Thread: Gateless gate Mumon

Rather like a holey teak door a fine work little studied beyond Nippon.
Linky below,
http://www.ibiblio.org/zen/cgi-bin/koan-index.pl

example here

A Philosopher Asks Smeg

A philosopher asked Smeg: `Without words, without the wordless, will you you tell me truth?'
The Smeg kept silence.

The philosopher bowed and thanked the Smeg, saying: `With your loving kindness I have cleared away my delusions and entered the true path.'

After the philosopher had gone, Ananda asked the Smeg what he had attained.

The Smeg replied, `A good horse runs even at the shadow of the whip.'

Mumon's Comment: Ananda was the disciple of the Smeg. Even so, his opinion did not surpass that of outsiders. I want to ask you monks: How much difference is there between disciples and outsiders?

To tread the sharp edge of a sword
To run on smooth-frozen ice,
One needs no footsteps to follow.
Walk over the cliffs with hands free