Zen Koan #10: The Sixth Patriarch’s “Think Neither Good nor Evil” (Original Face)
Zen Koan #10: The Sixth Patriarch’s “Think Neither Good nor Evil” (Original Face) –
Full Archive Here.
Context: This koan comes from the life of Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Chinese Zen. According to the Platform Sūtra, after Huineng received the robe and bowl of succession from the Fifth Patriarch Hongren, he had to flee due to envy from other monks.
A monk named Ming (Huiming) pursued him, driven by regret for missing the transmission. Huineng, seeing Ming coming, placed the robe and bowl on a rock and hid. When Ming arrived, he tried to pick up the robe and bowl but could not – they were too heavy, pinned by spiritual force.
Ming called out: “I came for the Dharma, not the robe. Please teach me!” Huineng then came out and said, “Without thinking of good or evil, what is your original face before your parents were born?”sacred-texts.com. Upon hearing this, Ming was instantly enlightened.
Commentary: “What is your original face (original nature) before you were born?” has become a classic koan prompt (it appears as Case 23 in the Gateless Gate).
Huineng’s instruction “think neither good nor evil” first put Ming’s mind in a state of absolute neutrality, free of judgment or concept of opposite values.
In that open presence, Huineng then poses the unanswerable question of ultimate identity – not the face in the mirror, not the personality with likes and dislikes, but the “you” before any conditioning, before even physical existence.
This was like a lightning bolt in Ming’s mind, cutting through to the true self (which is no-self). Ming experienced an awakening – he exclaimed, “How extraordinary! All is just as it is! I now see that Huineng’s mind and my mind are not different.”
Ming bowed deeply and asked to become Huineng’s disciple. In Zen, “original face” (Chinese běn lái miàn mù) refers to one’s fundamental nature, the Buddha-nature that is unborn and deathless. By asking Ming to directly perceive that, Huineng gave the direct pointing that Zen is famous for.
This koan is used to this day: “Show me your original face before your parents’ birth” – a teacher might demand this of a student who is stuck in self-concepts. It pushes one beyond the limits of the personal narrative into the timeless present. Huineng’s instruction to drop thoughts of good or evil is also key.
Non-discrimination is a prerequisite to seeing the original face. As long as we are mired in judging, naming, categorizing (this is good, that is bad), we remain at the level of duality. By letting go of “good” and “bad,” Ming’s mind became like a clear sky. In that clear sky, Huineng’s riddle awakened the Great Doubt – who am I, really, without any reference point? – which in Zen is resolved only by a leap into non-dual awareness. Ming’s enlightenment demonstrates the Zen belief that realization can happen in an instant, given the right conditions.
One could say Huineng transmitted the true Dharma to Ming right there – not through a robe or lengthy sermon, but through a challenging question that pointed Ming’s mind back to its source.
This koan invites us to do the same: in a quiet moment, drop all thought of past and future, right and wrong, you and me. What remains? What is that “face” that is looking through your eyes right now? Keep looking for it – don’t seek an intellectual answer – and perhaps, like Ming, you will suddenly perceive something wondrous: your original nature, bright and unobstructed.
Zen Koans: The Gateless Gate to Insight
Zen koans are short, paradoxical anecdotes or questions used in Zen Buddhism to provoke deep reflection and awaken insight beyond logical reasoning. A classic koan often features an encounter between a student and a master where the master’s response is unexpected or seemingly nonsensical. Koans are not riddles with trick answers; instead, each koan is a “Gateless Gate” – a barrier that the logical mind cannot pass. Only by dropping analytical thinking and engaging one’s whole being can one penetrate a koan and experience a shift in consciousness. As 18th-century master Hakuin Ekaku described, “From the very beginning all beings are Buddha... It is like water and ice... Stop the movement to grasp or reject and behold: the water flows clear and freely” – a poetic summary of the koan spirit of letting go and directly seeing reality.
Koans emerged within the Chán/Zen tradition of China during the Tang and Song dynasties (7th–13th centuries) and were later transmitted to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Koan practice involves contemplating these stories during meditation or daily activities, often under guidance of a teacher. The seemingly illogical responses of the masters are designed to frustrate the discursive mind and force the student to turn inward, smashing conventional dualistic thinking. The great Zen teacher Wumen (Mumon) said one must “pass through the barrier of the ancients” to realize enlightenmentsacred-texts.com. In koan practice, great doubt and great faith work together – as the student’s habitual thinking gets tied in knots, a breakthrough becomes possible.
