.
我獨異於人,而貴食母.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 20

wei chih yü a, hsiang ch'ü chi ho.
 shan chih yü wu, hsiang ch'ü jo ho.
 jên chih so wei, pu k'o pu wei.
 huang hsi ch'i wei yang tsai.
 chung jên hsi hsi.
 ju hsiang ta lao.
 ju ch'un têng t'ai.
 wo tu p'o hsi ch'i wei chao, ju ying erh chih wei hai.
 lei lei hsi jo wu so kuei.
 chung jên chieh yu yü, erh wo tu jo yi.
 wo yü jên chih hsin yeh tsai, t'un t'un hsi.
 su jên chao chao.
 wo tu hun.
 hun su jên ch'a ch'a.
 wo tu mên mên.
 tan hsi ch'i jo hai.
 liu hsi jo wu chih.
 chung jên chieh yu yi.
 erh wo tu wan ssu pi.
 wo tu yi yü jên, erh kuei shih mu.
 -  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 20  

 

"Leave off fine learning! End the nuisance
Of saying yes to this and perhaps to that,
Distinctions with how little difference!
Categorical this, categorical that,
What slightest use are they!
If one man leads, another must follow,
How silly that is and how false!
Yet conventional men lead an easy life
With all their days feast days,
A constant spring visit to the Tall Tower,
While I am a simpleton, a do-nothing,
Not big enough yet to raise a hand,
Not grown enough to smile,
A homeless, worthless waif.
Men of the world have a surplus of goods,
While I am left out, owning nothing.
What a booby I must be
Not to know my way round,
What a fool!
The average man is so crisp and so confident
That I ought to be miserable
Going on and on like the sea,
Drifting nowhere.
All these people are making their mark in the world,
While I, pig-headed, awkward,
Different from the rest,
Am only a glorious infant still nursing at the breast."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 20 


"Renounce knowledge and your problems will end.
What is the difference between yes and no?
What is the difference between good and evil?
Must you fear what others fear?
Nonsense, look how far you have missed the mark!

Other people are joyous,
as though they were at a spring festival.
I alone am unconcerned and expressionless,
like an infant before it has learned to smile.

Other people have more than they need;
I alone seem to possess nothing.
I am lost and drift about with no place to go.
I am like a fool, my mind is in chaos.

Ordinary people are bright;
I alone am dark.
Ordinary people are clever;
I alone am dull.
Ordinary people seem discriminating;
I alone am muddled and confused.
I drift on the waves on the ocean,
blown at the mercy of the wind.
Other people have their goals,
I alone am dull and uncouth.

I am different from ordinary people.
I nurse from the Great Mother's breasts."
-  Translated by John H. McDonald, 1996, Chapter 20 



"Suprime el adoctrinamiento y no habrá preocupaciones.
¿Qué diferencia hay entre el sí y el no?
¿Qué diferencia hay entre el bien y el mal?
¡El dicho “lo que otros evitan, yo también deberé evitar”
cuán falso y superficial es!
No es posible abarcar todo el saber.
Todo el mundo se distrae y disfruta,
como cuando se presencia un gran sacrificio,
o como cuando se sube a los jardines de una torre en primavera.
Sólo yo doy cabida a la duda,
no copiando lo que otros hacen,
como un recién nacido que aún no sabe sonreír.
Como quien no sabe a dónde dirigirse,
como quien no tiene hogar.
Todo el mundo vive en la abundancia,
sólo yo parezco desprovisto.
Consideran mi mente como la de un loco
por sentir umbrías confusiones y críticas.
Todo el mundo brilla porque solo las luces buscan,
sólo yo me atrevo a transitar por las tinieblas.
Todo el mundo se conforma con su felicidad,
sólo yo me adentro en mi depresión.
Soy como quien deriva en alta mar,
voy contra la corriente sin un rumbo predestinado.
Todo el mundo es puesto en algún uso;
sólo yo soy un ermitaño intratable y aburrido.
Sólo yo soy diferente a todos los demás
porque aprecio a la Madre Naturaleza que me nutre."
-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Capitulo 20  


"Give up learning, and you will be free from all your worries.
What is the difference between yes and no about which the rhetoricians have so much to say?
What is the difference between good and evil on which the critics never agree?
These are futilities that prevent the mind from being free.
Now freedom of mind is necessary to enter into relation with the Principle.
Without doubt, among the things which common people fear, there are things that should be feared; but not as they do, with a mind so troubled that they lose their mental equilibrium.
Neither should one permit oneself to lose equilibrium through pleasure, as happens to those who have a good meal or view the surrounding countryside in spring from the top of a tower with the accompaniment of wine, etc.).
I, the Sage, seem to be colourless and undefined; neutral as a new-born child that has not yet experienced any emotion; without design or aim.
The common people abound in varied knowledge, but I am poor having rid myself of all uselessness and seem ignorant, so much have I purified myself.
They seem full of light, I seem dull.
They seek and scrutinize, I remain concentrated in myself.
Indeterminate, like the immensity of the oceans, I float without stopping.
They are full of talent, whereas I seem limited and uncultured.
I differ thus from the common people, because I venerate and imitate the universal nourishing mother, the Principle."
-  Translated by Derek Bryce, 1999, Chapter 20 

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.   

