Mumonkan / Wumenguan · CASE 23
Do Not Think Good or Evil
The Gateless Gate
Case
Senior Ming pursued the Daikan Enō to Dayu Ridge. Seeing him arrive, the patriarch threw the robe and bowl onto a rock and said, “This robe is a token of trust. Can it be won by force? Take it if you wish.” Ming tried to lift it, but it did not move; it was like a mountain. Trembling, he said, “I came for the Dharma, not the robe. Lay worker, please instruct me.” The patriarch said, “Without thinking good and without thinking evil, at just this moment: what is Senior Ming's original face?” Ming immediately experienced great awakening. Sweating all over and weeping, he bowed and asked, “Beyond the secret words and secret meaning you have just given me, is there any further intent?” “What I have spoken for you is no secret. If you turn the light back upon your own face, the secret is on your side.” Ming said, “Though I followed the assembly at Huangmei, I never saw my own face. Now you have shown me an entrance. It is like drinking water and knowing for oneself whether it is cold or warm. You are now my teacher.” The patriarch said, “If so, you and I have the same teacher at Huangmei. Guard it well.”1
Verse
It cannot be sketched or painted; praise cannot reach it—do not struggle in vain. The original face has nowhere to hide. When the world disintegrates, it does not decay.2
Footnotes 2
- Huangmei identifies the community of the Fifth Patriarch Hongren. The robe and bowl function in the narrative as lineage credentials, which is why Ming initially pursues them. ↩
- The verse makes a literary claim about 本來面目 within Zen discourse. Translation of that claim is not independent evidence for an immortal soul or other metaphysical entity. ↩
About this version and its sources
- Full source citation
- 不思善惡 — CBETA T2005: T48n2005_p0295c22–p0296a11.
- Method
- Direct critical-edition translation from the cited received base text. Source claims, hagiography, uncertainty, and unresolved readings remain identified in the notes and project record.
- Editorial uncertainty
- Independent philological and reader review remain pending.
- Rights
- Project translation © Tulsa Zen Center Critical Edition contributors. Source text is cited by edition; redistribution policy requires final organizational approval.
- Revision identifier
- b27712b6b53a
Wumen's commentary
The Daikan Enō acted like someone from a household in an emergency; his grandmotherly concern was acute. He peeled a fresh lychee, removed the pit, and placed it in your mouth. All you need do is swallow.