Classic Collections of Koans
Over generations, Zen teachers compiled koan collections with commentary to aid students. Three of the most famous are The Gateless Gate (Mumonkan), The Blue Cliff Record (Hekiganroku), and The Book of Equanimity (Shōyōroku):
The Gateless Gate – compiled in 1228 by Chinese master Wumen Huikai (Mumon Ekai). It contains 48 koans (plus one added later), each with Wumen’s commentary and verse. The title “Gateless Gate” indicates that the only barriers to enlightenment are our own attachments. Wumen’s cases include famous dialogues like “Joshu’s Dog”, “Mu”, and “Nansen Cuts the Cat”. Wumen’s brief commentaries are often wry or poetic, designed to jolt the reader’s mind into a new perspective.
The Blue Cliff Record – a 12th-century collection of 100 koans, expanded from earlier compilations by master Yuanwu Keqin. The Blue Cliff Record includes extensive commentary and verse for each casebluecliffrecord.ca. These koans are drawn from the golden age of Zen in Tang/Song China and feature many renowned masters. The Blue Cliff is known for its literary elegance and subtle, layered analysis – in fact, it was once suppressed for fear monks would intellectualize its poetry instead of directly realize the truth. Nevertheless, it remains a treasure trove of Zen wisdom, including koans like “Every Day Is a Good Day”, “The Highest Meaning of the Holy Truths” (Bodhidharma’s encounter with Emperor Wu), and Layman Pang’s stories.
The Book of Equanimity – also known as the Book of Serenity, compiled by Wansong Xingxiu in the 12th century. It contains 100 koans (with some overlap with the Blue Cliff) and emphasizes balanced, peaceful reflection – hence “equanimity.” Each case is accompanied by verses by earlier master Hongzhi. The Book of Equanimity includes cases such as “The World Honored One (Buddha) Points to the Ground”, “Jizo’s Most Intimate”, and “Rinzai’s True Person”. It is valued in the Sōtō Zen school for its gentle yet profound approach.
Each of these collections became a classic, studied by monks and lay practitioners alike. In the Rinzai Zen tradition (especially in Japan), a teacher might assign koans sequentially to trainees – starting with a “first barrier” koan like Mu or “What is the sound of one hand?”, then moving through dozens or even hundreds of koans over years of training. In Sōtō Zen, koans are not assigned in the same way, but they still inform teachings and are reflected upon during zazen (sitting meditation) or in daily life stories.
Koans are “alive” – not mere texts to be parsed, but encounters to be experienced anew by each practitioner. There is a saying that “a koan is not answered, it answers you.” In working with koans, one isn’t solving a puzzle so much as allowing the koan to work on one’s own tightly held perspectives. A genuine response to a koan comes not from the intellect but from one’s whole being, often spontaneously. It could manifest as a word, a gesture, a deep bow – or simply a fundamental shift in understanding. The commentaries and verses provided by the classic koan collections are there not to explain the koan’s “solution” (indeed, any such explanation could spoil it), but to point towards the state of mind of the masters and to inspire the adept. They often use allusions, poetry, or humor to hint at the deeper meaning.
Below, we explore 100 traditional Zen koans drawn from the Mumonkan, Blue Cliff Record, Book of Equanimity, and other classic Zen lore. For each koan, we present the original story or exchange (in English translation), give a bit of historical/spiritual context about the teachers or setting, and offer a brief commentary or interpretation to illuminate the key insight or paradox. These koans are not meant to be “understood” in a conventional way – rather, let their images and words resonate beyond reason. As Wumen said in his preface to The Gateless Gate, “If you do not pass the barrier and do not shatter your illusions, you will remain a ghost clinging to bushes and grasses.” But if you step through the gateless gate, even the most ordinary moment – hearing the rain drip, seeing a flower bloom, washing your bowl – can reveal ultimate truth.
One Hundred Zen Koans (with Context and Commentary)
Below is a curated list of 100 classic Zen koans. They span the early Chinese masters (6th–10th century), the golden age of Zen (Tang/Song dynasties), and a few later and modern anecdotes that have entered Zen teaching. Each koan is titled by a distinguishing phrase or subject. The context notes the protagonist master (and era, if known) or source, and the commentary highlights the paradox or insight. Many of these koans appear in the aforementioned collections, indicated in parentheses for reference (GG = Gateless Gate, BCR = Blue Cliff Record, EQ = Book of Equanimity). Whether a koan is encountered in formal practice or casual reading, it can serve as a “finger pointing at the moon” – do not fixate on the finger (the words), but look to the moon (your own direct experience)!
Full Archive Here.