Chapter 20, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

Related Links, Resources, References

Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Dialogues.

The Daodejing by Laozi    Best? 

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings by Mike Garofalo

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

Taoism

Buddhism

Fireplaces, Stoves, Campfires, Kitchens, Pots, Firewood

Chinese Art

Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong

Meditation Methods

Zen Koan Books I Use

Song Dynasty, China, 960-1279  

Subject Index to the Cases of the Gateless Gate Koan Collection

Brief Spiritual Stories, Dialogues, and Encounters
Zen Buddhist Koan Collections
Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Research by Michael P. Garofalo

The Fireplace Records By Michael P. Garofalo

25 Steps and Beyond:
The Collected Works of Mike Garofalo

Mt. Adams Emerges in the West

The Fireplace Records Case #58

Mt. Adams Emerges in the West

"Master Yellow-Bitterroot Mountain asked me,

'What is the meaning of Old Pahto emerging in the West?'

I lifted my cane and placed it in my mouth, saying nothing.

Later, zany Zen liar that I am, I wrote:

"No minds, no dharmas. No-mind, much Dharma."

Zen Koans: The Fireplace Records
Koans by Mike Garofalo

Zen Koan Collections Studies

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Reading Wittgenstein 1975-

Buddhism

Taoism

Meetings with Master Chang San-Feng

Philosophy

Quintain Poetry

Mount Adams, Old Pahto, Washington

Pulling Onions

 

Shifu Miao Zhang Takes A Walk

The Fireplace Records Case #57

Shifu Miao Zhang Takes a Walk

Toju Zenchu brandished his staff before Daoist 

Shifu Miao Zhang and challenged him "Miao 

Zhang, speak and you get whacked with Nanten's

staff. Do not speak and you still get whacked with

Nanten's staff." Shifu Zhang stood up quickly, 

lifted his cane strongly in defense, and quietly

said, "Yunmen's shit stick stinks and Nanten's 

staff is cracked! I am leaving now to take my

evening walk. Goodbye."

Zen Koans: The Fireplace Records
Koans by Mike Garofalo

Zen Koan Collections Studies

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Reading Wittgenstein 1975-

Buddhism

Taoism

Philosophy

Quintain Poetry

Pulling Onions

 

Cutting Through the Wind

The Fireplace Records Case #56

Cutting Through the Wind

Mayoku walked around his old Daoist friend,
Shifu Miao Zhang, three times and then thumped
his staff on the ground. Miao Zhang stood up,
walked around Mayoku once, tapped his cane three
times on the wall, and said "The power of the wind
can topple trees and is gone by morning. My cane
can cut through the wind."

Shifu Miao Zhang

Zen Koans: The Fireplace Records
Koans by Mike Garofalo

Zen Koan Collections Studies

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Reading Wittgenstein 1975-

Buddhism

Taoism

Philosophy

Quintain Poetry

Pulling Onions

 

Wittgenstein Supposedly Said

 

The Fireplace Records Case #55

Wittgenstein Supposedly Said

suppose somebody says
suppose one wanted to ask
people will say
you may answer
someone says to me

you may say
suppose it were asked
one might ask
it will be said
suppose he might say

subjunctive mood swings
no one would say
there is a tendency
when do we say
we are inclined to say

Look at it this way
Compare it to this and not to that
More pictures, fewer muddles
Contrast with something similar
Change your point of view

Zen Koans: The Fireplace Records
Koans by Mike Garofalo

Zen Koan Collections Studies

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Reading Wittgenstein 1975-

Buddhism

Taoism

Philosophy

Quintain Poetry

Pulling Onions

 

Become a Stronger Swimmer

 Fireplace Records Case #54

Become a Stronger Swimmer

If one sees me in forms,
If one seeks me in sounds,
He practices a misleading way.
He cannot see the essence of creeds:

All conditioned creeds
are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows,
like dew drops and a lightning flash:
contemplate them thus.

Creeds and doctrines are like a raft
to carry one to the other shore,
and then to relinquish.
Neither cling to the raft forever,
or reject it when drowning.

Even better,
become a stronger swimmer.

Zen Koans: The Fireplace Records
Koans by Mike Garofalo

Zen Koan Collections Studies

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Reading Wittgenstein

Buddhism

Taoism

Philosophy

Quintain Poetry

Pulling Onions