Zen koan of the day - Ordinary Mind

Ordinary Mind

Joshu asked Nansen, "What is the Way?"

Nansen answered, "Your ordinary mind--that is the Way."

Joshu said, "Can it be grasped (for study)?"

Nansen replied, "The more you pursue, the more does it slip away."

Joshu asked once more, "How can you know it is the Way?"

Nansen responded,

The Way does not belong to knowledge, nor does it belong to non knowledge. Knowledge is illusion. Non knowledge is beyond discrimination. When you get to this Way without doubt, you are free like the vastness of space, an unfathomable void, so how can you explain it by yes or no?

Upon hearing this, Joshu was awakened.

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dcj commentary: Don't let knowing get in your Way.