Zhaozhou asked Nanquan, “What is the Way?” Nanquan said, “Ordinary mind is the Way.” Zhaozhou said, “Shall I try to direct myself towards it?” Nanquan said, “If you try to direct yourself towards it, you will move away from it.”
Student: “Why do we move away from Ordinary Mind if we direct ourselves towards it?”
Master: “If you knew Ordinary Mind, you would not ask me the question. If you don’t know it, how can you direct yourself towards it, not knowing where it is?”
Student: “What shall I do then?”
Master: “Direct yourself towards me and I will direct it towards Ordinary Mind.”
Commentary:
Don’t try in vain to make gold out of gold.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway
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