Zen Koan #21: Bodhidharma Pacifies the Mind
Zen Koan #21: Bodhidharma Pacifies the Mind
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Context: The disciple Huike (慧可) stood in the snow, seeking instruction from Bodhidharma (the first Zen patriarch) in his cave.
Huike cried, “My mind is anxious. Please, Master, pacify my mind!”
Bodhidharma replied, “Bring me your mind and I will pacify it for you.” Huike thought, then said, “I have searched for my mind, but I cannot grasp it.”
Bodhidharma said, “There – I have pacified your mind for you.”sacred-texts.com. Upon hearing this, Huike was enlightened.
Commentary: This is the second half of the famous story mentioned in Case 4. It’s a direct pointing to mind’s empty, ungraspable nature. Huike earnestly wanted inner peace (who doesn’t?).
Bodhidharma’s demand to show the mind forced Huike into an insight: when he looked inward for what was causing him distress – the “mind” – he realized it wasn’t an entity he could locate. The thoughts, emotions, etc., had no solid core.
Realizing this, his anxiety (the seeking mind) vanished. Bodhidharma’s final statement confirms the sudden pacification that occurs when one sees that truth: a mind you cannot even find does not need “calming” – it is originally calm in its emptiness.
All of Huike’s mental struggles were like shadows chasing shadows; the moment he saw there’s no fixed thinker behind thoughts, a great relief dawned. This exchange became a fundamental koan in Zen: Find the mind! It is given to help students directly see selflessness.
As long as we believe there’s a solid “me” who is anxious or seeking, we remain troubled. The instant we truly look for that “me” and find “no-mind”, a deep quiet and freedom emerge – because the root of suffering (the illusion of an ego) is cut.
One Zen verse about this says: “The burden is removed from your back, and you realize you were carrying nothing all along.” Interestingly, Huike’s awakening here is complement to Bodhidharma’s earlier teaching to Emperor Wu (Case 4) where he said “vast emptiness, nothing holy” and “don’t know” – Bodhidharma taught emptiness conceptually to Wu, but Huike experienced emptiness by looking into his mind.
This koan resonates with modern introspective practices: sometimes teachers ask, “Where is that worry located? Show it to me.” The student finds it is insubstantial. Thus the worry dissolves by itself. It’s a powerful method: trace a thought or feeling to its source and it vanishes – because its source is shūnyatā (emptiness).
Bodhidharma’s approach solved Huike’s problem not by providing something (a mantra or technique), but by pointing out the illusory nature of the problem-maker (mind/ego). Once Huike realized “no-mind”, Bodhidharma accepted him as a successor. This became a key lineage story demonstrating transmission outside scriptures, using direct pointing.
The phrase “pacify my mind” (安心, anxin, literally “make my heart at peace”) is commonly referenced – many of us come to Zen seeking that same reassurance.
The answer Zen gives is Bodhidharma’s: “Find the mind that is disturbed!” When we look, we cannot find an independent entity called mind – only a stream of perceptions arising and ceasing. Recognizing that stream’s empty nature is itself “peace of mind.”
It’s notable that Huike had already shown great determination (standing in snow, even cutting off his arm in legend) – so the ground was prepared. Bodhidharma’s one liner then tipped him over into realization.
For us, it may take sustained practice – repeatedly observing thoughts and seeing their ungraspability – until one moment the “true pacification” happens. After that, the mind may still produce thoughts, but one isn’t dragged by them; one knows their essence is empty, so a fundamental okayness pervades. As Bodhidharma said, “it is pacified already.”
This koan assures us that inner peace is our mind’s natural state when we stop reifying our mental drama. It also exemplifies Zen’s trust in the practitioner’s own insight – Bodhidharma didn’t pacify Huike through some external magic; he guided Huike to self-realize emptiness.
The good news: Your mind is pacified from the start – if you think it’s not, go try to find the part that’s not, and see what happens! Huike did that, and found perfect peace.
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)!
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